Method And Device For Scheduling Uplink Signal And Downlink Data Channel In Next Generation Wireless Network

What is this patent about?

’079 is related to the field of wireless communication, specifically addressing the problem of scheduling uplink and downlink transmissions in 5G New Radio (NR) systems. The background involves the need to support diverse use cases like enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), each with different requirements. NR systems achieve this by supporting multiple numerologies , which are different configurations of subcarrier spacing and symbol duration. This flexibility introduces complexity in defining timing relationships between control and data channels.

The underlying idea behind ’079 is to provide a method for a User Equipment (UE) and a base station to unambiguously determine the timing relationships between downlink control information (DCI) and corresponding downlink or uplink data transmissions, even when different numerologies are used for the control and data channels. The key insight is to use a timing gap based on the numerology of the data channel to schedule the data transmission, resolving the ambiguity caused by different numerologies.

The claims of ’079 focus on a method for a UE to schedule uplink and downlink transmissions. The UE receives scheduling information, including timing relationship configuration, from a base station via a downlink control channel. The UE then schedules the uplink signal and downlink data channel based on this information. Crucially, the numerology of the carrier used for the downlink control channel can be different from the numerology of the carriers used for the downlink data channel or the uplink control channel. The timing relationship is determined using the formula: ⌊n·B/A⌋+k, where n is the slot index of the DL control channel, A is the subcarrier spacing of the DL control channel, B is the subcarrier spacing of the DL/UL data channel, and k is the timing gap.

In practice, the base station configures the scheduling information, including the timing gap 'k', based on the subcarrier spacing of the data channel (B). The UE then uses the provided formula to calculate the appropriate slot index for the data transmission. This ensures that both the base station and the UE are synchronized in their understanding of the timing, even when operating with different numerologies. The floor function ensures that the resulting slot index is an integer.

This approach differs from prior solutions by explicitly addressing the ambiguity introduced by multiple numerologies. Instead of relying on a single, system-wide timing reference, ’079 adapts the timing calculation to the numerology of the data channel. This allows for more flexible and efficient resource allocation, enabling the NR system to effectively support the diverse requirements of eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC services. The use of the slot index and the subcarrier spacing ratio (B/A) provides a precise and adaptable mechanism for timing synchronization.