Systems and Methods for Determining Air Interface Configuration

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for configuring an air interface between a UE and an access point for one or more radio access network slices or services. The access point may transmit an indication of an option for each of a plurality of air interface building blocks to use for each service/slice. Methods are provided to address a situation where there are multiple options.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for an access point in an access network comprising:
 communicating with a first user equipment (UE) with a first air interface configuration for a first service;   communicating with a second UE with a second air interface configuration for a second service;   wherein the first service is in a first slice differentiating from a second slice for the second service in the access network; and   wherein the first and second air interface configurations are respectively in association with different numerologies, and each numerology comprises at least two of the following parameters: sub-carrier spacing, symbol duration, or CP length.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first and second services include at least one of an eMBB service, a URLLC service, an mMTC service, a video service, a voice service, a gaming service, a V2X service, or an emergency service. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising:
 for the first service, broadcasting information indicating at least one option supported by the access point for each of a plurality of air interface building blocks; 
 wherein communicating with the first user equipment with the first air interface configuration for the first service comprises:
 transmitting to or receiving from the first UE using the first air interface configuration composed of air interface building blocks set to options supported by both the access point and the first UE. 
 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein broadcasting information comprises using an air interface in which at least one building block is set to a default value; or using an interface in which at least one building block is not set to a default value. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein broadcasting information comprises:
 for each building block, transmitting a respective index for each of the options supported by the access point. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising:
 receiving an indication of UE type or capability from the first UE, the UE type or capability associated with one or more supported options for each of a plurality of the air interface building blocks; 
 wherein transmitting to or receiving from the first UE using the first air interface configuration composed of air interface blocks building blocks set to options supported by both the access point and the first UE comprises:
 where the UE type or capability is associated with support for only one option for a given building block, setting the option of the given building block to the one option. 
 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising:
 receiving an indication of UE type or capability from the first UE, the UE type or capability associated with one or more supported options for each of a plurality of the air interface building blocks; 
 wherein transmitting to or receiving from the first UE using the first air interface configuration composed of air interface building blocks set to options supported by both the access point and the first UE comprises: 
 where the UE type or capability is associated with support for two or more options for a given building block, receiving an indication from the first UE of a selected one of the two or more options and transmitting or receiving with the given building block according to the selected one of the two or more options; or 
 where the UE type or capability is associated with support for two or more options for a given building block, selecting one of the two or more options for the given building block, and transmitting an indication to the first UE of the selected one of the two or more options. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3  wherein:
 for at least one service, transmitting or receiving comprises setting an option for at least air interface one building block to a default value for the service. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 broadcasting information comprising an index of a respective option for each of at least one building block of the first air interface configuration, each building block having a predefined set of possible options each having an index, 
 wherein communicating with the first user equipment with the first air interface configuration for the first service comprises transmitting to or receiving from the first UE using the first air interface configuration in accordance with the broadcast information. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the at least one building block, or the set of possible options for a given building block, is dependent on frequency band or system bandwidth. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising:
 when downlink data arrives or when a session initiates, transmitting a signal or message indicating a service of the first and second services used for the transmission or session, and transmitting the data using the indicated service; or 
 transmitting the downlink data using a service of the first and second services, the transmission implicitly indicating the service used for the transmitting. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising:
 transmitting downlink control information in a control channel to schedule a transmission, and including in the control information an indication of which service to use for the transmission. 
 
     
     
         13 . A method in a user equipment in an access network comprising:
 communicating with a first access point (AP) with a first air interface configuration for a first service;   communicating with a second AP with a second air interface configuration for a second service;   wherein the first service is in a first slice differentiating from a second slice for the second service in the access network; and   wherein the first and second air interface configurations are respectively in association with different numerologies, and each numerology comprises at least two of the following parameters: sub-carrier spacing, symbol duration, or CP length.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the first and second services include at least one of an eMBB service, a URLLC service, an mMTC service, a video service, a voice service, a gaming service, a V2X service, or an emergency service. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising:
 for the first service, receiving broadcast information indicating at least one option supported by the first access point for each of a plurality of air interface building blocks; 
 wherein communicating with the first access point with the first air interface configuration for the first service comprises transmitting to or receiving from the first access point using the first air interface configuration composed of air interface building blocks set to options supported by both the access point and the UE. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein receiving the broadcast information comprises using an air interface in which at least one building block is set to a default value; or using an interface in which at least one building block is not set to a default value. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein receiving broadcast information comprises
 for each building block, receiving a respective index for each of the options supported by the first access point. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 transmitting an indication of UE type or capability to an access point, the UE type or capability associated with one or more supported options for each of a plurality of the air interface building blocks. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 transmitting an indication of UE type or capability to the first access point, the UE type or capability associated with one or more supported options for each of a plurality of the air interface building blocks; 
 where the UE type or capability is associated with support for two or more options for a given building block, transmitting an indication to the first access point of a selected one of the two or more options. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 receiving uplink scheduling information on a control channel to schedule an uplink transmission, and scheduling information including an indication of which service to use for the uplink transmission. 
 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising:
 receiving broadcast information comprising an index of a respective option for each of at least one building block of the first air interface configuration, each building block having a predefined set of possible options each having an index; 
 wherein communicating with the first access point with the first air interface configuration for the first service comprises transmitting to or receiving from the first access point using the first air interface configuration in accordance with the broadcast information. 
 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising:
 receiving a signal or message indicating a service of the first and second services used for a downlink transmission or session; or 
 receiving a downlink transmission using a service of the first and second services, the transmission implicitly indicating the service used for the transmission. 
 
     
     
         23 . An access point comprising:
 a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions; and   one or more processors in communication with the non-transitory memory storage, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to:
 communicate with a first user equipment (UE) with a first air interface configuration for a first service; and 
 communicate with a second UE with a second air interface configuration for a second service; 
 wherein the first service is in a first slice differentiating from a second slice for the second service in an access network; and 
 wherein the first and second air interface configurations are respectively in association with different numerologies, and each numerology comprises at least two of the following parameters: sub-carrier spacing, symbol duration, or CP length. 
   
     
     
         24 . A user equipment comprising:
 a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions; and   one or more processors in communication with the non-transitory memory storage, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to:
 communicate with a first access point (AP) with a first air interface configuration for a first service; and 
 communicate with a second AP with a second air interface configuration for a second service; 
 wherein the first service is in a first slice differentiating from a second slice for the second service in an access network; and 
 wherein the first and second air interface configurations are respectively in association with different numerologies, and each numerology comprises at least two of the following parameters: sub-carrier spacing, symbol duration, or CP length.