Methods and apparatus for scheduling and/or granting uplink resources
A base station schedules a user equipment (UE) for uplink air link resources, e.g., unlicensed spectrum PUSCH resources, corresponding to one or more slots and, in some embodiments, at least one mini-slot. There may be, and sometimes are gaps between two scheduled slots and/or between a scheduled slot and a scheduled mini-slot. Different uplink air link resources corresponding to a schedule slot or mini-slot may, and sometimes do, use different set of frequencies. The base station generates and sends to the UE a single UL grant which grants uplink air link resources corresponding to the composite of resource allocations corresponding to the one or more slots and, in some embodiments, at least one mini-slot. The single UL grant may, and sometimes does, communicates gap information and frequency information.
1. A method of operating a base station, the method comprising:
scheduling a first user equipment (UE) for uplink transmission in a combination of one or more uplink slots and a plurality of mini-slots, said one or more uplink slots including an uplink slot having a first predetermined duration, said plurality of mini-slots including a first mini-slot that precedes a first uplink slot scheduled for use by the first UE and a second mini-slot that follows said first uplink slot scheduled for use by the first UE, said first UE being scheduled only full slots between said first mini-slot and said second mini-slot, at least one of said first mini-slot and said second mini-slot having a second predetermined duration which is smaller than said first predetermined duration; and
transmitting a single uplink (UL) grant message to the first UE communicating a grant of the scheduled combination of said one or more uplink slots and said plurality of mini-slots.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said second predetermined duration is an integer fraction of said first predetermined duration.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first mini-slot follows a time period during which a listen before talk (LBT) procedure is performed.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein said one or more uplink slots includes two slots.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said granted slots and mini-slots include slots which vary in time and frequency resource; and
wherein the single UL grant message transmitted to the first UE includes information indicating sets of time and frequency resources to which the granted slots and mini-slot correspond.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a signal from said first UE indicating that the first UE does not need at least some of the granted uplink slots or mini-slots.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein receiving a signal from said first UE indicating that the first UE does not need at least some of the granted uplink slots or mini-slots includes:
receiving a null buffer status report from said first UE in one of said granted UL slots or mini-slots.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein receiving a signal from said first UE indicating that the first UE does not need at least some of the granted uplink slots or mini-slots includes:
receiving a message in licensed spectrum from said first UE indicating that said first UE does not need at least some of the granted uplink slots or mini-slots.
9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
re-allocating resources which were previously granted to the first UE but are no longer needed by the first UE, to a second UE.
10. A method of operating a base station, the method comprising:
scheduling a first user equipment (UE) for uplink transmission in a combination of one or more uplink slots and at least one mini-slot, said uplink slot having a first predetermined duration, said mini-slot having a second predetermined duration which is smaller than said first predetermined duration; and
transmitting a single UL grant message to the first UE communicating a grant of the scheduled combination of said one or more uplink slots and said at least one mini-slot;
wherein a gap in time exists between i) at least one of the one or more slots granted to said first UE or an uplink slot and ii) a mini-slot; and
wherein transmitting said single UL grant message to the first UE communicating the grant of the scheduled combination of one or more uplink slots and said at least one mini-slot includes:
transmitting information in said single UL grant message indicating the position of said gap and a duration of said gap to the first UE as part of said single grant message, said information indicating the position and duration of said gap by i) indicating positions in an uplink timing structure of slots and mini-slots scheduled for use by the first user equipment (UE) or ii) indicating a continuous sequence of slots and mini-slots along with a location of the gap in the contiguous slots.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said gap is an integer multiple of said first predetermined duration.
12. A base station comprising:
a processor configured to:
schedule a first user equipment (UE) for uplink transmission in a combination of one or more uplink slots and a plurality of mini-slots, said one or more uplink slots including an uplink slot having a first predetermined duration, said plurality of mini-slots including a first mini-slot that precedes a first uplink slot scheduled for use by the first UE and a second mini-slot that follows said first uplink slot scheduled for use by the first UE, said first UE being scheduled only full slots between said first mini-slot and said second mini-slot, at least one of said first mini-slot and said second mini-slot having a second predetermined duration which is smaller than said first predetermined duration; and
operate the base station to transmit a single uplink (UL) grant message to the first UE communicating a grant of the scheduled combination of said one or more uplink slots and said plurality of mini-slots.
13. The base station of claim 12 , wherein a gap in time exists between at least one of the one or more slots granted to said first UE or an uplink slot and a mini-slot granted to the first UE; and
wherein said processor is configured to:
operate the base station to transmit information indicating the position of said gap and a duration of said gap to the first UE as part of said single UL grant message, as part of being configured to operate the base station to transmit said single UL grant message to the first UE communicating a grant of the scheduled combination of one or more uplink slots and said at least one mini-slot.
14. The base station of claim 13 , wherein said gap is indicated by indicating positions in a uplink timing structure of slots and mini-slots scheduled for use by the first user equipment (UE) or by indicating a continuous sequence of slots and mini-slots with the location of the gap in the contiguous slots being indicated in the single UL grant message.
15. The base station of claim 12 , wherein said granted slots and mini-slots include slots which vary in time and frequency resource; and
wherein the grant transmitted to the first UE includes information indicating sets of time and frequency resources to which the granted slots and mini-slot correspond.
16. The base station of claim 12 , wherein said processor is further configured to:
operate the base station to receive a signal from said first UE indicating that the first UE does not need at least some of the granted uplink slots or mini-slots.
17. The base station of claim 16 , wherein said processor is further configured to:
re-allocate resources which were previously granted to the first UE but are no longer needed by the first UE, to a second UE.
18. A non-transitory computer readable medium including computer executable instructions which when executed by a processor control a base station to perform the steps of:
scheduling a first user equipment (UE) for uplink transmission in a combination of one or more uplink slots and a plurality of mini-slots, said one or more uplink slots including an uplink slot having a first predetermined duration, said plurality of mini-slots including a first mini-slot that precedes a first uplink slot scheduled for use by the first UE and a second mini-slot that follows said first uplink slot scheduled for use by the first UE, said first UE being scheduled only full slots between said first mini-slot and said second mini-slot, at least one of said first mini-slot and said second mini-slot having a second predetermined duration which is smaller than said first predetermined duration; and
transmitting a single uplink (UL) grant message to the first UE communicating a grant of the scheduled combination of said one or more uplink slots and said plurality of mini-slots.