Patent Description:
Device-to-device (D2D) wireless communication is a new topic in 3GPP (<NUM>rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE (Long Term Evolution) Release <NUM>. D2D communication could happen with wireless network coverage (e.g. for commercial case) or without network coverage (e.g. for public safety). <FIG> illustrates exemplary D2D communications with and without wireless network coverage. On the left side of <FIG>, UE <NUM> and UE <NUM> are within the wireless network coverage of eNB (eNode B) <NUM>, but they are communicating with each other directly (i.e. not through eNB <NUM>). On the right side of <FIG>, UE <NUM> and UE <NUM> are not within any wireless network coverage, and they are communicating with each other directly.

When UEs with D2D communication capability (D2D UEs) are with wireless network coverage, i.e., in LTE Wide Area Network (WAN), D2D UEs may operate with LTE WAN and D2D simultaneously, which means that in some radio resources/subframes, D2D UEs transmit/receive LTE WAN signals, but in other radio resources/subframes, D2D UEs transmit/receive D2D signals. Currently, from resource allocation point of view, D2D UEs can operate in one of the following two modes (refer to LTE Rel. <NUM>) for D2D communication:.

In mode <NUM>, the resources of D2D transmission are allocated or fully controlled by an eNB, but in mode <NUM>, the UE itself selects the resources for D2D transmission.

<NPL>, relates to a standard contribution for New Radio (NR) regarding D2D discovery. For UEs in RRC_IDLE, the eNB may provide a Type <NUM> transmission resource pool in SIB. When performing a state transition from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED, the UE may continue using the resources acquired in IDLE state until it receives the new D2D resource configuration from the eNB. For UEs in RRC_CONNECTED, the eNB may configure the UE to use dedicated Type 2B transmission resources via dedicated signalling. The allocated resources may remain valid until the eNB de-configures them or the UE enters IDLE.

<NPL>, relates to a standard contribution for NR regarding Radio Resource Management (RRM) requirements for D2D discovery and D2D communication. For D2D discovery, periodic uplink resources are allocated in a semi-static manner and indicated to the UE via SIB or dedicated RRC signalling. In Type <NUM> D2D discovery, the UE picks a resource from a resource configured by the eNB to transmit a discovery signal. For Type <NUM> D2D discovery, a UE-specific discovery resource is allocated by the eNodeB. For D2D communication, there is "mode <NUM>", in which resources for scheduling assignment and data transmission are allocated by the eNB, and "mode <NUM>" in which the resources are autonomously chosen by the UE from a resource pool announced by the eNB.

<NPL>, relates to a standard contribution for NR regarding D2D resource allocation modes and switching between them in view of different network scenarios, i.e., in/edge/out of coverage. In mode <NUM>, the transmission resources are controlled and signalled to the UE by the eNB. In mode <NUM>, the UE uses a partial coverage transmission pool, configured by the eNB, or an out of coverage transmission pool, which is pre-configured or predefined by specification. When out of coverage, a UE can only use (resource allocation) mode <NUM>. When in coverage, a UE may use mode <NUM> or mode <NUM> if the eNB configures it accordingly. However, when instructed to use mode <NUM>, a UE may use temporarily mode <NUM> in exceptional cases. Several options as to whether and when an RRC_CONNECTED UE may operate in mode <NUM> are considered.

The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated and make part of this disclosure.

As described in the above, a UE can perform D2D communication in mode <NUM> or mode <NUM>. In some cases, the UE may need to switch from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation. For example, the UE operating in mode <NUM> may need to carry out mode <NUM> transmission to keep continuous D2D operation in some exceptional cases in which the UE cannot operate in mode <NUM> temporarily. In other words, the switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation can be triggered by an exceptional case in which the UE cannot operate in mode <NUM> temporarily. The candidate conditions to trigger such exceptional mode <NUM> transmission can for example be that.

When a UE switches from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation, what resource the UE would use and how the UE determines the resource for mode <NUM> operation become an import issue, especially in an exceptional case. In a first embodiment of the present disclosure, it is provided that the UE continues D2D transmission by using a resource from a transmission resource pool allocated for mode <NUM> operation when switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation. In the embodiment, the eNB will not allocate special mode <NUM> resources for the switching, for example, will not allocate exceptional mode <NUM> resources; rather the UE uses a resource from a normal mode <NUM> transmission resource pool, i.e., transmission resource pool allocated for mode <NUM> operation.

In particular, the first embodiment which is not a part of the claimed invention provides a D2D wireless communication method <NUM> performed by a UE as shown in <FIG> which illustrates a flowchart of the D2D wireless communication method <NUM> according to the first embodiment which is not a part of the claimed invention of the present disclosure.

The method <NUM> comprises a step <NUM> of continuing D2D transmission by using a resource from a transmission resource pool allocated for mode <NUM> operation when switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation.

In the first embodiment which is not a part of the claimed invention, the transmission resource pool allocated for mode <NUM> operation, i.e. a normal mode <NUM> transmission resource pool which is not specific to the mode switching, is used to continue D2D communication when the UE switches from mode <NUM> to mode <NUM>. Since no special resource is allocated for the switching and the normal mode <NUM> transmission resource pool is reused, the embodiment of the present disclosure saves sources, and potentially saves the signaling overhead for allocating the special switching resource.

In an example of the first embodiment which is not a part of the claimed invention, the transmission resource pool can be indicated in a physical device-to-device shared channel (PD2DSCH) transmitted by one or more other UE(s). PD2DSCH is a D2D channel which was agreed in 3GPP RAN1 (refer to LTE Rel. <NUM>) and used for in-coverage UEs to forward some synchronization/timing and resource pool/power control parameters to OOC UEs. The intention is to protect LTE WAN traffic and in-coverage mode1/<NUM> transmissions. In the present disclosure, the UE switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation can also receive PD2DSCH transmitted from one or more other UE(s) though it may be within the wireless network coverage, in order to get knowledge of the transmission resource pool for mode <NUM> operation. <FIG> illustrates a schematic diagram of the UE switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation to receive PD2DSCH from another UE. In <FIG>, UE <NUM> is the UE switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM>, and UE <NUM> is the UE which forwards PD2DSCH. It can be seen that UE <NUM> is within the PD2DSCH coverage of UE <NUM>, and thus UE <NUM> can receive PD2DSCH transmitted from UE <NUM>. Specifically, if the PD2DSCH is transmitted by multiple UEs, soft combining can be used to receive the PD2DSCH. According to this example, the transmission resource pool for normal mode <NUM> operation can be indicated to the UE switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation without additional signaling overhead.

In other examples, the transmission resource pool can also be indicated by a dedicated RRC signaling transmitted by an eNB, a SIB transmitted by an eNB, or pre-configuration. In particular, sometimes, the UE switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation may be able to obtain more than one resource pool indications. In this case, according to an example, the dedicated RRC signaling, the SIB, the PD2DSCH and the pre-configuration are in descending order in priority when determining the transmission resource pool. In other words, the priority of the dedicated RRC signaling is higher than the SIB, the priority of the SIB is higher than the PD2DSCH, and the priority of the PD2DSCH is higher than the pre-configuration. In conclusion, in this example, the transmission resource pool can be indicated by a dedicated RRC signaling transmitted by an eNB, a SIB transmitted by an eNB, a PD2DSCH transmitted by other UE(s), and/or pre-configuration, and the dedicated RRC signaling, the SIB, the PD2DSCH and the pre-configuration are in descending order in priority when determining the transmission resource pool. <FIG> illustrates a schematic diagram in which the UE <NUM> switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation receives resource pool indications from both the PD2DSCH and the SIB. In this case, the UE <NUM> will select the resource pool indicated in the SIB since the priority of the SIB is higher than the PD2DSCH. Accordingly, at the receiving side, any receiving UE can receive D2D signals in a union of indicated or pre-configured D2D receiving resource pool(s), wherein the indicated D2D receiving resource pool(s) can be a receiving resource pool indicated by the RRC signaling transmitted by an eNB, a receiving resource pool indicated by the SIB transmitted by an eNB, and/or a receiving resource pool indicated by the PD2DSCH transmitted by other UE(s). Herein, the D2D receiving resource pool refers to a resource pool for receiving D2D signals. It is noted that if only one receiving resource pool is indicated or pre-configured, the union of it is the one receiving resource pool itself.

In the first embodiment which is not a part of the claimed invention, an UE for D2D wireless communication is also provided. <FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a UE <NUM> according to the first embodiment which is not a part of the claimed invention of the present disclosure. UE <NUM> comprises an operation switching unit <NUM>. The operation switching unit <NUM> can be configured to continue D2D transmission by using a resource from a transmission resource pool allocated for mode <NUM> operation when switching from mode <NUM> operation to mode <NUM> operation.

The UE <NUM> according to the present disclosure may optionally include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) <NUM> for executing related programs to process various data and control operations of respective units in the UE <NUM>, a ROM (Read Only Memory) <NUM> for storing various programs required for performing various process and control by the CPU <NUM>, a RAM (Random Access Memory) <NUM> for storing intermediate data temporarily produced in the procedure of process and control by the CPU <NUM>, and/or a storage unit <NUM> for storing various programs, data and so on. The above operation switching unit <NUM>, CPU <NUM>, ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM> and/or storage unit <NUM> etc. may be interconnected via data and/or command bus <NUM> and transfer signals between one another.

Respective units as described above do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. According to one implementation of the disclosure, the functions of the above operation switching unit <NUM> may be implemented by hardware, and the above CPU <NUM>, ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM> and/or storage unit <NUM> may not be necessary. Alternatively, the functions of the above operation switching unit <NUM> may also be implemented by functional software in combination with the above CPU <NUM>, ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM> and/or storage unit <NUM> etc..

In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the priority rule on mode <NUM> resource selection mentioned in the first embodiment can be extended to any mode <NUM> operation, and it is not limited to the switching from mode <NUM> to mode <NUM>, especially, not limited to the exceptional case mentioned in the first embodiment.

In particular, the second embodiment provides a D2D wireless communication method <NUM> performed by a UE as shown in <FIG> which illustrates a flowchart of the D2D wireless communication method <NUM> according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The method <NUM> comprises a step <NUM> of performing D2D transmission by using a resource from a transmission resource pool allocated for mode <NUM> operation. In the second embodiment, the transmission resource pool is indicated by a dedicated RRC signaling transmitted by an eNode B (eNB), a system information block (SIB) transmitted by an eNB, a physical device-to-device shared channel (PD2DSCH) transmitted by other UE(s), and/or pre-configuration, and the dedicated RRC signaling, the SIB, the PD2DSCH and the pre-configuration are in descending order in priority when determining the transmission resource pool. It is noted that related descriptions in the first embodiment can also be applied to the second embodiment, which are not described repeatedly here.

In particular, for mode <NUM> UEs with RRC_CONNECTED status, the following priority rule can be applied: Dedicated RRC signaling indicated > SIB indicated > PD2DSCH indicated > Preconfigured. For mode <NUM> UEs with RRC_IDLE status, the following priority rule can be applied: SIB indicated > PD2DSCH indicated > Preconfigured. For OOC UEs which are close to a LTE WAN cell and can receive PD2DSCH information, the following priority rule can be applied: PD2DSCH indicated > Preconfigured.

In the second embodiment, an UE for D2D wireless communication is also provided. <FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a UE <NUM> according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. UE <NUM> comprises a communication unit <NUM>. The communication unit <NUM> can be configured to perform D2D transmission by using a resource from a transmission resource pool allocated for mode <NUM> operation, wherein the transmission resource pool is indicated by a dedicated RRC signaling transmitted by an eNode B (eNB), a system information block (SIB) transmitted by an eNB, a physical device-to-device shared channel (PD2DSCH) transmitted by other UE(s), and/or pre-configuration, and the dedicated RRC signaling, the SIB, the PD2DSCH and the pre-configuration are in descending order in priority when determining the transmission resource pool.

The UE <NUM> according to the present disclosure may optionally include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) <NUM> for executing related programs to process various data and control operations of respective units in the UE <NUM>, a ROM (Read Only Memory) <NUM> for storing various programs required for performing various process and control by the CPU <NUM>, a RAM (Random Access Memory) <NUM> for storing intermediate data temporarily produced in the procedure of process and control by the CPU <NUM>, and/or a storage unit <NUM> for storing various programs, data and so on. The above communication unit <NUM>, CPU <NUM>, ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM> and/or storage unit <NUM> etc. may be interconnected via data and/or command bus <NUM> and transfer signals between one another.

Respective units as described above do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. According to one implementation of the disclosure, the functions of the above communication unit <NUM> may be implemented by hardware, and the above CPU <NUM>, ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM> and/or storage unit <NUM> may not be necessary. Alternatively, the functions of the above communication unit <NUM> may also be implemented by functional software in combination with the above CPU <NUM>, ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM> and/or storage unit <NUM> etc..

Accordingly, at the receiving side, there are provided a device-to-device (D2D) wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE) and a corresponding UE. The communication method comprises receiving D2D signals in a union of indicated or pre-configured D2D receiving resource pool(s). The UE comprises a communication unit configured to receive D2D signals in a union of indicated or pre-configured D2D receiving resource pool(s). Here, the indicated D2D receiving resource pool(s) are a receiving resource pool indicated by a dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling transmitted by an eNode B (eNB), a receiving resource pool indicated by a system information block (SIB) transmitted by an eNB, and/or a receiving resource pool indicated by a physical device-to-device shared channel (PD2DSCH) transmitted by other UE(s). It is noted that the above descriptions concerning the communication method <NUM> and the UE <NUM> can also be applied here unless the context indicates otherwise.

Claim 1:
A communication apparatus comprising:
a receiver configured to receive information of a first resource pool of two or more resource pools being indicated by a dedicated Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling from an eNode B and a second resource pool of the two or more resource pools being indicated by a System Information Block, SIB, transmitted from the eNode B; and
a transmitter (<NUM>) configured to transmit (<NUM>) a device to device, D2D, signal using one of the two or more resource pools;
characterized in that
the receiver is configured to receive information of a third resource pool of the two or more resource pools being indicated by a physical device-to device shared channel, PD2DSCH, transmitted by user equipment(s), UE(s),
a fourth resource pool of the two or more resource pools is a pre-configured resource pool, and wherein,
when determining the one of the two or more resource pools:
• if the communication apparatus is in an RRC_CONNECTED state, the first resource pool, the second resource pool, the third resource pool, and the fourth resource pool are in descending order in priority, and
• if the communication apparatus is in an RRC_IDLE state , the second resource pool, the third resource pool, and the fourth resource pool are in descending order in priority; and
wherein the communication apparatus is in mode <NUM>, the mode <NUM> being a transmission mode in which the communication apparatus autonomously schedules resources for D2D communication.