Method, system and apparatus for new radio bandwidth portion operation

Abstract

An apparatus includes components for: receiving a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion; determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst; determining a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a method, apparatus and computer program and particularly, but not exclusively, to a method, apparatus and computer program relating to new radio bandwidth portion operation within a wideband carrier based communication system. Background Art

[0002] A communication system can be viewed as a facility for enabling communication sessions between two or more entities such as user terminals, base stations and / or other nodes by providing carrier waves between the various entities involved in the communication path. A communication system can be provided, for example, by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. A communication session may include, for example, data communications for carrying communications such as voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia and / or content data. Non-limiting examples of the services provided include two-way or multi-way calls, data communications or multimedia services, and access to data network systems such as the Internet.

[0003] In a wireless communication system, at least a portion of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless systems include public land mobile networks (PLMNs), satellite-based communication systems, and different wireless local area networks, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs). Wireless systems can typically be divided into cells, and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] A user can access a communication system by means of an appropriate communication device or terminal. The user's communication device is usually referred to as a user equipment (UE) or a mobile station (MS). The communication device is equipped with appropriate signal receiving and sending means to enable communication, for example, to enable access to a communication network or to communicate directly with other users. The communication device can access a carrier provided by a station (e.g., a base station of a cell) and send and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0005] Communication systems and associated equipment typically operate according to a given standard or specification that sets out what the various entities associated with the system are allowed to do and how this should be achieved. Communication protocols and / or parameters that should be used for the connection are also typically defined. An example of an attempt to address the problems associated with increased capacity requirements is the architecture of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. LTE is standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The various stages of development of the 3GPP LTE specifications are called releases. NR Rel-15 has been defined for different licensed band scenarios covering carrier frequencies up to about 52 GHz. The scope of the new NR-U study project is to provide NR support for different unlicensed band scenarios. Summary of the invention

[0006] In a first aspect, a device is provided, comprising components for: receiving a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion; determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst; determining a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0007] The at least two bandwidth portions may at least partially overlap in frequency.

[0008] The bandwidth of each of the at least one associated temporal bandwidth portions may be less than the bandwidth of the first bandwidth portion.

[0009] The component may also be configured to generate a second time bandwidth portion configuration from the first bandwidth portion configuration by modifying parameters of the first bandwidth portion configuration.

[0010] The means for modifying the first bandwidth portion configuration parameter may be means configured to perform at least one of: truncating; padding; masking; and shifting a configuration parameter value or a configuration parameter range of the first bandwidth portion configuration.

[0011] The component may also be configured to: receive at least one other bandwidth portion configuration, and determine which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active, wherein the component for determining which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active may be based on one of: radio resource control signaling; a received indicator within a downlink assignment; a received indicator within an uplink grant; and a first inactivity timer, expiration of the inactivity timer indicating that the active bandwidth portion configuration is the default bandwidth portion configuration.

[0012] The means for determining which bandwidth portion of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for transmitting the burst may also be based on at least one of: at least one signal received from a further device; and an ongoing transmission bandwidth portion configuration or an ongoing determination of a transmission bandwidth portion.

[0013] The first bandwidth configuration may be active while the second bandwidth configuration is employed.

[0014] The component may also be configured to determine, during the transmission burst, a second time-bandwidth portion configuration that causes determination of transmission parameters for subsequent transmissions.

[0015] A component for determining a second time-bandwidth portion configuration during a transmission burst that causes determination of transmission parameters for a subsequent transmission burst may be configured to determine a second time-bandwidth portion configuration during transmission that causes determination of transmission parameters for a subsequent transmission portion based on one of: determining which of at least two bandwidth portions is active during the subsequent transmission burst; determining which of at least two bandwidth portions is active after a determined inactivity period determined by a second inactivity timer; and controlling the device to use a received indicator of the same second time-bandwidth portion configuration.

[0016] The component may also be configured to: receive a signal during a transmission burst; and send another signal during a transmission burst.

[0017] According to a second aspect, a device is provided, which includes a component for: sending a first bandwidth portion configuration to another device, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst, and determine a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the other device is caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0018] The component can also be configured to: select one of the first bandwidth portion configuration and at least one other bandwidth portion configuration; determine transmission parameters for a transmission burst between the device and another device based on the selected bandwidth portion configuration; and send at least one other bandwidth portion configuration to the other device, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active.

[0019] The component may also be configured to send at least one further signal, the at least one further signal being caused to enable a further apparatus to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for transmitting the burst.

[0020] According to a third aspect, a method is provided, the method comprising: receiving a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion; determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst; determining a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0021] The at least two bandwidth portions may at least partially overlap in frequency.

[0022] The bandwidth of each of the at least one associated temporal bandwidth portions may be less than the bandwidth of the first bandwidth portion.

[0023] The method may include generating a second temporal bandwidth portion configuration from the first bandwidth portion configuration by modifying parameters of the first bandwidth portion configuration.

[0024] Modifying the first bandwidth portion configuration parameter may include performing at least one of: truncating; padding; masking; and shifting a configuration parameter value or a configuration parameter range of the first bandwidth portion configuration.

[0025] The method may also include: receiving at least one other bandwidth portion configuration, and determining which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active, wherein determining which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active may be based on one of: radio resource control signaling; a received indicator within a downlink assignment; a received indicator within an uplink grant; and a first inactivity timer, expiration of the inactivity timer indicating that the active bandwidth portion configuration is the default bandwidth portion configuration.

[0026] Determining which bandwidth portion of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for transmitting the burst may also be based on at least one of: at least one signal received from the device; and an ongoing transmission bandwidth portion configuration or an ongoing determination of a transmission bandwidth portion.

[0027] The first bandwidth configuration may be active while the second bandwidth configuration is employed.

[0028] The method may further include determining, during the transmission burst, a second time-bandwidth portion configuration that causes determination of transmission parameters for subsequent transmissions.

[0029] Determining a second time-bandwidth portion configuration during a transmission burst that causes determination of transmission parameters for a subsequent transmission burst may include: determining a second time-bandwidth portion configuration during transmission that causes determination of transmission parameters for a subsequent transmission portion based on one of the following: determining which of at least two bandwidth portions is active during the subsequent transmission burst; determining which of at least two bandwidth portions is active after a determined inactivity time period determined by a second inactivity timer; and controlling the device to use the same second time-bandwidth portion configuration received indicator.

[0030] The method may also include: receiving a signal during the transmission burst; and sending an additional signal during the transmission burst.

[0031] According to a fourth aspect, a method is provided, the method comprising: sending a first bandwidth portion configuration to a device, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the device is caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst, and determine a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the device is caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0032] The method may also include: selecting one of the first bandwidth portion configuration and at least one other bandwidth portion configuration; determining transmission parameters for transmitting the burst based on the selected bandwidth portion configuration; and sending at least one other bandwidth portion configuration to the device, wherein the device is caused to determine which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active.

[0033] The method may further comprise sending at least one further signal, the at least one further signal being caused to enable the apparatus to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for transmitting the burst.

[0034] According to a fifth aspect, a device is provided, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the device, together with the at least one processor, to: receive a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion; determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst; determine a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0035] The at least two bandwidth portions may at least partially overlap in frequency.

[0036] The bandwidth of each of the at least one associated temporal bandwidth portions may be less than the bandwidth of the first bandwidth portion.

[0037] The apparatus may also be caused to generate a second temporal bandwidth portion configuration from the first bandwidth portion configuration by modifying parameters of the first bandwidth portion configuration.

[0038] The apparatus caused to modify the first bandwidth portion configuration parameter may be a means caused to perform at least one of: truncating; padding; masking; and shifting a configuration parameter value or a configuration parameter range of the first bandwidth portion configuration.

[0039] The device may also be caused to: receive at least one other bandwidth portion configuration, and determine which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active, wherein the device caused to determine which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active may be based on one of: radio resource control signaling; a received indicator within a downlink assignment; a received indicator within an uplink authorization; and a first inactivity timer, expiration of the inactivity timer indicating that the active bandwidth portion configuration is the default bandwidth portion configuration.

[0040] The means caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for transmitting a burst may also be based on at least one of: at least one signal received from the device; and an ongoing transmission bandwidth portion configuration or an ongoing determination of a transmission bandwidth portion.

[0041] The first bandwidth configuration may be active while the second bandwidth configuration is employed.

[0042] The apparatus may also be caused to determine, during the transmission burst, a second time-bandwidth portion configuration caused to determine transmission parameters for subsequent transmissions.

[0043] A device caused to determine during a transmission burst a second time-bandwidth portion configuration caused to determine transmission parameters for a subsequent transmission burst may be caused to determine during transmission a second time-bandwidth portion configuration caused to determine transmission parameters for a subsequent transmission portion based on one of: determining which of at least two bandwidth portions is active during the subsequent transmission burst; determining which of at least two bandwidth portions is active after a determined inactivity period determined by a second inactivity timer; and controlling the device to use a received indicator of the same second time-bandwidth portion configuration.

[0044] The apparatus may also be caused to: receive a signal during a transmission burst; and send another signal during the transmission burst.

[0045] According to a sixth aspect, a device is provided, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the device, together with the at least one processor, to: send a first bandwidth portion configuration to another device, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration including at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst, and determine a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the other device is caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0046] The device may also be caused to: select one of a first bandwidth portion configuration and at least one other bandwidth portion configuration; determine transmission parameters for transmitting a burst based on the selected bandwidth portion configuration; and send at least one other bandwidth portion configuration to another device, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active.

[0047] The apparatus may also be caused to send at least one further signal caused to enable a further apparatus to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used to transmit the burst.

[0048] According to a seventh aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions [or a computer-readable medium comprising program instructions] for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following: receiving a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion; determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst; determining a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0049] According to an eighth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions [or a computer-readable medium comprising program instructions] for causing a device to at least perform the following: sending a first bandwidth portion configuration to another device, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst, and to determine a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the device is caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0050] According to a ninth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following: receiving a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion; determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst; determining a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0051] According to the tenth aspect, a non-volatile computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for causing a device to at least perform the following: sending a first bandwidth portion configuration to another device, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration including at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst, and determine a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the device is caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0052] According to an eleventh aspect, a device is provided, which includes: a receiving circuit system configured to receive a first bandwidth part configuration, the first bandwidth part configuration is caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth part in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth part configuration including at least two bandwidth parts: a first bandwidth part and at least one associated time bandwidth part; a determining circuit system configured to determine which of the at least two bandwidth parts is used for a transmission burst; a determining circuit system configured to determine a second time bandwidth part configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth part configuration is caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth part and determining which of the at least two bandwidth parts is used for the transmission burst.

[0053] According to the twelfth aspect, a device is provided, which includes: a transmission circuit system configured to send a first bandwidth part configuration to another device, the first bandwidth part configuration is caused to support dynamic adaptation of the transmission bandwidth part in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth part configuration includes at least two bandwidth parts: a first bandwidth part and at least one associated time bandwidth part, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth parts is used for a transmission burst, and determine a second time bandwidth part configuration for the transmission burst, so that the device is caused to determine the transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth part and determining which of the at least two bandwidth parts is used for the transmission burst.

[0054] According to the thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following: receiving a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion; determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst; determining a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, the second time bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0055] According to the fourteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for causing a device to perform at least the following: sending a first bandwidth portion configuration to another device, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration including at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the other device is caused to determine which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for a transmission burst, and determine a second time bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the device is caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time bandwidth portion and determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0056] The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs.

[0057] In another aspect, there is provided a computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer program comprising program code for providing any of the above methods.

[0058] In another aspect, there is provided a computer program product for a computer, the computer program product comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of the aforementioned methods when said product is run.

[0059] A computer program may be provided, the computer program comprising program code means adapted to perform the method(s).The computer program may be stored and / or implemented in another way by means of a carrier medium.

[0060] Many different embodiments have been described above. It should be understood that other embodiments can be provided by combining any two or more of the above embodiments.

[0061] Many different embodiments have been described above. It should be understood that other embodiments can be provided by combining any two or more of the above embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0063] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing an example communication system including a base station and a plurality of communication devices suitable for implementing some embodiments is shown;

[0064] Figure 2a A schematic diagram showing an example mobile communication device suitable for implementing some embodiments is shown;

[0065] Figure 2b shows a schematic diagram of an example control device suitable for implementing some embodiments;

[0066] Figure 3 An example of interference avoidance based on dynamic bandwidth adaptation is shown;

[0067] Figure 4 shows example switching between NR bandwidth part and time bandwidth part activation / deactivation according to some embodiments;

[0068] Figure 5 shows an example flow chart of temporal bandwidth partial activation / deactivation operations according to some embodiments;

[0069] Figure 6 shows an example time-bandwidth fractional bandwidth and starting physical resource block configuration according to some embodiments; and

[0070] Figure 7 A temporal BWP operation according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] Before explaining the examples in detail, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2a and Figure 2b Certain general principles of a wireless communication system and a mobile communication device according to some embodiments are briefly explained to help understand the underlying technology of the described examples.

[0072] In wireless communication systems such as Figure 1In the wireless communication system (e.g., wireless communication system 100) 100 shown, wireless access is provided to mobile communication devices or user equipment (UE) 102, 104, 105 via at least one base station or similar wireless transmission and / or reception node or point. The base stations (BTS, NodeB (NB), enhanced NodeB (eNB), gNB) are typically controlled by at least one appropriate controller device to enable their operation and management of mobile communication devices communicating with the base stations. The controller device may be located in a radio access network (e.g., wireless communication system 100) or a core network (CN) (not shown) and may be implemented as a central device or its functionality may be distributed across several devices. The controller device may be part of a base station and / or provided by a separate entity such as a radio network controller (RNC). In Figure 1 In the embodiment, control means 108 and 109 are shown as controlling the respective macro-level base stations 106 and 107. The control means of the base stations may be interconnected with other control entities. The control means are typically provided with memory capacity and at least one data processor. The control means and functions may be distributed among a plurality of control units. In some systems, the control means may additionally or alternatively be provided in a radio network controller or a base station controller (BSC).

[0073] However, without providing an RNC, an LTE system may be considered to have a so-called "flat" architecture; specifically, the NBs communicate with the System Architecture Evolution Gateway (SAE-GW) and the Mobility Management Entity (MME), which may also be pooled, meaning that multiple of these nodes may serve multiple (a group of) gNBs.

[0074] exist Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , base stations 106 and 107 are shown connected to a wider communications network 113 via a gateway 112. Further gateway functionality may be provided to connect to another network.

[0075] Smaller base stations 116, 118, and 120 may also be connected to the network 113, for example, through a separate gateway function and / or via a controller of a macro-level station. Base stations 116, 118, and 120 may be pico-level base stations or femto-level base stations, etc. In this example, stations 116 and 118 are connected via gateway 111, while station 120 is connected via controller device 108. In some embodiments, smaller stations may not be provided. Smaller base stations 116, 118, and 120 may be part of a second network (e.g., WLAN) and may be WLAN APs.

[0076] Now refer to Figure 2aDescribing possible mobile communication devices in more detail, FIG. 2 shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a communication device 200. Such communication devices are generally referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS) or terminals. Suitable mobile communication devices can be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include mobile stations (MS) or mobile devices such as mobile phones or so-called "smart phones", computers provided with wireless interface cards or other wireless interface facilities (e.g., USB dongles), personal data assistants (PDAs) or tablet computers with wireless communication capabilities, IoT devices, or any combination of these devices, etc. The term "mobile station" can also cover any such device configured for movement, such as mobile IoT devices. Mobile communication devices can provide, for example, data communications for carrying communications such as voice, email (email), text messages, multimedia, etc. Therefore, many services can be supplied and provided to users via the user's communication device. Non-limiting examples of these services include two-way or multi-way calls, data communications or multimedia services, or only include access to data communication network systems such as the Internet. Broadcast or multicast data can also be provided to users. Non-limiting examples of content include downloads, television and radio programming, videos, advertisements, various alerts, and other information.

[0077] The mobile device 200 may receive signals over the air or radio interface 207 via suitable means for receiving (e.g., a receiver), and may send signals via suitable means for sending radio signals (e.g., a transmitter). Figure 2a In the mobile device, the transceiver arrangement is schematically represented by block 206. The transceiver arrangement 206 may be provided, for example, by means of a radio part and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

[0078] The mobile device is typically provided with at least one data processing entity 201, at least one memory 202 and possibly other components 203, so as to perform the tasks it is designed to perform, including controlling access to and communication with access systems and other communication devices, with the assistance of software and hardware. Data processing, storage and other related control means may be provided on appropriate circuit boards and / or in chipsets. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 204. The user may control the operation of the mobile device with the aid of a suitable user interface such as a keyboard 205, voice commands, a touch-sensitive screen or touchpad, a combination thereof. A display 208, a speaker and a microphone may also be provided. In addition, the mobile communication device may include appropriate connectors (wired or wireless) to other devices and / or for connecting external accessories (e.g., a hands-free device) thereto.

[0079] Figure 2bAn example of a control device for a communication system is shown, which control device is, for example, to be coupled to and / or used to control the following: a station of an access system such as a RAN node, for example, a base station, a node B (e.g., an eNB or gNB); a central unit of a cloud architecture or a node of a core network, such as an MME or S-GW; a scheduling entity; or a server or host. The method can be implanted in a single control device or across more than one control device. The control device can be integrated with a node or module of a core network or RAN or external to it. In some embodiments, the base station includes a separate control device unit or module. In other embodiments, the control device can be another network element, such as a radio network controller or a spectrum controller. In some embodiments, each base station can have such a control device and a control device provided in a radio network controller. The control device 250 can be arranged to provide control of communications in a service area of ​​the system. The control device 250 includes at least one memory 251, at least one data processing unit 252, 253 and an input / output interface 254. The control device can be coupled to a receiver and a transmitter of the base station via the interface. The receiver and / or the transmitter can be implemented as a radio front end or a remote radio head. For example, the control device 250 or the processor 251 may be configured to execute appropriate software code to provide control functionality.

[0080] The communication devices 102, 104, 105 can access the communication system based on various access technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) or wideband CDMA (WCDMA). Other non-limiting examples include time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA) and various schemes thereof, such as interleaved frequency division multiple access (IFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), space division multiple access (SDMA), etc. Signaling mechanisms and processes that can enable devices to solve the in-device coexistence (IDC) problem caused by multiple transceivers can be provided with the help of LTE networks. Multiple transceivers can be configured to provide radio access to different radio technologies.

[0081] In LTE LAA, two channel access procedures (called listen-before-talk LBT) are defined: Type 1 and Type 2. In Type 1 LBT, the node generates a random number N uniformly distributed over the contention window (where the size of the contention window depends on the channel access priority of the service). Once the node has measured the channel to be vacant N times, it can occupy the channel and transmit. In order to align the transmission with the LTE subframe (or time slot) boundary, the node may need to resort to self-delay during the LBT procedure. In the Type 2 LBT access procedure, the node performs single-channel measurements at 25μs time intervals before transmission. For physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) access, this type of LBT can be performed when the eNB shares its channel occupation time (COT) with the UE. (In other words, the eNB contends for the channel, and once the eNB has acquired access to the channel, it can allow the UE to use part of its channel occupation time for UL transmission).

[0082] Therefore, it is known and configured to support UL transmission with Type 2 LBT within the COT acquired by the gNB on NR unlicensed systems as it supports efficiently scheduled UL as well as UL frequency domain multiple access (FDMA) procedures.

[0083] In MulteFire, if the UL transmission starts within 16 μs after the end of the downlink (DL) transmission, the UE can also skip the LBT procedure for UL control signaling within the COT acquired by the eNB.

[0084] In New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U), there are several wider unlicensed bands, and a single gNB or UE can sometimes access very wide bandwidths. Therefore, wideband operation is one of the key components of NR-U. For NR with wideband operation, both carrier aggregation and bandwidth part (BWP) mechanisms are supported in the latest agreed version. NR-U can be configured to use these two mechanisms to achieve fully general support for wideband.

[0085] Carrier aggregation provides multiple advantages, such as frequency domain flexibility. For example, aggregated carriers do not have to be adjacent, but can be far apart, and can provide diversity for channel access. In addition, carrier aggregation allows each carrier to adopt its own listen-before-talk (LBT) access procedure, resulting in an agile channel access system.

[0086] Thus, the embodiments described below attempt to support carrier aggregation for NR-U (and in addition to facilitating LAA operation with NR licensed carriers). Carrier aggregation requires multiple RF chains and increases the price of the UE transceiver. In addition, carrier aggregation increases UE power consumption and creates latency in component carrier activation / deactivation that can be implemented to save UE power.

[0087] The concept of serving cell adaptation bandwidth (BW) configuration is introduced in R15 NR with the help of bandwidth parts (BWP). The UE can be instructed to operate on a specific part of the BW of the gNB which can be defined as BWP. In some embodiments, up to 4 BWPs can be configured for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) respectively. Each BWP can be defined with respect to parameters such as: subcarrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix, BW in terms of consecutive PRBs and the position of the BW in the total BW of the cell, K0, K1 and K2 values, which define the time offset from the reception of DL assignment to the start of PDSCH, the time offset from the end of PDSCH to the HARQ-ACK transmission time, and the time offset from the reception of UL grant to the start of PUSCH transmission, respectively.

[0088] In the case of unpaired spectrum (in other words, time division duplex TDD access), the UL and DL BWPs can be paired, in which case the center frequencies of the two BWPs are required to be the same, thereby eliminating the need for the UE to re-tune its radio frequency during UL-DL and DL-UL switching. For example, one of the BWPs can be defined as the default BWP in order to facilitate UE battery saving with the help of an inactivity timer.

[0089] The UE may have only one BWP active at a time. The active BWP may be indicated by a field in the downlink control information (DCI) or by radio resource control (RRC) signaling. BWP switching may occur after the UE has received signaling to change the active BWP, but where the switching time has not yet been determined. In some embodiments, the UE may also fall back to the default BWP after a configured inactivity period, i.e., when the inactivity timer expires.

[0090] In this way, the BWP mechanism provides an alternative broadband mechanism when accessing unlicensed spectrum on adjacent 20MHz channels, as it can save UE costs by reducing the number of RF chains. A single RF chain and FFT processing can be used to access wide bandwidths, such as 80MHz or 160MHz portions, on the 5GHz or 6GHz (potential) unlicensed bands. It also improves the trade-off between UE throughput and battery consumption via fast BWP switching. Since the BWP switching time may be shorter than the component carrier activation (deactivation) time, the UE can switch quite actively to reduce the BWP (and return to the broadband BWP) compared to the slower CC (deactivation) activation method, thereby saving UE battery and reducing the compromised throughput. The NR BWP switching time (hundreds of microseconds, such as 600μs) is of a significantly different order of magnitude from a single CCA (e.g., 9μs) time slot in the LBT process. This limits how the BWP operates and how the LBT interacts.

[0091] The channel contention mechanism is one of the key components for efficient broadband operation, so the channel contention mechanism for broadband operation needs to be considered. It should be noted that both Wi-Fi and LTE LAA LBT operate on 20MHz channels, and certain regulatory rules (e.g., ETSI standards) require LBT operation on a 20MHz grid in the 5GHz band. Therefore, in order to meet regulatory requirements and ensure fair coexistence with other systems, NR unlicensed should also support a 20MHz grid for LBT operation at least for the 5GHz unlicensed band. In some embodiments, wider LBT BW should be supported for higher frequency unlicensed bands or potential new unlicensed bands (such as the 6GHz band).

[0092] It will be appreciated that embodiments may be implemented in any suitable system, but in the following examples we discuss embodiments within a NR unlicensed wideband (greater than 20 MHz) system operating according to the following parameters:

[0093] The system operates in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum.

[0094] Large FFT size (such as 4k FFT). The maximum number of PRBs per BWP is 275. The following assumption is that the UE implementation is based on 4k FFT (275PRB*12 subcarriers / PRB=3300 subcarriers).

[0095] The maximum subcarrier spacing (SCS) can be 30kHz or 60kHz.

[0096] Furthermore, the systems in the following examples have a carrier bandwidth such as 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz.

[0097] A subband may be defined as one (or possibly multiple adjacent) channels on an unlicensed carrier, typically with a bandwidth of 20 MHz. In addition, a subband may be aligned with the bandwidth of an LBT, a subband may be equal to the BW of a single LBT (e.g., 20 MHz) or a multiple of the LBT BW (e.g., 40 MHz). All subbands may have the same BW, or there may be a combination of different subband BWs (e.g., an 80 MHz carrier BW may contain three non-overlapping subbands of, for example, 20, 20, and 40 MHz).

[0098] In some embodiments, when operating under the unlicensed band regulations in NR-U scenarios, before the gNB can start sending DL Tx bursts in the cell, it must perform LBT. To meet regulatory requirements and ensure fair coexistence with other systems, NR-U is also configured to support sub-band LBT with at least 20MHz resolution.

[0099] Figure 3Possible transmission bandwidth combinations for gNB after subband-specific LBT are shown.

[0100] In this example, the vertical axis represents the bandwidth of the system. Thus, a carrier bandwidth 301 of 80 MHz is shown, which may be formed by a contiguous allocation of 20 MHz sub-bands 303, which may be defined as: a first 20 MHz sub-band 3031, a second 20 MHz sub-band 3032, a third 20 MHz sub-band 3033, and a fourth 20 MHz sub-band 3034. In some scenarios, non-contiguous allocation of sub-bands may also be considered and / or supported (although in Figure 3 (not shown in ). At least for the gNB transmitter, non-contiguous allocation may be a viable assumption.

[0101] The gNB can be configured to maintain a constant BW while instructing the UE to operate on a specific BW portion. In NR-U, the gNB can be configured to attempt to gain channel access on a wide BW (e.g., 80 MHz) while also performing LBT based on the subband LBT results (possibly even before LBT), such that the gNB is configured to gain channel access only on a portion of the wide BW.

[0102] While reducing its BW, the gNB may or may not need to adjust the RF configuration (center frequency, analog and / or digital filters, etc.) to meet regulatory rules defined for out-of-band emissions. Similarly, the gNB can decide and perform transmission bandwidth adaptation during the LBT process (not necessarily at the end of the LBT process). In the following examples, the transmission bandwidth (TX BW) is defined as the portion of the spectrum on which the gNB actually transmits after LBT. Based on the results of the LBT, the TX BW can be equal to the carrier BW, or a portion (one or more subbands) of the carrier BW.

[0103] So, for example, Figure 3 As shown, the horizontal axis shows the time where the gNB is initially able to perform LBT and then access the full bandwidth in the full channel occupancy time (COT) or TX burst 305 before performing additional LBT 307 between COT305. Figure 3 Also shown is a situation where an interference blocking source causes an interference blocking LBT 309 .

[0104] This can be addressed by, for example, missing full bandwidth transmissions during the occupied time (e.g., transmission gap 308) or the gNB being configured to switch 310 the bandwidth outside the interference blocking source. Switching 310 to a 40 MHz bandwidth 311 including first 20 MHz sub-bands 3131 and second 20 MHz sub-bands 3132 that are identical to the first 20 MHz sub-bands 3031 and second 20 MHz sub-bands 3032 of the full bandwidth, respectively, allows the gNB to continue transmitting but avoid interference.

[0105] In this case, the gNB can transmit in the COT on a narrower BW than the UE is configured to receive, which does not necessarily require the UE to re-tune its RF to the gNB Tx BW for DL ​​reception (although without RF re-tuning, the UE is still more susceptible to interference it receives in the RF band). On the other hand, it may be difficult (if not impossible) for the UE to facilitate a fast re-tuning of the UE RF at the start of a DL transmission from the gNB. Furthermore, during the re-tuning period, the UE will not be able to receive DL signals.

[0106] The following embodiments further enhance such flexible BW operation and have the following advantages.

[0107] The UE is aware of the capability of the gNB to transmit BW that is less than the active BWP BW. This is because, before DL transmission starts, the UE only knows its active BWP BW, which can be the same as the wide carrier BW (i.e., all subbands), but not necessarily the same as the actual transmit BW (TX BW).

[0108] Furthermore, since previously the gNB may have been configured to share the COT with the UE only on the Tx BW for acquiring channel access, scheduling of PUSCH / PUCCH utilizing LBT (or not LBT-friendly) only within the BW used in the current DL Tx burst portion of the COT is improved.

[0109] Additionally, in some embodiments, a limitation is that before starting PUSCH / PUCCH transmission (with type 2 LBT, or possibly without LBT), the UE may need to adjust its bandwidth and center frequency to correspond to the BW of the DL tx COT, or the PUSCH allocation may be relaxed in some embodiments.

[0110] Conventional licensed (LTE-L) systems are configured such that a UE can be configured with an initial BWP + up to 4 DL / UL BWPs. The BW parts may also overlap in frequency. In such a system, only one BWP is active at a time, and furthermore, the UE is configured to switch its active BWP based on RRC signaling or based on an indication in a DL assignment or UL grant (DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI1_1) or by an inactivity timer (resulting in a fallback to a default BWP).

[0111] However, it should be noted that the described subband-based BW adaptation represents a lot of continuous Tx BW options (with different bandwidths and / or carrier frequencies). For example, in 4 subbands, there are already 10 different Tx BW / BWP continuous options (4x single subbands, 3x pairs of subband combinations, 2x three subband combinations, and 1x four subbands). Even reducing to 7 requires a lot of configuration burden. In addition, if the number of subbands is extended to more than 4, the number of continuous Tx BW options will increase rapidly.

[0112] Therefore, since most Physical (uplink and downlink) Shared Channel (PxSCH) and Physical (uplink and downlink) Control Channel (PxCCH) parameters are configured for both UL and DL BWPs, the following embodiments attempt to alleviate significant configuration burden.

[0113] BWP operation on NR-U has been discussed and BWP options have been considered. Some have discussed multiple BWPs, where each BWP is assumed to correspond to a single subband LBT. For the single BWP case, they note that the Tx BW must be reduced based on the LBT results for both DL and UL.

[0114] They point out several specific aspects, e.g. an indication of the actual Tx BW is necessary, e.g. based on DMRS detection or PDCCH indication, involving data puncturing and possibly adjusting the CORESET position. However, there is no specific solution on how to dynamically adapt the BWP, e.g. they do not consider changing the BWP or changing the related configuration or necessary signaling.

[0115] A concept associated with the embodiments described below is to provide dynamic BWP adaptation for sub-band LBT operation. Therefore, the embodiments introduce a new BWP category, which is defined as "time BWP". The time BWP differs from the normal BWP in terms of configuration and BWP switching, thereby simplifying the configuration and control signaling. In addition, as discussed below, the embodiments define a BWP switching or activation / deactivation mechanism suitable for dynamic Tx BW adaptation in NR-U operation. In the following discussion, various aspects of the time BWP configuration and the transition between the time BWP and the associated NR BWP will be introduced.

[0116] Characteristics of the temporal BWP configuration include configuration of temporal BWP configuration parameters, parameter inheritance from associated NR BWP parameters, and dynamic indication and / or selection of configuration parameters.

[0117] In the following embodiments, the associated NR BWP corresponds to the Rel-15 active BWP. It can be defined in units of subbands, for example, as Nx20MHz subbands.

[0118] For each time BWP, the BW (e.g., length in PRBs) is configured as well as a set of possible starting PRBs and center frequencies (relative to PRB0 of the associated NR BWP or relative to CRB0).

[0119] In the example discussed in more detail, there may be time BWPs for 20 MHz and 40 MHz, while the associated NR BWP may be configured for an 80 MHz BW, but it will be appreciated that in other embodiments the bandwidths used for the time BWP and associated NR BWP may differ from those in the examples presented and may be any suitable values.

[0120] In the examples discussed below, the UE is configured to dynamically select a starting PRB from a configured / predetermined set of starting PRBs based on an indication from the gNB. This is discussed in more detail with BWP switching.

[0121] In some embodiments, the time BWP inherits the configuration from the associated NR BWP. For example, in some embodiments, the time BWP BW is a portion of the associated NR BWP BW. In addition, the number of available time BWP configurations can be determined (or capped) based on the number of 20MHz subbands (or suitable subband widths) of the associated NR BWP. For example, when the associated NR BWP occupies 4x20MHz subbands, (up to) 3 time BWP configurations can be defined: 20MHz, 40MHz, 60MHz.

[0122] In some embodiments, the set of inherited properties of the NR BWP may include, for example, PRB grid, CSI-RS configuration, presence / location of SSBs on the BWP, SCS, K0, K1, K2 values, PUCCH resource configuration, or other BWP-specific parameters.

[0123] In some embodiments, some NR BWP configurations may be transformed into temporal BWP configurations by truncating, padding, masking, or offsetting the configuration of the associated NR BWP or the configured parameter value or parameter range.

[0124] In some embodiments, the truncation and masking operations may depend on the time BWP BW and / or the start PRB, while the offset may depend on the time BWP start PRB.

[0125] The number of PRBs may be defined separately for each time BWP configuration to achieve spectrum emission masks for different time BWP configurations.

[0126] In some embodiments, other transformation rules may be defined.

[0127] The relationship between the associated NR BWP and the time BWP is as follows: Figure 4 shown.

[0128] The associated NR BWP 401 may correspond to an active Rel-15 BWP. For example, it may be defined as an Nx20MHz (or other defined width) subband, where N is a positive integer.

[0129] BWP switching A 400 operation, where the active NR BWP can be switched to another configured NR BWP according to the Rel-15 BWP switching mechanism. In such operation, each NR BWP may have its own associated temporal BWP. In some embodiments where an NR BWP (e.g., a default BWP) corresponds to only a single subband, there may not be any associated temporal BWP.

[0130] In some embodiments, when the UE is instructed to switch to a new activated NR BWP with (multiple) associated time BWPs, the UE is configured to determine whether to switch to the indicated NR BWP or directly to the time BWP associated with the indicated new BWP. This can be viewed as a combined BWP switch A 400 and time BWP activation B 402.

[0131] The determination may be that the UE is configured to determine that the gNB is currently transmitting at a narrower BW than the indicated active NR BWP and that NR BWP switching will occur during the ongoing DL burst. If the determination is correct, then in some embodiments the UE is configured to switch to a time BWP of the indicated active NR BWP that corresponds to the ongoing Tx BW of the DL transmission.

[0132] This may happen, for example, when the UE switches from a default (narrow, e.g., 20 MHz) BWP to a wideband BWP (e.g., 80 MHz) but temporarily uses a narrower Tx BW (e.g., 40 MHz).

[0133] Figure 4Also shown in FIG. 4 is a temporal BWP activation (shown by a switch from NR BWP 401 to temporal BMP 403 via step B or a switch from temporal BMP 403 to a (different) temporal BMP 403 via step B′ 404 ).

[0134] After the UE has been configured with an active NR BWP, the UE may also activate a temporal BWP (associated with the currently active NR BWP) or change the activated temporal BWP based on DCI indication.

[0135] The determination of the activation event or the determination about the time BWP is activated may be UE-specific or common to the cell. In the former case, the activation may be based on UL grant or DL ​​assignment, while in the latter case, the activation may be based on the Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH), for example.

[0136] In some embodiments, the determination may be based on explicit signaling. For example, a DCI field may be defined on the UL grant / DL assignment or in the GC-PDCCH.

[0137] In some embodiments, this determination may be based on implicit signaling.For example, a temporal BWP activation may be triggered by detecting a UL grant or a DL assignment (in case the UE reports HARQ feedback via the BWP) or some other channel or signal.

[0138] In some embodiments, there may be other conditions for implicit indication of temporal BWP activation. For example, on the signaled UL LBT type: Temporal BWP is activated only when the signaled LBT type is single shot LBT or UL LBT is to be skipped.

[0139] In some embodiments, the activated time BWP may be determined based on an explicit indicator on the DCI, or may be determined implicitly, for example from the time BWP (BW and starting PRB) by the ongoing gNB DL burst transmission BW (Tx BW).

[0140] In some embodiments, the UE performing the determination may use a preamble or reference signal sent by the gNB. For example, the starting PRB and center frequency may be determined (selected from a configured set of possible values) by the lowest subband (or PRB) on which the gNB transmits in the current COT / DL burst.

[0141] In some embodiments, the NR BWP remains active when one of its associated one or more time BWPs is activated.

[0142] Figure 4The temporal BWP deactivation operation is shown by step C 406 in FIG.

[0143] In some embodiments, the deactivation operation may be performed (immediately) after a UL transmission (PUCCH, PUSCH) within the shared COT. (For example, the PUCCH, PUSCH located within the shared COT may be identified by the UL LBT type indicated for the UL transmission).

[0144] In some embodiments, deactivation may be performed after a predetermined inactivity time. The inactivity time may be measured in time slots or frames, and the inactivity time may be configured or indicated via a corresponding DCI field (selecting one of the RRC configuration values).

[0145] In some embodiments, deactivation may also be determined using the same mechanism as activation. For example, in some embodiments, deactivation may be determined based on a DL assignment or UL grant as part of the Time BWP Activation B 402 operation.

[0146] about Figure 5 , further describing in detail the operation and use of the UE's time BWP.

[0147] In a first operation, the UE receives a configuration for an NR BWP. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with an initial BWP and up to a certain number (e.g., 4) of DL / UL BWPs. In some embodiments, the BWPs may also overlap in frequency.

[0148] In some embodiments, the NR BWP configuration may also include one or more (associated) time BWPs. The time BWPs may overlap in frequency. The bandwidth of each time BWP is less than the bandwidth of the associated NR BWP. Thus, for example, the time BWP may include one or more 20 MHz subbands. As described above, the time BMP setting or configuration may be determined from truncation, padding, masking, offset, or some other processing performed on an inherited or associated NR BWP configuration or a configured parameter value or parameter range. In other words, the UE may be configured to receive a first bandwidth portion configuration, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of a transmission bandwidth portion in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion.

[0149] Figure 5 The operation of receiving the NR BWP configuration and then determining one or more time BWPs from the NR BWP is shown by step 501.

[0150] The UE may then be configured to determine the active NR BWP. In some embodiments, this determination of the active NR BWP may be based on RRC signaling, based on an indication in a DL assignment or UL grant (DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI 1_1) that is a DCI format that schedules PDSCH and PUSCH and contains a BWP index field, or by an inactivity timer (causing the UE to fall back to a default BWP). In other words, the UE may be configured to determine which of the at least two bandwidth parts is used to transmit a burst.

[0151] Figure 5 This determination of the active NR BWP is shown by step 503 in FIG.

[0152] At the start of a DL COT (or gNB initiated TxOP), the UE may be configured to monitor the active BWP and determine the time BWP to use. This determination may be performed based on explicit or implicit signaling. As previously described in some embodiments, the determination may be based on explicit signaling such as a UL grant / DL assignment or a DCI field in the GC-PDCCH, or implicit signaling triggered by detection of a UL grant or DL ​​assignment (in the case where the UE reports HARQ feedback via a BWP), or some other channel or signal.

[0153] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to monitor the active BWP and determine the same temporal BWP to use as in the previous (DL) COT.

[0154] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to determine that the associated NR BWP remains active when the time BWP is used. In summary, the UE may be configured to determine a second time-bandwidth portion configuration for a transmission burst, the second time-bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine a transmission parameter of the transmission burst based on: at least one associated time-bandwidth portion and determining which bandwidth portion of the at least two bandwidth portions is used for the transmission burst.

[0155] Figure 5 The operation of determining the temporal BWP to be used is shown by step 505 .

[0156] Then, optionally, in some embodiments, during or after the DL COT (or gNB-initiated TxOP), the UE is configured to determine the BWP or time BWP for the next COT (or TxOP). In some embodiments, the UE is configured to return to monitoring the full active NR BWP. Thus, for example, the UE is configured to return to (immediately) monitoring the full active NR BWP after a UL transmission (PUCCH, PUSCH) within the COT. In such an embodiment, the PUCCH, PUSCH within the COT may be identified, for example, by the UL LBT type indicated for the UL transmission.

[0157] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to return to monitoring the fully active NR BWP after a predetermined inactivity time. This time may be measured in slots, subframes, or frames and may be configured or indicated by a higher layer via a corresponding DCI field (selecting one of the RRC configuration values).

[0158] In some other embodiments, the UE may be instructed (e.g., using a DL assignment or UL grant) to monitor the same or different time BWP in the next DL COT (gNB-initiated TxOP).

[0159] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the UE is configured to return to monitoring its initial, default or other pre-configured NRBWP.

[0160] Figure 5 The DL COT “during or after” operation of determining the BWP or time BWP for the next COT is shown by step 507 .

[0161] about Figure 6 , shows an example time BWP configuration in an example system, where 2k FFT is employed, and where subcarrier spacing = 60kHz. In this example, the NR BWP 611 contains 4x20MHz subbands 603 and 105 PRBs (shaded PRBs) within 111.11 PRBs @ 60kHz SCS 601. The shaded PRBs correspond to the active NR BWP configuration, and the first shaded PRB can be considered as PRB #0 based on the common PRB index.

[0162] A first time BWP configuration A is shown. This itself is shown as 613 comprising 24 PRBs. The starting positions of configuration A are then shown on line 615. The first starting position S1 604 is shown starting from PRB 0 (relative to the common PRB index), the second starting position S2 605 is shown starting from PRB 27, the third starting position S3 606 is shown starting from PRB 54, and the fourth starting position S4 607 is shown starting from PRB 81.

[0163] A second temporal BWP configuration B is shown. This itself is shown as 617 comprising 51 PRBs. The starting positions for configuration B are then shown on lines 619, 621 and 623. The first starting position S1 608 is shown starting from PRB 0, the second starting position S2 609 is shown starting from PRB 27, and the third starting position S3 610 is shown starting from PRB 54.

[0164] A third temporal BWP configuration C is shown. This itself is shown as 625 comprising 78 PRBs. The configuration C starting positions are then shown on lines 627 and 629. The first starting position S1 612 is shown starting from PRB 0 and the second starting position S2 614 is shown starting from PRB 27.

[0165] As previously described, the time BWP may inherit aspects of the associated NR BWP configuration, but some of these may be transformed based on the time BWP BW and the starting PRB. For example, the available PRB grid or CRI-RS configuration may be obtained by masking the NR BWP PRB grid based on the time BWP BW and the starting PRB. In some embodiments, some resource configurations (e.g., PUCCH or SRS resource allocations) may be obtained by offsetting the configured resources using the determined starting PRB.

[0166] In some embodiments, starting from COT, the BWP to be used on UL is clear. Moreover, the PUCCH resources used are indicated during COT. Therefore, PUCCH resource ambiguity can be avoided.

[0167] Time BWP operation in Figure 7 , which shows the gNB changing the BW from 80MHz to 40MHz and back. It should be noted that a UE that has just received a DL (on a reduced BW) may not need to switch (in other words, have its RF adapted) to the time BWP.

[0168] exist Figure 7 In, similar to Figure 3 , the vertical axis represents the bandwidth of the system. Thus, an 80 MHz carrier bandwidth 701 is shown, and an 80 MHz NR BWP 703 is also shown relative to UE1. The 80 MHz bandwidth may be formed by a continuous allocation of 20 MHz sub-bands 705, which may be defined as: a first 20 MHz sub-band 7051, a second 20 MHz sub-band 7052, a third 20 MHz sub-band 7053, and a fourth 20 MHz sub-band 7054.

[0169] The gNB can be configured to maintain a constant BW while instructing the UE to operate at a specific BW fraction. Figure 7 As shown, the horizontal axis shows time, where the gNB is initially able to perform LBT 707 and then access full bandwidth for downlink (DL) full channel occupation time (COT) or TX burst 717 and UL full channel occupation time (COT) or RX burst 719 for multiple time slots to UEs 1, 2, and 3. The DL COT 717 and UL COT 719 can be part of a shared COT. The COTs are separated by a Type 1 or Type 2 LBT 309 performed between the COTs 707. Figure 7 Another period of downlink (DL) full channel occupancy time (COT) or TX burst 721 for multiple time slots to UEs 1, 2 and 3, and UL full channel occupancy time (COT) or RX burst 723 before the interference blocking source causes interference blocking LBT 725 is shown.

[0170] Figure 7 It is also shown that based on the interference blocking LBT, the gNB switches to 40MHz Tx BW 727. The gNB switches to 40MHz bandwidth 727 including first 20MHz subband 7271 and second 20MHz subband 7272 which are respectively the same as first 20MHz subband 7051 and second 20MHz subband 7052 of the full bandwidth, allowing the gNB to continue transmitting but avoiding interference.

[0171] Initially, after switching, UE1 is still using the full 80 MHz BWP (as indicated by arrow 728 ), but based on the DL assignment (within DL COT 731 ), UE1 is configured to switch 729 to a 40 MHz time BWP (as indicated by arrow 730 ).

[0172] When interference blocking LBT 725 is detected and Figure 7 As shown by COT DL 731, UL 733, DL 735, UL 737, DL 739 and UL 741, a 40 MHz temporal BWP may operate for several cycles of DL and UL COT.

[0173] After there is no interference blocking LBT 725, the gNB can switch back to the use of the full 80MHz BW, and the UE (e.g., UE1) is configured to switch back to the full NR BWP based on the explicit DL assignment during the DL COT 743, so that UE1 is still using the 40MHz time domain BWP (as shown by arrow 742), but based on the DL assignment (within DL COT 743), UE1 is configured to switch 745 to the full 80MHz NR BWP (as shown by arrow 744), and use the full 80MHz NR BWP for the following UL COT 747.

[0174] In addition, Figure 7 An example is shown in FIG, where the switch back to use of the full 80 MHz BW by the gNB 738 causes the “inactivity” timer at the UE (e.g., UE2 and 3) to expire and the UE to transition back to the full NR BWP since UE2 and UE3 had no DL or UL transmissions during COT 731 and 733.

[0175] It should be noted that NR BWP operation is intended to change the BW based on UE battery consumption, the amount of data provided to the UE, or to balance the load within the cell. Temporal BW is intended to facilitate dynamic gNB BW adaptation to avoid interference on part of the channel blocking channel access. Both mechanisms can run in parallel.

[0176] Thus, in some embodiments, two timers for controlling the active BWP may be implemented. As described above, the temporal BWP may be deactivated based on "inactivity" or based on an inactivity timer. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the temporal BWP deactivation timer may be shorter than the default BWP inactivity timer, thereby allowing the UE to be configured to return to a (wider) temporal BWP equal to the associated NR BWP while the timer for the default BWP fallback is still running. Thus, the first timer is intended to adapt the BW to time-varying interference, while the latter timer facilitates saving UE power during periods of UE inactivity or low activity.

[0177] In some embodiments, when the UE implicitly determines the temporal BWP (bandwidth and starting PRB), a single BWP switching field in the DCI may be employed. When the gNB subscribes to NR BWP switching, it may be expected to vary in size longer than the temporal BWP, e.g. reflecting UE buffer status or gNB semi-static adaptation of the interference environment. Therefore, the temporal BWP activation occurs first for transmissions of PUCCH associated with a DL assignment or PUSCH scheduled by an UL grant, and the indicated NR BWP switching occurs immediately after the receipt of the DCI triggering the NR BWP switching.

[0178] Furthermore, in some embodiments, and if necessary, in situations where the concept of temporal BWP is not suitable, these examples can be easily applied to normal BWP switching.

[0179] Thus, in summary, as discussed in the embodiments herein, the introduction of Time BWP may be able to reduce the number of partially redundant BWP configurations. Time BWP may also enhance BWP operation such that when the gNB returns to NR BWP (after reducing Tx BW in time), the gNB also does not need to explicitly switch BWP for active UEs that are temporarily unscheduled (e.g., due to empty buffers). The UE simply returns to NR BWP after a certain period of inactivity, such as Figure 7 As shown in UE 2 and 3 in FIG.

[0180] This avoids the need to switch the UE back to the NR BWP only when the UE is scheduled next time, and at the same time, reduces the BWP switching delay and prevents the waste of available resources.

[0181] In general, various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of the present invention may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representation, it is well known that, as non-limiting examples, the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0182] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0183] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0184] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0185] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0186] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)), software and memory(s) with software that work together to cause a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions, and

[0187] (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate but that may not be present when not required for operation.

[0188] This definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" also covers only an implementation of a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuitry" also covers (for example and where applicable to a particular claim element) a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0189] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of a mobile device, such as in a processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. In addition, it should be noted at this point that any box of the logic flow in the figure may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, boxes and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, boxes and functions. The software may be stored on physical media such as memory chips or storage blocks implemented in a processor, magnetic media such as hard disks or floppy disks, and optical media such as DVDs and their data variants CDs.

[0190] The memory may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may be implemented using any appropriate data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The data processor may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a gate-level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0191] Embodiments of the present invention may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is generally a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools can be used to convert a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

[0192] Programs such as those provided by Synopsys, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., and Cadence Design of San Jose, Calif., can automatically route conductors and position components on a semiconductor chip using well-established design rules and pre-stored design modules. Once the design of a semiconductor circuit is complete, the resulting design in a standardized electronic format (e.g., Opus, GDSII, etc.) can be sent to a semiconductor fabrication facility or "fab" for fabrication.

[0193] The above description provides a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention by way of exemplary and non-limiting examples. However, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims, various modifications and variations will become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art in view of the foregoing description. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of the present invention will still fall within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment comprising components for: receiving a first bandwidth portion configuration from a base station, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions for transmission between the user equipment and the base station: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the at least two bandwidth portions at least partially overlap in frequency, and a bandwidth of each of the at least one associated time bandwidth portion is less than a bandwidth of the first bandwidth portion; monitoring the first bandwidth portion during a downlink channel occupancy time and determining, based on downlink control information in a downlink assignment, to switch to an associated temporal bandwidth portion of the at least two bandwidth portions for a transmission burst between the user equipment and the base station during the channel occupancy time; A second time-bandwidth portion configuration is determined for the transmission burst, the second time-bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: the associated time-bandwidth portion and determining a switch to the associated time-bandwidth portion for the transmission burst.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the component is further configured to generate the second time bandwidth portion configuration from the first bandwidth portion configuration by modifying first bandwidth portion configuration parameters.

3. The user equipment of claim 2, wherein the means for modifying the first bandwidth portion configuration parameter comprises means for performing at least one of the following: Truncation; filling; Masking; and The configuration parameter value or the configuration parameter range of the first bandwidth portion configuration is offset.

4. The user equipment according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the component is further configured to: receiving at least one other bandwidth portion configuration, and determining which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active, wherein said means for determining which of said at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active is based on one of: Radio resource control signaling; an indicator of reception within a downlink assignment; an indicator of receipt within an uplink grant; as well as A first inactivity timer, expiration of which indicates that the active bandwidth portion configuration is a default bandwidth portion configuration.

5. The user equipment according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the means for determining which bandwidth part of the at least two bandwidth parts is used for transmitting a burst is further based on at least one of the following: at least one signal received from the base station; and Configuration of the bandwidth portion of an ongoing transmission or determination of the bandwidth portion of an ongoing transmission.

6. The user equipment according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the first bandwidth configuration is active when the second bandwidth configuration is adopted.

7. The user equipment according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the component is further configured to determine, during the transmission burst, a second time-bandwidth portion configuration which is caused to determine transmission parameters for subsequent transmissions.

8. The user equipment according to claim 7, wherein the means for determining during the transmission burst a second time-bandwidth portion configuration caused to determine the transmission parameters for the subsequent transmission burst is configured to determine during the transmission a second time-bandwidth portion configuration caused to determine the transmission parameters for the subsequent transmission portion based on one of: determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is active during the subsequent transmission burst; determining which of the at least two bandwidth portions is active after a determined inactivity time period determined by a second inactivity timer; as well as The user equipment is controlled to use the received indicator configured with the same second time-bandwidth portion.

9. The user equipment according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the component is further configured to: receiving a signal during the transmission burst; and A further signal is sent during the transmission burst.

10. An apparatus for controlling a base station, comprising components for: sending a first bandwidth portion configuration to a user equipment, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions for transmission between the user equipment and the base station: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the at least two bandwidth portions at least partially overlap in frequency, and a bandwidth of each of the at least one associated time bandwidth portion is less than a bandwidth of the first bandwidth portion; and A downlink assignment is sent to the user equipment during a downlink channel occupation time, the downlink assignment comprising downlink control information, the downlink control information enabling the user equipment to determine to switch to an associated time-bandwidth portion of the at least two bandwidth portions for a transmission burst between the user equipment and the base station during the channel occupation time, and to determine a second time-bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the user equipment is caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: the associated time-bandwidth portion and to determine to switch to the associated time-bandwidth portion for the transmission burst.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the component is further configured to: selecting one of the first bandwidth portion configuration and at least one other bandwidth portion configuration; determining, based on the selected bandwidth portion configuration, transmission parameters for a transmission burst between the apparatus and the user equipment; and The at least one other bandwidth portion configuration is sent to the user equipment, wherein the user equipment is caused to determine which of the at least two received bandwidth portion configurations is active.

12. An apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 11, wherein the component is further configured to send at least one additional signal, which is caused to enable the user equipment to determine which of the at least two bandwidth parts is used to transmit the burst.

13. A method of communication, comprising: receiving, by a user equipment from a base station, a first bandwidth portion configuration caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions for transmission between the user equipment and the base station: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the at least two bandwidth portions at least partially overlap in frequency, and a bandwidth of each of the at least one associated time bandwidth portion is less than a bandwidth of the first bandwidth portion; monitoring the first bandwidth portion during a downlink channel occupancy time and determining, based on downlink control information in a downlink assignment, to switch to an associated temporal bandwidth portion of the at least two bandwidth portions for a transmission burst between the user equipment and the base station during the channel occupancy time; A second time-bandwidth portion configuration is determined for the transmission burst, the second time-bandwidth portion configuration being caused to determine transmission parameters for the transmission burst based on: the associated time-bandwidth portion and determining a switch to the associated time-bandwidth portion for the transmission burst.

14. A method of communication, comprising: A first bandwidth portion configuration is sent by a base station to a user equipment, the first bandwidth portion configuration being caused to support dynamic adaptation of transmission bandwidth portions in a listen-before-talk communication system, the first bandwidth portion configuration comprising at least two bandwidth portions for transmission between the user equipment and the base station: a first bandwidth portion and at least one associated time bandwidth portion, wherein the at least two bandwidth portions at least partially overlap in frequency, and a bandwidth of each time bandwidth portion of the at least one associated time bandwidth portion is less than a bandwidth of the first bandwidth portion; as well as A downlink assignment is sent to the user equipment during a downlink channel occupation time, the downlink assignment comprising downlink control information, the downlink control information enabling the user equipment to determine to switch to an associated time-bandwidth portion of the at least two bandwidth portions for a transmission burst between the user equipment and the base station during the channel occupation time, and to determine a second time-bandwidth portion configuration for the transmission burst, so that the user equipment is caused to determine a transmission parameter for the transmission burst based on: the associated time-bandwidth portion and to determine to switch to the associated time-bandwidth portion for the transmission burst.

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