FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of
telecommunication, and in particular, to methods, devices, and computer readable medium
for communication.
10 BACKGROUND
[0002] With development of communication systems, more and more technologies have
been proposed. Frequency hopping is a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly
changing the carrier frequency among many frequencies occupying a large spectral band.
The changes are controlled by a code known to both transmitter and receiver. The
15 frequency hopping is used to avoid interference, to prevent eavesdropping. In frequency
hopping systems, the transmitter changes the carrier frequency according to a certain
hopping pattern. The advantage is that the signal sees a different channel and a different
set of interfering signals during each hop. This avoids the problem of failing
communication at a particular frequency, because of a fade or a particular interferer.
20
SUMMARY
[0003] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for
communication.
[0004] In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device
25 comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program
codes; the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the
at least one processor, cause the terminal device to perform acts, the acts comprising:
receiving from a network device, configuration information for at least one frequency
hopping mode, the configuration information indicating a set of candidate frequency offsets
30 between two frequency hops in the at least one frequency hopping mode; and determining a
plurality of frequency hopping positions for a target frequency hopping mode based on the
configuration information.
1
[0005] In a second aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device
comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program
codes; the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the
at least one processor, cause the network device to perform acts, the acts comprising:
5 generating configuration information for at least one frequency hopping mode, the
configuration information indicating a set of candidate frequency offsets between two
frequency hops in the at least one frequency hopping mode; and transmitting the
configuration information to a terminal device.
[0006] In a third aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises receiving, at
10 a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information for at least one
frequency hopping mode, the configuration information indicating a set of candidate
frequency offsets between two frequency hops in the at least one frequency hopping mode;
and determining a plurality of frequency hopping positions for a target frequency hopping
mode based on the configuration information.
15 [0007] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises generating,
at a network device, configuration information for at least one frequency hopping mode, the
configuration information indicating a set of candidate frequency offsets between two
frequency hops in the at least one frequency hopping mode; and transmitting the
configuration information to a terminal device.
20 [0008] In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means
for receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information for
at least one frequency hopping mode, the configuration information indicating a set of
candidate frequency offsets between two frequency hops in the at least one frequency
hopping mode; and means for determining a plurality of frequency hopping positions for a
25 target frequency hopping mode based on the configuration information.
[0009] In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means
for generating, at a network device, configuration information for at least one frequency
hopping mode, the configuration information indicating a set of candidate frequency offsets
between two frequency hops in the at least one frequency hopping mode; and means for
30 transmitting the configuration information to a terminal device.
[0010] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium. The
computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to
2
perform at least the method according to any one of the above third and fourth aspects.
[0011] It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or
essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to
limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will
5 become easily comprehensible through the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Through the more detailed description of some example embodiments of the
present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and
10 advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:
[0013] Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication environment m which example
embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;
[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates a signaling flow for counting terminal devices according to some
embodiments of the present disclosure;
15 [0015] Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic block of a frequency hopping pattern according to
some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0016] Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic block of interlaces resource allocation according to
some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0017] Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device
20 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0018] Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a network device
according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure; and
[0019] Fig. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for
implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.
25 [0020] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the
same or similar element.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some
30 example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only
for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement
3
the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure.
The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones
described below.
[0022] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and
5 scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
[0023] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device which is capable of
providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate.
Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an
10 Evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NodeB in new radio access (gNB) a Remote Radio
Unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a low power node such as a
femto node, a pica node, a satellite network device, an aircraft network device, and the like.
For the purpose of discussion, in the following, some example embodiments will be
described with reference to eNB as examples of the network device.
15 [0024] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or
wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not
limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular
phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets,
wearable devices, internet of things (loT) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices,
20 machine type communication (MTC) devices, device on vehicle for V2X communication
where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, or image capture devices
such as digital cameras, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet
appliances enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like. In the
following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal",
25 "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A communication method comprising:
receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration
information for at least one frequency hopping mode, the configuration information
5 indicating a set of candidate frequency offsets between two frequency hops in the at least
one frequency hopping mode; and
10
15
determining a plurality of frequency hopping positions for a target frequency
hopping mode based on the configuration information.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, from the network device, control information comprising a first indication
of the target frequency hopping mode and a second indication related to the set of candidate
frequency offsets.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the set of candidate frequency offsets comprises
an initial frequency offset, and the second indication indicates a multiple value of the initial
frequency offset, and wherein determining the plurality of frequency hopping positions
compnses:
determining the plurality of frequency hopping positions based on the target
20 multiple of the initial frequency offset, the initial frequency offset, and a start resource
block.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the set of candidate frequency offsets comprises
a plurality of lists of frequency hopping offsets, wherein determining the plurality of
25 frequency hopping positions comprises:
30
selecting a target list of frequency hopping offsets based on the second indication;
and
determining the plurality of frequency hopping positions based on the target list of
frequency hopping offsets and a start resource block.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of candidate frequency offsets comprises
a list of frequency hopping offsets and wherein determining the plurality of frequency
hopping positions comprises:
21
determining a plurality of frequency hopping positions for the target frequency
hopping mode based on the list of frequency hopping offsets and a start resource block.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
5 receiving from the network device a configuration related to a repetition frequency
hopping pattern;
receiving from the network device control information indicating the number of
slots for one repetition and a further frequency offset between two repetitions; and
determining the repetition frequency hopping pattern based on the number of slots,
10 the further frequency offset and the configuration.
15
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving from the network device resource allocation information indicating a type
of resource allocation and an interlaced number; and
determining allocated resources based on the type of resource allocation and the
interlaced number.
8. A communication method comprising:
generating, at a network device, configuration information for at least one frequency
20 hopping mode, the configuration information indicating a set of candidate frequency offsets
between two frequency hops in the at least one frequency hopping mode; and
transmitting the configuration information to a terminal device.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
25 transmitting to the terminal device control information comprising a first indication
of the target frequency hopping mode and a second indication related to the set of candidate
frequency offsets.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of candidate frequency offsets comprises
30 an initial frequency offset.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of candidate frequency offsets comprises
a plurality of lists of frequency hopping offsets, and the second indication indicating a
target list of frequency hopping offsets based on the second indication.
22
Dated this 24th day of January 2023
Archana Shanker
Of Anand and Anand, Advocates
Agents for the Applicants
5
10
15
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of candidate frequency offsets comprises
a list of frequency hopping offsets.
13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
transmitting to the terminal device a configuration related to a repetition frequency
hopping pattern; and
transmitting to the terminal device control information indicating the number of
slots for one repetition and a further frequency offset between two repetitions.
14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
transmitting to the terminal device resource allocation information indicating a type
of resource allocation and an interlaced number.
15. A terminal device comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including computer program codes;
the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the
at least one processor, cause the terminal device to perform the method of any one of claims
20 1 to 7.
25
16. A network device comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including computer program codes;
the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the
at least one processor, cause the network device to perform the method of any one of claims
8 to 14.
17. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an
30 apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.