WO2020088609A1

WO2020088609A1 - End-to-end data transmission method and device

Info

Publication number: WO2020088609A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/114825
Authority: WO
Inventors: Huei-Ming Lin
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-01
Filing date: 2019-10-31
Publication date: 2020-05-07
Anticipated expiration: 2021-05-01
Also published as: CN112840588A; CN112840588B

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an end-to-end data transmission method and device. The method comprises: encoding a sidelink control information (SCI) as per sidelink sub-channel size and modulating the encoded SCI (S402), mapping the modulated SCI onto a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (S404), and transmitting the PSCCH repeatedly in the same sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) corresponding to the PSCCH, when frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH (S406).

Description

END-TO-END DATA TRANSMISSION METHOD AND DEVICE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present disclosure claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/754,174, filed Nov. 1, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and more particularly, to an end-to-end data transmission method and device.

BACKGROUND

In legacy design in Long Term Evolution (LTE) Vehicle-to-X (V2X) specifications, sidelink has been specified for direct communication between User Equipments (UEs) . sidelink physical channels includes: Physical sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) and Physical sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) . PSSCH is used to carry data from a sending UE for sidelink communication, and PSCCH indicates resource and other transmission parameters used by a receiving UE for PSSCH reception.

For the next generation of direct vehicle-to-X (V2X) communication system to be based on the recently developed 5G (fifth generation) new radio (5G-NR) technology, it is required for the new system to support more advanced V2X use cases and services that could not be provided by the current LTE-V2X system. As such, high reliability and low latency transmissions becomes more essential and critical to ensure timely delivery of V2X messages to the target receivers.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an end-to-end data transmission method and device.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides an end-to-end data transmission method, which may comprise encoding a sidelink control information (SCI) as per sidelink sub-channel size, modulating the encoded SCI, mapping the modulated SCI onto a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) , and transmitting the PSCCH repeatedly in the same sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) corresponding to the PSCCH, when frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink sub-channels in the frequency domain are consecutive.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise receiving information of the sidelink sub-channels.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise receiving a sidelink resource pool for sidelink transmission, and determining the sidelink sub-channels according to the resources of PSSCH and PSCCH in the sidelink resource pool.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides an end-to-end data transmission method, which may comprise monitoring configured PSCCHs, receiving its PSCCHs in sidelink sub-channels, and decoding SCI from the received PSCCHs.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, decoding SCI from the received PSCCHs comprises: demodulating each PSCCH per sidelink sub-channel and decoding the SCI individually.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, decoding SCI from the received PSCCHs comprises: combining the received PSCCHs incrementally across the sidelink sub-channels and decoding the combined SCI.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a terminal, which may comprises an encoding unit, a modulating unit, a mapping unit and a transmitting unit; wherein the encoding unit is configured to encode a SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size; the modulating unit is configured to modulate the encoded SCI; the mapping unit is configured to map the modulated SCI onto a PSCCH; the transmitting unit is configured to transmit the PSCCH repeatedly in the same sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH, when frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal may further comprise a receiving unit, wherein the receiving unit is configured to receive information of the sidelink sub-channels.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal may further comprise a determining unit and a receiving unit, wherein the receiving unit is configured to receive a sidelink resource pool for sidelink transmission and the determining unit is configured to determine the sidelink sub-channels according to the resources of PSSCH and PSCCH in the sidelink resource pool.

In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a terminal, which may comprise a receiving unit and a decoding unit, wherein the receiving unit is configured to monitor configured PSCCHs and receive its PSCCHs in sidelink sub-channels and the decoding unit is configured to decode SCI from the received PSCCHs.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the decoding unit is further configured to demodulate each PSCCH per sidelink sub-channel and decode the SCI individually.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the decoding unit is further configured to combine the received PSCCHs incrementally across the sidelink sub-channels and decode the combined SCI.

In a fifth aspect, the present disclosure provides a terminal device for performing the method in the above first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect. In particular, the terminal device includes functional modules for performing the method in the above first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present disclosure provides a terminal device, including a processor and a memory; wherein the memory is configured to store instructions executable by the processor and the processor is configured to perform the method in the above first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a seventh aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer readable medium for storing computer programs, which include instructions for executing the above first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program product including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is executable to cause a computer to perform the method in the above first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present disclosure provides a terminal device for performing the method in the above second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect. In particular, the terminal device includes functional modules for performing the method in the above second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a terminal device, including a processor and a memory; wherein the memory is configured to store instructions executable by the processor and the processor is configured to perform the method in the above second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer readable medium for storing computer programs, which include instructions for executing the above second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program product including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is executable to cause a computer to perform the method in the above second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

According to the end-to-end data transmission method of the embodiment of the disclosure, it aims to solve the problem of transmitting power mismatch between PSCCH and PSSCH transmissions described in the present disclosure and at the same time allowing low latency transmission for large data TB size messages. Other benefits from adopting the above-mentioned transmission structure include: to improve reliability for PSCCH reception by combining at the receiving terminal the repeated control channel transmissions; no additional receiver complexity in decoding control channel information; and allowing flexible UE implementation of control channel reception and decoding of PSCCH, as it is entirely up to the receiving terminal to perform combining of PSCCH before decoding.

This section provides a summary of various implementations or examples of the technology described in the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of the full scope or all features of the disclosed technology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an end-to-end data transmission system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a structure for sidelink control channel repetition over multiple sidelink sub-channels.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a terminal according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a terminal according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a terminal according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and thus their description will be omitted.

The described features, structures, or/and characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are disclosed to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the disclosure.

In the present disclosure, terms such as "connected" and the like should be understood broadly, and may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, unless otherwise specified. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood by those skilled in the art on a case-by-case basis.

Further, in the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "a plurality" is at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise. "And/or" , describing the association relationship of the associated objects, indicates that there may be three relationships, such as A and/or B, which may indicate that there are three cases of single A, single B and both A and B. The symbol "/" generally indicates that the contextual object is an "or" relationship. The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining "first" and "second" may include one or more of the features either explicitly or implicitly.

In some of related technologies of NR-V2X communication, HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest) feedback from receiving UE (Rx-UE) to sending UE (Tx-UE) is proposed to be used to indicate whether retransmission (s) of same control channel and data transport block (TB) over number of times is needed to achieve high reliability of delivering V2X messages. However, such scheme is only applicable to unicast or groupcast types of V2X communication. That is, for broadcast type of V2X communication without any feedback from receiver UEs, a different mechanism would be needed to ensure high reliability transmission is achieved.

Furthermore, in some of related technologies of multiplexing NR-V2X control and data channels (namely PSCCH and PSSCH) , the sidelink structure comprises a first physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) for signaling sidelink channel information and then followed by a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) for carrying data TB within a fixed sub-channel block. If a data TB size is too large and it needs to be carried using more than one sub-channels, additional sub-channels can be used by means of slot-aggregation in the time domain. Although the amount of sidelink resources used in the frequency domain for transmitting PSCCH and PSSCH is the same, but the additional sub-channels appended at the end is not ideal for sidelink transmissions that require low latency delivery.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides an end-to-end data transmission method and device.

It is to be understood that the technical solutions of the present disclosure may be used in various wireless communication systems, for example, Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) , General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , New Radio (NR) and so on. Furthermore, the communication between a terminal and a network device in the wireless communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including , but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.

It is to be understood that the term “terminal” refers to any end device that can access a wireless communication network and receive services therefrom. The terminal may include user equipment (UE) , which is also referred to as a mobile terminal or mobile user equipment and so on. The user equipment may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone (also referred to as a cellular telephone) or a computer having a mobile terminal such as portable, pocket, hand-held, vehicle-mounted mobile apparatuses or a mobile apparatus with a built-in computer.

It is to be understood that the term “network device” refers to a device in a wireless communication network via which a terminal accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may include a base station (BS) , an access point (AP) , a Mobile Management Entity (MME) , a Multi-cell/Multicast Coordination Entity (MCE) , a Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) /User Plane Function (UPF) , a gateway, a server, a controller or any other suitable device in the wireless communication network. The BS may be, for example, a base transceiver station (BTS) in the GSM or the CDMA, or may be a Node B in the WCDMA, or may be an evolutional Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in the LTE or the LTE-A, or may be a gNB in the NR, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. However, for ease of description, reference is made in following embodiments taking the eNB as an example.

Referring to FIG. 1, the end-to-end data transmission system 10 comprises: a network device 11, a first terminal 12 (which refers here to a sending terminal) and a second terminal 13 (which refers here to a receiving terminal) .

Communication between the network device 11 and the first terminal 12, as well as communication between the network device 11 and the second terminal 13, is implemented through a first-type air interface (e.g. a Uu Interface in cellular mobile communication) . And communication between the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 is implemented through a second-type air interface (e.g. a sidelink air interface) .

A sidelink resource for the first terminal 12 transmission can be scheduled by the network device 11. E.g. specific downlink control information (DCI) format is used to transmit the sidelink resource for PSCCH and PSSCH to the first terminal 12 on PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) . Or, a sidelink resource pool for the first terminal 12 transmission can be configured by the network device 11. E.g. a sidelink resource pool for sidelink transmission is configured statically or semi-statically by the network device 11. And the first terminal 12 shall determine the PSSCH resource and PSCCH resource according to the resources of PSSCH and PSCCH in the sidelink resource pool. After the first terminal 12 receives or determines the PSSCH resource and PSCCH resource, it shall transmit the PSSCH resource and other transmission parameters on PSCCH to the second terminal 13 on the PSCCH, and transmit its sidelink data on PSSCH to the second terminal 13 based on the PSSCH resource.

It can be understood that in the end-to-end data transmission system 10, there may be multiple first terminals and second terminals. In FIG. 1, in order to simplify the drawing, only the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 are exemplarily illustrated. However, it does not mean that the number of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 is limited.

It should be noted that the abovementioned sidelink data may include user data of the user plane, and may also include signaling or messages of the control plane.

As mentioned above, if a data TB size is too large to be carried in one sub-channel block, additional sub-channels can be used by means of slot-aggregation in the time domain. However, the additional sub-channels appended at the end is not ideal for sidelink transmissions that require low latency delivery.

In the present disclosure, variable number of sub-channels in the frequency domain is configured to adapt to varying data TB sizes. However, if only one sub-channel block is used for transmitting PSCCH and multiple sub-channels are used for transmitting PSSCH, there is a mismatch of amount of sidelink resources used in the frequency domain for transmitting PSCCH and the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH. The power that is required to transmit PSCCH would be much less than that for transmitting PSSCH. Consequently, the first terminal 12 will need to use an additional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol between the PSCCH and PSSCH for automatic gain control (AGC) training at the second terminal 13 to account for the power mismatch. That is, the sidelink resource utilization would be low due to having to use an extra OFDM symbol for the purpose of AGC. The present disclosure further provides a structure for sidelink control channel repetition when PSSCH is transmitted over multiple sidelink sub-channels in the frequency domain to solve the above problems.

As shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary structure (100) of sidelink control channel repetition over multiple sidelink sub-channels is provided. In the structure (100) , multiple sidelink sub-channels (103’s) are used for transmitting a PSSCH (102) . For each of sidelink sub-channel (103) , its associated PSCCH (101) is transmitted as well. Since multiple sidelink sub-channels (103’s) are used for carrying one PSSCH (102) , the same PSCCH (101) is repeated (104’s) and transmitted in all sidelink sub-channels (103’s) .

It is noted that a sidelink sub-channel may occupy one or multiple slot (s) in time domain, or may occupy one or multiple OFDM symbol (s) , but the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein.

The first terminal 12 encodes sidelink control information (SCI) as per sidelink sub-channel size. E.g., SCI is encoded based on one sidelink sub-channel size. In addition, the first terminal 12 may also encode the SCI based on size of multiple sidelink sub-channels. And the number of the sidelink sub-channels used for SCI encoding shall be smaller than the number of the sidelink sub-channels used to carry the PSSCH. The encoded SCI is then modulated and mapped to a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) . When plurality of frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH, the PSCCH is repeated and transmitted in the same multiple sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH.

As to the second terminal 13, as it does not have any knowledge about the number of sidelink sub-channels used by the first terminal 12 for PSCCH repetition, the second terminal 13 monitors configured PSCCHs, receives SCI from the received PSCCH’s in multiple sidelink sub-channels, and performs either to demodulate each PSCCH per sidelink sub-channel and attempt to decode SCI individually, or to combine PSCCH incrementally across sidelink sub-channels before attempting to decode SCI.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, sub-channels in the frequency domain are consecutive. Correspondingly, the PSCCH is repeated and transmitted in the same multiple consecutive sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive synchronization signals sent by each other. Optionally, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may send the synchronization signals to each other by broadcast, so that other second terminals 13 communicating with the first terminal 12 through the sidelink may receive the synchronization signals sent by the first terminals.

Wherein, the synchronization signal may include clock information (atransmit clock) and identity (ID) information. Therefore, when receiving the synchronization signals sent by each other, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may obtain the clock information and ID information of each other, and then the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may complete synchronization. A synchronization process may refer to descriptions about synchronization in a conventional art and will not be elaborated in the embodiment of the disclosure.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive broadcast channels sent by the other. The first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive the broadcast channels of each other to determine transmission bandwidths of each other and determine whether they are within coverage of the network device 11 or not.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 11 may receive a resource request for the sidelink data transmission sent by the first terminal 12 before transmitting the specific DCI to the first terminal 12 for transmitting the PSSCH resource. The resource request for the sidelink data transmission may be a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) .

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 11 may also receive sidelink channel state information (CSI) from the first terminal 12 to feedback the channel quality information in sidelink before transmitting the specific DCI to the first terminal 12 for transmitting the PSSCH resource.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the SCI format may include a field of frequency domain resource assignment and a field of time domain resource assignment. The fields of frequency domain resource assignment and time domain resource assignment are configured to indicate, respectively, the frequency resource and the time resource in the sidelink allocated to the first terminal 12 for the sidelink transmission.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the SCI format may include a field of sub-channel block assignment to indicate the time-frequency domain resource in the sidelink. The field of NR sub-channel assignment is configured to indicate the sub-channel block in the sidelink for the sidelink transmission or reception. A sub-channel block may be defined as a preset number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain and a preset number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

It is noted that the frequency-domain resource for the sidelink transmission and reception may be determined by the first terminal 12’s active bandwidth part for sidelink transmission and the second terminal 13’s active bandwidth part for sidelink reception. Similarly, the time-domain resource for the sidelink transmission and reception may be based on the time-domain resource set/table configured to the first terminal 12 and the time-domain resource set/table configured to the second terminal 13.

The SCI may further include a field of Modulation and coding scheme. This field is configured to indicate the modulation and coding scheme of the sidelink data transmitted in the sidelink. The first terminal 12 encodes and modulates the sidelink data to be sent by using the modulation and coding scheme, and the second terminal 13 uses the modulation and coding scheme to demodulate and decode the received sidelink data.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method may be applied, for example, to the end-to-end data transmission system 10 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the method 20 comprises:

In Step S202, the network device 11 transmits a DCI on PDCCH to the first terminal 12 for scheduling the sidelink resource for PSCCH and PSSCH.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, before Step S202, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive synchronization signals sent by each other. Optionally, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may send the synchronization signals to each other by broadcast, so that other second terminals 13 communicating with the first terminal 12 through the sidelink may receive the synchronization signals sent by the first terminals.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, before Step S202, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive broadcast channels sent by the other. The first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive the broadcast channels of each other to determine transmission bandwidths of each other and determine whether they are within coverage of the network device 11 or not.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, before Step S202, the network device 11 may receive a resource request for the sidelink data transmission sent by the first terminal 12 before transmitting the specific DCI to the first terminal 12 for transmitting the PSSCH resource. The resource request for the sidelink data transmission may be a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) .

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 11 may also receive sidelink channel state information (CSI) from the first terminal 12 to feedback the channel quality information in sidelink before transmitting the specific DCI to the first terminal 12 for transmitting the PSSCH resource before Step S202.

The first terminal 12 monitors the DCI and receives the sidelink resource for PSCCH and PSSCH, including information of sub-channels for PSCCH transmission.

Variable number of sub-channels in the frequency domain for PSSCH is configured to adapt to varying data TB sizes. In embodiments of the present disclosure, sub-channels in the frequency domain are consecutive.

In Step S204, the first terminal 12 encodes SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size, modulates the encoded SCI and then maps the modulated SCI onto PSCCH. When plurality of frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH, the first terminal 12 transmits the PSCCH repeatedly in the same multiple sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH.

In step S206, the second terminal 13 monitors configured PSCCHs, receives its PSCCH (s) in multiple sidelink sub-channels and decodes SCI from the received PSCCH (s) .

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the second terminal 13 demodulates each PSCCH per sidelink sub-channel and attempts to decode SCI individually.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the second terminal 13 combines PSCCH (s) incrementally across sidelink sub-channels and attempts to decode combined SCI.

According to the end-to-end data transmission method of the embodiment of the disclosure, it aims to solve the previously described problem of transmitting power mismatch between PSCCH and PSSCH transmissions and at the same time allowing low latency transmission for large data TB size messages. Other benefits from adopting the above-mentioned transmission structure include: to improve reliability for PSCCH reception by combining at the receiving terminal the repeated control channel transmissions; no additional receiver complexity in decoding control channel information; and allowing flexible UE implementation of control channel reception and decoding of PSCCH, as it is entirely up to the receiving terminal to perform combining of PSCCH before decoding.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The method may also be applied, for example, to the end-to-end data transmission system 10 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 4, the method 30 comprises:

In Step S302, the network device 11 statically or semi-statically configures a sidelink resource pool for the first terminal 12.

The network device 11 may configure the sidelink resource pool for the first terminal 12 by RRC (Radio Resource Control) message.

The first terminal 12 receives and stores the sidelink resource pool for sidelink transmission.

In Step S304, the first terminal 12 determines the PSSCH resource and PSCCH resource for sidelink transmission to the second terminal 13 according to the resources of PSSCH and PSCCH in the sidelink resource pool.

The first terminal 12 may learn, for example, which sidelink resources (including PSSCH resources and PSCCH resources) in the sidelink resource pool are not occupied by monitoring other sidelink transmissions.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, before Step S304, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive synchronization signals sent by each other. Optionally, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may send the synchronization signals to each other by broadcast, so that other second terminals 13 communicating with the first terminal 12 through the sidelink may receive the synchronization signals sent by the first terminals.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, before Step S304, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive broadcast channels sent by the other. The first terminal 12 and the second terminal 13 may receive the broadcast channels of each other to determine transmission bandwidths of each other and determine whether they are within coverage of the network device 11 or not.

In Step S306, the first terminal 12 encodes SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size, modulates the encoded SCI and then maps the modulated SCI onto PSCCH. When plurality of frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH, the first terminal 12 transmits the PSCCH repeatedly in the same multiple sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the SCI format may include a field of sub-channel block assignment to indicate the time-frequency domain resource in the sidelink. The field of NR sub-channel assignment is configured to indicate the sub-channel block in the sidelink for the sidelink transmission or reception or reception. A sub-channel block may be defined as a preset number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain and a preset number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

In step S308, the second terminal 13 monitors configured PSCCHs, receives its PSCCH (s) in multiple sidelink sub-channels and decodes SCI from the received PSCCH (s) .

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The method may be applied, for example, to the first terminal 12 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, the method 40 comprises:

In Step S402, the first terminal 12 encodes SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size and modulates the encoded SCI.

After the first terminal 12 receives or determines the PSSCH resource and PSCCH resource, it encodes SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size and modulates the encoded SCI.

In Step S404, the first terminal 12 maps the modulated SCI onto PSCCH.

In Step S406, when plurality of frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH, the first terminal 12 transmits the PSCCH repeatedly in the same multiple sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH.

And then the first terminal 12 also transmits the sidelink data in the multiple sidelink sub-channels to the second terminal 13.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an end-to-end data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The method may be applied, for example, to the second terminal 13 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 6, the method 50 comprises:

In Step S502, the second terminal 13 monitors configured PSCCHs.

Before Step S502, the second terminal 13 may receive the configured PSCCHs for sidelink reception from the network device 11, for example, by RRC message.

In Step S504, the second terminal 13 receives its PSCCH (s) in multiple sidelink sub-channels and decodes SCI from the received PSCCH (s) .

After the SCI is decoded, the second terminal 13 shall receive and decode the sidelink data from the sidelink sub-channels on PSSCH indicated by the SCI.

The following is embodiments of the device of the present disclosure, which can be used to carry out the method embodiments of the present disclosure. For details not disclosed in the embodiment of the device of the present disclosure, please refer to the method embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal may be the first terminal 12 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 7, the terminal 60 comprises: an encoding unit 602, a modulating unit 604, a mapping unit 606 and a transmitting unit 608.

The encoding unit 602 is configured to encode a SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size.

The modulating unit 604 is configured to modulate the encoded SCI.

The mapping unit 606 is configured to map the modulated SCI onto a PSCCH.

The transmitting unit 608 is configured to transmit the PSCCH repeatedly in the same multiple sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH, when multiple frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, multiple sidelink sub-channels in the frequency domain are consecutive.

It is important to note that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the encoding unit 602, the modulating unit 604 and the mapping unit 606 may be implemented by a processor (e.g. the processor 1102 in FIG. 11) , and the transmitting unit 608 may be implemented by a transmitter (e.g. the transmitter 1106 in FIG. 11) .

As illustrated in FIG. 11, a terminal device 110 may include a processor 1102, a receiver 1104, a transmitter 1106 and a memory 1108, wherein the memory 1108 may be configured to store a code executed by the processor 1102 an the like.

Each component in the terminal device 110 is coupled together through a bus system 1110, wherein the bus system 1010 includes a data bus, and further includes a power bus, a control bus and a state signal bus.

The terminal 60 illustrated in FIG. 7 and the terminal device 110 illustrated in FIG. 11 may implement each process implanted by the first terminal 12 in the abovementioned method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein to avoid repetitions.

The processor 1102 typically controls overall operations of the terminal device 110, such as the operations associated with display, data communications and recording operations. The processor 1102 may include one or more processors to execute codes in the memory 1108. Optionally, when the codes are executed, the processor 1102 implements the method performed by the first terminal device 12 in the method embodiment, which will not be repeated here for brevity. Moreover, the processor 1102 may include one or more modules which facilitate the interaction between the processor 1102 and other components.

The memory 1108 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the terminal device 110. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods operated on the terminal device 110, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, etc. The memory 1008 may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM) , an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) , a programmable read-only memory (PROM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , a magnetic memory, a flash memory or a magnetic or optical disk.

The receiver 1104 is configured to receive an electromagnetic signal received by the antenna. The main function of the receiver is to select the frequency components it needs from the numerous electromagnetic waves existing in the air, suppress or filter out unwanted signals or noise and interference signals, and then obtain the original useful information after amplification and demodulation.

The transmitter 1106 is configured to generate and modulate the RF current and transmit the radio waves through the antenna.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmitter 1106 and receiver 1104 may be implemented as a transceiver.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a terminal according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal may be the first terminal 12 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 8, the terminal 70 comprises: an encoding unit 702, a modulating unit 704, a mapping unit 706, a transmitting unit 708 and a receiving unit 710.

The encoding unit 702 is configured to encode a SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size.

The modulating unit 704 is configured to modulate the encoded SCI.

The mapping unit 706 is configured to map the modulated SCI onto a PSCCH.

The transmitting unit 708 is configured to transmit the PSCCH repeatedly in the same multiple sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH, when multiple frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH.

The receiving unit 710 is configured to receive information of the sidelink sub-channels.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the sidelink sub-channels in the frequency domain are consecutive.

It is important to note that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the encoding unit 702, the modulating unit 704 and the mapping unit 706 may be implemented by a processor (e.g. the processor 1102 in FIG. 11) , the transmitting unit 708 may be implemented by a transmitter (e.g. the transmitter 1106 in FIG. 11) and the receiving unit 710 may be implemented by a receiver (e.g. the receiver 1104 in FIG. 11) .

The terminal 70 illustrated in FIG. 8 and the terminal device 110 illustrated in FIG. 11 may implement each process implanted by the first terminal 12 in the abovementioned method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein to avoid repetitions.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a terminal according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal may be the first terminal 12 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 9, the terminal 80 comprises: an encoding unit 802, a modulating unit 804, a mapping unit 806, a transmitting unit 808, a receiving unit 810 and a determining unit 812.

The encoding unit 802 is configured to encode a SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size.

The modulating unit 804 is configured to modulate the encoded SCI.

The mapping unit 806 is configured to map the modulated SCI onto a PSCCH.

The transmitting unit 808 is configured to transmit the PSCCH repeatedly in the same multiple sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH, when multiple frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH.

The receiving unit 810 is configured to receive a sidelink resource pool for sidelink transmission.

The determining unit 812 is configured to determine the multiple sidelink sub-channels according to the resources of PSSCH and PSCCH in the sidelink resource pool.

It is important to note that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the encoding unit 802, the modulating unit 804, the mapping unit 806, and the determining unit 810 may be implemented by a processor (e.g. the processor 1102 in FIG. 11) , the transmitting unit 808 may be implemented by a transmitter (e.g. the transmitter 1106 in FIG. 11) and the receiving unit 812 may be implemented by a receiver (e.g. the receiver 1104 in FIG. 11) .

The terminal 80 illustrated in FIG. 9 and the terminal device 110 illustrated in FIG. 11 may implement each process implanted by the first terminal 12 in the abovementioned method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein to avoid repetitions.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a terminal according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal may be the second terminal 13 in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 10, the terminal 90 comprises: a receiving unit 902 and a decoding unit 904.

The receiving unit 902 is configured to monitor configured PSCCHs and receive its PSCCHs in multiple sidelink sub-channels.

The decoding unit 904 is configured to decode SCI from the received PSCCHs.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the decoding unit 904 is further configured to demodulate each PSCCH per sidelink sub-channel and decode the SCI individually.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the decoding unit 904 is further configured to combine the received PSCCHs incrementally across sidelink sub-channels and decode the combined SCI.

It is important to note that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the receiving unit 902 may be implemented by a receiver (e.g. the receiver 1204 in FIG. 12) and the decoding unit 904 may be implemented by a processor (e.g. the processor 1202 in FIG. 12) .

As illustrated in FIG. 12, a terminal device 120 may include a processor 1202, a receiver 1204, a transmitter 1206 and a memory 1208, wherein the memory 1208 may be configured to store a code executed by the processor 1202 an the like.

Each component in the terminal device 120 is coupled together through a bus system 1210, wherein the bus system 1210 includes a data bus, and further includes a power bus, a control bus and a state signal bus.

The processor 1202 typically controls overall operations of the terminal device 120, such as the operations associated with display, data communications and recording operations. The processor 1202 may include one or more processors to execute codes in the memory 1208. Optionally, when the codes are executed, the processor 1202 implements the method performed by the second terminal device 13 in the method embodiment, which will not be repeated here for brevity. Moreover, the processor 1202 may include one or more modules which facilitate the interaction between the processor 1202 and other components.

The memory 1208 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the terminal device 120. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods operated on the terminal device 120, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, etc. The memory 1008 may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM) , an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) , a programmable read-only memory (PROM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , a magnetic memory, a flash memory or a magnetic or optical disk.

The receiver 1204 is configured to receive an electromagnetic signal received by the antenna. The main function of the receiver is to select the frequency components it needs from the numerous electromagnetic waves existing in the air, suppress or filter out unwanted signals or noise and interference signals, and then obtain the original useful information after amplification and demodulation.

The transmitter 1206 is configured to generate and modulate the RF current and transmit the radio waves through the antenna.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmitter 1206 and receiver 1204 may be implemented as a transceiver.

The terminal 90 illustrated in FIG. 10 and the terminal device 120 illustrated in FIG. 12 may implement each process implanted by the second terminal 13 in the abovementioned method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein to avoid repetitions.

Exemplary embodiments have been specifically shown and described as above. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the disclosure is not limited the disclosed embodiments; rather, all suitable modifications and equivalent which come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims are intended to fall within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

An end-to-end data transmission method, comprising:

encoding, by a first terminal, a sidelink control information (SCI) as per sidelink sub-channel size;

modulating, by the first terminal, the encoded SCI;

mapping, by the first terminal, the modulated SCI onto a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) ; and

transmitting, by the first terminal, the PSCCH repeatedly in the same sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) corresponding to the PSCCH, when frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the sidelink sub-channels in the frequency domain are consecutive.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the first terminal, information of the sidelink sub-channels.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the first terminal, a sidelink resource pool for sidelink transmission; and

determining, by the first terminal, the sidelink sub-channels according to the resources of PSSCH and PSCCH in the sidelink resource pool.
An end-to-end data transmission method, comprising:

monitoring, by a second terminal, configured PSCCHs;

receiving, by the second terminal, its PSCCHs in sidelink sub-channels; and

decoding, by the second terminal, SCI from the received PSCCHs.
The method according to claim 5, wherein decoding SCI from the received PSCCHs comprises: demodulating, by the second terminal, each PSCCH per sidelink sub-channel and decoding, by the second terminal, the SCI individually.
The method according to claim 5, wherein decoding SCI from the received PSCCHs comprises: combining, by the second terminal, the received PSCCHs incrementally across the sidelink sub-channels and decoding, by the second terminal, the combined SCI.
A terminal, comprising: an encoding unit, a modulating unit, a mapping unit and a transmitting unit,

wherein the encoding unit is configured to encode a SCI as per sidelink sub-channel size;

the modulating unit is configured to modulate the encoded SCI;

the mapping unit is configured to map the modulated SCI onto a PSCCH;

the transmitting unit is configured to transmit the PSCCH repeatedly in the same sidelink sub-channels that are used for carrying the PSSCH corresponding to the PSCCH, when frequency domain sidelink sub-channels are used for transmitting a PSSCH.
The terminal according to claim 8, wherein the sidelink sub-channels in the frequency domain are consecutive.
The terminal according to claim 8, further comprising: a receiving unit,

wherein the receiving unit is configured to receive information of the sidelink sub-channels.
The terminal according to claim 8, further comprising: a determining unit and a receiving unit,

wherein the receiving unit is configured to receive a sidelink resource pool for sidelink transmission;

the determining unit is configured to determine the sidelink sub-channels according to the resources of PSSCH and PSCCH in the sidelink resource pool.
A terminal, comprising: a receiving unit and a decoding unit,

wherein the receiving unit is configured to monitor configured PSCCHs and receive its PSCCHs in sidelink sub-channels;

the decoding unit is configured to decode SCI from the received PSCCHs.
The terminal according to claim 12, wherein the decoding unit is further configured to demodulate each PSCCH per sidelink sub-channel and decode the SCI individually.
The terminal according to claim 12, wherein the decoding unit is further configured to combine the received PSCCHs incrementally across the sidelink sub-channels and decode the combined SCI.
A terminal device, comprising:

a processor;

a memory configured to store instructions executable by the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to perform the steps of any one of the method according to claims 1-4.
A computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, execute the steps of any one of the method according to claims 1-4.
A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is executable to cause a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-4.
A terminal device, comprising:

a processor;

a memory configured to store instructions executable by the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to perform the steps of any one of the method according to claims 5-7.
A computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, execute the steps of any one of the method according to claims 5-7.
A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is executable to cause a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 5-7.