Patent Description:
With the development of new wireless network and their specifications, higher frequency bands are taken into use. Transmissions on higher frequency bands are typically subject to several types of impairments that are not as dominant on lower frequency bands. For example, increased noise and/or interference may be caused by increased radio path losses and less efficient transceiver components. Documents <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and "<NPL>et al. discuss issues related to subcarrier spacings.

Some aspects of the invention are defined by the independent claims.

Some embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Some aspects of the disclosure are defined by the independent claims.

Embodiments are described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which.

The following embodiments are examples.

In the following, different exemplifying embodiments will be described using, as an example of an access architecture to which the embodiments may be applied, a radio access architecture based on long term evolution advanced (LTE Advanced, LTE-A) or new radio (NR, <NUM>), without restricting the embodiments to such an architecture, however. A person skilled in the art will realize that the embodiments may also be applied to other kinds of communications networks having suitable means by adjusting parameters and procedures appropriately. Some examples of other options for suitable systems are the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) radio access network (UTRAN or E-UTRAN), long term evolution (LTE, the same as E-UTRA), wireless local area network (WLAN or WiFi), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), Bluetooth®, personal communications services (PCS), ZigBee®, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), systems using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) and Internet Protocol multimedia subsystems (IMS) or any combination thereof.

<FIG> shows terminal devices or user devices <NUM> and <NUM> configured to be in a wireless connection on one or more communication channels in a cell with an access node (such as (e/g)NodeB) <NUM> providing the cell. (e/g)NodeB refers to an eNodeB or a gNodeB, as defined in 3GPP specifications. The physical link from a user device to a (e/g)NodeB is called uplink or reverse link and the physical link from the (e/g)NodeB to the user device is called downlink or forward link. It should be appreciated that (e/g)NodeBs or their functionalities may be implemented by using any node, host, server or access point etc. entity suitable for such a usage.

A communications system typically comprises more than one (e/g)NodeB in which case the (e/g)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate with one another over links, wired or wireless, designed for the purpose. These links may be used not only for signalling purposes but also for routing data from one (e/g)NodeB to another. The (e/g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of communication system it is coupled to. The NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point, an access node, or any other type of interfacing device including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. The (e/g)NodeB includes or is coupled to transceivers. From the transceivers of the (e/g)NodeB, a connection is provided to an antenna unit that establishes bi-directional radio links to user devices. The antenna unit may comprise a plurality of antennas or antenna elements. The (e/g)NodeB is further connected to core network <NUM> (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the system, the counterpart on the CN side can be a serving gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), packet data network gateway (P-GW), for providing connectivity of user devices (UEs) to external packet data networks, or mobile management entity (MME), etc..

An example of such a relay node is an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a self-backhauling relay node in some literature. Another example of relaying is out-band relay. The IAB node may comprise two parts: a distributed unit (DU) that facilitates the gNB functionalities and a mobile termination (MT) unit that facilitates UE functionalities. A backhaul link is a communication link between a the IAB node and an access node such as a gNB or a distributed unit of the gNB. In some references, the MT is called IAB-UE. UE functionalities can be performed also by the MT part of the IAB node.

The user device may also utilise cloud. The user device (or in some embodiments a relay node) is configured to perform one or more of user equipment functionalities.

<NUM> enables using multiple input - multiple output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than the LTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and employing a variety of radio technologies depending on service needs, use cases and/or spectrum available. <NUM> mobile communications supports a wide range of use cases and related applications including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing and various forms of machine type applications (such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC), including vehicular safety, different sensors and real-time control. <NUM> is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely below <NUM>, cmWave and mmWave, and also being capable of being integrated with existing legacy radio access technologies, such as the LTE. Integration with the LTE may be implemented, at least in the early phase, as a system, where macro coverage is provided by the LTE and <NUM> radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregation to the LTE. In other words, <NUM> is planned to support both inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-<NUM>) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as below <NUM> - cmWave, below <NUM> - cmWave - mmWave). One of the concepts considered to be used in <NUM> networks is network slicing in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub-networks (network instances) may be created within the same infrastructure to run services that have different requirements on latency, reliability, throughput and mobility.

The current architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in the radio and typically fully centralized in the core network. The low-latency applications and services in <NUM> require to bring the content close to the radio which leads to local break out and multi-access edge computing (MEC).

It should also be understood that the distribution of functions between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of the LTE or even be non-existent. <NUM> (or new radio, NR) networks are being designed to support multiple hierarchies, where MEC servers can be placed between the core and the base station or node B (gNB).

Possible use cases are providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (IoT) devices or for passengers on board of vehicles, or ensuring service availability for critical communications, and future railway, maritime, and/or aeronautical communications.

Typically, in multilayer networks, one access node provides one kind of a cell or cells, and thus a plurality of (e/g) NodeBs are required to provide such a network structure.

Many modern wireless networks are based on multi-carrier transmission where a signal is distributed to a set of sub-carriers comprised in the same symbol that is transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver. Term sub-carrier can used also in the context of a single carrier transmission. For example, single carrier signals, such as a discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) signal employed in <NUM>, for example, can be generated based on frequency domain processing. Hence, the term sub-carrier (or virtual sub-carrier) may be relevant also for different scenarios with single-carrier transmission. Sub-carriers are spaced from each other in a frequency domain. 3GPP specifications for the NR define so-called transmission numerologies that define different resource spaces in terms of sub-carrier spacings. Table <NUM> below illustrates some transmission numerologies supported by NR:.

The transmission numerologies denoted in Italic in Table <NUM> illustrate future proposals. µ is a scaling factor defining the scaling for the different numerologies. Higher numerologies having the higher scaling factor may be assigned to higher operating frequencies. For example, numerologies having scaling factor from <NUM> to <NUM> may be suitable for operating frequencies above <NUM> Gigahertz (GHz) while the lower numerologies may be suitable for operating frequencies below the <NUM>. However, this division is merely one example. For a given Fourier transform (FFT) size (such as <NUM> FFT), the subcarrier spacing defines also the maximum size of the bandwidth part and/or carrier.

Larger sub-carrier spacing (higher scaling factor) shortens the (OFDM/SC-) symbol duration and may improve tolerance to phase noise, for example. On the other hand, it employs a higher carrier bandwidth. When the operating frequency band increases, the phase noise also increases which calls for increasing the sub-carrier spacing, e.g. to scaling factors <NUM> to <NUM>. A drawback caused by the increase is that the symbol duration further reduces. Current scheduling procedures are based on a certain time interval between a scheduling command and the scheduled resource, and the time interval may be counted in symbols or time slots. With the reduced symbol duration, the time interval may reduce to such degree that the receiver of the scheduling command has no time to receive and process the scheduling command before the scheduled resource occurs. Reduced symbol duration results in that the received signal energy also reduces when transmission power remains constant. This may result in scheduling and coverage problems.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate procedures for scheduling communication resources according to some embodiments of the invention. <FIG> illustrates a procedure from the perspective of the terminal device <NUM>, <NUM> while <FIG> illustrates a procedure from the perspective of an access node <NUM> or a peer device. The procedures are equally applicable to the links between the terminal device <NUM> or <NUM> and the access node, to IAB scenarios, and to sidelinks or device-to-device links established directly between the terminal devices <NUM>, <NUM> (see arrow between the terminal devices in <FIG>).

Referring to <FIG>, the procedure comprises as performed by a first network node, e.g. the terminal device <NUM> or MT of an IAB node: storing (block <NUM>), in a memory, a mapping database defining translation specifications between a first resource space and a second resource space, wherein the first resource space is based on at least a first sub-carrier spacing and the second resource space is based on at least a second sub-carrier spacing different from the first sub-carrier spacing; receiving (block <NUM>), from a second network node of the wireless network, a scheduling message defining communication resources in the first resource space; translating (block <NUM>) the communication resources of the first resource space into communication resources of the second resource space by using the mapping database; and communicating (block <NUM>) a message with the second network node in the communication resources of the second resource space.

Referring to <FIG>, the procedure comprises as performed by the second network node, e.g. the terminal device <NUM> or the access node <NUM>: storing (block <NUM>), in a memory, a mapping database defining translation specifications between a first resource space and a second resource space, wherein the first resource space is based on at least a first sub-carrier spacing and the second resource space is based on at least a second sub-carrier spacing different from the first sub-carrier spacing; scheduling (block <NUM>) communication resources to the first network node of the wireless network, wherein the scheduled communication resources are defined in the first resource space; transmitting (block <NUM>), to the first network node, a scheduling message defining the communication resources in the first resource space; translating (block <NUM>) the communication resources of the first resource space into communication resources of the second resource space by using the mapping database; and communicating (block <NUM>) a message with the first network node in communication resources of the second resource space.

The message communicated between the network nodes in blocks <NUM> and <NUM> may be an uplink message transmitted from the first network node to the second network node or a downlink message transmitted from the second network node to the first network node. In other words, the embodiment is suitable for both uplink, downlink, and sidelink communications in a straightforward manner.

The order of blocks may vary in different embodiments. For example, the second network node may perform the translation in block <NUM> before the transmission of the scheduling message in block <NUM>.

The embodiments of <FIG> and <FIG> provide an advantage that the second network node may perform the scheduling in the first resource space. The second network node may thus use the scheduling principles applicable to the first resource space and still perform scheduling of communication resources to the second resource space. For example, in the case where the first resource space is comprised in the lower numerologies of Table <NUM>, the scheduler may apply the scheduling principles of current 3GPP specifications. Therefore, the scheduler needs not concern of the reduced symbol duration, and increasing the numerologies to higher sub-carrier spacings has a reduced impact on a need to change the scheduling principles, e.g. the time interval between the scheduling command and the scheduled resource. Another advantage is the capability of employing the higher numerologies, thus enabling reduction of the phase noise, for example. From a perspective, an advantage is that the resistance to the phase noise (benefit of a large sub-carrier spacing) and the sufficiently long processing interval (an advantage of the long symbol duration of a small sub-carrier spacing) can be achieved concurrently. By defining the scheduled resources in the different resource space than where the message is transmitted, benefits of both resource spaces may be achieved. For example, if the first resource space is the common resource space for defining the scheduled communication resources for multiple (e.g. lower) sub-carrier spacings, common benefits such as flexibility in scheduling various or numerous resources may be achieved.

From yet another perspective, the scheduling message itself may be transmitted by using the first resource space or another resource space, e.g. it may be irrelevant in determining the communication resources of the second resource space which resource space is used in the actual transmission of the scheduling message. The scheduling message may comprise one or more information elements that explicitly define the scheduled communication resources in the first resource space, e.g. a time-frequency resource in the first resource space, as described in greater detail below.

In an embodiment, the first sub-carrier spacing is smaller than the second sub-carrier spacing. In other words, the scheduler performs the scheduling by using the resource space having the smaller sub-carrier spacing while the communication resources where the message is transmitted have a higher sub-carrier spacing. Since the first sub-carrier spacing is smaller than the second sub-carrier spacing, a time-frequency resource unit in the communication resources of the second resource space defines a larger bandwidth and a smaller time duration than a time-frequency resource unit in the communication resources of the first resource space. The time duration may refer to symbol duration and/or duration of a time slot.

In an embodiment, the first resource space comprises one or more numerologies of Table <NUM> while the second resource space comprises one or more other numerologies of Table <NUM> such that the numerologies comprised in the first resource space and the numerologies comprised in the second resource space are mutually exclusive.

In an embodiment, the first resource space complies with R15 reference numerology of 3GPP specifications, wherein the R15 reference numerology supports numerologies up to <NUM> sub-carrier spacing (<NUM> spacing for synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel). The second resource space may then comprise one or more numerologies above <NUM> spacing, or above <NUM> spacing.

In an embodiment, the communication resources of the first resource space and the communication resources of the second resource space define (substantially) the same bandwidth and (substantially) the same time duration with respect to one another.

In an embodiment, the translation specifications specify, for each time-frequency resource in the communication resources of the first resource space, a corresponding time-frequency resource in the second resource space.

In an embodiment, the translation specifications specify how the communication resources of the second resource space form a different time-frequency pattern than the communication resources of the first resource space. The time-frequency pattern may be defined in terms of a number of frequency resource blocks and a number of time units such as (OFDM/single-carrier FDM (SC-FDM)) symbols or a group of symbols (a. as mini-slots), or time slots. The communication resources of the first resource space where the communication resource is scheduled may have a first number of scheduled frequency resource blocks and a first number of scheduled time units, while the resources of the second resource space where the message is transmitted/received may have a second number of scheduled frequency resource blocks and a second number of scheduled time units, differing from those of the first resource space.

<FIG> illustrates the difference between the resource spaces and, additionally, an embodiment of the translation specifications. <FIG> illustrates an example of the scheduled communication resources in the first resource space and the communication resources of the second resource space after the translations in blocks <NUM> and <NUM>. The communication resources are drawn substantially on the same scale to illustrate an embodiment where the communication resources of the first resource space and the communication resources of the second resource space consume the same amount of time-frequency resources. The time-frequency resources can be counted in units of physical resource blocks including a predefined number of sub-carriers per symbol duration. Another option is to count them directly as resource elements (one resource element being a sub-carrier in frequency, and an OFDM/SC-FDM symbol in time) The time-frequency patterns differ, as defined by the translation specifications.

Referring to <FIG>, the scheduled time-frequency resources consist of eight sub-carriers and two time units (symbols or time slots), resulting in <NUM> resource units. The communication resources in the second resource space have the same number of <NUM> resource units, but arranged according to a different time-frequency pattern: four sub-carriers and four time units. Accordingly, the communication resources of the first resource space comprise a lower number of time units than the communication resources of the second resource space and, additionally, the communication resources of the first resource space comprise a higher number of frequency resource units than the communication resources of the second resource space. In this example, the bandwidth and the duration of the scheduled resource may remain the same in both resource spaces but, if specified differently by the translation specifications, the communication resources of the second resource space may consume a wider bandwidth and a smaller duration (or a smaller bandwidth and longer duration) than the communication resources in the first resource space.

In <FIG>, the translation specifications specify a translation scheme where the communication resources of the first resource space are read each time unit at a time and in the order of decreasing frequency resource, and translated to the second resource space in the order of filling each frequency at a time, and in the order of increasing OFDM symbol and/or time slot index. The numbering in the resource units illustrates where each time-frequency block of the first resource space is mapped in the second resource space. Obviously, other translation schemes would be equally applicable, e.g. one that follows the same principle in reading and writing. What matter is that both the transmitter and the receiver use the same translation specifications in blocks <NUM> and <NUM> and, accordingly, have a common understanding of the resource units in the second resource space where the transmission and reception of the message is performed.

In an embodiment, the message communicated in blocks <NUM> and <NUM> comprises a first signal and a second signal, and the translation specifications apply to the first signal but not to the second signal. In other words, the first signal may be transmitted and received in the communication resources of the second resource space (with the second sub-carrier spacing), while the second signal is transmitted and received in the communication resources of the first resource space (with the first sub-carrier spacing). In other words, the translation in blocks <NUM> and <NUM> is performed for the first signal but not for the second signal.

In an embodiment, the first signal is a data signal. In an embodiment, the second signal is a control signal or a reference signal. In an embodiment, the first signal is a data signal and the second signal is a control signal. The control signal may be, for example, a signal of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). The data signal may be, for example a signal of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or a signal of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). A reference signal may be such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a sounding reference signal, or a channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

In an embodiment, the translation specifications are applied to a subset of channels. For example, the translation specifications may be applied to a data channels but not for a control channels. In another embodiment, the translation specifications are applied only to a downlink data channel but not to an uplink data channel and not to any control channels.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment illustrating the embodiments where the translation from the first resource space to the second resource space is performed for a subset of signals communicated in blocks <NUM> and <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates a set of scheduled communication resource defined in the first resource space, e.g. by using a reference numerology, and the set of scheduled communication resources as translated into the second resource space, e.g. a target numerology. Resources denoted by different pattern represent different signals allocated to said resources. As can be seen in <FIG>, the data for example is translated from the reference numerology to the target numerology, thus forming a different time-frequency pattern for the data resources in the target numerology. However, control signals such as the reference signal is maintained in the first numerology. In the embodiment of <FIG>, the timing of the control signal(s) is maintained, i.e. the transmission/reception of the reference signal and the other control signal occurs at the same time interval, as illustrated by the dotted lines between the two resource spaces.

In another embodiment, the translation specifications may specify a different timing for the control signal(s).

Time-frequency resources of some control signals may be translated into the second resource space in the same manner as the data resources.

In an embodiment, the mapping database stores different translation specifications for different operative frequency bands, and the processes of <FIG> and <FIG> may include determining the translation specifications on the basis of a frequency band used for communicating with the other network node. The different resource spaces may have been mapped to the different operating frequencies and, accordingly, different translation specifications may be associated with the different operating frequencies. For example, a certain frequency band may utilize the numerology having the scaling factor of <NUM> (see Table <NUM>) while another frequency band may utilize the numerology having the scaling factor of <NUM>. As a consequence, the translation specifications may differ. The mapping between the operating frequency band and the corresponding translation specifications may be fixed and, as a consequence, each network node may determine the same translation specifications upon selecting the operating frequency band for use in the communication therebetween. Certain frequency bands may support multiple numerologies. Each numerology option for the second numerology may be associated to specific translation specifications.

In another embodiment, the mapping database stores different translation specifications for different resource spaces used as the first resource space. For example, different numerologies employed in the scheduling may require different translation specifications. The processes of <FIG> and <FIG> may include determining the translation specifications on the basis of the first resource space used in the scheduling to define the scheduled communication resources.

In another embodiment, the mapping database stores different translation specifications for different resource spaces used as the second resource space. For example, different numerologies employed in the transmission of the message (block <NUM>/<NUM>) may require different translation specifications. The processes of <FIG> and <FIG> may include determining the translation specifications on the basis of the second resource space used in the transmission of the message in the scheduled communication resources to define the scheduled communication resources.

In other embodiments, other predefined rules may be stored in the mapping database to select one of multiple translation specifications stored in the mapping database.

In an embodiment, the apparatus performing the process of <FIG> receives the translation specifications from the network node performing the process of <FIG>. For example, the access node <NUM> may broadcast an information element indicating the translation specifications. The information element may comprise an index to the mapping database specifying different sets of translation specifications for different target resource spaces representing the second resource space in the embodiments of <FIG> and <FIG>, e.g. the target numerologies. In another embodiment, the access node <NUM> or the network node performing the process of <FIG> indicates the translation specifications in a unicast message or a multicast message, e.g. a radio resource control (RRC) message. <FIG> illustrates an embodiment where the access node indicates the translation specifications.

Referring to <FIG>, the terminal device <NUM> and the access node <NUM> may perform an RRC connection setup in block <NUM>. In block <NUM>, the access node indicates the translation specifications to the terminal device, e.g. as downlink control information (DCI) or in dedicated signalling (e.g. RRC). Upon receiving the translation specifications in step <NUM>, the terminal device may store the translation specifications in the mapping database stored in the terminal device. Thereafter, the devices may perform the steps of <FIG> and <FIG>, as illustrated in <FIG>. In this embodiment, the message is a downlink message transmitted by the access node and received by the terminal device in steps <NUM> and <NUM> in the scheduled communication resources that have been translated into the second resource space. The terminal device may then respond to the message by transmitting an acknowledgment message (ACK/NAK) in step <NUM>, thereby indicating correct/unsuccessful reception of the message. The acknowledgment message may be transmitted in the first resource space or in the second resource space, depending on the embodiment. The acknowledgment message may be considered as an example of the above-described control signal.

In an embodiment, the activation of the translation specifications may be determined on the basis of the resource space to be used in the communication between the network nodes. Some resource spaces (e.g. numerologies) may need no translation while other resource spaces may require the translation in order to meet the above-described advantages. For example, the numerologies up to the scaling factor <NUM> or <NUM> of Table <NUM> may require no translation while the numerologies from <NUM> or <NUM> upwards may require the translation. Therefore, the network nodes may determine the target resource space (e.g. the sub-carrier spacing) in which the message shall be transmitted and, on that basis, determine whether or not to enable the translation. If the translation is enabled, the network nodes may further determine the translation specifications, as described above. Different target resource spaces requiring the translation may employ different translation specifications. <FIG> illustrates an embodiment of a process for determining whether or not the translation is required, and some embodiments of parameters affected by the translation (block <NUM> of <FIG>). The process of <FIG> may be an embodiment of the process of <FIG> and/or an embodiment of the process of <FIG>. Accordingly, the process may be performed by any one or both of the network nodes.

Referring to <FIG>, the network node determines the target resource space in block <NUM>, wherein the target resource space (e.g. a target numerology) may be understood as the resource space where the message is transmitted in the scheduled communication resources (the second resource space). This may be determined separately for different signals and/or channels. The target resource space may be determined on the basis of the operating frequency of the communication between the network nodes, on the basis of resource space(s) employed in the communication between the network nodes, on the basis of a control signal received from the other network node, e.g. from the access node, or another criterion. One example of another criterion is channel conditions determined on the basis of a measured path loss, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), or a similar metric. In block <NUM>, a decision is made whether or not the target resource space triggers the use of the translation between the scheduled resources and the target resources where the message(s) is/are transmitted. Block <NUM> may comprise determining the scaling factor of the target numerology, for example. If the scaling factor or, in general, the sub-carrier spacing is above a threshold, the translation may be triggered and the process proceeds to block <NUM>. If the translation shall not be triggered, e.g. the scaling factor or the sub-carrier spacing is below the threshold, the process may proceed to block <NUM>.

In block <NUM>, default parameters are used. For example, the scheduled communication resources of the first resource space may be used as such, even though the target resource space differs from the first resource space. If it is determined that the target resource space is still close enough to the first resource space, no problems mentioned above exist and no translation is required. Default signalling structured etc. may also be applied.

In block <NUM>, the network node may select the translation specifications associated with the target resource space. The selected translation specifications may then be used as described in the embodiments above. For example, the translation specifications may be used for mapping the scheduled communication resources to the target resource space, as described above. The translation specifications may be used for other purposes as well, e.g. to determine the time-frequency resources for the control signals. As described in connection with <FIG>, time-frequency resources of some control signals may be translated to the target resource space while time-frequency resources of other control signals may be maintained in the first resource space, e.g. the (demodulation) reference signal. Accordingly, block <NUM> may comprise determining locations of (demodulation) reference signals in the target resource space on the basis of the translation specifications, upon receiving the scheduling message.

The translation specifications may also specify a delay in the second resource space. The delay may be a delay of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) procedure. The HARQ procedure may define different types of delays. One example of such a delay is a delay between a downlink scheduling grant (message scheduling a downlink communication resource) and corresponding downlink data (the communication resource scheduled by the downlink scheduling grant) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). This delay is denoted by K0 in 3GPP specifications. Another type of delay is a delay between the downlink data (the communication resource scheduled by the scheduling grant) and an uplink resource for a corresponding acknowledgment message (ACK/NAK). This delay is denoted by K1 in the 3GPP specifications. Yet another delay is a delay between reception of an uplink scheduling grant (message scheduling an uplink communication resource) and corresponding uplink data (the communication resource scheduled by the uplink scheduling grant). This delay is denoted by K2 in the 3GPP specifications. The delays may be defined in terms of time slots or symbols or time slots and symbols, for example. Other forms of the processing delay or another delay may also be affected by the target resource space and the corresponding translation specifications. The delay may be otherwise related to a (minimum) processing time required for receiving the message and processing the received message, either in uplink or downlink or in both.

As described above, the translation specifications may define a structure for a control signal in the communicated message. For example, a sufficient density of the (demodulation) reference signal may be required when the sub-carrier spacing is high and, accordingly, the translation specifications may specify additional reference signal symbols per time slot. Alternatively, or additionally, the translation specifications may specify a time-frequency resource for the reference signal in a higher number of symbols than in the first resource space, e.g. each symbol may comprise a frequency resource block for the reference signal. Without the translation, the amount of reference signal symbols may be lower. In another embodiment, the translation of the time-frequency resources of the reference signal may be performed in the same manner as for the date, i.e. changing the time-frequency pattern of the time-frequency resources of the reference signal. However, a different demodulation reference signal sequence may be selected for the second resource space than for the first resource space. A dedicated set of reference signal sequences may be provided for the resource spaces having the higher sub-carrier spacing, for example. This may allow optimization of properties of the reference signals for high sub-carrier spacings, e.g. a peak-to-average power ratio.

In yet another embodiment, a transport block size is determined on the basis of the first resource space. The access node may indicate the transport block size in the first resource space, for example, and the translation specifications or the mapping database in general may specify the translation of that transport block size to the second resource space.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment of a structure of the above-mentioned functionalities of an apparatus executing the functions of the network node executing the process of <FIG> or any one of its embodiments, e.g. the terminal device <NUM>. The terminal device may be a terminal device, a peer device, or a client device of a wireless network, e.g. an LTE or <NUM> based cellular communication network. In other embodiments, the apparatus may be a circuitry or an electronic device realizing some embodiments of the invention in the terminal device. The apparatus may be or may be comprised in a computer (PC), a laptop, a tablet computer, a cellular phone, a palm computer, a sensor device, or any other apparatus provided with radio communication capability. In another embodiment, the apparatus carrying out the above-described functionalities is comprised in such a device, e.g. the apparatus may comprise a circuitry such as a chip, a chipset, a processor, a micro controller, or a combination of such circuitries in any one of the above-described devices. The apparatus may be an electronic device comprising electronic circuitries for realizing some embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor or a processing circuitry comprising a communication circuitry <NUM> providing the apparatus with capability of communicating in the wireless network of the access node <NUM>. The communication circuitry <NUM> may employ a communication interface <NUM> providing the apparatus with radio communication capability. The communication interface <NUM> may support the signalling and data transmission/reception capabilities described above. The communication interface may support any one or more of the above-described wireless networks. It may comprise radio frequency converters and components such as an amplifier, filter, frequency-converter, (de)modulator, and encoder/decoder circuitries and one or more antennas. The communication circuitry <NUM> or the communication interface <NUM> may comprise a radio modem configured to carry out transmission and reception of messages in the wireless network.

The processing circuitry <NUM> may further comprise a RRC controller <NUM> managing the connections of the terminal device. The RRC controller <NUM> may, for example, establish and operate RRC connections established in the terminal device. The RRC controller <NUM> may also control or carry out the selection of the translation specifications according to any one of the above-described embodiments. The communication circuitry may further comprise a translator circuitry <NUM> configured to execute block <NUM>, for example. The translator circuitry may thus configured, upon being triggered by the RRC controller to read the scheduled communication resources define in the first resource space in the scheduling message, to translate the communication resources into the second resource space, and output the result of the translation to the communication interface <NUM> and/or to a message processor <NUM> such that the appropriate signals are mapped to correct time-frequency resources in the transmission and/or reception. The message processor <NUM> may be configured to process messages transmitted and received by the apparatus, e.g. the scheduling message and the message communicated in block <NUM>.

The apparatus may further comprise an application processor <NUM> executing one or more computer program applications that generate a need to transmit and/or receive data through the communication circuitry <NUM>. The application processor may form an application layer of the apparatus. The application processor may execute computer programs forming the primary function of the apparatus. For example, if the apparatus is a sensor device, the application processor may execute one or more signal processing applications processing measurement data acquired from one or more sensor heads. If the apparatus is a computer system of a vehicle, the application processor may execute a media application and/or an autonomous driving and navigation application. The application processor may generate data to be transmitted in the wireless network.

The processing circuitry may comprise at least one processor. The apparatus may further comprise a memory <NUM> storing one or more computer program products <NUM> configuring the operation of said processor(s) of the apparatus. The memory <NUM> may further store a configuration database <NUM> storing operational configurations of the apparatus. The configuration database <NUM> may, for example, store the mapping database defining the translation specifications. The memory <NUM> may further store a data buffer for data waiting for transmission.

<FIG> illustrates an apparatus comprising a communication circuitry <NUM>, such as at least one processor or processing circuitry, and at least one memory <NUM> including a computer program code (software) <NUM>, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to carry out the process of <FIG> or any one of its embodiments described above. The apparatus may be for the access node (e.g. the gNB), or controller controlling the operation of the access node, or for a terminal device operating according to the embodiment of <FIG>. The apparatus of <FIG> may be an electronic device.

Referring to <FIG>, the memory <NUM> may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The memory may comprise a configuration database <NUM> for storing configuration parameters, e.g. the mapping database storing the translation specifications. The memory <NUM> may further store a data buffer <NUM> for data waiting for transmission.

The apparatus may further comprise a communication interface <NUM> comprising hardware and/or software for realizing communication connectivity according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface <NUM> may provide the apparatus with radio communication capabilities in a wireless network. The communication interface may comprise standard well-known analog radio components such as an amplifier, filter, frequency-converter and circuitries, conversion circuitries transforming signals between analog and digital domains, and one or more antennas.

The communication circuitry <NUM> may comprise an RRC controller <NUM> configured to manage RRC connections with terminal devices connected to the network node comprising the apparatus. The RRC controller <NUM> may control the resource spaces employed in the network of the apparatus. The RRC controller may control a scheduler <NUM> to schedule communication resources in the first resource space, and control a translator circuitry <NUM> to translate the communication resources scheduled in the first resource space into the second resource space so that a message processor <NUM> and the communication interface <NUM> can map the appropriate signals to the correct time-frequency resources in the above-described manner. When no translation is required, the scheduler may indicate the scheduled resources directly to the message processor (for execution of block <NUM>) and to the communication interface (for execution of block <NUM>). When the translation is required, the scheduler <NUM> may be configured to output the scheduled resources to the translator circuitry (for execution of block <NUM>) and to the communication interface (for execution of block <NUM>).

As used in this application, the term 'circuitry' refers to one or more of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry; (b) combinations of circuits and software and/or firmware, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s) or processor cores; or (ii) portions of processor(s)/software including digital signal processor(s), software, and at least one memory that work together to cause an apparatus to perform specific functions; and (c) circuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present.

This definition of 'circuitry' applies to uses of this term in this application. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would also cover an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a processor, e.g. one core of a multi-core processor, and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term "circuitry" would also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular element, a baseband integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and/or a field-programmable grid array (FPGA) circuit for the apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

The processes or methods described in <FIG> may also be carried out in the form of one or more computer processes defined by one or more computer programs. A separate computer program may be provided in one or more apparatuses that execute functions of the processes described in connection with the Figures. The computer program(s) may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some sort of carrier, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include transitory and/or non-transitory computer media, e.g. a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and software distribution package. Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital processing unit or it may be distributed amongst a number of processing units.

Claim 1:
An apparatus for a first network node of a wireless network, comprising means for performing:
storing (<NUM>), in a memory, a mapping database defining translation specifications between a first resource space and a second resource space, wherein the first resource space is based on at least a first sub-carrier spacing and the second resource space is based on at least a second sub-carrier spacing different from the first sub-carrier spacing;
receiving (<NUM>), from a second network node of the wireless network, a scheduling message defining communication resources in the first resource space;
translating (<NUM>) the communication resources of the first resource space into communication resources of the second resource space by using the mapping database, wherein the translation specifications specify, for each time-frequency resource in the communication resources of the first resource space, a corresponding time-frequency resource in the second resource space; and
communicating (<NUM>) a message with the second network node in the communication resources of the second resource space.