Patent Description:
Patent application <CIT> relates to relay-terminal selection performed by a remote terminal in a wireless communication system. The document describes a remote terminal that assigns ranking to candidate relay terminals which meet certain criteria and selecting, from among the selected candidate relay terminals, the highest-ranking candidate relay terminal based on a sidelink RSRP measured value between each candidate relay terminal and the remote terminal.

A channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, an/or a channel quality indicator (CQI) parameter, among other examples.

The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor <NUM>) and memory <NUM> to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein.

The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor <NUM>) and memory <NUM> to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein.

Controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform one or more techniques associated with sidelink resource sharing, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or other processes as described herein. Memories <NUM> and <NUM> may store data and program codes for base station <NUM> and UE <NUM>, respectively. In some aspects, memory <NUM> and/or memory <NUM> may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of the base station <NUM> and/or the UE <NUM>, may cause the one or more processors, the UE <NUM>, and/or the base station <NUM> to perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or other processes as described herein. In some aspects, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions.

In some aspects covered by the claims, UE <NUM> includes means for receiving, from a plurality of provider UEs, resource information associated with the plurality of provider UEs; means for selecting, based at least in part on a ranked order and the resource information, one or more resources associated with one or more selected UEs, of the plurality of provider UEs, wherein the ranked order is based at least in part on measurement information, determined by the recipient UE, associated with the plurality of provider UEs; means for performing a sidelink communication using the one or more resources; means for selecting the one or more selected UEs based at least in part on the ranked order; means for determining an average value for a provider UE, of the plurality of provider UEs, using the measurement information, wherein the ranked order and selection of the one or more selected UEs are based at least in part on the average value; means for determining the ranked order based at least in part on the measurement information; and/or the like. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE <NUM> described in connection with <FIG>, such as controller/processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, MOD <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, and/or the like.

Wireless communications systems may include or provide support for various types of communications systems, such as vehicle related communications systems (e.g., vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications systems). Vehicle related communications systems may be used by vehicles to increase safety and to help prevent collisions of vehicles. Information regarding inclement weather, nearby accidents, road conditions, and/or other information may be conveyed to a driver via the vehicle related communications system. In some cases, vehicles may communicate directly with each other using sidelink communications (e.g., device-to-device (D2D) communications over a D2D wireless link).

To improve the reliability of sidelink transmissions, UEs may inter-coordinate to share resource information. That is, a first UE (referred to herein as a provider UE) may identify communications resources by sensing surroundings of the first UE. The communications resources identified by the first UE may be identified by resource information, such as a resource map. These communications resources may also be referred to as sensing information. The first UE may transmit the resource information (e.g., identified communications resources) to a second UE, referred to herein as a recipient UE. The recipient UE may consider the resource information when selecting resources for a sidelink transmission.

However, the resource information from one provider UE may be more useful to the recipient UE than the resource information from another provider UE. For example, if a provider UE is in a substantially different environment than the recipient UE (for example, due to distance between the provider UE and the recipient UE, different blockers or surroundings associated with the provider UE and the recipient UE, and/or the like), then resource information provided by the provider UE may be sub-optimal or even detrimental to performance of the recipient UE. Irrelevant or non-useful resource information may be particularly problematic for a recipient UE that does not perform its own sensing operations, such as a low-power UE, a battery-limited UE, a UE associated with a heavy duty cycle, and/or the like.

Some techniques and apparatuses described herein provide selection of resources based at least in part on a measurement associated with a provider UE from which corresponding resource information was received. For example, a recipient UE may determine measurements (e.g., RSRP measurements and/or the like) for provider UEs from which resource information is received. The recipient UE may select a selected provider UE (e.g., a top provider UE) or a selected set of provider UEs (e.g., a top set of provider UEs) based at least in part on the measurements. For example, the recipient UE may select a top set of provider UEs associated with strongest RSRP measurements. The recipient UE may select one or more resources from resource information associated with the top set of provider UEs. Thus, the recipient UE may identify resources associated with a provider UE that is located close to the UE, which improves likelihood that the resource information of the selected provider UE is accurate and/or useful for the recipient UE. Thus, communication performance of the recipient UE is improved, thereby conserving computing resources of the recipient UE that would otherwise be used in association with an inaccurate or irrelevant resource map.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example <NUM> of sidelink resource sharing, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown, <FIG> includes a recipient UE <NUM> and a set of provider UEs <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM>. Recipient UE <NUM> may be a UE <NUM>. In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> may be a low-power UE, an IoT UE, a reduced capability UE, and/or the like. In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> may perform the operations described in connection with <FIG> based at least in part on recipient UE <NUM> being a low-power UE, an IoT UE, a reduced capability UE, and/or the like. In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> may perform the operations described in connection with <FIG> based at least in part on recipient UE <NUM> being configured or determining not to perform a sensing operation to determine a resource map.

Provider UE <NUM> may be a UE <NUM>. As shown, different provider UEs <NUM> may be different distances from recipient UE <NUM>. For example, provider UE <NUM>-<NUM> is closer than provider UE <NUM>-<NUM> or provider UE <NUM>-<NUM>. Recipient UE <NUM> and provider UEs <NUM> may be part of a sidelink resource sharing system, meaning that recipient UE <NUM> and provider UEs <NUM> may share resources for sidelink transmissions between recipient UE <NUM> and provider UEs <NUM> and/or to or from other devices.

As shown in <FIG>, provider UEs <NUM>-<NUM> through <NUM>-<NUM> may provide control information to recipient UE <NUM>. As further shown, the control information may include resource information determined by the corresponding provider UE <NUM>. For example, each provider UE <NUM>, of the plurality of provider UEs <NUM> shown in <FIG>, may determine respective resource information. The resource information may include a resource map, sensing information, and/or the like. For example, the resource information may identify available resources for sidelink communication by the corresponding provider UE <NUM>. The control information may include, for example, a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), sidelink control information (SCI), and/or the like. In some aspects, the control information may be provided on a sidelink interface between the UEs <NUM>/<NUM>, such as a ProSe Sidelink (PC5) interface and/or the like.

As shown by reference number <NUM>, recipient UE <NUM> may determine measurements (e.g., measurement values such as RSRPs) of the provider UEs based at least in part on receiving the resource information. For example, recipient UE <NUM> may determine the measurements based at least in part on the control information. Here, the measurements include RSRP values, though the measurements may be any form of measurement that can be determined by recipient UE <NUM>. As shown, the control information received from provider UE <NUM>-<NUM> is associated with a strongest RSRP value (e.g., -<NUM> decibel-milliwatts (dBm)), followed by the control information from provider UE <NUM>-<NUM> then the control information from provider UE <NUM>-<NUM>.

In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> determines a measurement over time. For example, recipient UE <NUM> may store measurement information pertaining to a provider UE <NUM>. In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> may determine a combined measurement value for provider UE <NUM>, such as an average measurement over a time window (e.g., a time-averaged value), a highest measurement in a time window, a lowest measurement in a time window, a median measurement in a time window, a deviation or variance of a measurement in a time window, and/or the like. Recipient UE <NUM> may use such an combined measurement value to determine the ranked order and/or grouping of provider UEs <NUM>. By determining an aggregated measurement, fadings may be averaged out, and link-budget data for the RSRP may be determined, which may be useful for network configuration and scheduling purposes.

As shown by reference number <NUM>, recipient UE <NUM> may determine a ranked order of provider UEs <NUM> based at least in part on the measurements (e.g., the RSRPs). For example, recipient UE <NUM> may assign provider UE <NUM>-<NUM> a highest rank, provider UE <NUM>-<NUM> an intermediate rank, and provider UE <NUM>-<NUM> a lowest rank, in accordance with the respective RSRP values of the provider UEs <NUM>. In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> may divide the plurality of provider UEs <NUM> into two or more sets based at least in part on the measurements, such as a first set that satisfies a threshold (indicating that resource information for the first set is usable by recipient UE <NUM>) and a second set that fails to satisfy the threshold (indicating that resource information for the second set is not usable by recipient UE <NUM>).

As shown by reference number <NUM>, recipient UE <NUM> may select one or more UEs in accordance with the ranked order. For example, recipient UE <NUM> may select a highest-ranked provider UE <NUM>, a highest-ranked N provider UEs <NUM> (where N is an integer greater than or equal to <NUM>), all provider UEs <NUM> of the first set described above, and/or the like. Recipient UE <NUM> may use resource information associated with the one or more selected UEs to select a resource for a sidelink communication. For example, the one or more selected UEs may be closer to recipient UE <NUM> or associated with a more direct channel to recipient UE <NUM> than lower-ranked UEs <NUM>, thus meaning that resource information associated with the one or more selected UEs is likely to be more accurate and/or useful for recipient UE <NUM> than resource information associated with lower-ranked UEs <NUM>.

As shown by reference number <NUM>, recipient UE <NUM> may select one or more resources from resource information of the one or more selected UEs. For example, recipient UE <NUM> may select a resource for a sidelink communication. In some aspects, the sidelink communication may be between recipient UE <NUM> and the UE from which resource information identifying the selected resource was received. In some aspects, the sidelink communication may be between recipient UE <NUM> and another device (e.g., another UE, a road-side unit, a base station, and/or the like). In some aspects, the sidelink communication may be a broadcast communication of recipient UE <NUM>. As shown by reference number <NUM>, recipient UE <NUM> may perform the sidelink communication using the one or more selected resources.

In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> may select a resource based at least in part on combined resource information. For example, recipient UE <NUM> may combine resource information of two or more provider UEs <NUM> (e.g., a highest-ranked two or more provider UEs <NUM>, two or more provider UEs <NUM> of the first set, and/or the like). In some aspects, recipient UE <NUM> may combine resource information based at least in part on the resource information of a pair of providers UE <NUM> being coherently combinable. As used herein, "coherently combinable" may refer to resource information that uses a same format, a same ordering or numbering system, and/or the like, such that the resource information can be combined using a union operation, an additive operation, and/or the like. Thus, recipient UE <NUM> may use combined resource information to select a resource, which may provide more accurate and complete resource information regarding a channel surrounding recipient UE <NUM>, thereby improving accuracy of resource selection.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process <NUM> performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process <NUM> is an example where a recipient UE (e.g., UE <NUM>, recipient UE <NUM>, and/or the like) performs operations associated with sidelink resource sharing.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include receiving, from a plurality of provider UEs, resource information associated with the plurality of provider UEs (block <NUM>). For example, the recipient UE (e.g., using antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, and/or the like) may receive, from a plurality of provider UEs (e.g., UE <NUM>, provider UE <NUM>, and/or the like) resource information associated with the plurality of provider UEs, as described above. In some aspects, the techniques described herein can be applied for resource information received from a single provider UE (e.g., the recipient UE may determine whether a measurement associated with the single provider UE satisfies a threshold, and may selectively use the single provider UE's resource information, or determine not to use the single provider UE's resource information, accordingly).

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include selecting, based at least in part on a ranked order and the resource information, one or more resources associated with one or more selected UEs, of the plurality of provider UEs, wherein the ranked order is based at least in part on measurement information, determined by the recipient UE, associated with the plurality of provider UEs (block <NUM>). For example, the recipient UE (e.g., using controller/processor <NUM> and/or the like) may select, based at least in part on a ranked order and the resource information, one or more resources associated with one or more selected UEs of the plurality of provider UEs, as described above. In some aspects, the ranked order is based at least in part on measurement information, determined by the recipient UE, associated with the plurality of provider UEs.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include performing a sidelink communication using the one or more resources (block <NUM>). For example, the recipient UE (e.g., using controller/processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, MOD <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, and/or the like) may perform a sidelink communication using the one or more resources, as described above.

In a first aspect, the resource information includes respective resource maps associated with the plurality of provider UEs, and selecting the one or more resources further comprises selecting the one or more resources from one or more resource maps, of the respective resource maps, associated with the one or more selected UEs.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, process <NUM> includes selecting the one or more selected UEs based at least in part on the ranked order.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the one or more selected UEs include a highest-ranked UE according to the ranked order.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the one or more selected UEs include a highest-ranked set of UEs according to the ranked order.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the one or more resources are selected from a coherent combination of resource information associated with the highest-ranked set of UEs.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the measurement information identifies respective reference signal received power (RSRP) values of the plurality of provider UEs.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, process <NUM> includes determining an average value for a provider UE, of the plurality of provider UEs, using the measurement information, wherein the ranked order and selection of the one or more is selecting UEs are based at least in part on the average value.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the one or more selected UEs are selected based at least in part on the measurement information associated with the one or more selected UEs satisfying a threshold.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process <NUM> includes determining the ranked order based at least in part on the measurement information.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, process <NUM> includes determining the measurement information.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the resource information is received in a control signal.

<FIG> is a data flow diagram <NUM> illustrating the data flow between different components in an example apparatus <NUM>, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus <NUM> may be a UE (e.g., UE <NUM>, UE <NUM>). In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> includes a reception component <NUM>, a selection component <NUM>, a performance component <NUM>, a determination component <NUM>, and/or a transmission component <NUM>.

The reception component <NUM> may receive, from a plurality of provider UEs <NUM> (e.g., UE <NUM> or UE <NUM>), resource information associated with the plurality of provider UEs. The determination component <NUM> may determine measurement information based at least in part on the resource information (e.g., based at least in part on control information used to provide the resource information). In some aspects, the determination component <NUM> may determine a ranked order based at least in part on the measurement information. In some aspects, the determination component <NUM> may determine an average value for a provider UE, of the plurality of provider UEs <NUM>, using the measurement information, wherein the ranked order and selection of the one or more selected UEs are based at least in part on the average value. The selection component <NUM> may select, based at least in part on a ranked order and the resource information, one or more resources associated with one or more selected UEs, of the plurality of provider UEs <NUM>, wherein the ranked order is based at least in part on measurement information, determined by the apparatus <NUM>, associated with the plurality of provider UEs <NUM>. The performance component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM> may performing a sidelink communication using the one or more resources.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or the like. Each block in the aforementioned process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or the like may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a recipient user equipment, UE, of a sidelink resource sharing system, comprising:
receiving, from a plurality of provider UEs, resource information associated with the plurality of provider UEs (<NUM>);
selecting, based at least in part on a ranked order and the resource information, one or more resources associated with one or more selected UEs, of the plurality of provider UEs, wherein the ranked order is based at least in part on measurement information, determined by the recipient UE, associated with the plurality of provider UEs (<NUM>); and
performing a sidelink communication using the one or more resources (<NUM>).