Patent ID: 12261794

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying figures to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. As would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described or illustrated herein. Additionally, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be re-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present invention. Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order, and the invention is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar components may be designated by the same or similar reference numerals although they are illustrated in different drawings. Detailed descriptions of constructions or processes well-known in the art may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present invention. Further, the terms are defined in consideration of their functionality in embodiment of the present invention, and may vary according to the intention of a user or an operator, usage, etc. Therefore, the definition should be made on the basis of the overall content of the present specification.

FIG.1Aillustrates an exemplary wireless communication heterogeneous network100, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In a wireless communication system, a network-side communication node can be a node B, an E-utran Node B (also known as Evolved Node B, eNodeB or eNB), a gNodeB in new radio (NR) technology, a pico station, a femto station, or the like, which is referred to as “IAB donor102-0” hereinafter in all the embodiments in this disclosure. A sub-cell side communication node can be a node B, an E-utran Node B (also known as Evolved Node B, eNodeB or eNB), a gNodeB in new radio (NR) technology, a pico station, a femto station, or the like, which is referred to as “IAB node102-1,102-2, . . . ” hereinafter in all the embodiments in this disclosure. A terminal-side communication node can be a long range communication system like a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet, laptop computer, or a short range communication system such as, for example a wearable device, a vehicle with a vehicular communication system and the like, which is referred to as “UE104” hereinafter in all the embodiments in this disclosure.

Such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and/or wired communications, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. It is noted that all the embodiments are merely preferred examples, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is understood that the system may include any desired combination of UE's104, IAB nodes102-1/102-2, and IAB donors102-0, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring toFIG.1A, the wireless communication heterogeneous network100includes an IAB donor102-0A, two first-level IAB nodes102-1A/102-1B, a second-level IAB node102-2A, and two UE's104a/104b, (collectively referred to as UE's104herein). The BS102and the UE's104are contained within a geographic boundary of cell101. Although it is shown in theFIG.1A, a first first-level IAB node102-1A directly communicates with the second-level IAB node102-2A and a second first-level IAB node102-1B directly communicates with the UE104b. Both of the first level IAB nodes102-1A/102-1B directly communicate with the IAB donor102-0A, it should be noted that any other network configurations are within the scope of this invention. For example, the IAB donor102-0A, the first first-level IAB node102-1A, the second first-level IAB node102-1B, the second-level IAB node102-2A can support direct communication with UEs in the corresponding small cells.

A wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-1A to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-0A is known as an backhaul link transmission105a, and a wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-0A to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-1A is known as an access link transmission103A. Similarly, a wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-1B to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-0A is known as an backhaul link transmission105b, and a wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-0A to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-1B is known as an access link transmission103b. A wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-2A to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-1A is known as an backhaul link transmission105C, and a wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-1A to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-1B is known as an access link transmission103A. A wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the UE104A to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-2A is known as an uplink transmission105D, and a wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-2A to a receiving antenna of the UE104A is known as a downlink transmission103D. A wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the UE104B to a receiving antenna of the IAB node102-1B is known as an uplink transmission105E, and a wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB node102-1B to a receiving antenna of the UE104B is known as a downlink transmission103E. In the illustrated embodiment, a wireless transmission between the antennas of UE104A and UE104B is known as sidelink transmission106.

The UE104B has a direct communication channel with the first-level IAB node102-1B operating at a first frequency resource f1 (e.g., carrier or bandwidth part) for downlink communication103E and a second frequency resource f2 for uplink communication105E. Similarly, the UE104A also has a direct communication channel with the second-level IAB node102-2A operating at a third frequency resource f3 for downlink communication103D and a fourth frequency resource f4 for uplink communication105D. In some embodiments, the second frequency resource f2 and the fourth frequency resource f4 are different from the first frequency resource f1 and the third frequency resource D. In some embodiments, the second frequency resource f2 and the fourth frequency resource f4 are different from each other. Therefore, the second frequency resource f2 and the fourth frequency resource f4 have different transmission characteristics, such as for example path loss, coverage, maximum transmission power, etc. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the first frequency resource f1, the second frequency resource f2, the third frequency resource f3 and the fourth frequency resource f4 can be also different. Although only 2 UE's104A/104B are shown inFIG.1A, it should be noted that any number of UE's104can be included in the cell101and are within the scope of this invention.

In some embodiments, the coverage of uplink communication105E is larger than that of the uplink communication105D, as indicated by dotted circles112and110, respectively. The IAB nodes102-1B and102-2A are located within the region of the coverage areas110and112in order for the IAB nodes to perform uplink communication with the UE104aand UE104bin the cell101.

The direct communication channels105D/105E (uplink transmission) and103D/103E (downlink transmission) between the UE104B/104A and the corresponding IAB nodes102-1B/102-2A can be through interfaces such as an Uu interface, which is also known as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) air interface. The direct communication channels105A/105B/105C (backhaul link transmission) and103A/103B/103C (access link transmission) between the IAB node (i.e.,102-2A and102-1A) and between the IAB nodes102-1A/102-1B and IAB donor102-0A can be through interfaces such as Un interface. The direct communication channels (i.e., sidelink transmission)106between the UE's can be through a PC5 interface, which is introduced to address high moving speed and high density applications such as Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications. The BS102is connected to a core network (CN)108through an external interface107, e.g., an Iu interface.

The UE's104aand104bobtains its synchronization timing from the corresponding IAB nodes102-2A and102-1B, which obtains its own synchronization timing further through the IAB donor102-0A and further from the core network108through an internet time service, such as a public time NTP (Network Time Protocol) server or a RNC (Radio Frequency Simulation System Network Controller) server. This is known as network-based synchronization. Alternatively, the IAB donor102-0A can also obtain synchronization timing from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (not shown) through a satellite signal106, especially for a large IAB donor in a large cell which has a direct line of sight to the sky, which is known as satellite-based synchronization.

FIG.1Billustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system150, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The system150may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one exemplary embodiment, system150can be used to transmit and receive data symbols in a wireless communication environment such as the wireless communication network100ofFIG.1A, as described above.

System150generally includes 1 IAB donor102-0A, 1 first-level IAB node102-1A, and 1 second-level IAB node102-2A. The IAB donor102-0A includes an IAB donor transceiver module152, an IAB donor antenna array154, an IAB donor memory module156, an IAB donor processor module158, and a Network interface160, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a data communication bus157. The first-level IAB node102-1A includes an IAB node 1 transceiver module162, an IAB node 1 antenna164, an IAB node 1 memory module166, an IAB node 1 processor module168, and an input/output (I/O) interface169, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a date communication bus167. The second-level IAB node102-2A includes an IAB node 2 transceiver module172, an IAB node 2 antenna174, an IAB node 1 memory module176, an IAB node 1 processor module178, and an input/output (I/O) interface179, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a date communication bus177. The IAB donor102-0A communicates with the IAB node102-1A via a communication channel192, which can be any wireless channel or other medium known in the art suitable for transmission of data as described herein. The first-level IAB node102-1A communicates with the second-level IAB node102-2A via communication channel194, which can be any wireless channel or other medium known in the art suitable for transmission of data as described herein.

As would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, system150may further include any number of blocks, modules, circuits, etc. other than those shown inFIG.1B. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the concepts described herein may implement such functionality in a suitable manner for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention.

A wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the IAB donor102-0A to a receiving antenna of the first-level IAB102-1A is known as an access link transmission, and a wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the first-level IAB node102-1A to a receiving antenna of the IAB donor102-0A is known as a backhaul link transmission. In accordance with some embodiments, a IAB donor transceiver162may be referred to herein as an “backhaul link” transceiver162that includes a RF transmitter and receiver circuitry that are each coupled to the IAB node 1 antenna164. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in time duplex fashion. Similarly, in accordance with some embodiments, the IAB donor transceiver152may be referred to herein as a “downlink” transceiver152that includes RF transmitter and receiver circuitry that are each coupled to the IAB donor antenna array154. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna array154in time duplex fashion. The operations of the two transceivers152and162are coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver is coupled to the uplink IAB node 1 antenna164for reception of transmissions over the wireless communication channel192at the same time that the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna array154. Preferably, there is close synchronization timing with only a minimal guard time between changes in duplex direction. The IAB node 1 transceiver162communicates through the IAB node 1 antenna164with the IAB donor102-0A via the wireless communication channel192or with the second-level IAB node102-2A via the wireless communication channel194. The wireless communication channel194can be any wireless channel or other medium known in the art suitable for wireless transmission of data as described herein.

The IAB node 1 transceiver162and the IAB donor transceiver152are configured to communicate via the wireless data communication channel192, and cooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna arrangement154/164that can support a particular wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some embodiments, the IAB donor transceiver152is configured to transmit muting resource configuration parameters to the IAB node 1 transceiver162. In some embodiments, the IAB node 1 transceiver162is configured to receive the muting resource configuration parameters from the IAB donor transceiver152and/or receive the SSBs from neighboring IAB nodes so as to detect neighboring IAB nodes. In some exemplary embodiments, the IAB node 1 transceiver162and the IAB donor transceiver152are configured to support industry standards such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards, and the like. It is understood, however, that the invention is not necessarily limited in application to a particular standard and associated protocols. Rather, the IAB node 1 transceiver162and the IAB donor transceiver152may be configured to support alternate, or additional, wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

The IAB donor processor modules158, and IAB node processor modules168/178are implemented, or realized, with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, a processor may be realized as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

Then, the IAB node 1 processor module168detects the PHR triggering message on the IAB node 1 transceiver module162, the IAB node processor module168is further configured to determine at least one muting resource based on at least one predefined criteria and the received at least one muting resource configuration from the IAB donor102-0A, wherein the at least one predefined algorithm is selected based on other parameters calculated or messages received which will be further discussed in detail below. The IAB node 1 processor module168is further configured to instruct the IAB node 1 transceiver module162to receive a SSB from and to transmit its scheduled SSBs to neighboring IAB nodes at a determined muting configuration.

Furthermore, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in firmware, in a software module executed by corresponding processor modules158/168/178, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. The memory modules156/166/176may be realized as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, the memory modules156and166may be coupled to the processor modules158and168, respectively, such that the processors modules158and168can read information from, and write information to, memory modules156/166/176, respectively. The memory modules156/166/176may also be integrated into their respective processor modules158/168/178. In some embodiments, the memory modules156/166/176may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules158/168/178, respectively. Memory modules156/166/176may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules158/168/178, respectively.

The network interface160generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and/or other components of the IAB donor102-0A that enable bi-directional communication between the IAB donor transceiver152and other network components and communication nodes configured to communication with the IAB donor102-0A. For example, network interface160may be configured to support internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, without limitation, network interface160provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface such that IAB donor transceiver152can communicate with a conventional Ethernet based computer network. In this manner, the network interface160may include a physical interface for connection to the computer network (e.g., Mobile Switching Center (MSC)). The terms “configured for” or “configured to” as used herein with respect to a specified operation or function refers to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function. The network interface160could allow the IAB donor102-0A to communicate with other IAB donors, IAB nodes, or core network over a wired or wireless connection.

Referring again toFIG.1A, as mentioned above, the IAB donor102-0A repeatedly broadcasts system information associated with the IAB donor102-0A directly to one or more UE's104and/or to one or more first-level IAB nodes so as to allow the UE104to access the network through IAB nodes/donor within the cell101where the IAB donor102-0A is located, and in general, to operate properly within the cell101. Plural information such as, for example, downlink and uplink cell bandwidths, downlink and uplink configuration, configuration for random access, etc., can be included in the system information, which will be discussed in further detail below. Typically, the IAB donor102-0A broadcasts a first signal carrying some major system information, for example, configuration of the cell101through a PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel). For purposes of clarity of illustration, such a broadcasted first signal is herein referred to as “first broadcast signal.” It is noted that the BS102may subsequently broadcast one or more signals carrying some other system information through respective channels (e.g., a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)), which are herein referred to as “second broadcast signal,” “third broadcast signal,” and so on.

Referring again toFIG.1B, in some embodiments, the major system information carried by the first broadcast signal may be transmitted by the IAB donor102-0A to the first-level IAB node102-1A in a symbol format via the communication channel192. In some embodiments, the major system information may comprise muting resource configuration parameters. In some embodiments, the muting resource configuration parameters can be also transmitted by the first broadcast signal by a first-level IAB node (102-1A) to a second-level IAB node (102-2A). In accordance with some embodiments, an original form of the major system information may be presented as one or more sequences of digital bits and the one or more sequences of digital bits may be processed through plural steps (e.g., coding, scrambling, modulation, mapping steps, etc.), all of which can be processed by the IAB donor processor module158, to become the first broadcast signal. Similarly, when the IAB node102-1A receives the first broadcast signal (in the symbol format) using the IAB node 1 transceiver162, in accordance with some embodiments, the IAB node 1 processor module168may perform plural steps (de-mapping, demodulation, decoding steps, etc.) to estimate the major system information such as, for example, bit locations, bit numbers, etc., of the bits of the major system information. The IAB node 1 processor module168is also coupled to the I/O interface169, which provides the IAB node102-1A with the ability to connect to other devices such as computers. The I/O interface169is the communication path between these accessories and the IAB node 1 processor module168.

FIG.2illustrates a schematic of a radio frame structure200with a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs)202, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. A SSB is used to carry resource information in the time-frequency domain for access-related signals including synchronization signal, physical broadcast channel (PBCH), corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of SSBs can be grouped together to form a SSB burst set204. The plurality of SSBs202in a SSB burst set204each carriers synchronization signals for a specific beam/port or a specific set of beams/ports206. A complete beam-sweeping can be performed with in a SSB burst set204, i.e., transmitting all the beams/ports in a SSB burst set. A SSB can also comprise PBCH and corresponding DMRS, other control channel, data channel, etc. In some embodiments, a plurality of SSBs can be grouped together into a SS burst set. Such structure is used for transmitting synchronization signals, and sweeping resources on the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The plurality of SSBs of the SS burst set each carries a synchronization single of specific beams and/or ports. Beams/ports are transmitted after performing a beam sweeping on a SS burst set. In some embodiments, a SSB also comprises PBCH, corresponding DMRS and other control channel, data channel, etc. In some embodiments, when a plurality of SSBs are mapped to a same subframe or time slot, offsets of different SSBs relative to the edge of the subframe or the time slot are different. UE's located at different position in a cell can detect synchronization signal in a SSB. Time index of the SSBs which the UE104is synchronized to is required so as to achieve subframe timing and slot timing.

FIG.3illustrates a schematic of a SSB structure300, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the SSB is used to carry signals and channels for initial accessing, for example, synchronization signals, physical broadcast channel and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. In some embodiments, a SSB comprises 4 OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) symbols, i.e., a first OFDM symbol302a, a second OFDM symbol302b, a third OFDM symbol302c, and a fourth OFDM symbol302d. In some embodiments, on the first and third OFDM symbols302a/302c, a primary synchronization signal (PSS)304and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)306are carried, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, the PBCH308a/308bcan be transmitted on the second and fourth OFDM symbols302b/302d, respectively. In some embodiment, the PSS/SSS304/306occupies 12 physical resource blocks (PRB's)310and the PBCH occupies 24 PRB's312in the frequency domain.

FIG.4illustrates a schematic of a SSB structure410, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the SS/PHCH block is used to carry signals and channels for initial accessing, for example, synchronization signals, physical broadcast channel and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. In some embodiments, a SS/PBCH block comprises 4 OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) symbols, i.e., a first OFDM symbol402a, a second OFDM symbol402b, a third OFDM symbol402c, and a fourth OFDM symbol402d. In some embodiments, on the first and third OFDM symbols402a/402c, a primary synchronization signal (PSS)404and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)406are carried, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, the PBCH408a/408bcan be transmitted on the second and fourth OFDM symbols402b/402d, respectively, and the PBCH408cis transmitted on the third OFDM symbol. In some embodiment, the PSS/SSS404/406occupies 12 physical resource blocks (PRB's)410and the PBCH408a/408bon the second and fourth OFDM symbols402b/402doccupies 20 PRB's412in the frequency domain. The PBCH408con the third OFDM symbol402coccupies 8 PRB's. Specifically, the PBCH408coccupies 4 PRB's on each side of the SSS406on the third OFDM symbol402c.

FIG.5illustrates a schematic of a SSB mapping pattern500in a resource block, in accordance with some embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, a resource block (RB)504occupies a time slot502, which form 1 resource block504with 12 subcarriers512in the frequency domain. The time slot502in a subcarrier512comprises 14 OFDM symbols510. In the illustrated embodiment, the subcarrier512has a frequency of 15 kHz. There are 2 SSBs514/515in the time slot502, and each of the 2 SSBs514/515occupies 4 OFDM symbols. Specifically, the first SSB514occupies symbols 2, 3, 4, and 5; and the second SSB515occupies symbols 8, 9, 10, and 11. The first SSB514and second SSB515may occupy 12 subcarriers512in a PRB504. It should be noted that although the SSBs illustrated occupies 1 PRB504, this is not intended to be limiting. Any numbers of PRB's in the frequency domain that are occupied by a SSB are within the scope of this present disclosure.

FIG.6illustrates a schematic of a SSB mapping pattern600in a resource block, in accordance with some embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, a resource block (RB)504occupies two time slots, a first time slot502aand a second time slot502b. The RB504comprises 12 subcarriers512in the frequency domain. Each of the two time slots502aand502bin a subcarrier512comprises 14 OFDM symbols510. In the illustrated embodiment, the subcarrier512has a frequency of 30 kHz. There are 2 SSBs514/515in the time slot502, and each of the two SSBs514/515occupies 4 SC-OFDM symbols. Specifically, the first SSB514aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 4, 5, 6, and 7; and the second SSB515aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 8, 9, 10, and 11. The first SSB514bof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 2, 3, 4, and 5; and the second SSB515bof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 6, 7, 8, and 9. The first SSBs514a/514band second SSBs515a/515bof the first and the second time slots502a/502bfurther occupy 12 subcarriers512in a PRB504. It should be noted that although the SSBs illustrated occupies 1 PRB504, this is not intended to be limiting. Any numbers of PRB's in the frequency domain that are occupied by a SSB are within the scope of this present disclosure.

FIG.7illustrates a schematic of a SSB mapping pattern700in a resource block, in accordance with some embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, a resource block (RB)504occupies two time slots, a first time slot502aand a second time slot502b. The RB504comprises 12 subcarriers512in the frequency domain. Each of the two time slots502aand502bin a subcarrier512comprises 14 OFDM symbols510. In the illustrated embodiment, the subcarrier512has a frequency of 30 kHz. There are 2 SSB514/515in the time slot502, and each of the two SSBs514/515occupies 4 SC-OFDM symbols. Specifically, the first SSB514aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 2, 3, 4, and 5; and the second SSB515aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 8, 9, 10, and 11. The first SSB514bof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 2, 3, 4, and 5; and the second SSB515bof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 8, 9, 10, and 11. The first SSBs514a/514band second SSBs515a/515bof the first and the second time slots502a/502bfurther occupy 12 subcarriers512in a PRB504. It should be noted that although the SSB illustrated occupies 1 PRB504, this is not intended to be limiting. In some other embodiments, the SSBs514a,514b,514cand514doccupy a plurality of PRB's504. In some embodiments, the SSBs occupy 20 PRB's504. Any numbers of PRB's in the frequency domain that are occupied by the SSB system are within the scope of this present disclosure.

FIG.8illustrates a schematic of a SSB mapping pattern800in a resource block, in accordance with some embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, a resource block (RB)504occupies two time slots, a first time slot502aand a second time slot502b. The RB504comprises 12 subcarriers512in the frequency domain. Each of the two time slots502aand502bin a subcarrier512comprises 14 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols510. In the illustrated embodiment, the subcarrier512has a frequency of 120 kHz. There are 2 SSBs514/515in the time slot502, and each of the two SSBs514/515occupies 4 SC-OFDM symbols. Specifically, the first SSB514aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 4, 5, 6, and 7; and the second SSB515aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 8, 9, 10, and 11. The first SSB514bof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 2, 3, 4, and 5; and the second SSB515bof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 6, 7, 8, and 9. The first SSBs514a/514band second SSBs515a/515bof the first and the second time slots502a/502bfurther occupy 12 subcarriers512in a PRB504. It should be noted that although the SSBs illustrated occupies 1 PRB504, this is not intended to be limiting. In some other embodiments, the SSBs514a,514b,514cand514doccupy a plurality of PRB's504. In some embodiments, the SSBs occupy 20 PRB's504. Any numbers of PRB's in the frequency domain that are occupied by the SSBs are within the scope of this present disclosure.

FIG.9illustrates a schematic of a SSB mapping pattern900in a resource block, in accordance with some embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, a resource block (RB)504occupies two time slots, a first time slot502aand a second time slot502b. The RB504comprises 12 subcarriers512in the frequency domain. Each of the two time slots502aand502bin a subcarrier512comprises 28 OFDM symbols510. In the illustrated embodiment, the subcarrier512has a frequency of 240 kHz. There are 4 SSBs514/515in the time slot502, and each of the 4 SSBs514/515occupies 4 SC-OFDM symbols. Specifically, the first SSB514aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 8, 9, 10, and 11; the second SSB515aof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 12, 13, 14 and 15; the third SSB514bof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 16, 17, 18, and 19; and the fourth SSB515bof the first time slot502aoccupies symbols 20, 21, 22, and 23. The first SSB514cof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 4, 5, 6, and 7; the second SSB515cof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 8, 9, 10, and 11; the third SSB514dof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 12, 13, 14, and 15; and the fourth SSB515dof the second time slot502boccupies symbols 16, 17, 18, and 19. The four SSBs514a/515a/514b/515bof the first time slot502aand the four SSBs514c/515c/514d/515dof the first time slot502bfurther occupy 12 subcarriers512in a PRB504. It should be noted that although the eight SSBs illustrated occupies 1 PRB504, this is not intended to be limiting. In some other embodiments, the SSBs514a/515a,514b/515b,514c/515c, and514d/515doccupy a plurality of PRB's504. In some embodiments, the SSBs occupy 20 PRB's504. Any numbers of PRB's in the frequency domain that are occupied by the SSBs are within the scope of this present disclosure.

FIG.10A-10Fillustrates schematics of radio frame structures1000with a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSB)202in a half radio frame of 5 milliseconds (ms), in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. A maximum number of SSBs is 4 when the frequency is less than or equal to 3 gigaHertz (GHz), the maximum number of SSBs is 8 when the frequency is in a range between 3 and 6 GHz, and the maximum number of SSBs is 64 when the frequency is in greater or equal to 6 GHz.

FIG.10Aillustrates a schematic of a half radio frame structure1000with 2 time slots502in a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz for SSB transmission in a half radio frame504of 5 ms, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 15 kHz and the maximum number of SSBs is 4. One time slot in the half radio frame of 5 ms can carry 2 SSBs and comprise 14 symbols. Since there are two SSBs in a time slot502and each of the two time slots occupies 1 ms, a maximum number of 2 time slots and 4 SSBs are required in a half-frame of 5 ms. In the illustrated embodiment, first two times slots502-1/502-2each comprises 2 SSBs. It should be noted that the time slot with SSBs can occupy any 2 times slots in the half-frame of 5 ms and each SSB can occupy any 4 continuous symbols in the time slot, as discussed above inFIGS.3-7.

FIG.10Billustrates a schematic of a half radio frame structure1000with 4 time slots502in a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz for SSB transmission in a half radio frame504of 5 ms, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 15 kHz and the maximum number of SSBs is 8. One time slot in the half radio frame of 5 ms can carry 2 SSBs and comprise 14 symbols. Since there are two SSBs in a time slot502and each of the two time slots occupies 1 ms, a maximum number of 4 time slots and 8 SSBs are required in a half-frame504of 5 ms. In the illustrated embodiment, first four times slots502-1/502-2/502-3/502-4each comprises 2 SSBs. It should be noted that the time slot with SSBs can occupy any 4 times slots in the half-frame504of 5 ms and each SSB can occupy any 4 continuous symbols in the time slot, as discussed above inFIGS.3-7.

FIG.10Cillustrates a schematic of a half radio frame structure1000with 2 time slots502in a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz for SSB transmission in a half radio frame504of 5 ms, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 30 kHz and the maximum number of SSBs is 4. One time slot in the half radio frame of 5 ms can carry 2 SSBs and comprise 14 symbols. Since there are two SSBs in a time slot502and each of the 2 time slots occupies 0.5 ms, a maximum number of 2 time slots and 4 SSBs are required in a half-frame504of 5 ms. In the illustrated embodiment, first 2 times slots502-1/502-2each comprises 2 SSBs. It should be noted that the time slot with SSBs can occupy any 2 times slots in the half-frame504of 5 ms and each SSB can occupy any 4 continuous symbols in the time slot, as discussed above inFIGS.3-7.

FIG.10Dillustrates a schematic of a half radio frame structure1000with 4 time slots502in a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz for SSB transmission in a half radio frame504of 5 ms, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 30 kHz and the maximum number of SSBs is 8. One time slot in the half radio frame of 5 ms can carry 2 SSBs and comprise 14 symbols. Since there are 2 SSBs in a time slot502and each of the 4 time slots occupies 0.5 ms, a maximum number of 4 time slots and 8 SSBs are required in a half-frame504of 5 ms. In the illustrated embodiment, first four time slots502-1/502-2/502-3/502-4each comprises 2 SSBs. It should be noted that the time slot502with SSBs can occupy any 4 times slots in the half-frame504of 5 ms and each SSB can occupy any 4 continuous symbols in the time slot, as discussed above inFIGS.3-5and8.

FIG.10Eillustrates a schematic of a radio frame structure1000with 32 time slots502in a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz for SSB transmission in a half radio frame504of 5 ms, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 120 kHz and the maximum number of SSBs is 64. One time slot in the half radio frame of 5 ms can carry 2 SSBs and comprise 14 symbols. Since there are 2 SSBs in a time slot502and each of the 64 time slots occupies 0.5 ms, a maximum number of 4 time slots and 8 SSBs are required in a half-frame504of 5 ms. In the illustrated embodiment, 32 time slots502in a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz each comprises 2 SSBs. It should be noted that the time slot502with SSBs can occupy any 4 times slots in the half-frame504of 5 ms and each SSB can occupy any 4 continuous symbols in the time slot, as discussed above inFIGS.3-5and8.

FIG.10Fillustrates a schematic of a half radio frame structure1000with 16 time slots502in a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz for SSB transmission in a half radio frame504of 5 ms, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 120 kHz and the maximum number of SSBs is 64. One time slot in a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz in the half radio frame of 5 ms can carry 4 SSBs and comprise 28 symbols in a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. Since there are 4 SSBs in a time slot502with a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz and each of the 16 time slots occupies 0.125 ms, a maximum number of 16 time slots and 64 SSBs are required in a half-frame504of 5 ms. It should be noted that the time slot502with SSBs can occupy any 4 times slots in the half-frame504and each SSB can occupy any 4 continuous symbols in the time slot, as discussed above inFIGS.3-5and8. The time slot in a specific SCS comprises 14 consecutive OFDM symbols in the specific SCS.

In some embodiments, exemplary configurations of time slots in a half radio frame inFIGS.10A-10F, illustrate all available time slots which can be potentially used for an IAB node102to transmit SSBs, i.e., for potential transmission of SSBs. It should be noted that the IAB node102can select any one or more time slots from these available ones in a half radio frame that can be actually used for the IAB node102to transmit SSBs, i.e., for actual transmission of SSBs. In some embodiments, time slots for actual transmission of SSBs is a subset of time slots for potential transmission of SSBs.

FIG.11illustrates a schematic of a radio frame structure1100, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the SSB transmission periodicity has the same length as a time window 20 ms and a SSB burst set1106-1A for SSB transmission occupies a first half radio frame1102with a periodicity1104of 20 ms for actual transmission of SSBs. In some embodiments, a SSB transmission periodicity of 20 ms is used for detecting and receiving a SSB on a UE104for carriers that support initial access. The SSB burst set1106-A has a length1105of 2 ms and occupies a first 2 ms in the half radio frame1102which has a length of 5 ms. The SSB burst set1106-A comprises a plurality of SSBs514/515. Three other SSB burst sets1106-B,1106-C, and1106-D in the periodicity1104are for potential transmission of SSBs. The radio frame structure1100occupies a system bandwidth and bandwidth part (BWP)1108. In some embodiments, a BWP is a part of system bandwidth that can be used as the frequency range for data scheduling. It should be noted that the half radio frame1102can occupy any one of the 4 half radio frames in the periodicity1104for actual transmission of SSBs and the SSB burst set1106can occupy any symbols in the half radio frame1102as discussed inFIGS.6-9and are within the scope of this disclosure.

In some embodiments, a SSB transmission periodicity can be one of the following: 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 ms. In some embodiments, when the SSB transmission periodicity is 10 ms, two SSB burst sets1106in the half radio frame1102at odd (i.e.,1102-A and1102-C) or even positions (1102-B and1102-D) can be used for the actual transmission of SSBs. In some embodiments, when the SSB transmission periodicity is 5 ms, all the four SSB burst sets1106(i.e.,1106-A,1106-B,1106-C, and1106-D) in the corresponding half radio frames1102(i.e.,1102-A,1102-B,1102-C, and1102-D) are used for the actual transmission of SSBs.

FIG.12illustrates a schematic of a half radio frame structure1200, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiments, a SSB transmission periodicity is 20 ms and occupies a first times lot1102. Further, a SSB burst set1106comprises 5 time slots502, i.e.,502A,502B,502C,502D and502E. Each of the time slots502occupies 1 BWP1108and 14 OFDM symbols510. A first 4 times lots each comprises 2 SSBs514/515and each SSB occupies 4 OFDM symbols and a frequency range1202, in which the frequency range1202is smaller than the BWP1108. In the illustrated embodiment, the two SSBs514/515occupies the same OFDM symbols in the first four time slots502. It should be noted thatFIG.1200is an example and any configurations of the SSBs in the time slot and the SSB burst set in the half radio frame, as well as a different SSB transmission periodicity can be used and are within the scope of this disclosure.

In some embodiments, when a SSB burst set1106in a SSB transmission period is required to be muted so that a corresponding IAB node102can detect SSBs transmitted from other IAB nodes102, resources occupied by all the eight SSBs514/515in a first half radio frame1102can be configured as muting resources in the SSB transmission period. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the muting resources are SSBs514A and515A of the first time slot502A,514B and515B of the second time slot502B,514C and515C of the third time slot502C, and514D and515D of the fourth time slot502D, occupying 32 OFDM symbols510and a frequency range1202of 20 PRB's.

In some embodiments, when a SSB burst set1106in a SSB transmission period is required to be muted so that a corresponding IAB node102, can detect SSBs transmitted from adjacent IAB nodes102, resources for the actual transmission of SSBs in a half radio frame1102can be configured as muting resource in the SSB transmission period. Although there are eight total SSB blocks one SSB transmission period, 3 SSBs are not selected by the IAB node102for actual transmission of SSBs and these SSBs are not used as muting resources. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the muting resources are SSBs514A of the first time slot502A,514B of the second time slot502B,514C of the third time slot502C, and514D and515D of the fourth time slot502D, occupying 20 OFDM symbols510and a frequency range1202of 20 PRBs.

FIG.13illustrates a schematic of a half radio frame structure1300in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiments, a SSB transmission periodicity1104is 20 ms and occupies a first half radio frame1102. Further, a SSB burst set1106comprises 5 time slots502, i.e.,502A,502B,502C,502D and502E. Each of the time slots502occupies 1 BWP1108and 14 OFDM symbols510. A first 4 times lots each comprises 2 SSBs514/515and each SSB occupies 4 OFDM symbols and a frequency range1202, in which the frequency range1202is smaller than the BWP1108. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the two SSBs514/515occupies the same OFDM symbols in the first four time slots502. It should be noted thatFIG.1200is an example and any configurations of the SSBs in the time slot and the SSB burst set in the half radio frame, as well as a different SSB transmission periodicity can be used and are within the scope of this disclosure.

In some embodiments, when a SSB burst set1106in a SSB transmission period1104is required to be muted so that a corresponding IAB node102can detect SSB transmitted from other IAB nodes102, resources with a frequency range of an BWP1108and on OFDM symbols510occupied by all the eight SSBs514/515in a half radio frame1102can be configured as muting resources in the SSB transmission period. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the SSBs514A and515A of the first time slot502A,514B and515B of the second time slot502B,514C and515C of the third time slot502C, and514D and515D of the fourth time slot502D each occupies 4 OFDM symbols510(i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 symbols) and a frequency range1202of 20 PRBs. The muting resources1302(i.e.,1302A,1302B,1302C,1302D,1302E,1302F,1302G, and1302H) occupy all the resources in the frequency domain (i.e., system bandwidth or BWP1108) on 32 OFDM symbols corresponding to all of the eight SSBs514/515.

In some embodiments, when a SSB burst set1106in a SSB transmission period1104is required to be muted so that a corresponding IAB node102can detect SSBs transmitted from other IAB nodes102, resources with a frequency range of an BWP1108and on OFDM symbols510occupied by SSBs514/515for actual transmission of SSBs in a half radio frame1102can be configured as muting resources in the SSB transmission period. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, SSBs514A of the first time slot502A,514B of the second time slot502B,514C of the third time slot502C, and514D and515D of the fourth time slot502D each is used for the actual transmission of SSBs and occupies 4 OFDM symbols510in a time slot (i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 symbols) and a frequency range1202of 20 PRBs. The muting resources1302(i.e.,1302A,1302C,1302E,1302G, and1302H) occupy all the resources in the frequency domain (i.e., system bandwidth and BWP) on 20 OFDM symbols corresponding to the SSBs are SSBs514A of the first time slot502A,514B of the second time slot502B,514C of the third time slot502C, and514D and515D of the fourth time slot502D.

In some embodiments, when a SSB burst set1106in a SSB transmission period1104is required to be muted so that a corresponding IAB node102can detect SSBs transmitted from other IAB nodes102, resources in all of the 4 time slots502with potential transmission of SSBs514/515can be configured as muting resources. Specifically, all the resources occupying all the OFDM symbols510in all of the 4 time slots502in the time domain (i.e., 56 OFDM symbols) and in a frequency range of the SSB1202in the frequency domain are configured as muting resources. These resources comprise all the resources for the SSB transmission and for data transmission. In some embodiments, the muting resources comprises continuous resources in the time domain. In some embodiments, the muting resources are resources in all the 4 times slots502occupying 56 OFDM symbols510in the time domain and a frequency range1108covering all the PRB's in the system bandwidth or BWP1108.

In some embodiments, when a SSB burst set1106in a SSB transmission period1104is required to be muted so that a corresponding IAB node102can detect SSBs transmitted from other IAB nodes102, resources in time slot502with resources for actual transmission of SSBs514/515can be configured as muting resources. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, SSBs514A of the first time slot502A,514B of the second time slot502B, and514C of the third time slot502C each is used for the actual transmission of SSBs and occupies 4 OFDM symbols510in a time slot and a frequency range1202of 20 PRBs. The muting resources are resources in the time slots502A,502B and502C occupying 42 OFDM symbols510in the time domain and a frequency range1202of 20 PRB's in the frequency domain. In some other embodiments, the muting resources are resources in the time slots502A,502B and502C occupying 42 OFDM symbols510in the time domain and a frequency range1108covering all the PRB's in the system bandwidth or BWP1108.

In some embodiments, when a SSB burst set1106in a SSB transmission period is required to be muted so that a corresponding IAB node102can detect SSBs transmitted from other IAB nodes102, resources in the entire half radio frame1102with a period for potential transmission of SSBs514/515can be configured as muting resources. In some embodiments, the muting resources are resources in the half radio frame1102occupying 5 time slots502(i.e., 60 OFDM symbols) and a frequency range1202of 20 RB. In some other embodiments, the muting resources are resources in the half radio frame1102occupying 5 times lots502(i.e., 60 OFDM symbols) and a frequency range1108covering all the PRB's in the system bandwidth or BWP1108.

FIG.14illustrates a method1400to perform a muting period configuration for IAB nodes in a communication system, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is understood that additional operations may be provided before, during, and after the method1400ofFIG.14, and that some operations may be omitted or reordered. The communication system comprises 1 IAB donor102-0A, 2 first-level IAB nodes102-1A and102-1B and 1 second-level IAB node102-2A. It should be noted thatFIG.14is an example and a communication system comprising any number of IAB nodes are within the scope of this disclosure.

The method1400starts with operation1402in which a muting resource configuration information is transmitted from an upper-level IAB node (can also be called as parent IAB node) to a lower-level IAB node (can also be called as son IAB node). Specifically, a first first-level IAB node (102-1A) and a second first-level IAB node (102-1B) obtain the muting configuration information from the IAB donor102-0A. The second-level IAB node102-2A obtains the muting configuration information from the corresponding second first-level IAB node102-1B.

In some embodiments, the muting resources configuration information can be transmitted from an upper-level IAB node to a lower-level IAB node through one of the following: an existing system information block (e.g., SIB1 or SIB2), an IAB-related SIB (i.e., SIBn), and UE-specified radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In some embodiments, muting resources comprise resources in a SSB burst set. In some embodiments, the muting resource configuration information can be transmitted from the upper-level IAB node to the lower-level IAB node on a combination of system information and a RRC signaling.

In some embodiments, the muting resource configuration information comprises a muting periodicity, a muting pattern table index and a muting pattern index. In some embodiments, the muting periodicity is pre-defined by the system. In some embodiments, the value of the muting periodicity can be indicated from the upper-level IAB node to the lower-level IAB node using a bit field. For example, if there are 4 values of the muting periodicity (i.e., set of muting periodicity values), including 40, 80, 160 and 320 ms, 2-bit index can be used to indicate these values. Specifically, 00 represents a muting periodicity of 40 ms; 01 represents a muting periodicity of 80 ms; 10 represents a muting periodicity of 160 ms; and 11 represents a muting periodicity of 320 ms. In some embodiments, the muting periodicity is a fixed value and pre-configured to all the IAB nodes and in this case, the muting resource configuration information does not comprise a muting periodicity.

FIG.15illustrates radio frame structure1500for 3 IAB nodes102with a muting periodicity1502of 160 ms, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the muting periodicity1502is pre-defined by the system. The first symbol of each of the muting periodicity1502is defined as the starting edge of a radio frame, which satisfies SFN mod 16=0. In some embodiments, a muting periodicity1502occupies 16 radio frames. In the illustrated embodiment, the SSB transmission periodicity is 20 ms and there are 8 potential muting resources in 1 muting periodicity1502. It should be noted that the SSB transmission periodicity1104and the muting periodicity1502can be other values, which may result in a different number of muting resources in 1 muting periodicity1502and are within the scope of the present disclosure.

In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG.15, there are three first-level IAB nodes, including a first first-level IAB node102-1A, a second first-level IAB node102-1B, and a third first-level IAB node102-1C. Each of the 3 IAB nodes has a muting periodicity of 120 ms and a SSB transmission periodicity of 20 ms. Specifically, the first first-level IAB node102-1A mutes on the muting resources1106-1in a first SSB transmission period; the second first-level IAB node102-1B mutes on the muting resources1106-2in a second SSB transmission period; and the third first-level IAB node102-1C mutes on the muting resources1106-3in a third SSB transmission period.

Referring back toFIG.14, the muting pattern table is pre-defined by the system and a 2-bit bit field can be used and transmitted to the lower-level IAB nodes for the indication of the muting pattern table index. For example, a muting pattern table index value of 00 corresponds to a muting pattern table 1; a muting pattern table index value of 01 corresponds to a muting pattern table 2; a muting pattern table index value of 10 corresponds to a muting pattern table 3; and a muting pattern table index value of 11 corresponds to a muting pattern table 4.

FIGS.16A-16Dillustrate exemplary muting pattern tables1600with exemplary muting patterns, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Each of the 4 muting pattern tables1600comprises 8 different muting patterns1604and each of the 8 muting patterns in the tables are indexed with a muting pattern index1602, i.e., 0-7. Further, each of the 8 muting patterns comprises 8 SSB transmission resources, i.e., resources 0-7 for potential transmission of SSBs.

In the muting pattern table1600ofFIG.16A, each of the 8 muting patterns comprises 1 muting resource and 7 regular SSB transmission resources. Specifically, at a muting pattern index of 0 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 0 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-7) are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 1 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 1 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0, and 2-7) are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 2 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0, 1, and 3-7) are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 3 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 3 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-2, and 4-7) are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 4 in the1600, a SSB transmission resource 4 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-3, and 5-7) are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 5 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 5 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-4, 6, and 7) are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 6 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 6 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-5, and 7) are for actual transmission of SSBs; and at a muting pattern index of 7 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 7 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-6) are for actual transmission of SSBs.

In the muting pattern table1610ofFIG.16B, each of the 8 muting patterns comprises 7 muting resources and 1 resource for actual transmission of SSBs. Specifically, at a muting pattern index of 0 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 0 is a resource for actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 1-7); at a muting pattern index of 1 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 1 is a resource for actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 0, and 2-7); at a muting pattern index of 2 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 2 is a resource for actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 0, 1, and 3-7); at a muting pattern index of 3 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 3 is a resource for actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 0-2, and 4-7); at a muting pattern index of 4 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 4 is a resource for actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 0-3, and 5-7); at a muting pattern index of 5 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 5 is a resource actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 0-4, 6, and 7); at a muting pattern index of 6 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 6 is a resource for actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 0-5, and 7); and at a muting pattern index of 7 in the muting pattern table1600, a SSB transmission resource 7 is a resource for actual transmission of SSBs and the rest are muting resources (i.e., 1-6).

In the muting pattern table1620ofFIG.16C, each of the 8 muting patterns comprises 4 muting resource and 3 resources for actual transmission of SSBs. Specifically, at a muting pattern index of 0 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 1, 3, 5, and 7 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0, 2, 4, and 6 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 1 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 0, 2, 4 and 6 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 1, 3, 5, and 7 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 2 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 2, 3, 6, and 7 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0, 1, 4, and 5 for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 3 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 0, 1, 4, and 5 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 2, 3, 6, and 7 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 4 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 2, 3, 4, and 5 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0, 1, 6, and 7 are actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 5 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 0, 1, 6, and 7 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 2, 3, 4, and 5 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 6 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 4, 5, 6, and 7 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0, 1, 2, and 3 are for actual transmission of SSBs; and at a muting pattern index of 7 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 0, 1, 2, and 3 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 4, 5, 6, and 7 are actual transmission of SSBs.

In the muting pattern table1630ofFIG.16D, each of the 8 muting patterns comprises 2 muting resource and 6 resources for actual transmission of SSBs. Specifically, at a muting pattern index of 0 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 6 and 7 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0-5 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 1 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 0 and 1 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 2-7 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 2 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 2, and 3 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0, 1, and 4-7 for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 3 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 4 and 5 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0-3, 6, and 7 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 4 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 5 and 7 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0-4, and 6 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 5 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 4 and 6 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0-3, 5 and 7 are for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index of 6 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 1 and 3 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 0, 2, and 4-7 are for actual transmission of SSBs; and at a muting pattern index of 7 in the muting pattern table1600, SSB transmission resources 0 and 2 are muting resources and SSB transmission resources 1, and 3-7 are for actual transmission of SSBs.

FIGS.16A-16Dare exemplary muting pattern tables with exemplary muting patterns and it should be noted any numbers of muting pattern tables comprising any number of muting patterns and different muting patterns are within the scope of this disclosure. Different muting pattern tables comprise different numbers of muting resource in a muting periodicity. In some embodiments, there is only 1 muting pattern table. In some embodiments, the number of muting resources in a muting periodicity of an IAB node may affect opportunities for being detected by adjacent IAB nodes and also may affect the opportunities to successfully detect the adjacent IAB nodes. For example, referring toFIGS.15and16, when there are 7 muting resources in a muting periodicity for an IAB node102-1A, the opportunity for this IAB node102-1A to be detected by IAB nodes102-1B/102-1C is thus low. For another example, when there are 7 resources in a muting periodicity for actual transmission of SSBs and only 1 muting resources for the IAB node102-1A, the IAB node102-1A detects SSBs from IAB nodes102-1B/102-1C on the same muting resource, which degrades the measurement performance of the IAB node102-1A on the muting resource. In some embodiments, the number of muting resources in a muting periodicity is determined by an upper-level IAB node according to the status of the wireless communication network, and a muting table can be determined and configured to the lower-level IAB nodes.

In some embodiments, in order to indicate a muting pattern in a muting pattern table, a bit field can be used for muting pattern index indication. Referring toFIG.16in which each muting pattern table comprises 8 muting patterns, a 3-bit bit field can be used to indicate muting pattern index. In some embodiments, different IAB nodes may receive different 3-bit bit fields corresponding to different muting patterns. In some embodiments, muting patterns in a muting pattern table is pre-defined by the system and transmitted from an upper-level IAB node to a lower-level IAB node in the muting resource configuration information.

In some embodiments, the muting pattern index in the muting pattern table can be determined by an upper-level IAB node, i.e., a parent IAB node. according to a cell identifications (ID) of a lower-level IAB node. For example, the muting pattern index can be determined using (a cell ID of the lower-level IAB node) mod (a number of resources for potential transmission of SSBs in a muting periodicity). Referring toFIG.15, there are 8 resources for potential transmission of SSBs in a muting periodicity of 160 ms. Specifically, when the cell ID of lower-level IAB node is 001010111 in binary which corresponds to 87 in decimal, the muting pattern index of the lower-level IAB node is equal to 7 (i.e., 87 mod 8). The muting pattern index of 7 can be then used together with the muting table to locate the muting resources.

For another example, the upper-level IAB node can determine staggered resources for all the lower-level IAB nodes using cell ID mod 4. IAB nodes with in the same group comprise the values on the 2 least-significant bits (LSB). Further, the muting pattern index can be determined using a similar method discussed above. Specifically, the muting pattern index for the lower-level IAB node can be determined by the 8 most-significant bits (MSB) of the cell ID of the corresponding lower-level IAB node (e.g., 01010111 in binary and 87 in decimal) and its number of resources for potential transmission of SSBs in a muting periodicity, e.g., 87 mod 8 which equals 7. The muting pattern index of the IAB node with a cell ID of 01010111 is 7. An overhead for the indication of muting pattern index according to the cell ID, can be comparably lower than that using an explicit indication, for example using a bit field.

In some embodiments, the upper-level IAB node can determine a set of 8 random numbers and each random number in the set is between 0 and 7 based on the cell ID of the lower-level IAB node as an initialization parameter. For example, the upper-level IAB node generates 8 random numbers (e.g., 37153406) for the lower-level node. In a first muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 3 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-2, and 4-7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; in a second muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 7 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-6) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; in a third muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 1 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0, and 2-7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; in a fourth muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 5 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-4 and 6-7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; in a fifth muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 3 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-2 and 4-7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; in a sixth muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 4 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-3, and 5-7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; in a seventh muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 0 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; and in an eighth muting periodicity, the SSB transmission resource 6 is a muting resource and the rest of SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-5 and 7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs. In some embodiments, the set of random numbers can be reused after a number of muting periodicity. For example, after 8 muting periodicities, in a ninth muting periodicity, the muting resource configuration is the same as the one used in the first muting periodicity and the rest of the muting periodicities can be done in the same manner. In some other embodiments, after 8 muting periodicity, a different set of random number can be generated by the upper-level IAB node for the lower-level IAB node which can be used in the following muting periodicities.

In some embodiments, the muting resource configuration information comprises a muting periodicity and a muting pattern. In some embodiments, the muting periodicity is pre-defined by the system. In some embodiments, the value of the muting periodicity can be indicated from the upper-level IAB node to the lower-level IAB node using a bit field. For example, if there are 4 values of the muting periodicity, including 40, 80, 160 and 320 ms, 4 2-bit index can be used to indicate these values. Specifically, 00 represents a muting periodicity of 40 ms; 01 represents a muting periodicity of 80 ms; 10 represents a muting periodicity of 160 ms; and 11 represents a muting periodicity of 320 ms. In some embodiments, the muting periodicity is a fixed value and pre-configured to all the IAB nodes and in this case, the muting resource configuration information does not comprise a muting periodicity.

In some embodiment, the muting pattern in the muting resource configuration information transmitted from a higher-level IAB node to a lower-level IAB node can be indicated by a bitmap. For example, referring back toFIG.15again, in which a muting periodicity comprises 8 resources for potential transmission of SSBs, an 8-bit bitmap can be used by an upper-level IAB node for the indication of at least one muting resource to a lower-level IAB node. Specifically, a 8-bit bitmap comprising “11011111”, indicating a SSB transmission resource 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0, 1, and 3-7) are for actual transmission of SSBs. In some embodiments, the bitmap for muting pattern indication can be transmitted on a RRC signaling from the upper-level IAB node to the lower-level IAB node.

In some embodiments, different SSB transmission periodicity can be used on different IAB nodes. For example, the SSB transmission periodicity of IAB node 1 is 20 ms and the SSB transmission periodicity of IAB node 2 is 10 ms. Under the same muting periodicity of 160 ms, there are 8 and 16 resources for potential transmission of SSBs for IAB node 1 and IAB node 2, respectively. Therefore, different bitmaps (i.e., 8-bit and 16-bit bitmaps) can be used for IAB node 1 and IAB node 2, respectively.

In some embodiments, a plurality of IAB nodes with different SSB transmission periodicities can share the same muting pattern table, which can be pre-defined by the upper-level IAB node. The upper-level IAB nodes determines a muting pattern table according to the largest SSB transmission periodicity in the different SSB transmission periodicities from the plurality of IAB nodes. For example, the SSB transmission periodicity of IAB node 1 is 20 ms and the SSB transmission periodicity of IAB node 2 is 10 ms. An upper-level IAB node selects 1 muting pattern table (e.g., table1600ofFIG.16A) with 8 resources for potential transmission of SSBs for both of the IAB node 1 and IAB node 2. IAB node 1 with 8 resources for potential transmission of SSBs can obtain its muting resources according to the table as discussed in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

On the other hand, IAB node 2 with 16 resources for potential transmission of SSBs can obtain its muting resources using the same table. For example, at a muting pattern index 0 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 0 and 1 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 2-15) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 1 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 2 and 3 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-1, and 4-15) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 0 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 4 and 5 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-3, and 6-15) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 3 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 6 and 7 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-5 and 8-15) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 4 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 8 and 9 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-7 and 10-15) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 5 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 10 and 11 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-9 and 12-15) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 6 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 12 and 13 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-11, and 14-15) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; and at a muting pattern index 7 of table1600, SSB transmission resource 14 and 15 of IAB node 2 are muting resources, the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 0-13) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs.

For another example, SSB transmission resources in the muting pattern table (e.g., table1600ofFIG.16A) is for indication of muting resources at even or odd SSB transmission resources and the rest of SSB transmission resources are all used as resources for actual transmission of SSBs. Specifically, at a muting pattern index 0, SSB transmission resource 0 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-15) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 1, SSB transmission resource 3 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-2 and 4-15) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 2, SSB transmission resource 5 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-4 and 6-15) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 3, SSB transmission resource 7 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-6 and 8-15) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 4, SSB transmission resource 9 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-8 and 10-15) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 5, SSB transmission resource 11 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-10, and 12-15) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; at a muting pattern index 6, SSB transmission resource 13 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-12 and 14-15) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs; and at a muting pattern index 7, SSB transmission resource 15 of IAB node 2 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission resources (i.e., 1-14) of IAB node 2 are resources for actual transmission of SSBs.

In some embodiments, the muting resource configuration information comprises a muting periodicity and a muting pattern index. In some embodiments, the muting periodicity is pre-defined by the system. In some embodiments, the value of the muting periodicity can be indicated from the upper-level IAB node to the lower-level IAB node using a bit field. For example, if there are 4 values of the muting periodicity, including 40, 80, 160 and 320 ms, 4 2-bit index can be used to indicate these values. Specifically, 00 represents a muting periodicity of 40 ms; 01 represents a muting periodicity of 80 ms; 10 represents a muting periodicity of 160 ms; and 11 represents a muting periodicity of 320 ms. In some embodiments, the muting periodicity is a fixed value and pre-configured to all the IAB nodes and in this case, the muting resource configuration information does not comprise a muting periodicity.

In some embodiment, at least one muting resource for a lower-level IAB node can be directly obtained according to its corresponding cell ID. Referring toFIG.15, there are 8 resources for potential transmission of SSBs in a muting periodicity of 160 ms. For example, when the cell ID of lower-level IAB node is 001010111 in binary which corresponds to 87 in decimal, the muting pattern index of the lower-level IAB node is equal to 7, i.e., (87 mod 8)+1. The muting resource for the lower-level IAB node with a cell ID of 01010111 is 8. For another example, the upper-level IAB node can determine staggered resources for all the lower-level IAB nodes using cell ID mod 4. IAB nodes with in the same group comprise the values on the 2 least-significant bits (LSB). Further, the muting resource can be determined using a similar method discussed above. Specifically, the muting resource for the lower-level IAB node can be determined by the 8 most-significant bits (MSB) of the cell ID of the corresponding lower-level IAB node (e.g., 01010111 in binary and 87 in decimal) and its number of resources for potential transmission of SSBs in a muting periodicity, e.g., (87 mod 8)+1, which equals 8. The muting resource for the lower-level IAB node with a cell ID of 01010111 is 8. An overhead for the indication of muting pattern index according to the cell ID, can be comparably lower than that using an explicit indication, for example using a bit field.

In some embodiments, a random number generated by the upper-level IAB node can be directly used to indicate a muting resource for the lower-level IAB node. For example, referring toFIG.15again, there are 8 resources for potential transmission of SSBs in a muting periodicity of 160 ms. Specifically, a random number (i.e., 0-7) can directly indicate at least one muting resource can be configured to the lower-level IAB node. For example the upper-level IAB node transmits a random number 4 for the lower-level IAB node and the SSB transmission source 4 is a muting resource and the rest of the SSB transmission sources (i.e., 0-3, and 5-7) are resources for actual transmission of SSBs. In some embodiments, the random number and thus the muting resource remain constant in at least one muting periodicity. In some embodiments, a different random number can be generated by the upper-level IAB node and thus a different muting resource can be indicated to the lower-level IAB node in a different muting periodicity. Therefore, a possibility for measurement of adjacent IAB nodes can be improved according to this method for the muting resource indication according to random numbers generated by the upper-level IAB node through a plurality of muting periodicity.

In some embodiments, at least one muting resource can be also determined by comparing the SSB transmission resources with measurement resources configured by the upper-level IAB node to the lower-level IAB node. In some embodiments, the measurement resources can be configured from the upper-level IAB node to the lower-level IAB nodes by at least one of the following: a measurement periodicity, a measurement offset, a measurement lasting time, and a measurement frequency. For example, the measurement periodicity is 10 radio frames, the measurement offset is 5 radio frames, the measurement lasting time is 5 radio frames. In some embodiments, an edge of a radio frame 5 is used is used as the starting point of a measurement period, the measurement is performed for 5 radio frames on the time domain; and on the frequency domain, the measurement is further performed in a frequency range, which has a center at the measurement frequency and a bandwidth that is the same as the bandwidth of the SSB.

In some embodiments, when a resource of a reference signal (e.g., SS and PBCH blocks, and CSI-RS) transmission resource completely or partially overlaps with a measurement resource in the time-frequency domain, the resource is a muting resource. As used herein, a “measurement resource” refers to a resource in the time and frequency domain on which an IAB node receives reference signals (e.g., SS and PBCH blocks and CSI-RS) transmitted from adjacent IAB nodes. In the following description, we take SSBs as an example of reference signals.

A SSB transmission resource and a measurement resource are considered overlap if at least one of the following is true: OFDM symbols occupied by the SSB transmission resources and OFDM symbols occupied by the measurement resource overlap; the SSB transmission resources overlap with the measurement resources in both time and frequency domain; a time offset between the SSB transmission resource and the measurement resource is smaller than or equal to a pre-determined threshold value (e.g., X OFDM symbols or a time T); and a frequency offset between the SSB transmission resource and the measurement resource is smaller than or equal to a pre-determined threshold value (e.g., Y RE's, Z RB's or a frequency M kHz). In some embodiments, when the SSB transmission resources overlap with the measurement resource configured by the high-level IAB node, the SSB transmission resources in the muting period can be muted for the measurement of adjacent IAB nodes according to the muting resource configurations discussed in detail above. In some embodiments, a plurality of measurement resources overlaps with a plurality of SSBs transmission resources, resulting in a plurality of muting resources in a muting periodicity.

Referring back toFIG.14, the method1400continues to operation1404in which at least one muting resource set comprising at least one muting resource in a half radio frame is determined according to some embodiments. The at least one muting resource set can be determined according to the muting resource configuration information and/or measurement resource configuration information as discussed above. Upon determining the at least one muting resource, muting resource configurations (i.e., maximum number of SSBs, OFDM symbols occupied by each SSB in a time slot) can be further performed by the lower-level IAB nodes according to various embodiments inFIGS.3-13.

The method1400continues to operation1406in which IAB nodes102-1A,102-1B, and102-2A transmits its SS/PBCH on at least one resource for actual transmission of SSBs to adjacent IAB nodes and detects its adjacent IAB nodes on at least one muting resource, according to some embodiments. The actual transmission of SSBs and measurement of adjacent IAB nodes are performed according to the at least one muting resource.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or configuration, which are provided to enable persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand exemplary features and functions of the invention. Such persons would understand, however, that the invention is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, as would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of one embodiment can be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits and symbols, for example, which may be referenced in the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the some illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two, which can be designed using source coding or some other technique), various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which can be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a “software module), or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware or software, or a combination of these technique, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components and circuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term “module” as used herein, refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purpose of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according embodiments of the invention.

Additionally, memory or other storage, as well as communication components, may be employed in embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description has described embodiments of the invention with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains may be used without detracting from the invention. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements, or controllers, may be performed by the same processing logic element, or controller. Hence, references to specific functional units are only references to a suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other implementations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as recited in the claims below.