Methods and nodes for determining a transmission data block size

Abstract

A method in a User Equipment (UE) for determining a transmission data block size is provided. The method comprises: obtaining parameters for a data transmission, the parameters including at least a number of layers, a number of allocated resource blocks, a modulation order and a code rate; determining an effective number of resource elements; determining a transmission data block size based on the obtained parameters and the determined effective number of resource elements; and performing one of transmitting and receiving data based on the determined transmission data block size.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method in a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:
 receiving, from a network node, downlink control information (DCI) indicating parameters for a data transmission, the parameters including at least a number of layers, a number of allocated resource blocks, a modulation order and a code rate;   determining an effective number of resource elements per physical resource block (PRB) for the data transmission;   calculating a transmission data block size (TDBS) based on the parameters indicated by the received DCI and the determined effective number of resource elements, and without using a Transport Block Size (TBS) table; and   transmitting data based on the calculated transmission data block size.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the effective number of resource elements is based at least on one or more of: a slot configuration, mini-slot configuration, control region configuration, reference symbol configuration, frequency division duplex and time division duplex. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the effective number of resource elements (N RE ) comprises calculating:
     N   RE =12× n   OFDM   −N   RE   PTRS  
   where n OFDM  is a number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) symbols used for the data transmission, N RE   PTRS  is an average number of resource elements per Physical Resource Block (PRB) used for Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), 12 refers to a number of subcarriers in a PRB.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein calculating the TDBS is based on calculating a value of
     N   PRB   ·N   RE   ·v·Q   m   ·r      where N PRB  is the number of allocated resource blocks, N RE  is the number of effective resource elements, v is the number of layers,    m  is the modulation order and r is the code rate.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein calculating the TDBS comprises determining the TDBS to be a multiple of a size unit. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein calculating the TDBS to be a multiple of a size unit is based on: 
       
         
           
             
               C 
               × 
               
                 ⌈ 
                 
                   
                     
                       N 
                       
                         P 
                         ⁢ 
                         R 
                         ⁢ 
                         B 
                       
                     
                     · 
                     
                       N 
                       
                         R 
                         ⁢ 
                         E 
                       
                     
                     · 
                     v 
                     · 
                     
                       Q 
                       m 
                     
                     · 
                     r 
                   
                   C 
                 
                 ⌉ 
               
             
           
         
         where N PRB  is the number of allocated resource blocks, N RE  is the number of effective resource elements, v is the number of layers,    m  is the modulation order and r is the code rate, C is the size unit and ┌ ┐ is a ceiling function. 
       
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the size unit C is used to adjust the TDBS so that all code blocks are of equal size when the transmission data block is sub-divided into multiple code blocks. 
     
     
         8 . A User Equipment (UE) comprising a network interface and a processing circuitry connected thereto, the processing circuitry comprising a processor and a memory connected thereto, the memory containing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
 receive downlink control information (DCI) indicating parameters for a data transmission, the parameters including at least a number of layers, a number of allocated resource blocks, a modulation order and a code rate;   determine an effective number of resource elements per physical resource block (PRB) for the data transmission;   calculate a transmission data block size (TDBS) based on the parameters indicated in the received DCI and the determined effective number of resource elements, and without using a Transport Block Size (TBS) table; and   transmit data based on the calculated transmission data block size.   
     
     
         9 . The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the effective number of resource elements based at least on one or more of: a slot configuration, mini-slot configuration, control region configuration, reference symbol configuration, frequency division duplex and time division duplex. 
     
     
         10 . The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the effective number of resource elements (N RE ) by calculating:
     N   RE   DL,PRB =12× n   OFDM   −N   RE   PTRS  
   where n OFDM  is a number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) symbols used for the data transmission, N RE   PTRS  is an average number of resource elements per Physical Resource Blocks (PRB) used for Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS),  12  refers to a number of subcarriers in a PRB.   
     
     
         11 . The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the TDBS by calculating a value
     N   PRB   ·N   RE   ·v·Q   m   ·r      where N PRB  is the number of allocated resource blocks, N RE  is the number of effective resource elements, v is the number of layers,    m  is the modulation order and r is the code rate.   
     
     
         12 . The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the TDBS to be a multiple of a size unit. 
     
     
         13 . The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the TDBS to be a multiple of a size unit based on: 
       
         
           
             
               C 
               × 
               
                 ⌈ 
                 
                   
                     
                       N 
                       
                         P 
                         ⁢ 
                         R 
                         ⁢ 
                         B 
                       
                     
                     · 
                     
                       N 
                       
                         R 
                         ⁢ 
                         E 
                       
                     
                     · 
                     v 
                     · 
                     
                       Q 
                       m 
                     
                     · 
                     r 
                   
                   C 
                 
                 ⌉ 
               
             
           
         
         where N PRB  is the number of allocated resource blocks, N RE  is the number of effective resource elements, v is the number of layers,    m  is the modulation order and r is the code rate, C is the size unit and ┌ ┐ is a ceiling function. 
       
     
     
         14 . The UE of  claim 13 , wherein the size unit C is used to adjust the TDBS so that all code blocks are of equal size when the transport data block is sub-divided into multiple code blocks. 
     
     
         15 . A method in a network node, the method comprising:
 transmitting downlink control information (DCI) indicating parameters for a data transmission, the parameters including a number of layers, a number of allocated resource blocks, a modulation order and a code rate;   transmitting an effective number of resource elements per physical resource block (PRB) for the data transmission; and   receiving data based on a transmission data block size (TDBS), which is determined based on the parameters indicated in the transmitted DCI and the effective number of resource elements, and without using a Transport Block Size (TBS) table.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the effective number of resource elements is based at least on one or more of: a slot configuration, mini-slot configuration, control region configuration, reference symbol configuration, frequency division duplex and time division duplex. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein transmitting the effective number of resource elements comprises transmitting the effective number of resource elements in one of a signal comprising DCI and a signal via signaling of layer higher than a physical layer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the TDBS is calculated based on
     N   PRB   ·N   RE   ·v·Q   m   ·r      where N PRB  is the number of allocated resource blocks, N RE  is the number of effective resource elements, v is the number of layers,    m  is the modulation order and r is the code rate.