Patent Description:
The study of LTE-based V2X services is carried out in 3GPP (the <NUM>rd Generation Partnership Project) to explore the opportunity to realize the "connected cars" for the vehicle industry based on the widely deployed LTE networks. The LTE-based V2X communication includes V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) communication, V2P (vehicle-to-pedestrian) communication and V2I/N (vehicle-to-infrastructure/network) communication. V2P communication is expected to improve road safety for pedestrians. However, currently there is not a power efficient and effective solution for use in V2P communication. <NPL> discloses SA and Data Resource Selection for D2D Communication Mode <NUM>.

Generally, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for managing resources in a communication system.

Through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other features, advantages and aspects of example embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent. In the drawings, identical or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements, in which:.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings in more detail. Though some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be appreciated that the present disclosure can be implemented in various manners and should not be interpreted as being limited to the implementations described herein. Conversely, these embodiments are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are only for example purpose, rather than limiting the protection scope of the present disclosure.

The term "network equipment" used herein refers to a base station or other entities or nodes having a specific function in a communication network. "Base station (BS)" may represent a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio-frequency head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, or a low power node such as a femto base station, a pico base station and the like. In the context of the present disclosure, for ease of discussion, the terms "network equipment" and "base station" may be used interchangeably, and the eNB may be used as an example network equipment.

The term "terminal equipment" or "user equipment (UE)" used therein refers to any terminal device that can perform wireless communication with base stations or with each other. For example, the terminal equipment may include a mobile terminal (MT), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station (PSS), a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT) and the above devices mounted on vehicles. In the context of the present disclosure, for ease of discussion, the terms "terminal equipment" and "user equipment" may be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the term "includes" and its variants are to be read as open-ended terms that mean "includes, but is not limited to. " The term "based on" is to be read as "based at least in part on. " The term "one embodiment" is to be read as "at least one embodiment," and the term "another embodiment" is to be read as "at least one another embodiment. " Relevant definition for other terms will be given in the following depiction.

As to V2P/P2V (pedestrian-to-vehicle) communication performed with PC5 air interface, although V2P/P2V communication is expected to improve road safety for pedestrians, the user equipment of a pedestrian usually has power consumption limitation and coexistence of V2V and V2P/P2V communication causes mutual interference. Currently, as to V2P/P2V communication, there is a solution in which both vehicle UEs and pedestrian UEs perform sensing-based resource selection for data transmission. However, this solution is not power efficient for pedestrian UEs. There is another solution in which vehicle UEs perform sensing-based resource selection for V2V data transmission, and pedestrian UEs perform random resource selection for P2V data transmission. However, in this solution, the performance of P2V communication is degraded due to coexistence of V2V and P2V communication unless the resource pools for V2V and P2V are disjoint.

To solve these and other potential problems, the present disclosure provides a communication method. According to this method, the user equipment (hereinafter referred to as "first device") may randomly select a resource for data transmission, and transmit data using the resource. Meanwhile, the first device may compare the number of times of the resource being used for data transmission with a predetermined threshold, to determine whether to continue to transmit data using the resource or randomly re-select a new resource. In addition, the first device may further send, to the vehicle equipment (hereinafter referred to as "second device"), an indication that the first device will continue to use the resource for transmitting further data. Correspondingly, the second device may receive, from the first device, the indication that the first device will continue to use the resource for transmitting further data. Then, the second device may select, based on the indication, a resource for data transmission of the second device.

In this way, the first device may combine random resource selection and semi-persistent communication to randomly select the resource for data transmission upon performing resource selection, and use the same resource to transmit data for a plurality of times upon data transmission. In addition, since the second device receives, from the first device, the indication that the first device will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data, the second device may, upon executing resource selection, take into account the resource allocation information of the first device to avoid using the resource occupied by the first device as much as possible. Hence, mutual interference of communication of the first device and second device can be reduced, and power consumption of the first device can be saved, thereby improving system performance.

<FIG> illustrates a schematic diagram <NUM> of a process <NUM> of a first device <NUM> transmitting data in association with a second device <NUM> according to the present disclosure. The first device <NUM> may be user equipment of a pedestrian, and the second device <NUM> may be vehicle equipment. The first and second devices <NUM> and <NUM> may for example be a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a reader, an audio player, a camera or the like, and the types of the first and second devices <NUM> and <NUM> do not constitute limitation to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, at the first device <NUM>, a resource for data transmission may be randomly selected (<NUM>). The first device <NUM> may use the selected resource to transmit (<NUM>) data. The first device <NUM> may use the selected resource to transmit (<NUM>) data to the second device <NUM>. The first device <NUM> may use the selected resource to transmit (<NUM>) data to other devices. In addition, the first device <NUM> may further send (<NUM>), to the second device <NUM>, an indication that the first device will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data. The first device <NUM> may simultaneously transmit (<NUM>) the data and send (<NUM>) the indication. The first device <NUM> may transmit (<NUM>) the data after sending (<NUM>) the indication. The sequence of transmitting (<NUM>) the data and sending (<NUM>) the indication does not constitute limitation to the present disclosure.

At the second device <NUM>, the indication that the first device will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data may be received from the first device. The second device <NUM> may select (<NUM>), based on the indication, a resource for data transmission of the second device <NUM>. For example, the second device <NUM> may use the resource used by the first device <NUM> as indicated as input information of resource selection algorithm of the second device <NUM>.

As stated above, in this example, the first device may perform random resource selection to save power consumption of the first device. The second device may avoid using the resource occupied by the first device as much as possible upon performing resource selection. Hence, mutual interference of communication of the first device and second device can be reduced, and power consumption of the first device can be saved, thereby improving system performance.

Principles and specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail respectively from perspective of the first device <NUM> and second device <NUM> with reference to <FIG>. First, referring to <FIG> illustrates a flowchart of a communication process or method <NUM> implemented at the first device <NUM> according to the present disclosure.

As shown, at <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may randomly select a resource for data transmission from a resource pool. For example, the first device <NUM> may randomly select a subframe for data transmission from the resource pool, and then randomly select a frequency resource in the subframe for data transmission. Since the first device <NUM> performs random resource selection instead of performing sensing-based resource selection, a data reception function of the first device <NUM> can be disabled to save power. In this case, for example only communication from the first device <NUM> to the second device <NUM> in P2V communication is enabled.

At <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may use the selected resource to transmit data. The frame structure that the first device <NUM> uses the selected resource to transmit the data will be described with reference to <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, usually, a data transmission period (for example, <NUM>) of the first device <NUM> may be larger than a data transmission period (for example, <NUM>) of the second device <NUM>. Hereinafter, the data transmission period of the first device <NUM> may be referred to as a first device period <NUM>, and the data transmission period of the second device <NUM> may be referred to as a second device period <NUM>. The first device period <NUM> may be a multiple of the second device period <NUM>. The first device <NUM> may select transmission subframes (for example, subframes in the first <NUM>) to meet for example <NUM> latency requirement. In some embodiments, the first device <NUM> may remain closed or silent in the remaining duration (for example, a duration in the first device period <NUM> corresponding to the second device periods <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-N) in the first device period <NUM> to save the power consumption of the first device.

At <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may transmit, to the second device <NUM>, an indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data, for example, an indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the resource at the same position in the first device period <NUM> for transmitting further data. In some embodiments, the first device <NUM> may send the indication in a control channel.

An example of the process <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG> illustrates a flowchart of a communication process or method <NUM> implemented at the first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown, at <NUM>, as stated at <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may randomly select the resource for data transmission from a resource pool. At <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may compare the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission with a predetermined threshold. In some embodiments, the first device <NUM> may set a counter to count the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission, and compare the counter value with the predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be randomly selected or predetermined. For example, an initial value of the counter may be set as <NUM>, and the predetermined threshold may be set as <NUM>.

If the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission is below the predetermined threshold, at <NUM>, as stated at <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may use the selected resource to transmit data. For example, if the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission as indicated by the counter value is below <NUM>, for example, the counter value is <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may continue to use the resource at the same position in the first device period <NUM> to transmit data. After the first device period <NUM>, the counter value may increment by <NUM> to count the data transmission. The way that the counter value changes is not limited to increment, but may also be decrement or any other suitable ways. The way that the counter value changes does not constitute limitation to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

If the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission exceeds the predetermined threshold, the flow returns to <NUM>, at which the first device <NUM> randomly re-selects a new resource for data transmission. For example, if the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission as indicated by the counter value exceeds <NUM>, for example, the counter value is <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may randomly re-select a resource in the first device period <NUM> for data transmission, and the counter value may be reset.

At <NUM>, the first device <NUM>, according to the present invention, further compares the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission with the predetermined threshold. If the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission is smaller than the predetermined threshold, at <NUM>, as stated at <NUM>, the first device <NUM> sends, to the second device <NUM>, an indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data. For example, if the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission as indicated by the counter value is smaller than <NUM>, for example, the counter value is <NUM>, the first device <NUM> may send, to the second device <NUM>, an indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the resource at the same position in the first device period <NUM> for transmitting further data.

If the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission is not smaller than the predetermined threshold, the first device <NUM> does not send, to the second device <NUM>, the indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data. For example, if the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission as indicated by the counter value is not smaller than <NUM>, for example, the counter value is <NUM>, the first device <NUM> does not send, to the second device <NUM>, the indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the resource at the same position in the first device period <NUM> for transmitting further data.

It may be appreciated that the order of the actions in the process <NUM> does not constitute limitation to the embodiments of the present disclosure. In some unclaimed embodiments, actions <NUM> and <NUM> may be performed simultaneously. In particular, the data may be transmitted and the indication may be sent in the same message. In other unclaimed embodiments, action <NUM> may be performed after action <NUM>.

In this way, the first device <NUM> may, upon performing resource selection, randomly select the resource for data transmission, thereby saving the power consumption of the first device. In addition, the first device <NUM> may, upon data transmission, use the same resource to transmit data for a plurality of times, thereby improving the overall system performance.

The communication process implemented at the first device <NUM> is described above with reference to <FIG>. Next, a corresponding communication process <NUM> implemented at the second device <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the second device <NUM> may receive, from the first device <NUM> transmitting data using a randomly selected resource, the indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data. Then, at <NUM>, the second device <NUM> may select, based on the indication, a resource for data transmission of the second device <NUM>. For example, the second device <NUM> may receive, from the first device <NUM>, the indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the resource at the same position in the first device period <NUM> for transmitting further data. The second device <NUM> may select, based on the indication, a resource for data transmission of the second device <NUM> in the second device period <NUM>-<NUM>.

In this way, since the second device receives, from the first device, the indication that the first device will continue to use the same resource for transmitting further data, the second device may, upon performing resource selection, take into account the resource allocation information of the first device to avoid using the resource occupied by the first device as much as possible. Hence, mutual interference of communication of the first device and second device can be reduced, thereby improving system performance.

It should be appreciated that the operations and relevant features performed by the first device <NUM> described above with reference to <FIG> also apply to the second device <NUM>, and the operations and relevant features performed by the second device <NUM> described above with reference to <FIG> also apply to the first device <NUM>, and have the same effects. Details are omitted here.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> for implementing a communication process <NUM> implemented at the first device <NUM> according to an unclaimed embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the apparatus <NUM> may include a first selection unit <NUM>, a transmission unit <NUM> and an indication unit <NUM>. In some unclaimed embodiments, the apparatus <NUM> may further include an optional determination unit <NUM>.

The first selection unit <NUM> may be configured to randomly select a resource for data transmission. The determination unit <NUM> may be configured to compare the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission with a predetermined threshold. In some embodiments, the first selection unit <NUM> may be configured to, in response to the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission exceeding the predetermined threshold, randomly re-select a new resource for data transmission.

The transmission unit <NUM> may be configured to use the selected resource to transmit data. In some embodiments, the transmission unit <NUM> may be configured to, in response to the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission being below the predetermined threshold, use the selected resource to transmit data.

The indication unit <NUM> may be configured to send, to the second device <NUM>, an indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the selected resource for transmitting further data. In some unclaimed embodiments, the indication unit <NUM> may be configured to, in response to the number of times of the selected resource being used for data transmission being smaller than the predetermined threshold, send the indication to the second device <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> for implementing a communication process <NUM> implemented at the second device <NUM> according to an unclaimed embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the apparatus <NUM> may include a reception unit <NUM> and a second selection unit <NUM>.

The reception unit <NUM> may be configured to receive, from the first device <NUM>, the indication that the first device <NUM> will continue to use the selected resource for transmitting further data. The second selection unit <NUM> may be configured to select, based on the indication received by the reception unit <NUM>, a resource for data transmission of the second device <NUM>.

It should be appreciated that each unit in the apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> respectively corresponds to each action in the process <NUM> to <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>. Hence, the operations and features described above with reference to <FIG> also apply to the apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> and units included therein, and have the same effects. Details are omitted here.

The units included in the apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be implemented in various ways, including software, hardware, firmware and any combination thereof. In an unclaimed embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and/or firmware, for example, machine-executable instructions stored in a storage medium. In addition to the machine-executable instructions or as an alternative, all or part of the units in the apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be at least partially implemented by one or more hardware logic components. By way of an example, and not limitation, the example types of hardware logic components that can be used comprise programmable field gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), application specific standard product (ASSP), system on chip (SOC), complex programmable logic device (CPLD) and so on.

These units shown in <FIG> may be partially or totally implemented as hardware modules, software modules, firmware modules and any combinations thereof. In particular, in some unclaimed embodiments, the flows, methods or processes described above may be implemented by hardware in the user equipment or the vehicle equipment. For example, the user equipment or the vehicle equipment may use its transmitter, receiver, transceiver and/or processor or controller to implement the method <NUM> and the method <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an electronic device <NUM> suitable for implementing an unclaimed embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device <NUM> may be used to implement the user equipment, for example, the first device <NUM> shown in <FIG>; and/or used to implement the vehicle equipment, for example, the second device <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

As shown, the electronic device <NUM> comprises a controller <NUM>. The controller <NUM> controls operations and functions of the electronic device <NUM>. For example, in some unclaimed embodiments, the controller <NUM> may perform various operations via instructions <NUM> stored in a memory <NUM> coupled thereto. The memory <NUM> may be of any type suitable for local technical environment, and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including but not limited to a storage device based on a semiconductor, a magnetic storage device and system, and an optical storage device and system. Although <FIG> only shows one memory unit, the electronic device <NUM> may include a plurality of physically different memory units.

The controller <NUM> may be of any type suitable for local technical environment, and may include but not limited to one or more of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP) and a controller-based multi-core controller architecture. The electronic device <NUM> may also include a plurality of controllers <NUM>. The controller <NUM> is coupled to a transceiver <NUM>, and the transceiver <NUM> may implement reception and transmission of information via one or more antennas <NUM> and/or other components.

When the electronic device <NUM> serves as the first device <NUM>, the controller <NUM> and the transceiver <NUM> may operate in cooperation to implement the process <NUM> and/or <NUM> described with reference to <FIG> and/or <FIG>. When the electronic device <NUM> serves as the second device <NUM>, the controller <NUM> and transceiver <NUM> may operate in cooperation to implement the process <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>. For example, in some embodiments, all actions involving reception and transmission of data/information described above may be performed by the transceiver <NUM>, and other actions may be performed by the controller <NUM>. All features described above with reference to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> apply to the electronic device <NUM>. Details are omitted here.

Generally, various example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or application-specific circuit, software, logic, or in any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while the other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, a microprocessor or other computing device. When various aspects of the present invention are illustrated or described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or other graphical representations, it would be appreciated that the block diagrams, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented, as non-restrictive examples, in hardware, software, firmware, application-specific circuit or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or some combinations thereof.

For example, the present disclosure can be described in a context of machine-executable instructions which are included, for instance, in the program module executed in the device on a target real or virtual processer. Generally, a program module includes routine, program, library, object, class, component, data structure, and the like, and performs a particular task or implements a particular abstract data structure. In the embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or divided among the described program modules. The machine-executable instructions for the program module can be executed in a local or distributed device. In the distributed device, the program module can be located both in the local and remote storage mediums.

The computer program code for implementing the method of the present disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes may be provided to a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer or a processor of other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when the program codes are executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram are caused to be implemented. The program code may be executed completely on a computer, partially on a computer, as an independent software packet, partially on a computer and partially on a remote computer, or completely on a remote computer or server.

Claim 1:
A communication method (<NUM>), comprising: randomly selecting (<NUM>), at a first device (<NUM>), a resource for data transmission from a resource pool; transmitting (<NUM>) data using the resource; and sending (<NUM>), to a second device (<NUM>), an indication that the first device (<NUM>) will continue to use the resource for transmitting further data; and comparing the number of times of the resource being used for data transmission with a predetermined threshold
, further comprising: in response to the number of times exceeding the predetermined threshold, randomly re-selecting a new resource for data transmission
, wherein transmitting (<NUM>) the data using the resource comprises: in response to the number of times being below the predetermined threshold, transmitting the data using the resource.