TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wireless communications in general. More specifically, the present invention relates to devices and methods for configuring a bandwidth part (BWP) switching pattern and operating in accordance with a BWP switching pattern.

BACKGROUND

In order to support a wide range of deployment scenarios, from large cells at lower carrier frequencies to mm-wave deployments with very wide spectrum allocations, 5G NR (New Radio) supports a flexible OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) numerology with subcarrier spacing (SCS) ranging from 15 kHz up to 240 kHz. A small SCS has the advantage of providing a relatively long cyclic prefix (CP) while larger SCSs are necessary to handle, for example, the increased phase noise at higher carrier frequencies.

As can be taken from the time-frequency resource grid shown in Figure 1 , 5G NR transmissions are organized into frames of length 10 ms, identified by a System Frame Number (SFN), each of which is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of length 1 ms. A subframe is in turn divided into slots (not shown) consisting of 14 OFDM symbols each, such that the slot duration depends on the numerology. A subframe in 5G NR serves as a numerology-independent time reference, which is useful, especially in the case of multiple numerologies being mixed on the same carrier, while a slot is the typical dynamic scheduling unit and numerology-dependent.

Dynamic scheduling is the main mode of operation in 5G NR. For each transmission interval (e.g., slot), the scheduler uses control signalling to instruct a terminal device to transmit in the uplink (UL) or receive in the downlink (DL). It is flexible and can adapt to rapid variations in traffic as well as channel conditions, but requires associated control signalling which may be desirable to avoid, in particular for periodic transmissions. Periodic traffic is very common in automation, e.g., for closed-loop control in V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), industrial robots, etc. To support such use cases efficiently, NR includes transmission schemes not requiring dynamic grants. In DL, NR supports Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS), whereby the terminal device is configured with a periodicity of the data transmissions using RRC (Radio Resource Control) signalling. Upon activation of SPS transmission via DCI (Downlink Control Information), which indicates the scheduled time-frequency resources, the terminal device receives DL data periodically according to the RRC-configured periodicity. Thus, control signalling is only used once and overhead is reduced. In UL, Configured Grants (CG) are used to support periodic transmission. In CG Type 1 , the UL grant is provided by RRC, including activation of the grant. In CG Type 2, the periodicity is provided by RRC and DCI is used to activate the UL transmission, similar to DL SPS.

NR supports a very wide transmission bandwidth, up to several 100 MHz on a single carrier. This is useful for fast delivery of large payloads but is not needed for smaller payload sizes or for monitoring the downlink control channels when not scheduled. First, it is not reasonable to require all terminal devices to support the maximum carrier bandwidth. NR thus provides means for handling different device capabilities in terms of bandwidth support. Second, reception of a very wide bandwidth can be expensive in terms of energy consumption. Therefore, NR allows for device-side receiver-bandwidth adaptation as a means to reduce energy consumption. A terminal device can use a narrower bandwidth for monitoring control channels and receiving small-to-medium-sized data transmissions, and dynamically open up a wideband receiver only when needed to support very high data rates.

To handle these two aspects, NR defines Bandwidth Parts (BWP) that indicate the bandwidth over which a terminal device is currently assumed to transmit/receive with a certain numerology. Figure 1 shows an exemplary BWP (referred to as BWP0 in figure 1) consisting of a 20 MHz bandwidth within a wider carrier bandwidth of 100 MHz. A terminal device can be configured with a set of up to four DL BWPs and a set of up to four UL BWPs for each serving cell. For each BWP, the device is provided with the following parameters: BWP ID; OFDM numerology (SCS, CP); Location and bandwidth (set of consecutive resource blocks); and BWP-common and BWP-dedicated parameters, e.g., Semi- Persistent Scheduling (SPS) or Configured Grant (CG) parameters for periodic transmissions.

In each serving cell, at a given time, one of the configured DL BWPs is referred to as the active DL BWP, and one of the configured UL BWPs is referred to as the active UL BWP. The base station (gNB) can activate and deactivate BWPs using downlink control signalling (DCI).

As shown in Figure 2, opening the wideband receiver can be done by using the BWP indicator field in the DCI. If the BWP indicator points to a different BWP than the currently active one, the active BWP is changed. The time it takes to change the active BWP depends on several factors (e.g., whether the center frequency changes and the receiver needs to retune or not), but can be in the order of one slot. Once activated, the terminal device uses the new, wider BWP for data transmission/reception.

Once the data transfer requiring the wider bandwidth is complete, the same mechanism can be used to switch back to the original BWP. It’s also possible to configure a BWP inactivity timer to handle BWP switching, instead of explicit signalling. In this case, one of the BWPs is configured as the default BWP. Upon receiving a DCI indicating a BWP other than the default one, the timer is started. When the timer expires, the device switches back to the default BWP. Typically, the default BWP is narrower and can thus help to reduce power consumption.

Dynamic BWP switching based on DCI transmission can be used to allow a device to transmit/receive in different BWPs (e.g., with different OFDM numerologies) at different times. Every BWP switch requires a new DCI transmission to indicate (via the BWP indicator) to which BWP the terminal device should switch. This is not an issue for dynamically scheduled transmissions, since in this case DCI has to be transmitted anyway to convey the DL assignment or UL grant to the terminal device. However, for periodic transmissions using SPS/CG, DCI-based BWP switching causes unnecessary signalling overhead, since DCI transmission is otherwise not required other than for triggering SPS/CG transmission (or even not required at all, in case of CG Type 1).

In light of the above, there is a need for devices and methods enabling an improved BWP switching scheme.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the invention to provide devices and methods enabling an improved BWP switching scheme.

The foregoing and other objects are achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further implementation forms are apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the figures. Generally, embodiments of the invention are based on the idea of semi-statically configuring (e.g., via RRC signalling or other types of control signalling) a terminal with a BWP switching pattern. The BWP switching pattern indicates to the terminal when to activate/deactivate each BWP according to a repeating sequence, thus not requiring DCI transmission for each BWP switch, with a consequent reduction in control signalling overhead.

More specifically, according to a first aspect, the invention relates to a terminal, e.g., a user equipment, UE, for communication in a wireless network, in particular a 5G wireless network, wherein the terminal is configured to communicate using a plurality of bandwidth parts, BWPs, and to receive control information from a network node of the wireless network, wherein the control information defines a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs. As used herein, the periodic activation defined by the BWP switching pattern may be limited to a finite time interval (e.g., 10 s), i.e. , it is not periodic indefinitely, but over a finite time interval.

Thus, advantageously, control signalling overhead may be reduced compared to dynamic (i.e., DCI-based) BWP switching as specified in NR R15. For periodic transmissions using SPS/CG (Semi-Persistent Scheduling / Configured Grant), DCI-based BWP switching causes unnecessary signalling overhead, since DCI transmission is otherwise not required other than for SPS/CG activation (or even not required at all, in case of CG Type 1). The terminal according to the first aspect of the invention being configured with a BWP switching pattern knows when to switch (i.e., activate/deactivate) BWPs, thus no DCI transmission is required for every switch. This is especially useful when multiplexing different periodic services (e.g., different numerology and/or bandwidth requirements) on the same carrier frequency (e.g., in V2X or Industrial loT applications relying on closed-loop control).

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the control information comprises a BWP indicator for identifying the at least one BWP. Thus, advantageously, the terminal may determine the at least one BWP to be periodically activated in accordance with the BWP switching pattern on the basis of the BWP indicator included in the control information.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the at least one BWP is configured for data reception by the terminal from the network node, i.e., a DL BWP, for data transmission by the terminal to the network node, i.e., an UL BWP, and/or for data transmission and/or reception by the terminal to/from another terminal, i.e., a SL BWP. Thus, advantageously, a DL BWP, an UL BWP and/or a SL BWP may be periodically activated in an efficient manner by the terminal on the basis of the BWP switching pattern.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the control information comprises: a time offset indicating a starting time for the activation of the at least one BWP; a duration indicating a length of time for the activation of the at least one BWP; and/or a periodicity for the activation of the at least one BWP. Thus, advantageously, the control information may efficiently define the BWP switching pattern, i.e., with minimal signalling overhead.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the control information comprises a bitmap, wherein each bit in the bitmap indicates whether the at least one BWP is to be activated in a time interval, in particular a radio frame and/or subframe. Thus, advantageously, the control information may efficiently define the BWP switching pattern, i.e., with minimal signalling overhead.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the control information comprises a sequence, wherein each element of the sequence indicates a set of one or more BWPs which are to be activated in a time interval, in particular a time interval defined by a radio frame or subframe, wherein the one or more BWPs belong to the plurality of BWPs. Thus, advantageously, the control information may efficiently define the BWP switching pattern, i.e., with minimal signalling overhead.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the terminal is configured to provide assistance information to the network node for generating the control information, wherein the assistance information comprises one or more parameters defining a traffic characteristic of the terminal, in particular a periodicity, a timing offset, a priority, a reliability, a message size and/or a destination identity of data to be transmitted and/or received by the terminal. Thus, advantageously, the network node may tailor the BWP switching pattern to the terminal on the basis of its traffic characteristics.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a corresponding method for communication in a wireless network using a terminal, wherein the terminal is configured to communicate using a plurality of bandwidth parts, BWPs, wherein the method comprises the step of receiving control information from a network node defining a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs. The method according to the second aspect of the invention can be performed by the terminal according to the first aspect of the invention. Further features of the method according to the second aspect of the invention result directly from the functionality of the terminal according to the first aspect of the invention and its different implementation forms described above and below.

According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a terminal for communication in a wireless network, wherein the terminal is configured to communicate using a plurality of bandwidth parts, BWPs, and to receive assistance information from one or more neighbouring terminals for generating in a distributed fashion a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs.

In a further possible implementation form of the third aspect, the assistance information comprises one or more parameters defining a traffic characteristic of the one or more neighbouring terminals, in particular a periodicity, a timing offset, a priority, a reliability, a message size and/or a destination identity of data to be transmitted and/or received by the one or more neighbouring terminals.

According to a fourth aspect, the invention relates to a method for communication in a wireless network using a terminal, wherein the terminal is configured to communicate using a plurality of bandwidth parts, BWPs, wherein the method comprises the steps of receiving assistance information from one or more neighbouring terminals and generating in a distributed fashion a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs.

The method according to the fourth aspect of the invention can be performed by the terminal according to the third aspect of the invention. Further features of the method according to the fourth aspect of the invention result directly from the functionality of the terminal according to the third aspect of the invention and its different implementation forms described above and below.

According to a fifth aspect, the invention relates to a network node for controlling communication of a terminal in a wireless network, wherein the terminal is configured to communicate using a plurality of bandwidth parts, BWPs, wherein the network node is configured to provide control information to the terminal defining a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs. In a further possible implementation form of the fifth aspect, the control information comprises a BWP indicator for identifying the at least one BWP.

In a further possible implementation form of the fifth aspect, the control information comprises: a time offset indicating a starting time for the activation of the at least one BWP; a duration indicating a length of time for the activation of the at least one BWP; and/or a periodicity for the activation of the at least one BWP.

In a further possible implementation form of the fifth aspect, the control information comprises a bitmap, wherein each bit in the bitmap indicates whether the at least one BWP is to be activated in a time interval, in particular a radio frame and/or subframe.

In a further possible implementation form of the fifth aspect, the control information comprises a sequence, wherein each element of the sequence indicates a set of one or more BWPs which are to be activated in a time interval, in particular a radio frame or subframe, wherein the one or more BWPs belong to the plurality of BWPs.

In a further possible implementation form of the fifth aspect, the network node is configured to receive assistance information from the terminal and to generate on the basis of the assistance information the control information.

In a further possible implementation form of the fifth aspect, the assistance information received from the terminal comprises one or more parameters defining a traffic characteristic of the terminal, in particular a periodicity, a timing offset, a priority, a reliability, a message size and/or a destination identity of data to be transmitted and/or received by the terminal.

According to a sixth aspect, the invention relates to a corresponding method for controlling communication of a terminal in a wireless network, wherein the terminal is configured to communicate using a plurality of bandwidth parts, BWPs, wherein the method comprises the step of providing control information to the terminal defining a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs.

The method according to the sixth aspect of the invention can be performed by the network node according to the fifth aspect of the invention. Further features of the method according to the sixth aspect of the invention result directly from the functionality of the network node according to the fifth aspect of the invention and its different implementation forms described above and below.

According to a seventh aspect, the invention relates to a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carrying program code which causes a computer or a processor to perform the method according to the second aspect, the method according to the fourth aspect and/or the method according to the sixth aspect when the program code is executed by the computer or the processor. The different aspects of the invention can be implemented in software and/or hardware.

Details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, embodiments of the invention are described in more detail with reference to the attached figures and drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a 5G NR time-frequency resource grid with a conventional BWP;

Fig. 2 shows a NR time-frequency resource grid illustrating a conventional BWP switching mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication network comprising an exemplary terminal according to an embodiment and an exemplary network node according to an embodiment;

Fig. 4 shows a time-frequency resource grid illustrating an exemplary BWP switching pattern of a terminal according to an embodiment;

Fig. 5 shows a time-frequency resource grid illustrating a further exemplary BWP switching pattern of a terminal according to an embodiment; Fig. 6 shows a time-frequency resource grid illustrating a further exemplary BWP switching pattern of a terminal according to an embodiment;

Fig. 7 shows a time-frequency resource grid illustrating a further exemplary BWP switching pattern of a terminal according to an embodiment;

Figs. 8a and 8b are schematic diagrams illustrating the distribution of a BWP switching pattern by a network node according to an embodiment and the distributed generation of a BWP switching pattern by a plurality of terminals according to an embodiment;

Figs. 9a, 9b and 9c show tables illustrating exemplary control information for defining a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of a BWP according to an embodiment;

Fig. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for communication in a wireless network according to an embodiment;

Fig. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a further method for communication in a wireless network according to an embodiment; and

Fig. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for controlling communication in a wireless network according to an embodiment.

In the following, identical reference signs refer to identical or at least functionally equivalent features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying figures, which form part of the disclosure, and which show, by way of illustration, specific aspects of embodiments of the invention or specific aspects in which embodiments of the present invention may be used. It is understood that embodiments of the invention may be used in other aspects and comprise structural or logical changes not depicted in the figures. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims. For instance, it is to be understood that a disclosure in connection with a described method may also hold true for a corresponding device or system configured to perform the method and vice versa. For example, if one or a plurality of specific method steps are described, a corresponding device may include one ora plurality of units, e.g., functional units, to perform the described one or plurality of method steps (e.g., one unit performing the one or plurality of steps, or a plurality of units each performing one or more of the plurality of steps), even if such one or more units are not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures. On the other hand, for example, if a specific apparatus is described based on one or a plurality of units, e.g., functional units, a corresponding method may include one step to perform the functionality of the one or plurality of units (e.g., one step performing the functionality of the one or plurality of units, or a plurality of steps each performing the functionality of one or more of the plurality of units), even if such one or plurality of steps are not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures. Further, it is understood that the features of the various exemplary embodiments and/or aspects described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless communication network 300 (or for short, wireless network 300) comprising a terminal 301 according to an embodiment and a network node 303 according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the wireless communication network 300 is a wireless network 300 according to the NR standard or a standard evolved therefrom. As illustrated in the exemplary V2X context shown in figure 3, the terminal 301 may be implemented as a smart car 301 or as a communication unit 301 thereof. The person skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the terminal 301 may be implemented as well in the form of other types of user equipments and mobile terminals, such as a mobile phone, an industrial robot and the like. Likewise, the network node 303, which, as will be described in more detail further below, is configured to provide the terminal 301 with control information, may be implemented as a base station, access point or a further mobile terminal.

As illustrated in figure 3, the terminal 301 is configured to communicate with the network node 303, e.g., base station 303, via an uplink (UL) channel and a downlink (DL) channel. Moreover, the terminal 301 may be configured to communicate with a further terminal 305, which could be identical or similar to the terminal 301 , via a sidelink (SL) channel (within coverage or out of coverage of the base station 303). For communication with the network node 303, e.g., base station 303 and/or the further terminal 305, the terminal 301 is configured to use one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs), as defined, for instance, in 5G; NR; Physical layer procedures for control (3GPP TS 38.213 version 15.6.0 Release 15), July 2019, which is fully incorporated by reference herein. Thus, according to an embodiment, the terminal 301 may be configured to use a BWP for data reception by the terminal 301 from the network node 303 via the DL channel, i.e. , a DL BWP, for data transmission by the terminal 301 to the network node 303 via the UL channel, i.e., an UL BWP, and/or for data transmission and/or reception by the terminal 301 to and/or from the further terminal 305 via the SL channel, i.e., a SL BWP.

As will be described in more detail in the context of the following figures, the terminal 301 is configured to receive control information from the network node 303, e.g., base station 303, defining a BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs the terminal 301 may use for communication. Likewise, the network node 303 is configured to provide this kind of control information to the terminal 301 , for instance, via the DL channel shown in figure 3. As already described above, the network node 303 may also be implemented as a terminal itself (similar or identical to the terminal 301 ), which, as a kind of master terminal, provides the control information defining the BWP switching pattern via a SL channel to the terminal 301.

As will be described in more detail below, according to an embodiment, the control information may define the BWP switching pattern by explicitly defining the periodic activation for a first BWP and a second BWP, i.e., the time intervals when the first and the second BWP are active. According to a further embodiment, the control information may define the BWP switching pattern by defining the periodic activation only for the first BWP, while during the inactivity phase(s) of the first BWP, the second BWP is activated by default. According to an embodiment, the first BWP and/or the second BWP, i.e., the parameters defining the first BWP and/or the second BWP, may be pre-configured. According to a further embodiment, the network node may provide the control information by notifying the terminal device which BWP(s) is usable and/or which BWP(s) is not usable.

Figures 4 to 7 show time-frequency resource grids illustrating exemplary BWP switching patterns for a periodic BWP activation as defined by the control information provided by the network node 303, e.g., base station 303, to the terminal 301.

As illustrated by the time-frequency resource grid shown in figure 4, the BWP switching pattern may indicate alternating activation of two configured BWPs (referred to as BWP0 and BWP1 in figure 4) on a radio frame basis (i.e., frame-wise switching). The BWPs may be configured with different OFDM numerologies (e.g., SCS 15 kHz for BWP0, SCS 30 kHz for BWP1) and may also be shifted in frequency (i.e. , have different center frequencies) within the carrier bandwidth (here, 100 MHz). Within each radio frame, the scheduler can then schedule transmissions, dynamically or semi-persistently (SPS/CG), in the respective BWP (numerology).

Another example of frame-wise BWP switching/activation is shown in Figure 5. In this case, the BWP switching pattern configures the terminal 301 to activate, i.e., open up a wideband transceiver (BWP2, SCS 60 kHz) every 10th radio frame, for the duration of a radio frame. In this way, large payloads can be transmitted/received by the terminal 301 by scheduling them in the wideband frame (SFN9), while the remaining frames (SFN0-SFN8) use the narrower bandwidth of BWP0 with SCS 15 kHz, thus reducing the power consumption of the terminal 301.

According to an embodiment, the BWP switching pattern defined by the control information may configure the terminal 301 to activate more than one BWP at any given time. In such case, the BWP switching pattern may be used to indicate to the terminal which set of BWPs to activate and/or deactivate at any given time, according to a repeating, i.e., periodic sequence. For example, as shown in figure 6, the terminal may be configured by the BWP switching pattern to maintain an active BWP, namely the exemplary BWP0 with SCS 15kHz shown in figure 6, for a certain background communication service (e.g., broadcast) while at the same time alternating, on a radio frame basis, between two additional BWPs (BWP1 with SCS 30 kHz, BWP3 with SCS 60 kHz) for different communication services (e.g., unicast). The BWP switching pattern may also configure the terminal 301 to open up, i.e., activate a wideband transceiver (BWP2, SCS 60 kHz) for transmitting/receiving large payloads in certain radio frames (here, every 10th radio frame).

According to embodiments of the invention, periodic BWP activation in accordance with the BWP switching pattern defined by the control information may not necessarily have to be aligned with radio frame boundaries (as in the previously described examples illustrated in figures 4, 5 and 6), i.e., BWP switching (activation and/or deactivation) may take place at any subframe within a radio frame (herein referred to as subframe-wise switching). As a result, the length of time a BWP remains activated in accordance with the BWP switching pattern may be shorter than a radio frame, or it may be longer but not necessarily a multiple of a radio frame (i.e., 10 subframes). For example, BWP1 in Fig. 7 lasts 5 subframes in every two radio frames, and BWP0 lasts 18 subframes in every two radio frames. This flexibility can be beneficial when time-multiplexing BWPs for services with different periodicities (e.g., 20, 50, 100 ms) without requiring support for many simultaneously active BWPs. However, switching BWPs too rapidly may lead to a degraded spectral efficiency, as more time is spent (i.e. , wasted) for switching (during which time no transmission/reception can be scheduled).

Figure 7 shows a time-frequency resource grid illustrating an exemplary BWP switching pattern for a periodic subframe-wise BWP activation as defined by the control information provided by the network node 303, e.g., base station 303, to the terminal 301. For the example shown in figure 7, it is assumed that the terminal 301 is capable of operating two active BWPs simultaneously. According to the exemplary BWP switching pattern illustrated in figure 7, a background (or default) BWP (BWP0, SCS 15 kHz) is active at all times, except in the last two subframes of every 2nd radio frame, in which a wideband BWP (BWP2, SCS 60 kHz) is activated in order to support high data rate transmission (e.g., for a periodic broadband communication service with 20 ms periodicity). In parallel, two additional BWPs, namely BWP1 with SCS 30 kHz and BWP3 with SCS 60 kHz, are activated for a fraction of a radio frame (here, by way of example, 5 subframes) at regular intervals (20 ms for BWP1 , 50 ms for BWP3) to support periodic communication services with the respective periodicities and numerology requirements. In this example at most two BWPs are simultaneously active at any given time.

As already described above, according to the exemplary BWP switching patterns illustrated in figures 4 to 7, each BWP may be, for instance, a DL BWP (i.e., for reception by the terminal 301 from the network node 303), an UL BWP (i.e., for transmission by the terminal 301 to the network node 303) or a SL BWP (i.e., for transmission/reception by the terminal 301 to/from another terminal 305). In case of a DL BWP or UL BWP, the network node 303 may simply configure the terminal 301 for BWP activation according to the BWP switching pattern. In case of a SL BWP, the network node 303 may configure at least the transmitting terminal, such as the terminal 301 shown in figure 3. The one or more receiving terminals, such as the terminal 305 shown in figure 3, may be configured by the network node 303, e.g., base station 303, or may receive control information defining the BWP switching pattern directly from the transmitting terminal.

In the special case of out-of-coverage operation, a transmitting terminal, such as the terminal 301 shown in figure 3, may select a SL BWP switching pattern autonomously or in cooperation with one or more neighbouring terminals, such as the terminal 305 shown in figure 3.

Figure 8a illustrates an exemplary scenario, where in case of group communication between a group of terminals 301 , 302, 305 (e.g., in a vehicle platoon), one terminal, such as the terminal 301 illustrated in figure 8a, can act as a lead (or master) and assign the SL BWP switching pattern for periodic BWP activation to each terminal in the group in a coordinated fashion, such as the terminals 302, 305 illustrated in figure 8a.

Alternatively, as shown in Figure 8b, all terminals 301 , 302, 305 in the group may exchange control signalling (e.g., traffic characteristics, etc.) and each terminal determines its individual SL BWP switching pattern for periodic BWP activation based on the received information in a fully distributed fashion (e.g., according to a standardized algorithm). Similarly, in case of unicast SL communication, the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal may exchange control signalling in order to jointly determine an appropriate SL BWP switching pattern for periodic BWP activation. According to an embodiment, the traffic characteristics exchanged between the terminals 301 , 302, 305 may comprise one or more parameters defining the traffic characteristic of the respective terminal, in particular a periodicity, a timing offset, a priority, a reliability, a message size and/or a destination identity of data to be transmitted and/or received by the respective terminal. According to an embodiment, the terminal 301 may be configured to provide this assistance information to the network node 303, e.g., base station 303, as well so that the network node 303, e.g., base station 303, can determine on the basis thereof the appropriate BWP switching pattern for the terminal 301.

According to embodiments of the invention, the BWP switching pattern may be specified or defined by the control information in different ways. For instance, as illustrated in figure 7, the control information may include or define one or more parameters and/or one or more bitmaps defining the BWP switching pattern by indicating, for each individual BWP, when it should be active, as part of the individual BWP configuration. This can be done, for example, by including BWP-specific parameters (such as offset, duration, periodicity and the like) in the respective BWP configuration as defined by the control information. For instance, for the exemplary BWP switching pattern illustrated in figure 7, the BWP-specific parameters for BWP1 may be, by way of example: BWP offset of 5 subframes, BWP duration of 5 subframes and BWP periodicity of 20 subframes. Thus, for the exemplary embodiment shown in figure 7, the control information may comprise or define the BWP parameters listed in the table shown in figure 9a for the four different BWPs. In other words, according to an embodiment, the control information may comprise: a time offset indicating a starting time for the activation of one or more BWPs; a duration indicating a length of time for the activation of the one or more BWPs; and/or a periodicity for the activation of the one or more BWPs.

As already mentioned above and illustrated in figure 7 as well, the BWP switching pattern may also be signaled by means of a BWP-specific bitmap indicating the radio frames and/or subframes in which the BWP shall be active (e.g., frame bitmap, subframe bitmap, etc.). This is illustrated in more detail in the table shown in figure 9b, for the subframe-wise BWP switching example shown in figure 7. In this case, a bit may be used to indicate that the respective BWP shall be active in the corresponding radio frame (or subframe), whereas a Ό’ bit may be used to indicate that the respective BWP shall be inactive in the corresponding radio frame (or subframe). As will be appreciated, the periodic BWP activation defined by the BWP switching pattern repeats itself over time for a certain finite time interval.

According to a further alternative, the BWP switching pattern may be signaled collectively for all configured BWPs (e.g., BWP0-BWP3) by means of an activation sequence indicating the set of BWPs that shall be active in each period of time (e.g., each radio frame), as shown in the table of figure 9c for the frame-wise BWP switching example of figure 6. For instance, the control information can be signaled as or define an array whose entries are the sets of BWP indicators of the active BWPs in each radio frame. Thus, in the example shown in figure 6, the activation sequence could be signaled as part of the control information in the following way (as illustrated in the table of figure 9c):

{ (0,1), (0,3), (0,1), (0,3), (0,1), (0,3), (0,1), (0,3), (0,1), (2) }

Such an activation sequence may also indicate the set of BWPs that shall be active in each subframe in case of subframe-wise BWP switching.

Figure 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1000 for communication in the wireless network 300 according to an embodiment. The method 1000 comprises the step 1001 of receiving the control information from the network node defining the BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs. The network node may be the base station 303 or the further terminal 305. Figure 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a further method 1100 for communication in the wireless network 300 by the terminal 301 according to an embodiment. The method 1100 comprises the steps of receiving 1101 assistance information from the one or more neighbouring terminals 305 and generating 1103 in a distributed fashion the BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs.

Figure 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1200 for controlling communication of the terminal 301 in the wireless network 300 according to an embodiment. The method 1200 comprises the step of providing 1201 control information to the terminal 301 defining the BWP switching pattern for periodic activation of at least one BWP of the plurality of BWPs.

The periodic activation of a BWP in the embodiments may indicate one or more BWPs are activated in a certain duration or in a certain interval (e.g., semi-statically). In addition, the one or more BWPs are not activated or are deactivated in the remaining duration or in the remaining intervals. By providing the control information (or BWP switching pattern), the network node indicates to the terminal which BWP is usable and/or which BWP is not. Moreover, the BWP switching pattern indicates which BWP starts at which time and/or ends at which time. Since there may be a limited number of activated BWPs at a given time, one or more BWPs are deactivated while another BWP is activated.

A communications apparatus is provided, including at least one of the following: a bus, a processor, a storage medium, a bus interface, a network adapter, a user interface, and an antenna, where the bus is configured to connect the processor, the storage medium, the bus interface, and the user interface; the processor is configured to perform the above method; the storage medium is configured to store an operating system and to-be-sent or to-be-received data; the bus interface is connected to the network adapter; the network adapter is configured to implement a signal processing function of a physical layer in a wireless communications network; the user interface is configured to be connected to a user input device; and the antenna is configured to send and receive a signal. The communications apparatus may be the network node or the terminal in the above embodiments.

Another aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium stores an instruction, and when the computer- readable storage medium runs on a computer, the computer performs the above method. Another aspect of this application provides a computer program product including an instruction, where when the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer performs the above method.

Another aspect of this application provides a computer program, where when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer performs the above method.

Method or algorithm steps described with reference to the content disclosed in this application may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a processor by executing a software instruction. The software instruction may include a corresponding software module. The software module may be stored in a RAM, a flash, a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, a storage medium is coupled to a processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information into the storage medium. Certainly, the storage medium may be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may be located in user equipment. Certainly, the processor and the storage medium may exist in the user equipment as discrete components.

The foregoing embodiments may be all or partially implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, the embodiments may be all or partially implemented in a form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of this application are all or partially generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatuses. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, or may be transmitted from a computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, or microwave) manner. The computer readable storage medium may be any usable medium accessible by a computer, or may be a data storage device, such as a server or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid state disk Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.

The term "and/or" in this specification describes only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. In addition, the character 7" in this specification generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects.

The person skilled in the art will understand that the “blocks” (“units”) of the various figures (method and apparatus) represent or describe functionalities of embodiments of the invention (rather than necessarily individual “units” in hardware or software) and thus describe equally functions or features of apparatus embodiments as well as method embodiments (unit = step).

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely exemplary. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.