Contention window size update based on retransmission configuration of code block groups

Abstract

Disclosed herein are apparatus, systems, and methods for performing contention window size updates for retransmission configurations based on code block groups in a wireless communication system. Wireless communication based on code block groups may be performed in an unlicensed spectrum. A reference burst for wireless communication based on code block groups may be identified. One or more of a number of acknowledgments or a number of negative acknowledgments associated with the reference burst may be identified. Contention window size adjustment may be determined based at least in part on one or more of a number of acknowledgments or a number of negative acknowledgments associated with the reference burst.

Description

[0001] Priority information

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 821847, filed March 21, 2019, entitled “ON THE CONTENTION WINDOW SIZEUPDATE FOR CAT.4LBT FOR CBG BASED RETRANSMISSION IN NR SYSTEMS OPERATING ONUNLICENSED SPECTRUM,” the full text of which is incorporated herein by reference as fully and completely set forth herein. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to wireless devices, and more specifically to apparatus, systems, and methods for performing contention window size updates for retransmission configuration based on code block groups in wireless communication systems.

[0004] Related technical descriptions

[0005] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now offer access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and can operate complex applications that utilize these capabilities. Furthermore, many different wireless communication technologies and standards exist. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and BLUETOOTH. TM wait.

[0006] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functions into wireless communication devices necessitates continuous improvement of both wireless communication and the devices themselves. In addition to the aforementioned communication standards, new wireless communication technologies are under development to increase coverage and better serve the intended uses of wireless communication, including fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication. Therefore, improvements are needed to support this development and design. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The implementation scheme relates to apparatus, systems, and methods for performing contention window size updates for retransmission configuration based on code block groups in a wireless communication system.

[0008] According to the techniques described herein, a wireless device (e.g., a cellular base station or user equipment) can determine to perform wireless communication in unlicensed spectrum using configured code block-based retransmissions. To perform wireless communication, the wireless device can perform a listen-before-speak procedure to obtain medium access, and thus determine a contention window size for the listen-before-speak procedure. To determine the contention window size, the wireless device can identify a reference burst (e.g., a portion of a previous downlink burst or uplink burst) and identify hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for that reference burst. Based at least in part on this feedback, the wireless device can determine whether (and if so, how) to adjust the contention window size for the listen-before-speak procedure. The wireless device can then perform the listen-before-speak procedure using the selected contention window size, and can perform wireless communication upon successful completion of the listen-before-speak procedure.

[0009] The techniques described herein can be implemented in and / or used with a variety of different types of devices, including but not limited to any one of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned flight controllers (UACs), cellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, and various other computing devices.

[0010] The present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subjects described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are merely illustrative and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or substance of the subjects described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subjects described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0011] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained by considering the following detailed description of the various embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0013] Figure 2 This illustrates a base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) device according to some implementation schemes;

[0014] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0015] Figure 4An exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0016] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown;

[0017] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of network elements according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0018] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for performing contention window size updates for retransmission configuration based on code block groups in a wireless communication system, according to some implementation schemes.

[0019] Figures 8 to 10 It is a table showing possible sets of listen-before-speak parameters and maximum channel occupancy time values ​​based on some implementation schemes;

[0020] Figures 11 to 12 This illustrates possible methods for identifying downlink reference bursts according to some implementation schemes;

[0021] Figure 13 This illustrates the possible timing between an uplink reference burst and a control resource set, according to some implementation schemes, in which uplink authorized reception or configured authorized downlink control information reception occurs;

[0022] Figure 14 This illustrates aspects of possible methods for identifying uplink reference bursts according to some implementation schemes;

[0023] Figures 15 to 17 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method involving performing contention window resizing when configuring retransmissions based on code block groups;

[0024] Figure 18 An exemplary architecture of a wireless communication system according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0025] Figure 19 An exemplary architecture of a system including a first cellular core network according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0026] Figure 20 An exemplary architecture of a system including a second cellular core network according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0027] Figure 21 Examples of infrastructure equipment according to some implementation schemes are shown;

[0028] Figure 22 Examples of platforms or devices according to some implementation schemes are shown;

[0029] Figure 23Exemplary components of a baseband circuit and a radio front-end module according to some embodiments are shown;

[0030] Figure 24 This illustrates various protocol functions that can be implemented in wireless communication devices according to some implementation schemes;

[0031] Figure 25 The components of a core network according to some implementation schemes are shown;

[0032] Figure 26 This is a block diagram illustrating components that can support the network virtualization functionality of a system, based on some implementation schemes; and

[0033] Figure 27 It is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium and capable of performing any or more of the methods described herein, according to some embodiments.

[0034] While the features described herein may be subject to various modifications and alternatives, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0035] acronym

[0036] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are as follows:

[0037] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0038] 4G: Fourth Generation

[0039] 5G: Fifth Generation

[0040] • Rel: Version

[0041] NW: Network

[0042] RF: Radio Frequency

[0043] UE: User Equipment

[0044] ·BS: Base Station

[0045] gNB: Next-generation node B

[0046] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0047] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0048] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0049] NR: New Radio

[0050] NR-U: NR not licensed

[0051] • RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0052] TX: Transmission / Transmission

[0053] ·RX: Receive / Receive

[0054] ·UL: Uplink

[0055] DL: Downlink

[0056] • CORESET: Control Resource Set

[0057] • LBT: Listen before you speak

[0058] • MCOT: Maximum Channel Occupancy Time

[0059] •CWS: Competition Window Size

[0060] HARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0061] •ACK: Confirmation

[0062] • NACK: Negative Acknowledgment

[0063] the term

[0064] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0065] Memory media—any of various types of nontransitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory media" is intended to include mounting media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, e.g., hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory media may also include other types of nontransitory memory or combinations thereof. Furthermore, memory media may reside in a first computer system executing a program, or may reside in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory media" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations on different computer systems, for example, connected via a network. Memory media may store program instructions (e.g., representing a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0066] Carrier media—memory media as described above, and physical transmission media such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media that transmit signals such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals.

[0067] Programmable hardware elements—including a variety of hardware devices comprising multiple programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field-Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Programmable functional blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinatorial logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as “configurable logic units.”

[0068] Computer system—any of all types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network devices, internet devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations thereof. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0069] User equipment (UE) (or “UE device”) — any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone). TM Based on Android TMTelephones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS) TM PlayStation Portable TM Gameboy Advance TM iPhone TM This includes laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. Generally speaking, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunications device (or a combination of these devices) that is easily transportable by the user and capable of wireless communication.

[0070] A wireless device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be stationary or fixed in a location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0071] A communication device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, which may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or it may be stationary or fixed in a location. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0072] Base station—The term “base station” has the full range of its common meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed in a fixed location and is used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0073] A processing element (or processor) is a component or combination of components capable of performing the functions of a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. A processing element may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, portions or circuitry of individual processor cores, an entire processor core, a single processor, a processor array, circuitry such as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware components such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and any combination thereof.

[0074] A channel is a medium used to transmit information from a transmitter to a receiver. It should be noted that because the characteristics of the term "channel" can vary depending on different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used herein can be considered to be used in a standard manner consistent with the type of device to which the term is referenced. In some standards, the channel width can be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE can support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels can be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels can be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0075] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full range of its general meaning and includes at least a segment of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which a channel is used or reserved for the same purpose.

[0076] Automatic—refers to actions or operations performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without requiring direct user input to specify or perform the actions or operations. Therefore, the term "automatic" contrasts with actions performed or specified manually by the user, where the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process can be initiated by user-provided input, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting a checkbox, radio selection, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) which analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without any user input specifying answers for the fields. As indicated above, the user can invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers for the fields, but they are completed automatically). This manual provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by the user.

[0077] Approximately—means a value close to the correct or precise value. For example, approximately can refer to a value within 1% to 10% of the precise (or expected) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold (or tolerance) can vary depending on the application. For example, in some implementations, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or expected value, while in various other implementations, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of the specific application.

[0078] Concurrency refers to the parallel execution or implementation of tasks, processes, or programs in a manner that at least partially overlaps. For example, concurrency can be achieved using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed in parallel (at least partially) on corresponding computing elements; or using “weak parallelism,” where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0079] "Configured as"—Various components can be described as being "configured as" to perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, "configured as" is a broad expression generally meaning "having" a "structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently performing one (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect one module to another, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured as" can also be a broad expression generally meaning a structure that "has" a "circuit" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently powered on. Typically, the circuit forming the structure corresponding to "configured as" can include hardware circuitry.

[0080] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Statements describing a component as configured to perform one or more tasks are explicitly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.SC §112(f) for that component.

[0081] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communication System

[0082] Figure 1 A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some implementation schemes is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 1 The system described herein is merely one example of a possible system, and the features of this disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of systems as needed.

[0083] As shown in the figure, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipments 106A, 106B to 106N via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0084] Base station (BS) 102A may be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site (cellular base station), and may include hardware for implementing wireless communication with UE 106A to UE 106N.

[0085] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station can be referred to as a "cell". Base station 102A and UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of Radio Access Technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with air interfaces such as WCDMA or TD-SCDMA), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if base station 102A is implemented in an LTE environment, its alternative location can be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if base station 102A is implemented in a 5G NR environment, its alternative location can be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0086] As shown in the figure, base station 102A can also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., in various possibilities, the core network of a cellular service provider, telecommunications networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Therefore, base station 102A can facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. Specifically, cellular base station 102A can provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0087] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UE 106A-106N and similar devices over a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0088] Therefore, although base station 102A can act as such Figure 1The diagram shows the "serving cell" of UEs 106A-106N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals (and possibly within its communication range) from one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-102N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. These cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pecimen" cells, and / or any other cells of various other granularities providing a service area size. For example, in Figure 1 Base stations 102A-B shown can be macro cells, while base station 102N can be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0089] In some implementations, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In some implementations, the gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, the gNB cell may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 may support joint transmission, enabling UE 106 to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station).

[0090] It should be noted that UE 106 can communicate using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., Advanced Television Systems Committee—Mobile / Handheld (ATSC-M / H)) and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0091] Figure 2The illustration shows a user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with base station 102 according to some embodiments. UE 106 can be a cellular communication-capable device, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, laptop, tablet, smartwatch or other wearable device, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned flight controller (UAC), car, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0092] UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments of the present invention by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, UE 106 may include any of the programmable hardware elements, such as any of the FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), integrated circuits, and / or various other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0093] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna or to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Typically, the radio components may include any combination of baseband processors, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio components may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or transmit chain among various wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0094] In some implementations, UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate therewith. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include shared radio components for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or, in various possibilities, either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM), and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0095] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0096] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is merely one example of possible communication devices. According to the implementation, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 300 may be implemented as individual components or groups of components for various purposes. This set of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuitry of the communication device 106.

[0097] For example, communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connection to a computer system; docking station; charging station; input devices such as microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with or external to communication device 106, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some embodiments, communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0098] The wireless communication circuit 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as one or more antennas 335 as shown in the figure. The wireless communication circuit 330 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or short-to-medium range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0099] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communication ground; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can be switched between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT (e.g., LTE) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio component. A second radio component may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a shared transmit chain.

[0100] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may include any of a variety of components such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other components capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0101] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more general purpose integrated circuit cards) 345.

[0102] As shown in the figure, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 and display circuitry 304. The processor executes program instructions for the communication device 106, and the display circuitry performs graphics processing and provides display signals to the display 360. One or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from one or more processors 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or coupled to other circuitry or devices (such as display circuitry 304, wireless communication circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0103] As described above, communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0104] Furthermore, as described in this invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0105] Furthermore, as described herein, the wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the wireless communication circuit 330. Therefore, the wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 330. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 330.

[0106] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0107] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 4 The base station shown is merely one example of a possible base station. As illustrated, base station 102 may include a processor 404 capable of executing program instructions specific to base station 102. Processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuitry or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0108] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to be coupled to a telephone network and provide access rights as described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The telephone network described herein includes multiple devices such as UE device 106.

[0109] Network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured, or alternatively configured, to be coupled to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0110] In some implementations, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or a “gNB”. In such implementations, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, UEs capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0111] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio component 430 via communication link 432. Communication link 432 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0112] Base station 102 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communication according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0113] As further described herein, base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting embodiments of the features described herein. Processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, and 470, processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the features described herein.

[0114] Furthermore, as described in this invention, one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0115] Furthermore, as described in this invention, the radio component 430 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, the radio component 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430.

[0116] Figure 5 —Block diagram of cellular communication circuit

[0117] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit is merely one example of possible cellular communication circuits; other circuits, such as those including or coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using independent antennas, or those including or coupled to fewer antennas, such as those that can be shared among multiple RATs, are also possible. According to some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As mentioned above, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices.

[0118] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-335b and 336 as shown in the figure. In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as... Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the second modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0119] As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 communicating with the processors 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front-end 530. The RF front-end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front-end 530 may include a receiver circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitter circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front-end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0120] Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 communicating with the processors 522. The modem 520 may communicate with an RF front-end 540. The RF front-end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front-end 540 may include receiving circuitry 542 and transmitting circuitry 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuitry 542 may communicate with a DL front-end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335b.

[0121] In some implementations, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 534 to uplink (UL) front-end 572. Additionally, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 544 to UL front-end 572. UL front-end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Therefore, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported by a first modem 510), switch 570 may be switched to a first state allowing the first modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 534 and UL front-end 572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported by a second modem 520), switch 570 may be switched to a second state allowing the second modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 544 and UL front-end 572).

[0122] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) or as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). Alternatively (or in addition), processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by combining with one or more of other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0123] Furthermore, as described herein, processors 512 and 522 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processors 512 and 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processors 512 and 522. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors 512 and 522.

[0124] In some implementations, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include modem 520, RF front-end 540, DL front-end 560, and / or antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include modem 510, RF front-end 530, DL front-end 550, and / or antenna 335a. In some implementations, the cellular communication circuit 330 may also not include switch 570, and RF front-end 530 or RF front-end 540 may communicate with UL front-end 572, for example, through direct communication.

[0125] Figure 6 —Exemplary block diagram of a network element

[0126] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of a network element 600 according to some embodiments is shown. According to some embodiments, network element 600 may implement one or more logical functions / entities of a cellular core network, such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Access and Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), etc. It should be noted that... Figure 6Network element 600 is merely one example of a possible network element 600. As shown, core network element 600 may include one or more processors 604 capable of executing program instructions for core network element 600. Processor 604 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 640 (which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 604 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 660 and read-only memory (ROM) 650)) or to other circuitry or devices.

[0127] Network element 600 may include at least one network port 670. Network port 670 may be configured to be coupled to one or more base stations and / or other cellular network entities and / or devices. Network element 600 may communicate with base stations (e.g., eNB / gNB) and / or other network entities / devices by means of any of a variety of communication protocols and / or interfaces.

[0128] As further described herein, network element 600 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting embodiments of the features described herein. The processor 604 of the core network element 600 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively, processor 604 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or configured as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) or a combination thereof.

[0129] Figure 7 — Contention window size update based on retransmission configuration for code block groups

[0130] New cellular communication technologies are constantly evolving to increase coverage, better meet diverse needs and use cases, and for a variety of other reasons. As new cellular communication technologies are developed and deployed, they may include certain features that are new or different from those of previously developed and deployed cellular communication technologies.

[0131] In 3GPP 5G NR, retransmission based on block groups (CBGs) is configurable. This feature may include dividing transport blocks (TBs) into smaller subsets, which may be referred to as block groups. When such a feature is configured, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback can be provided on a per-CBG basis, for example, in a more granular manner than when HARQ feedback is provided on a per-TB basis. At least according to some implementations, this can reduce the amount of data that may need to be retransmitted, although this may come at the cost of greater HARQ feedback overhead.

[0132] Technologies used to deploy NR in unlicensed spectrum may be subject to regulatory and / or other requirements, which may include, for example, the requirement to perform a Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) process prior to transmission in certain spectrum portions within certain jurisdictions. In at least some cases, the Contention Window Size (CWS) used for such LBT processes can be adjusted based on HARQ feedback. Therefore, when configuring CBG-based retransmissions, this can consequently affect how CWS adjustment is performed for LBT processes, and thus it may be beneficial to provide a framework for updating the contention window size when configuring CBG-based retransmissions.

[0133] therefore, Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating, according to at least some implementations, an example of a method for performing contention window size updates for retransmission configuration based on code block groups in a wireless communication system.

[0134] Figure 7 The aspects of the method can be implemented by wireless devices such as UE 106 shown in the figures below, base stations such as BS 102 shown in the figures below, and / or more generally, by combining any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements, or components shown in the figures above as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such devices can be configured to cause the devices to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements.

[0135] In various implementation schemes, some of the method elements shown may be executed simultaneously in a different order than shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be executed as needed. As shown in the figure, Figure 7 The method can be operated as follows.

[0136] In 702, block-based wireless communication can be performed. Block-based wireless communication may include downlink communication transmitted from a cellular base station (such as gNB operation according to 3GPP 5G NR) to a wireless device (e.g., a UE device). Alternatively, block-based wireless communication may include uplink communication transmitted from a wireless device to a cellular base station. In this case, at least in some instances, uplink communication can be triggered by providing uplink authorization from the serving cellular base station. At least according to some embodiments, communication may be performed in unlicensed spectrum, and performing this communication may include performing an LBT procedure to contend for medium access prior to transmission.

[0137] In 704, a reference burst for CBG-based wireless communication can be identified. In some cases, this reference burst can be determined in any of a variety of ways and can depend on the type of wireless communication being performed.

[0138] For example, as one possibility, for downlink transmissions, the downlink reference burst may include a designated portion of the latest / most recent downlink burst for which HARQ-ACK feedback is available. As another possibility, the designated portion may include, for example, a configuration time amount (e.g., 1 ms, or some other amount) from the start of the downlink burst in a manner independent of subcarrier spacing. As yet another possibility, the designated portion may include a portion of subframes from the start of the downlink burst. As yet another possibility, the designated portion may include a portion of subframes from the start of the downlink burst, and also include subsequent subframes, but if this portion of subframes is the only subframe included in the downlink burst, it is possible that only this portion of subframes is used as the downlink reference burst. As yet another possibility, the designated portion may include the number of configuration symbols from the start of the downlink burst.

[0139] As another possibility, for uplink transmissions, the uplink reference burst may include a designated portion of the latest / most recent uplink burst with uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) content that has been transmitted for at least a certain amount of time (e.g., 4 ms or some other amount) before receiving an uplink grant for uplink transmission. As another possibility, the designated portion may include, for example, a configuration time (e.g., 1 ms or some other amount) from the start of the uplink burst, independent of subcarrier spacing. As another possibility, the designated portion may include a portion of subframes from the start of the uplink burst. As yet another possibility, the designated portion may include a portion of subframes from the start of the uplink burst, and also include subsequent subframes, but if this portion of subframes is the only subframe included in the uplink burst, it is possible that only this portion of subframes is used as the uplink reference burst. As yet another possibility, the designated portion may include the number of configuration symbols from the start of the uplink burst as the uplink reference burst.

[0140] A reference burst can be used to determine whether CWS conditioning should be performed for the LBT process of wireless communication. Therefore, in 706, the number of ACKs and / or NACKs in the reference burst can be determined. Identifying the number of ACKs / NACKs in the reference burst can be performed using CBG-based HARQ feedback of the reference burst. Depending on various embodiments, this may include counting the feedback for each CBG individually, or it may include converting CBG-level feedback into equivalent TB-level feedback.

[0141] For example, according to some implementations, if at least one CBG for a TB receives a NACK, then all CBG feedbacks for that TB can be identified as NACK. Alternatively, it is possible to count the feedback for each CBG, regardless of every other CBG feedback in the TB. In cases where CBG feedback is converted to TB-level feedback, it is possible to identify TB feedback as NACK based on one of the following: all CBG feedbacks in the TB are NACK; a certain percentage of CBG feedbacks in the TB are NACK; or at least one CBG feedback in the TB is NACK.

[0142] In 708, CWS adjustment can be determined at least in part based on the number of ACK / NACKs in the reference burst. As one possibility, this may include increasing the CWS (e.g., if the maximum configured CWS has not yet been reached) if the percentage of HARQ feedbacks for NACKs (e.g., CBG-level feedback or possibly TB-level feedback) exceeds a certain threshold. In some cases (e.g., in the case of uplink transmissions), CWS adjustment may, in addition to or alternatively, be based at least in part on whether the same HARQ process ID is scheduled via uplink grant, and whether the New Data Indicator (NDI) bit is switched if the same HARQ process ID is scheduled via uplink grant. For example, in some cases, the CWS may be increased (e.g., if the maximum configured CWS has not yet been reached) if the NDI bit of at least one active HARQ process of the uplink reference burst's HARQ process ID is not switched in the uplink grant determining CWS size adjustment, or if the uplink reference burst's HARQ process ID is not scheduled in the uplink grant determining CWS size adjustment. As another example, the CWS can be reset if the New Data Indicator (NDI) bit of at least one active HARQ process of the uplink reference burst's HARQ process ID is toggled in the uplink grant that determines CWS size adjustment. In some cases, it may be possible to reset the CWS to the minimum CWS value for a priority level if the configured LBT attempt count uses the maximum CWS value for that priority level. Other adjustments and / or variations of these exemplary adjustments are also possible.

[0143] It should be noted that, at least in some cases, CWS selection parameters, which can be used when performing CWS conditioning determination for uplink communication, can be provided from the cellular base station to the UE served by the cellular base station, for example via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or by any of a variety of other means. Alternatively, such parameters can be pre-configured at the UE, for example, based on 3GPP specifications. According to some implementations, the cellular base station may also use a set of CWS selection parameters when performing CWS conditioning determination for downlink communication.

[0144] According to some implementation schemes, once any CWS adjustment is determined, the selected CWS can be used to perform the Listen-Before-Speak process. After the LBT process is successfully completed, wireless communication can be performed.

[0145] Therefore, at least according to some implementation schemes, the use Figure 7 The technology enables CWS conditioning to be performed in a specified and consistent manner, which supports fair coexistence and media access between 3GPP NR-U communication and existing technologies when CBG-based retransmission is configured.

[0146] Figures 8 to 27 and additional information

[0147] Figures 8 to 27 Showing can be combined if needed Figure 7 Other aspects of the method used. However, it should be noted that in Figures 8 to 27 The exemplary details shown and described with respect to these figures are not intended to limit this disclosure as a whole: many variations and alternative forms of the details provided below are possible and should be considered within the scope of this disclosure.

[0148] Every year, the number of mobile devices connected to wireless networks increases significantly. To keep up with the demand for mobile data traffic, necessary changes must be made to system requirements to meet these demands. Three key areas that need to be enhanced to meet this increase in traffic include greater bandwidth, lower latency, and higher data rates.

[0149] One of the major limiting factors in wireless innovation is spectrum availability. To mitigate this, unlicensed spectrum has been a focus of attention in expanding LTE availability. In this context, one of the major enhancements to LTE in 3GPP Release 13 is enabling it to operate on unlicensed spectrum via Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), which extends system bandwidth by leveraging the Flexible Carrier Aggregation (CA) framework introduced by Advanced LTE Systems.

[0150] Since the main building blocks of the NR framework have already been established, enhancements are intended to allow it to operate on unlicensed spectrum as well. Various aspects of NR-based operation in unlicensed spectrum can be considered, including choices regarding duplex mode, waveform, carrier bandwidth, subcarrier spacing, frame structure, and physical layer design as part of NR research, and avoiding unnecessary discrepancies in decisions made in NR WI. It is possible to consider unlicensed bands below and above 6 GHz, up to 52.6 GHz; unlicensed bands above 52.6 GHz can also be considered, provided the waveform design principles remain unchanged relative to bands below 52.6 GHz; and similar positive compatibility principles established in NR WI should be considered.

[0151] Initial access and channel access may also be considered, possibly including scheduling / HARQ, as well as mobility, including connected / inactive / idle mode operation and radio link monitoring / faults.

[0152] Based on regulatory requirements, such as those for the 5GHz, 37GHz, and / or 60GHz bands, coexistence methods within unlicensed and LTE-based LAAs, as well as between NR-based operations and with other existing RATs, may be considered.

[0153] In some cases, it can be assumed that coexistence methods already defined for the 5 GHz band in an LTE-based LAA environment serve as the baseline for 5 GHz operation. Enhancements based on these methods in the 5 GHz band should not be excluded. Preferably, or possibly required, NR-based operation in unlicensed spectrum should not have a greater impact on already deployed Wi-Fi services (data, video, and voice services) compared to additional Wi-Fi networks on the same carrier.

[0154] It is important to identify aspects of the design that can be enhanced for NR when operating in unlicensed spectrum. One challenge in this context is ensuring the system coexists fairly with other existing technologies, and for this, certain limitations can be considered when designing the system, depending on the specific frequency band in which it can operate. For example, if operating in the 5 GHz band, in some parts of the world, a Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) process is required to acquire the medium before transmission can occur.

[0155] In the traditional Rel.15NR, in addition to other enhancements at the PHY layer, the HARQ process was improved and modified. In fact, Rel.15NR introduced the concept of Block Code Groups (CBGs), where a transport block (TB) is essentially divided into smaller subsets called CBGs. These groups are decoded by the UE, and then the UE sends HARQ feedback for each CBG. The purpose of CBG-based retransmission is to address the fact that NR supports very large transport block sizes (TBS), and as in traditional LTE, the scheduler operates with a 10% BLER (Block Error Rate) target. This means that if the gNB is transmitting data to the UE using a large TBS, approximately 10% of that data will undergo retransmission. However, by dividing the TB into smaller subsets, the UE will only send NACKs for the failed subsets, and the gNB only needs to retransmit the failed subsets, not the entire TB. This effectively reduces retransmission overhead and improves spectral efficiency, but on the other hand, it increases HARQ feedback overhead because the UE will no longer need to transmit a single bit per TB, but will instead transmit multiple bits per TB based on the number of CBGs. To reduce this overhead, the CBG-based (re)transmission process can be configurable. The UE can be semi-statically configured by RRC signaling to enable CBG-based retransmission, and as an example, the maximum number of CBGs per TB can be configured by RRC as {2, 4, 6, 8}. By changing the number of CBGs per TB, the number of code blocks (CBs) per CBG can also be changed according to the TBS. In Rel.15NR, CBG-based (re)transmission is only allowed for TBs for the HARQ process. The CBG-based (re)transmission process can also be configured separately for UL and DL.

[0156] When operating an NR system on unlicensed spectrum, it is likely that an LBT procedure should be performed before initiating any transmissions. In Rel-13 and Rel-14, and possibly according to some embodiments described herein, the following can be used: Figure 8 The table shown is for DL ​​and Figure 9 The table shown contains the LBT priority level, LBT parameters, and MCOT value provided by UL.

[0157] In traditional LAA, the contention window size (CWS) can be adjusted based on HARQ-ACK feedback. For DL, this can include: given a set of reference subframes (which may include the first DL subframe of the most recent DL data burst with available HARQ-ACK feedback), the CWS can be increased if at least 80% of the HARQ-ACK feedback values ​​of the reference subframes are NACK. Otherwise, the CWS can be reset to a minimum value.

[0158] For UL, this may include: given a reference subframe (which may include a first subframe with a UL-SCH that is transmitted for at least 4 ms before the UL grant is received in the burst of the latest transmission of a consecutive subframe transmitted after performing a Category 4 LBT procedure) and HARQ_ID_ref (which is the HARQ ID of the reference subframe), if a UL grant is received and the NDI bit of at least one of the active HARQ processes of HARQ_ID_ref is switched (i.e., TB is not disabled), then the CWS for all priority levels at the UE is reset for all priority levels. Otherwise (i.e., HARQ_ID_ref is not scheduled or the NDI of the active HARQ process of HARQ_ID_ref is not switched), the contention window size for all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value. Furthermore, if the maximum CWS is used for K consecutive LBT attempts to transmit only for the priority level for which the maximum CWS is used for K consecutive LBT attempts, then the CWS is reset to the minimum value, where K is selected by the UE implementation from a set of values ​​(1,...,8).

[0159] Although, as mentioned above, it is possible that for NRs operating on unlicensed spectrum, Figure 8 and Figure 9 The forms can be used as is, but the CWS conditioning procedures for DL ​​and UL can also be modified. For example, in traditional LAA, a TB-based (re)transmission procedure is used, and CWS conditioning is customized based on such a procedure, while in NR-U, as mentioned earlier, a CBG-based retransmission procedure can be used, which can affect how CWS conditioning is performed.

[0160] Therefore, the implementation scheme described herein may involve multiple options regarding how to update the CWS when using a CBG-based (re)transmission process.

[0161] In Rel.15NR, in addition to other enhancements to the PHY layer, the concept of code block group (CBG)-based transmission was introduced, for example, to reduce overhead and improve spectral efficiency when transmitting data packets with large TBSs. As previously mentioned, a TB can be divided into multiple CBGs, and when decoding a CBG, the UE can send HARQ-ACK feedback for each individual CBG rather than for the TB, and the gNB can retransmit only the CBGs that were not received or decoded. While this process may be efficient for large TBSs, it can introduce additional overhead from HARQ-ACK feedback, which may outweigh the benefits of reducing retransmission overhead for small TBSs. Therefore, the CBG-based retransmission process can be configurable, potentially involving the UE being semi-statically configured by RRC signaling to enable CBG-based retransmission.

[0162] When operating an NR system (NR-U) on unlicensed spectrum, an LBT procedure should be performed before initiating any transmissions, and its CWS should be regulated based on HARQ-ACK feedback. During LAA WI, a CWS regulation procedure was introduced to allow for fair coexistence with existing technologies. For NR-U, a similar intent can be maintained when designing the corresponding CWS regulation procedure. As a possibility, this is summarized in... Figure 8 The Rel-14 LBT priority levels, LBT parameters, and MCOT values ​​in the table can be reused for NR-U as is. However, some modifications to address the CBG-based retransmission process introduced for NR in Rel-15 can be used in conjunction with the LTE LAA Rel-14 CWS conditioning process.

[0163] In some implementations, reusable from Figures 8 to 9 The parameters of the table. However, in some implementations, Figure 9 The LBT parameter and MCOT value can be modified to Figure 10 The table contains LBT parameters and MCOT values, for example, to ensure NR-U is compatible with Wi-Fi and allows the two technologies to be used on an equal footing. In particular, it should be noted that for... Figure 10 For example, in the table, aCWmax = 1023.

[0164] In Rel.13, the following is agreed upon: If at least 80% of the HARQ-ACK feedback values ​​for the reference subframe set are NACK, then CWS is increased to the next higher value. Otherwise, CWS is reset to the minimum value. Because CBG-based (re)transmissions are introduced in NR, it is possible to modify the CWS adjustment procedure defined for LAA to clarify how the feedback for each CBG is counted as X% in the HARQ-ACK feedback, where X is 80 in one example.

[0165] A portion of this type of CWS conditioning process may include specifying how to identify a reference burst, upon which the CWS conditioning process can be performed. As one possibility, a reference DL burst may be defined for CWS conditioning as follows: the reference burst is always 1 ms long, independent of the subcarrier spacing, and begins at the start of the DL burst, for example, as... Figure 11 As shown. Alternatively, the reference burst may consist of partial subframes (SFs) or time slots starting from the beginning of the DL burst, plus subsequent SFs or time slots, independent of the subcarrier spacing, for example, as... Figure 12 As shown. If a subset of subframes is the only subframe included in the reference DL burst, it is possible that only that subset of subframes is used for CWS conditioning.

[0166] As another possibility, the reference burst may consist of N (e.g., 14) symbols starting from the beginning of the DL burst, where N is configured by RRC and N may be greater than the number of symbols in a partial time slot. As yet another possibility, the reference burst may consist of only a partial time slot starting from the beginning of the DL burst. As yet another possibility, the reference burst may consist of Tms or us starting from the beginning of the DL burst, where, as an example, T may be 1ms.

[0167] In some implementations, when configuring CBG-based transmissions, NACKs are counted such that if at least one CBG within a particular TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedbacks for that TB within the reference time slot set are also counted as NACKs. In another implementation, when configuring CBG-based transmissions, each feedback is counted as either NACK or ACK individually for each CBG within a TB, regardless of the values ​​of other CBG feedbacks for that TB.

[0168] In one implementation, ACK / NACK is counted per TB, which requires using CBG-based HARQ ACK feedback to represent the ACK / NACK for each TB. In this case, according to some implementations, the TB can be counted as NACK if 1) all CBGs including the TB are NACK, 2) at least one CBG is NACK, or 3) X% of the CBGs are NACK.

[0169] In some implementations, when configuring CBG-based transmissions, NACKs are counted on a per TB basis, meaning all CBGs for each TB are packaged into a single bit. In this case, if the gNB does not schedule all unsuccessful CBGs for a TB, one of two options is possible: either the TB can be considered NACK even if all scheduled CBGs are correctly received, or the TB can be left uncounted for CWS regulation. Alternatively, only currently scheduled CBGs can be considered for deriving the packaged HARQ-ACK for CWS regulation. In one set of implementations, a TB can be counted as NACK if 1) all currently scheduled CBGs for a TB are NACK, 2) at least one currently scheduled CBG is NACK, or 3) X% of the currently scheduled CBGs are NACK.

[0170] In some implementations, since some UEs can be configured with CBG-based transmissions while other UEs will perform TB-based transmissions, the percentage Z of NACK can be evaluated in one of the following ways:

[0171] 1. Z = (c * NACK) CBG +t*NACKTB ) / (c*N CBG +t*N TB (1)

[0172] 2.Z=(u*NACK CBG +(1-u)*NACK TB ) / (u*N CBG +(1-u)*N TB (2)

[0173] NACK CBG It refers to the number of NACKs in each CBG during a DL burst. TB It refers to the number of NACKs per TB in a DL burst, N CBG N is the total number of CBG feedbacks in the DL reference burst. TB This is the total number of TB feedbacks in the DL reference burst. In one implementation, if formula (1) is used, then “c” and “t” are two variables, where, for example, 0 <= c <= 1 and 0 <= t <= 1. Note that the variables “c” and “t” can be defined as a function of the maximum number of CBGs within the time slot used for the UE or 8. In another option, these two values ​​can depend on the number of TB and / or CBG transmissions scheduled in the window or DL ​​burst.

[0174] In some implementations, the values ​​of c and / or t are RRC-configurable or configuration-dependent. In one implementation, if formula (2) is used, “u” is a variable that makes 0 <= u <= 1. In one implementation, the value of u is RRC-configurable or configuration-dependent.

[0175] In some implementations, TB / CBG / CB feedback is not used for CWS conditioning for one or more of the following conditions:

[0176] 1. TB / CBG / CB is deleted by other transmissions, such as those that may occur in URLLC.

[0177] 2. In the initial time slots, TB / CBG / CB are pruned because the channel is occupied later.

[0178] 3. Due to BWP handover, the UE may not report a HARQ-ACK for a specific PDSCH. In this case, the transmission may be treated as NACK by default, or it may be ignored for CWS adjustments.

[0179] 4. If the gNB does not schedule all unsuccessful CBGs of a TB, then such TBs may not be counted.

[0180] In some implementations, for self-scheduled scheduling, DTX is considered an indication of a conflict and is considered NACK in terms of the CWS adjustment mechanism. In some implementations, for cross-carrier scheduling, DTX may be ignored in terms of the CWS adjustment mechanism. In some implementations, for cross-carrier scheduling, DTX may be considered an indication of a conflict and is considered NACK in terms of CWS adjustment for the scheduled cell. In some implementations, if the relevant PDCCH is transmitted in a subsequent CAT-4LBT DL burst, DTX may be considered an indication of a conflict and is considered NACK in terms of CWS adjustment. In some implementations, if the relevant PDCCH is transmitted in a reference burst within a subsequent CAT-4LBT DL burst, DTX is considered an indication of a conflict and is considered NACK in terms of CWS adjustment. In some implementations, similar to conventional LTE LAA, the way "DTX" feedback is interpreted for CWS adjustment can differ depending on how scheduling is performed (e.g., self-scheduled or cross-carrier scheduled). In particular, when the PDCCH is transmitted in a separate channel, "DTX" can be ignored, and when the PUCCH is transmitted in the same channel, this indicates a possible collision, and therefore, in this case, "DTX" should be regarded as NACK.

[0181] Another aspect to consider is the CWS update for the gNB when the acquired COT is shared with an unlicensed or scheduled UE, or when PDSCH transmissions are not performed by the gNB. As one possibility, if the gNB performs PDSCH transmissions and a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for UL transmissions with overlapping time-domain resources for scheduled or unlicensed transmissions, then the CWS update is performed as described above. As another possibility, if the gNB does not perform any PDSCH transmissions and a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for UL transmissions with overlapping time-domain resources, then it is possible that if the gNB schedules a UL transport block (TB) with a 25μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH, then if less than X% of the scheduled UL TBs are not successfully received, or if less than X% of the CBGs for the scheduled UL are not successfully received, or if Q*100 is less than X, then the gNB increases the CWS, where X is 10 for example, and Q is given by one of the following formulas:

[0182] 3. Q = (c * NACK) CBG +t*NACK TB ) / (c*N CBG +t*N TB (3)

[0183] 4. Q = (u * NACK)CBG +(1-u)*NACK TB ) / (u*N CBG +(1-u)*N TB (4)

[0184] NACK CBG It refers to the number of NACKs for each scheduled UL CBG in a DL burst. TB This refers to the number of NACKs for TBs scheduled by UL in a DL burst, N CBG It is the total number of scheduled UL CBG feedbacks in the DL reference burst, and N TB This is the total number of TB feedbacks scheduled by UL in the DL reference burst. In one set of implementations, if formula (3) is used, "c" and "t" are two variables. In another option, these two values ​​may depend on the number of TB and / or CBG transmissions scheduled in the shared COT.

[0185] In some implementations, the values ​​of c and / or t are RRC configurable and / or configuration-dependent. In some implementations, if formula (4) is used, “u” is a variable such that 0 <= u <= 1. In some implementations, the value of u is RRC configurable and / or configuration-dependent. In some implementations, if the gNB schedules a UL transport block (TB) with a 25 μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH, and also shares that MCOT with an unlicensed UE, a CWS update can be performed based on the scheduling and / or unlicensed TB or CBG already detected by the gNB.

[0186] In some implementations, for Cat.4LBT used for UL transmission, CWS can be adjusted at the UE and at the UE. In some implementations, a reference UL burst is defined for CWS adjustment in one of the following ways:

[0187] 1. The reference burst is always 1ms long, regardless of the subcarrier spacing, and starts from the beginning of the UL burst.

[0188] 2. The reference burst consists of a portion of the SF starting from the beginning of the UL burst and subsequent SFs independent of the subcarrier spacing. If a portion of the subframe is the only subframe included in the reference UL burst, then only that portion of the subframe is used for CWS conditioning.

[0189] 3. A reference burst consists of N symbols starting from the beginning of the UL burst, where N is configured by RRC and N can be greater than the number of symbols that make up the initial part of the time slot.

[0190] 4. The reference burst consists of only the initial portion of the time slots.

[0191] 5. The reference burst consists of Tms from the start of the UL burst, where T is, for example, 1ms.

[0192] In some implementations, the gNB is configured with a number of symbols N such that a reference burst occurs at least in symbols ns-N, where ns is the first or last symbol of a CORESET containing UL authorization or DFI DCI. In some implementations, N is evaluated as:

[0193] 5. N = Nx + y, (5)

[0194] Where Nx is the processing delay based on the gNB's capability for PUSCH decoding (which depends on the subcarrier spacing), and y is the margin given to the gNB's scheduling degrees of freedom.

[0195] In another set of implementations, N is evaluated as:

[0196] 6. N = Nx + TA + y, (6)

[0197] Where Nx is the processing delay based on the gNB's capability for PUSCH decoding (which depends on the subcarrier spacing), y is the margin given to the gNB's scheduling freedom, and TA is the UE's time lead.

[0198] In some implementations, similar to traditional LTE-LAA, the gNB is configured with N slots such that the reference burst occurs before ns-N, where ns is the slot containing UL authorization or DFI DCI. Figure 13 Examples of this concept are provided in the document.

[0199] In some implementations, N is provided as a symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, or time (e.g., ms). In some implementations, the value of N is counted from the beginning or end of the UL reference burst up to the beginning or end of the core set containing the associated UL authorized reception or configuration of the authorized DCI. In some implementations, N is counted from the beginning of the first uplink symbol of the reference burst up to the last symbol of the PDCCH with the associated UL authorized reception or configuration of the authorized DCI. In some implementations, N is counted from the end of the last time slot of the reference burst up to the first or last time slot of the PDCCH with the associated UL authorized reception or configuration of the authorized DCI.

[0200] According to some implementations, HARQ_ID_ref can be defined as the HARQ process ID of the reference burst. In some implementations, for a scheduled UE, if the NDI bit of at least one active HARQ process used for HARQ_ID_ref in the reference burst is switched, the contention window size at the UE is reset for all priority levels. In some implementations, if HARQ_ID_ref is not scheduled or the NDI of the active HARQ process for HARQ_ID_ref is not switched, the contention window size at the UE for all priority levels is increased to the next higher value.

[0201] In some implementations, if CBG-based transport is configured, when NDI does not switch (i.e., retransmit) for the same HARQ process, the individual bits of the CBG transport information (CBGTI) = 1 are considered failures, i.e., NACK; otherwise, they are considered successes, i.e., ACK. In some implementations, CBG is packaged to indicate information about TB failures / successes in the CWS conditioning mechanism.

[0202] In some implementations, if CBG-based transport is configured, all CBGs of the TBs transported in the reference burst are considered in CWS conditioning. In some implementations, if CBG-based transport is configured, only the CBGs of the currently transported TBs transported in the reference burst are considered for CWS conditioning.

[0203] In some implementations, when configuring CBG-based transmissions, NACKs are counted such that if at least one CBG within a specific TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedbacks for that TB within the reference burst set are also counted as NACKs. In another implementation, when configuring CBG-based transmissions, each feedback is counted as either NACK or ACK individually for each CBG within a TB, regardless of the values ​​of other CBG feedbacks for that TB. In some implementations, ACK / NACK is counted per TB, which requires utilizing CBG-based HARQ ACK feedback to represent the ACK / NACK for each TB. In this case, in some implementations, a TB can be counted as NACK if 1) all CBGs including the TB are NACKs, 2) at least one CBG is NACK, or 3) X% of the CBGs are NACKs.

[0204] In some implementations, the percentage X of NACK is evaluated using one of the following formulas:

[0205] 7.X=(c*NACK CBG +t*NACK TB ) / (c*N CBG+t*N TB ), (7)

[0206] 8.X=(u*NACK CBG +(u-1)*NACK TB ) / (u*N CBG +(u-1)*N TB ), (8)

[0207] NACK CBG It refers to the number of NACKs for each CBG in a UL burst. TB It refers to the number of NACKs per TB in a UL burst, N CBG N is the total number of CBG feedbacks in the UL reference emergency. TB This is the total number of TB feedbacks in the UL reference burst. In one implementation, if formula (7) is used, then “c” and “t” are two variables. In another option, these two values ​​may depend on the number of TB and / or CBG transmissions scheduled in the UL burst. In one implementation, the values ​​of c and / or t are RRC configurable or configuration-dependent. In one implementation, if formula (8) is used, then “u” is a variable such that 0 <= u <= 1. In one implementation, the value of u is RRC configurable and / or configuration-dependent.

[0208] According to some implementations, if a configured grant (CG)-DFI is received, and if a CBG-based configuration is used, then if all currently scheduled CBGs in the TB are ACKed, the CWS is reset to its minimum value. Otherwise, the CWS should be increased. According to some implementations, if a UL grant is received and CBG-based transmission is configured, the UE learns the status of each CBG via CBG Transmission Information (CBGTI). If the NDI bit is not switched (i.e., retransmitted), then if any bit in the CBGTI bits is set to 1, then NACK should be considered.

[0209] As in Rel-14, in some implementations, if the maximum CWS is used for K consecutive LBT attempts to transmit only for the priority level of the maximum CWS used for K consecutive LBT attempts, then CWS is reset to the minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE.

[0210] For unlicensed uplink transmissions in NR-U, in some implementations, if a UL grant or DFI-DCI is received, then if a UL grant is received and the NDI bit for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref is switched, or if a DFI-DCI is received and it indicates one of the following: an ACK for all CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref; an ACK for one CBG for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref; or an ACK for Y% of the CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref, then the CWS can be reset for all priority levels.

[0211] According to some implementation schemes, if a UL grant is received and the NDI bits for all active HARQ processes used for the reference burst are not switched, or if a UL grant is received and no active HARQ processes are scheduled for the reference burst, or if a DFI-DCI is received, and the DFI-DCI performs one of the following operations: does not indicate an ACK for all CBGs for at least one active HARQ process for the reference burst; does not indicate an ACK for X% of all CBGs for at least one active HARQ process for the reference burst; or does not indicate an ACK for X% of the CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref, then the CWS for all priority levels at the UE can be increased to the next higher value.

[0212] For Rel-14, if the maximum CWS is used for K consecutive LBT attempts to transmit only for the priority level of the maximum CWS used for K consecutive LBT attempts, then CWS can be reset to the minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE.

[0213] If at least one previous Cat-4 LBT UL transmission exists, and N or more time slots have elapsed since its start time slot without receiving either a UL grant or a DFI-DCI, then, as an example, if X > 0 and N = 0, then N = maximum value(X, corresponding UL burst length + 1); otherwise, X is configured by RRC. According to some implementations, for each previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmission (where N or more time slots have elapsed since its start time slot without receiving either a UL grant or a DFI-DCI), the CWS at the UE for all priority levels is increased to the next higher value, and each such previous Cat-4 LBT transmission is used to adjust the CWS only once.

[0214] If the UE starts a new Cat-4 LBT UL transmission after N time slots have elapsed since the previous Cat-4 LBT and before receiving either UL authorization or DFI-DCI, then it is possible that CWS remains unchanged.

[0215] If the UE receives feedback for one or more previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmissions (where N or more time slots have elapsed since their start time slot and neither UL authorization nor DFI-DCI has been received), it may recalculate the CWS as follows: i) It restores the CWS to the value of the first burst used to transmit such a previous Cat-4 LBT transmission; ii) It updates the CWS in the order of the burst transmissions. If the feedback indicates ACKs for all CBGs in the first time slot of the burst, or alternatively ACKs for X% of all CBGs in the first time slot of the burst, the CWS may be reset; otherwise, the CWS may be doubled. If the UE CWS changes while a Cat-4 LBT procedure is in progress, the UE may derive a new random backoff counter and apply it to the ongoing LBT procedure.

[0216] In some implementations, only PUSCHs used for CWS regulation are used for one or more of the following: only PUSCHs whose start symbols are within the reference burst; only PUSCHs within the reference burst; or only the earliest PUSCH within the reference burst.

[0217] In some implementations, TB / CBG is not used for CWS conditioning for one or more of the following: TB / CBG that is censored by other transmissions, such as those that may occur for URLLC; or TB / CBG that is censored in the initial part of the time slot due to late channel occupancy.

[0218] In some implementations, for multi-slot PUSCHs, one of the following options can be implemented to prevent the potential reuse of a portion of the PUSCH as a reference burst, for example, such as Figure 14 As shown.

[0219] As an option, the specific implementation of gNB guarantees that after obtaining the reference timing ns-N, there will always be a PUSCH with complete repetition, which can be used as a reference burst.

[0220] As an alternative, if the reference timing ns-N is in the middle of a TB repetition, the UE can skip that TB and use an earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0221] As another option, a configurable threshold can be set to determine whether a TB can be used within a reference burst. This threshold can be the number of repetitions. For example, let the reference timing ns-N fall in the middle of the TB repetitions: if the number of repetitions received by the gNB is higher than the threshold, then the HARQ-ACK for that TB can still be a good reference for CWS; otherwise, the UE can skip that TB and use an earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0222] As another option, a threshold can be used to determine the number of repetitions used by the gNB. This threshold could be the maximum coding rate. For example, let the reference timing ns-N fall in the middle of the repetitions of the TB: if the coding rate of the repetitions received by the gNB is lower than this threshold, the current TB can be used within the reference burst. Otherwise, the UE can skip the TB and use an earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0223] As another option, regardless of the reference timing ns-N, in this case, if at least one repetition follows the reference burst, all repetitions will be used for CWS conditioning.

[0224] As another option, assuming multiple PUSCHs are transmitted in the reference burst, if there are multiple timeslot PUSCHs in the reference burst, but the gNB only receives a portion of their repetition, then only the other PUSCHs are considered in the CWS conditioning.

[0225] Exemplary process

[0226] In some implementation schemes, Figures 18 to 27 The electronic devices, networks, systems, chips, or components, or portions thereof, or specific implementations thereof, shown in some of the other accompanying drawings herein may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods, or portions thereof, as described herein. Figure 15 The document describes such a process. For example, the process may include, at 1502, accessing parameters for CWS adjustment. The process may also include, at 1504, adjusting the CWS based on the accessed parameters. In some embodiments, the process may be performed by the UE or a portion thereof that can interface with the gNB and communicate at least partially via NR-U.

[0227] In some implementation schemes, Figures 18 to 27 The electronic devices, networks, systems, chips, or components, or portions thereof, or specific implementations thereof, shown in some of the other accompanying drawings herein may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods, or portions thereof, as described herein. Figure 16The document describes such a process. For example, the process may include identifying a DL reference burst at 1602. The process may also include determining CWS conditioning based on the identified DL reference burst at 1604. In an implementation, this process may be performed by the UE or a portion thereof that can interface with the gNB and communicate at least partially via NR-U.

[0228] In some implementation schemes, Figures 18 to 27 The electronic devices, networks, systems, chips, or components, or portions thereof, or specific implementations thereof, shown in some of the other accompanying drawings herein may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods, or portions thereof, as described herein. Figure 17 The document describes such a process. For example, the process may include configuring CBG-based transmission at 1702. The process may also include receiving a signal at 1704. The process may further include identifying the number of NACKs or ACKs within the received signal at 1706. In an implementation, this process may be performed by the UE or a portion thereof that can interface with the gNB and communicate at least partially via NR-U.

[0229] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the embodiments described below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the embodiments shown in the Embodiments section below.

[0230] A first embodiment may include a method comprising: accessing parameters for CWS adjustment; and adjusting the CWS based on the accessed parameters.

[0231] The second embodiment may include the subject matter of the first embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein accessing parameters for CWS conditioning further includes receiving CWS parameters from RRC signaling.

[0232] The third embodiment may include the subject matter of the first embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the parameters include LBT priority level, MCOT and one or more of a set of CWS.

[0233] The fourth embodiment may include the subject matter of the first embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein adjusting the CWS based on the accessed parameters is to make NR-U consistent with Wi-Fi to be on par.

[0234] The fifth embodiment may include a method comprising: identifying a DL reference burst; and determining CWS modulation based on the identified DL reference burst.

[0235] The sixth embodiment may include the subject matter of the fifth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the reference burst is 1 ms long and is independent of the subcarrier spacing.

[0236] The seventh embodiment may include the subject matter of the sixth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the reference burst begins at the start of the DL burst.

[0237] The eighth embodiment may include the subject matter of the sixth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the reference burst includes a portion of the subframes from the start of the DL burst.

[0238] The ninth embodiment may include the subject matter of the eighth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein subframes follow each other regardless of subcarrier spacing.

[0239] The tenth embodiment may include the subject matter of the eighth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, and further includes the situation where a portion of the subframe is the only subframe in the reference DL burst, and thus only that portion of the subframe is used for CWS modulation.

[0240] The eleventh embodiment may include the subject matter of the eighth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the reference burst includes N symbols starting from the beginning of the DL burst.

[0241] The twelfth embodiment may include the subject matter of the eleventh embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein N is an RRC configuration, or N is greater than the number of symbols in a portion of the time slot.

[0242] The thirteenth embodiment may include the subject matter of the eighth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the reference burst includes only a portion of the time slots.

[0243] The fourteenth embodiment may include the subject matter of the eighth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the reference burst includes T milliseconds or microseconds from the start of the DL burst.

[0244] The fifteenth embodiment may include a method comprising: configuring CBG-based transmission; receiving a signal; and identifying the number of NACKs or ACKs within the received signal.

[0245] The sixteenth embodiment may include the subject matter of the fifteenth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein if at least one of the CBGs for a TB receives a NACK, then all CBG feedbacks for the TB within the reference time slot set are identified as NACK.

[0246] The seventeenth embodiment may include the subject matter of the fifteenth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the number of NACKs or ACKs is counted for each CBG within the TB, regardless of the values ​​fed back by other CBGs in that TB.

[0247] The eighteenth embodiment may include the subject matter of the fifteenth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the number of NACKs or ACKs is identified per TB using CBG-based HARQ ACK feedback.

[0248] The nineteenth embodiment 19 may include the method of the fifteenth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the TB is identified as NACK when (1) all CBGs in the TB are NACK, (2) at least one CBG is NACK, or (3) a percentage of CBGs are NACK.

[0249] The twentieth embodiment may include the method of the fifteenth embodiment or any other embodiment herein, wherein the number of NACKs is identified on a per TB basis, and wherein a TB is considered NACK even if all scheduled CBGs are correctly received, or wherein TBs are not counted for CWS conditioning.

[0250] The twenty-first embodiment may include a method comprising a CWS update mechanism for NR-U and a configuration for CBG-based transport.

[0251] The twenty-second embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the method from [the present embodiment] is reused. Figure 8 and Figure 9 The parameters.

[0252] The twenty-third embodiment may include the methods of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein Figure 9 LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​and Figure 10 The same principle applies to NR-U, aiming to make it compatible with Wi-Fi and allow the two technologies to be on equal footing.

[0253] The twenty-fourth embodiment may include the methods of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein for DL ​​CWS modulation, a reference DL burst is defined for CWS modulation as one of the following options: A. The reference burst is always 1 ms long, independent of the subcarrier spacing, and begins at the start of the DL burst; B. The reference burst consists of a partial subframe (SF) starting from the start of the DL burst plus subsequent SFs independent of the subcarrier spacing. If the partial subframe is the only subframe included in the reference DL burst, then only that partial subframe is used for CWS modulation; C. The reference burst consists of N symbols (e.g., 14) starting from the start of the DL burst, where N is configured by RRC, and N may be greater than the number of symbols in the partial slots; D. The reference burst consists only of partial slots; E. The reference burst consists of T ms or μs starting from the start of the DL burst, where T is, for example, 1 ms.

[0254] The twenty-fifth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein when configuring CBG-based transmissions, NACKs are counted such that if at least one CBG in a particular TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedbacks for that TB within the reference time slot set are also counted as NACKs.

[0255] The twenty-sixth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein, when configuring CBG-based transmission, each feedback is individually counted as NACK or ACK for each CBG within a TB, regardless of the values ​​of other CBG feedbacks for that TB.

[0256] The twenty-seventh embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein ACK / NACK is counted per TB, which requires utilizing CBG-based HARQ ACK feedback to represent ACK / NACK for each TB.

[0257] The twenty-eighth embodiment may include the methods of the twenty-first embodiment or the twenty-seventh embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the TB may be counted as NACK if 1) all CBGs including the TB are NACK, 2) at least one CBG is NACK, or 3) X% of the CBGs are NACK.

[0258] The twenty-ninth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, in which, when configuring CBG-based transmission, NACKs are counted on a per TB basis, meaning that all CBGs for each TB are packed into a single bit; if the gNB does not schedule all unsuccessful CBGs for a TB, there are two options: either the TB is considered NACK even if all scheduled CBGs are correctly received, or in this case, the TB is not counted for CWS regulation.

[0259] The thirtieth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein only the currently scheduled CBG is considered for deriving the packaged HARQ-ACK for CWS conditioning.

[0260] The thirty-first embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the TB may be counted as NACK if 1) all currently scheduled CBGs of the TB are NACK, 2) at least one currently scheduled CBG is NACK, or 3) X% of the currently scheduled CBGs are NACK.

[0261] The thirty-second embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein since some UEs may be configured with CBG-based transmissions while other UEs will perform TB-based transmissions, the percentage Z of NACK is evaluated in one of the following ways:

[0262] Z = (c*NACKCBG + t*NACKTB) / (c*NCBG + t*NTB) (1) or

[0263] Z=(u*NACKCBG+(1-u)*NACKTB) / (u*NCBG+(1-u)*NTB)(2).

[0264] The thirty-third embodiment may include the methods of some embodiments herein, including cases where TB / CBG / CB feedback is not used for CWS conditioning:

[0265] a.TB / CBG / CB is deleted by other transports, such as URLLC;

[0266] b. In the initial time slots, TB / CBG / CB are pruned because the channel is occupied later;

[0267] c. Due to BWP handover, the UE does not report HARQ-ACK for a specific PDSCH—in this case, the transmission is treated as NACK by default, or may be ignored for CWS adjustment;

[0268] d. If all unsuccessful CBGs of a TB are not scheduled by gNB, then such TBs are not counted.

[0269] The thirty-fourth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein for self-scheduling, DTX is considered an indication of conflict and is considered NACK in terms of the CWS regulation mechanism.

[0270] The thirty-fifth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein DTX is ignored in terms of the CWS adjustment mechanism for cross-carrier scheduling.

[0271] The thirty-sixth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein when the acquired COT is shared with an unlicensed or scheduled UE, or when the PDSCH transmission is not performed by the gNB, the CWS update for the gNB includes:

[0272] a. If the gNB performs a PDSCH transmission and a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for a UL transmission with overlapping time-domain resources for scheduled or unlicensed transmissions, then in one implementation, a CWS update is performed as described above;

[0273] b. If the gNB does not perform any PDSCH transmissions, and a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for UL transmissions with overlapping time-domain resources, then:

[0274] If the eNB schedules a UL transport block (TB) with a 25μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH, then if less than X% of the scheduled UL TBs are not successfully received, or if less than X% of the CBGs for the scheduled ULs are not successfully received, or if Q*100 is less than X, then the gNB increases the CWS, where X is 10 for example, and Q is given by one of the following formulas:

[0275] iQ=(c*NACKCBG+t*NACKTB) / (c*NCBG+t*NTB), (3)

[0276] ii.Q=(u*NACKCBG+(1-u)*NACKTB) / (u*NCBG+(1-u)*NTB), (4)

[0277] If the gNB schedules a UL transport block (TB) with a 25μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH, and also shares the MCOT with an unlicensed UE, then the CWS update is performed based on the scheduling and / or unlicensed TB or CBG that has already been detected by the gNB.

[0278] The thirty-seventh embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein for Cat.4LBT used for UL transmission, the CWS is adjusted at the UE and at the UE.

[0279] The thirty-eighth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the reference UL burst is defined for CWS conditioning according to one of the following options:

[0280] i. The reference burst is always 1ms long, regardless of the subcarrier spacing, and starts from the beginning of the UL burst;

[0281] ii. The reference burst consists of a portion of the SF starting from the beginning of the UL burst plus subsequent SFs independent of the subcarrier spacing. If a portion of the subframe is the only subframe included in the reference UL burst, then only that portion of the subframe is used for CWS conditioning.

[0282] iii. A reference burst consists of N symbols starting from the beginning of a UL burst, where N is configured by RRC and N may be greater than the number of symbols that make up the initial portion of the time slot;

[0283] iv. The reference burst consists only of the initial portion of the time slots;

[0284] v. The reference burst consists of Tms from the start of the UL burst, where T is, for example, 1ms.

[0285] The thirty-ninth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the gNB configures the number of symbols N such that a reference burst occurs at least in symbols ns-N, where ns is the first or last symbol of a CORESET containing UL authorization or DFI DCI.

[0286] The fortieth embodiment may include the methods of the twenty-first embodiment or the thirty-ninth embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein N is evaluated as:

[0287] N = Nx + y, (5), or

[0288] N = Nx + TA + y, (6).

[0289] The forty-first embodiment may include the methods of the twenty-first embodiment or the thirty-ninth embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the gNB is configured with a number of time slots N such that a reference burst occurs before ns-N, where ns is a time slot containing UL authorization or DFI DCI.

[0290] The forty-second embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein HARQ_ID_ref is defined as a reference burst HARQ process ID.

[0291] The forty-third embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein for a scheduled UE, if the NDI bit of at least one active HARQ process used for referencing HARQ_ID_ref in a burst is switched, the contention window size at the UE is reset for all priority levels.

[0292] The forty-fourth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein if the NDI of the active HARQ process of HARQ_ID_ref is not scheduled or is not switched, the contention window size of all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value.

[0293] The forty-fifth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein if a CBG-based transport is configured, CBGTI=1 is considered a failure, i.e., NACK.

[0294] The forty-sixth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein CBG is packaged to represent information about TB failure / success in the CWS conditioning mechanism.

[0295] The forty-seventh embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein if CBG-based transmission is configured, all CBGs of the TB transmitted in the reference burst are considered in the CWS conditioning.

[0296] The forty-eighth embodiment 48 may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein if CBG-based transmission is configured, the CBG of the current transmission of the TB transmitted in the reference burst is considered only for the CWS adjustment.

[0297] The forty-ninth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein when configuring CBG-based transmissions, NACKs are counted such that if at least one CBG in a particular TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedbacks for that TB within the reference burst set are also counted as NACKs.

[0298] The fiftieth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, in which, when configuring CBG-based transmission, each feedback is individually counted as NACK or ACK for each CBG within a TB, regardless of the values ​​of other CBG feedbacks for that TB.

[0299] The fifty-first embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein ACK / NACK is counted per TB, which requires utilizing CBG-based HARQ ACK feedback to represent the ACK / NACK for each TB. In this case, in one embodiment, the TB may be counted as NACK if 1) all CBGs including the TB are NACK, 2) at least one CBG is NACK, or 3) X% of the CBGs are NACK.

[0300] The fifty-second embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the percentage X of NACK is evaluated using one of the following formulas:

[0301] X = (c*NACKCBG + t*NACKTB) / (c*NCBG + t*NTB); or

[0302] X=(u*NACKCBG+(u-1)*NACKTB) / (u*NCBG+(u-1)*NTB).

[0303] The fifty-third embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment, wherein if the maximum CWS is used for K consecutive LBT attempts to transmit only for the priority level of the maximum CWS used for K consecutive LBT attempts, then the CWS is reset to the minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE.

[0304] The fifty-fourth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein for unlicensed uplink transmission in NR-U, if a UL grant or DFI-DCI is received, then if a UL grant is received and the NDI bit for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref is switched, or if a DFI-DCI is received and it indicates one of the following:

[0305] ACK for all CBGs used for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref;

[0306] ACK for one of the CBGs used for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref;

[0307] For an ACK of CBG for Y% of at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref, reset CWS for all priority levels; and / or

[0308] If a UL grant is received and the NDI bits for all active HARQ processes used for the reference burst are not switched, or if a UL grant is received and no active HARQ processes are scheduled for the reference burst, or if a DFI-DCI is received, the DFI-DCI performs one of the following operations:

[0309] Do not indicate ACK for all CBGs for at least one active HARQ process targeting the reference burst;

[0310] No indication of X% of ACKs in all CBGs for at least one active HARQ process targeting the reference burst;

[0311] If no ACK is indicated for X% of the CBG for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref, then the CWS for all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value; and / or

[0312] If the maximum CWS is used for K consecutive LBT attempts and transmissions are performed only for the priority level of the maximum CWS used for K consecutive LBT attempts, then CWS is reset to the minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE; and / or

[0313] If at least one previous Cat-4 LBT UL transmission exists, and N or more time slots have elapsed since its start time slot without receiving either a UL grant or a DFI-DCI, then as an example, if X > 0 and N = 0, then N = maximum value(X, corresponding UL burst length + 1); otherwise, X is configured by RRC. For each previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmission (where N or more time slots have elapsed since its start time slot without receiving either a UL grant or a DFI-DCI), the CWS at the UE for all priority levels is increased to the next higher value, and each such previous Cat-4 LBT transmission is used to adjust the CWS only once; and / or

[0314] If the UE starts a new Cat-4 LBT UL transmission after N time slots have elapsed since the previous Cat-4 LBT and before receiving either UL authorization or DFI-DCI, then CWS remains unchanged; and / or

[0315] If the UE receives feedback for one or more previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmissions (where N or more time slots have elapsed since their start time slot and neither UL authorization nor DFI-DCI has been received), it may recalculate the CWS as follows: i) it restores the CWS to the value of the first burst used to transmit such previous Cat-4 LBT transmissions; ii) it updates the CWS in the order of burst transmissions; and / or if the feedback indicates

[0316] For all CBG ACKs in the first time slot of this outbreak, or

[0317] For X% of the ACKs in all CBGs in the first time slot of this burst,

[0318] If the CWS changes during a Cat-4 LBT procedure, the UE introduces a new random backoff counter and applies it to the ongoing LBT procedure.

[0319] The fifty-fifth embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein only the PUSCH used for one or more of the following conditions is used for CWS conditioning:

[0320] a. Only PUSCH whose starting symbol is within the reference burst;

[0321] b. Only PUSCH within a reference burst;

[0322] c. Only the earliest PUSCH within the reference burst.

[0323] The fifty-sixth embodiment may include the methods of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein TB / CBG is not used for CWS conditioning for one or more of the following:

[0324] TB / CBG that is redundant with other transmissions, such as URLLC, or

[0325] In the initial time slots, TB / CBGs are pruned because the channel is occupied later.

[0326] The fifty-seventh embodiment may include the method of the twenty-first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein for multi-slot PUSCH, one of the following options may be implemented to prevent the possible reuse of a portion of the PUSCH as a reference burst:

[0327] The specific implementation of gNB ensures that after obtaining the reference timing ns-N, there will always be a PUSCH with complete repetition, which can be used as a reference burst.

[0328] If the reference timing ns-N is in the middle of a TB repetition, the UE can skip that TB and use an earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0329] A configurable threshold can be set to determine whether a TB can be used within a reference burst. This threshold can be the number of repetitions, with the reference timing ns-N positioned in the middle of the TB repetitions. If the number of repetitions received by the gNB is higher than the threshold, the HARQ-ACK for that TB can still be a good reference for CWS. Otherwise, the UE can skip that TB and use an earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0330] A threshold can be used to determine the number of repetitions used by the gNB. This threshold can be the maximum coding rate, with the reference timing ns-N in the middle of the repetitions of the TB: if the coding rate of the repetitions received by the gNB is lower than the threshold, the current TB can be used in the reference burst; otherwise, the UE can skip the TB and use an earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0331] Regardless of the reference timing ns-N, in this case, if at least one repetition follows the reference burst, all repetitions will be used for CWS conditioning;

[0332] Assuming multiple PUSCHs are transmitted in a reference burst, if there are multiple timeslot PUSCHs in the reference burst, but the gNB only receives a portion of their repetition, then only the other PUSCHs are considered in CWS conditioning.

[0333] The fifty-eighth embodiment may include a method that operates a gNB to configure a number N UEs, wherein a UL reference burst will occur ns-N prior, where ns is a time slot including UL authorization or DFI DCI, and further, wherein:

[0334] N is provided as a symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, or time;

[0335] N is counted from the start or end of the UL reference burst up to the start or end of the CORESET, including UL authorization or DFI DCI;

[0336] N is counted from the first uplink symbol of the UL reference burst up to the last symbol of the PDCCH with a CORESET including UL authorization or DFI DCI; or

[0337] N is counted from the end of the last slot of the UL reference burst until the first or last slot of the PDCCH of a CORESET that includes UL authorization or DFI DCI.

[0338] The fifty-ninth embodiment may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of the first to fifty-eighth embodiments, or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0339] The sixtieth embodiment may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the methods or any other methods or processes described or associated with any of the first to fifty-eighth embodiments.

[0340] The sixty-first embodiment may include an apparatus comprising a logic component, module, or circuitry for performing one or more elements of the method described or associated with any of the first to fifty-eighth embodiments, or any other method or process described herein.

[0341] The sixty-second embodiment may include a method, technique, or process, or part or component thereof, as described or associated with any of the first to fifty-eighth embodiments.

[0342] The sixty-third embodiment may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or part thereof, as described or associated with any of the first to fifty-eighth embodiments.

[0343] The sixty-fourth embodiment may include signals or portions or components thereof as described or associated with any of the first to fifty-eighth embodiments.

[0344] The sixty-fifth embodiment may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0345] The sixty-sixth embodiment may include a method for communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0346] The sixty-seventh embodiment may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0347] Embodiment 68, 67, may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0348] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0349] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0350] System and specific implementation

[0351] Figure 18 An exemplary architecture of system 1800 for a network according to various implementations is shown. The following description is provided for an example system 1800 operating in combination with LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the exemplary implementations are not limited in this respect, and the implementations can be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), etc.

[0352] like Figure 18 As shown, system 1800 includes UE 1801a and UE 1801b (collectively referred to as "multiple UE 1801" or "UE1801"). In this example, UE 1801 is shown as a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touchscreen mobile computing device that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as consumer electronics devices, mobile phones, smartphones, feature phones, tablets, wearable computing devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handheld devices, desktop computers, laptops, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument cluster (IC), head-up display (HUD) devices, onboard diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminal (MDT), electronic engine management system (EEMS), electronic / engine electronic control unit (ECU), electronic / engine electronic control module (ECM), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management system (EMS), connected or "smart" appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, etc.

[0353] In some implementations, any of UEs in UE 1801 can be an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed to utilize low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may use technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via PLMN, ProSe or D2D communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keeping track of activity messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0354] UE 1801 can be configured to connect to RAN 1810, for example, communicatively coupled. In implementations, RAN 1810 can be an NG RAN or 5G RAN, E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NGRAN," etc., can refer to RAN 1810 operating in NR or 5G system 1800, while the term "E-UTRAN," etc., can refer to RAN 1810 operating in LTE or 4G system 1800. UE 1801 utilizes connections (or channels) 1803 and 1804, each connection including a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

[0355] In this example, connections 1803 and 1804 are shown as air interfaces for communication coupling and are compatible with cellular communication protocols such as GSM, CDMA, PTT, POC, UMTS, 3GPP LTE, 5G, NR, and / or any other communication protocols discussed herein. In an implementation, UE 1801 can directly exchange communication data via ProSe interface 1805. ProSe interface 1805 may also be referred to as SL interface 1805 and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, and PSBCH.

[0356] UE 1801b is shown configured to access AP 1806 (also known as "WLAN Node 1806", "WLAN 1806", "WLAN Terminal 1806", "WT 1806", etc.) via connection 1807. Connection 1807 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 1806 will include Wireless Fibre. Router. In this example, AP 1806 is shown connected to the Internet but not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various implementations, UE 1801b, RAN 1810, and AP 1806 can be configured to utilize LWA operation and / or LWIP operation. LWA operation may involve UE 1801b in the RRC_CONNECTED state, configured by RAN nodes 1811a-b to utilize the radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve UE 1801b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 1807) via IPsec protocol tunneling to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) transmitted through connection 1807. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header to protect the original header of the IP packet.

[0357] RAN 1810 may include one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 1811a and 1811b (collectively referred to as "multiple RAN nodes 1811" or "RAN node 1811") that enable connectivity between 1803 and 1804. As used herein, the terms "access node," "access point," etc., can describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between the network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, or TRP, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node," etc., can refer to RAN node 1811 (e.g., gNB) operating in NR or 5G system 1800, while the terms "E-UT RAN node," etc., can refer to RAN node 1811 (e.g., eNB) operating in LTE or 4G system 1800. According to various implementation schemes, RAN node 1811 can be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices such as macro cell base stations and / or low-power (LP) base stations for providing smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macro cells.

[0358] In some implementations, all or part of the RAN node 1811 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as CRAN and / or Virtual Baseband Unit Pool (vBBUP). In these implementations, CRAN or vBBUP may implement RAN function partitioning, such as PDCP partitioning, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by CRAN / vBBUP, while other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 1811; MAC / PHY partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by CRAN / vBBUP, and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 1811; or "lower PHY" partitioning, where the upper portion of the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY layers is operated by CRAN / vBBUP, and the lower portion of the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 1811. This virtualization framework allows the idle processor cores of the RAN node 1811 to execute other virtualized applications. In some specific implementations, a single RAN node 1811 may represent a virtual network via a separate F1 interface (…). Figure 18 (Not shown) A separate gNB-DU connected to the gNB-CU. In these specific implementations, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio head units or RFEMs (see, for example, Figure 21 The gNB-CU can be operated by a server (not shown) located in RAN 1810 or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. Alternatively, one or more RAN nodes in RAN 1811 can be next-generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) that provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminals to UE 1801 and are connected to 5GC (e.g., via an ng interface (discussed below)). Figure 20 RAN nodes of CN 2020.

[0359] In a V2X scenario, one or more RAN nodes in RAN node 1811 can be RSUs or act as RSUs. The term "roadside unit" or "RSU" can refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. An RSU can be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, wherein an RSU implemented in or by a UE can be referred to as a "UE-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by an eNB can be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by a gNB can be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU," and so on. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled to radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside, which provides connectivity support to a passing vehicle UE 1801 (vUE 1801). An RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct Near Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide extremely low-latency communication required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance and traffic warnings. Alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low-latency communication as well as other cellular communication services. Alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communication. Some or all of the computing device and the RSU's radio frequency circuitry may be packaged in a weather-resistant package suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide wired connectivity (e.g., Ethernet) to traffic signal controllers and / or backhaul networks.

[0360] Any node in RAN 1811 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for UE 1801. In some implementations, any node in RAN 1811 can perform various logical functions of RAN 1810, including but not limited to the functions of the Radio Network Controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0361] In the implementation, UE 1801 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 1811 on a multi-carrier communication channel using OFDM communication signals, according to various communication technologies such as, but not limited to, OFDMA communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or SC-FDMA communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0362] In some implementations, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any node in RAN node 1811 to UE 1801, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources in the downlink within each time slot. This time-frequency plane representation is common practice for OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises multiple resource blocks that describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this can represent the minimum amount of resources currently available for allocation. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0363] According to various implementations, UE 1801 and RAN node 1811 transmit data (e.g., send and receive data) through licensed media (also referred to as “licensed spectrum” and / or “licensed band”) and unlicensed shared media (also referred to as “unlicensed spectrum” and / or “unlicensed band”). Licensed spectrum may include channels operating in the frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, while unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz band.

[0364] To operate in unlicensed spectrum, UE 1801 and RAN node 1811 may use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these specific implementations, UE 1801 and RAN node 1811 may perform one or more known medium sensing and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmission in the unlicensed spectrum. Medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to the Talk-After-Listen (LBT) protocol.

[0365] LBT is a mechanism that equipment (e.g., UE 1801, RAN node 1811, etc.) uses to sense a medium (e.g., a channel or carrier frequency) and transmit when that medium is sensed to be idle (or when a specific channel in that medium is sensed to be unoccupied). Medium sensing operations may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine the presence of other signals on the channel in order to determine whether the channel is occupied or idle. This LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with existing systems in unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy in the intended transmission band over a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy with predefined or configured thresholds.

[0366] Typically, existing systems in the 5GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs employ a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 1801, AP 1806, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node can first perform CCA before transmitting. Additionally, in cases where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits simultaneously, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions. This backoff mechanism can be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS, which increases exponentially upon collision and resets to a minimum value upon successful transmission. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to WLAN's CSMA / CA. In some specific implementations, the LBT process for DL ​​or UL transmission bursts (including PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions) can have a variable-length LAA contention window between X and Y ECCA time slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the LAA's CWS. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmission can be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and MCOT (e.g., transmission burst) can be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0367] The LAA mechanism is built upon the CA technology of LTE-Advanced systems. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a CC. A CC can have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz, and a maximum of five CCs can be aggregated, thus the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In FDD systems, the number of aggregated carriers can differ for DL ​​and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or less than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, individual CCs can have different bandwidths than the other CCs. In TDD systems, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are usually the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0368] The CA also includes individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of serving cells can differ, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary serving cell, or PCell, provides the PCC for both UL and DL and handles activities related to RRC and NAS. Other serving cells are called SCells, and each SCell provides individual SCCs for both UL and DL. SCCs can be added and removed as needed, while changing the PCC may require UE 1801 to undergo a handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells can operate in unlicensed spectrum (called "LAA SCells"), and LAA SCells are assisted by PCells operating in licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured to have more than one LAA SCell, the UE can receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells, indicating different PUSCH start positions within the same subframe.

[0369] The PDSCH carries user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 1801. Among other information, the PDCCH carries information about the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It also informs UE 1801 about the transmission format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 1801b within the cell) can be performed at any node of RAN node 1811 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs in UE 1801. Downlink resource allocation information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used for (e.g., allocated to) each UE in UE 1801.

[0370] PDCCH uses CCEs to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the complex-valued symbols of the PDCCH can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets, called REGs, each with four physical resource elements. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the DCI size and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. Four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8) can exist.

[0371] Some implementations may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some implementations may utilize EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more ECCEs may be used to transmit EPDCCH. Similarly, each ECCE may correspond to a set of nine, each consisting of four physical resource elements, called EREG. In some cases, an ECCE may have a different number of EREGs.

[0372] RAN nodes 1811 can be configured to communicate with each other via interface 1812. In system 1800, this is an LTE system (e.g., when CN 1820 is...). Figure 19 In an implementation of EPC 1820, interface 1812 may be an X2 interface 1812. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 1811 (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to EPC 1820, and / or between two eNBs connected to EPC 1820. In some specific implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). X2-U may provide flow control mechanisms for user packets transmitted via the X2 interface and may be used to transmit information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, X2-U may provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from MeNB to SeNB; information about the successful in-order delivery of PDCP PDUs from SeNB to UE 1801 for user data; information about PDCP PDUs not delivered to UE 1801; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE; and so on. The X2-C provides LTE intra-eNB access mobility functions, including context transmission from the source eNB to the destination eNB, user plane transmission control, load management functions, and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0373] System 1800 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., when CN 1820 is as follows). Figure 20In an implementation of 5GC 2020, interface 1812 may be an Xn interface 1812. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 1811 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to 5GC 1820, between a RAN node 1811 (e.g., a gNB) connected to 5GC 1820 and an eNB, and / or between two eNBs connected to 5GC 1820. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. Xn-U provides non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and supports / provides data forwarding and flow control functions. Xn-C provides management and error handling functions for managing the functionality of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE 1801 in connected modes (e.g., CM connection), including functions for managing UE mobility in connected modes between one or more RAN nodes 1811. Mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 1811 to the new (destination) serving RAN node 1811; and control of user plane tunnels between the old (source) serving RAN node 1811 and the new (destination) serving RAN node 1811. The Xn-U protocol stack may include a transport network layer built on top of the Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of the UDP and / or IP layers for carrying user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as the Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on top of SCTP. SCTP may be on top of the IP layer and provides guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other specific implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same as or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0374] RAN 1810 is shown communicatively coupled to the core network—in this embodiment, communicatively coupled to the core network (CN) 1820. CN 1820 may include multiple network elements 1822 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 1801) connected to CN 1820 via RAN 1810. Components of CN 1820 may be implemented in a single physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from machine-readable or computer-readable media (e.g., non-transitory machine-readable storage media). In some embodiments, NFV can be used to virtualize any or all of the aforementioned network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of CN 1820 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of CN 1820 may be referred to as a network subslice. NFV architectures and infrastructure can be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (optionally implemented by proprietary hardware). In other words, an NFV system can be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable concrete implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0375] Generally, the application server 1830 can be a component that provides IP bearer resources for applications to use with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). The application server 1830 can also be configured to support one or more communication services for UE 1801 via EPC 1820 (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.).

[0376] In the implementation, CN 1820 may be a 5GC (referred to as "5GC 1820", etc.), and RAN 1810 may be connected to CN 1820 via NG interface 1813. In the implementation, NG interface 1813 may be divided into two parts: NG User Plane (NG-U) interface 1814, which carries traffic data between RAN node 1811 and UPF; and S1 Control Plane (NG-C) interface 1815, which is the signaling interface between RAN node 1811 and AMF. (See reference...) Figure 20 The implementation scheme of CN 1820 for 5GC 1820 is discussed in more detail.

[0377] In one implementation, CN 1820 may be a 5G CN (referred to as "5GC 1820", etc.), while in other implementations, CN 1820 may be an EPC. When CN 1820 is an EPC (referred to as "EPC 1820", etc.), RAN 1810 may be connected to CN 1820 via S1 interface 1813. In one implementation, S1 interface 1813 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 1814, which carries traffic data between RAN node 1811 and S-GW; and an S1-MME interface 1815, which is the signaling interface between RAN node 1811 and MME.

[0378] Figure 19 An exemplary architecture of a system 1900 including a first CN 1920 according to various implementation schemes is shown. In this example, system 1900 can implement the LTE standard, wherein CN 1920 is compatible with... Figure 18 CN 1820 corresponds to EPC 1920. Additionally, UE 1901 can be used with... Figure 18 The same as or similar to UE 1801, and E-UTRAN 1910 can be the same as... Figure 18 The RAN 1810 is the same as or similar to the RAN 1811 discussed earlier. CN 1920 may include MME 1921, S-GW 1922, P-GW 1923, HSS 1924 and SGSN 1925.

[0379] The MME 1921 is functionally similar to the control plane of a traditional SGSN and can implement MM functions to track the current location of the UE1901. The MME 1921 can perform various MM procedures to manage mobility aspects of access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. MM (also known as “EPS MM” or “EMM” in E-UTRAN systems) can refer to all applicable procedures, methods, data storage, etc., used to maintain knowledge about the current location of the UE1901, provide user identity confidentiality, and / or perform other similar services to users / subscribers. Each UE1901 and MME 1921 may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and an MM context can be established in both the UE1901 and MME 1921 upon successful attachment. The MM context can be a data structure or database object that stores MM-related information for the UE1901. MME 1921 can be coupled to HSS 1924 via reference point S6a, to SGSN 1925 via reference point S3, and to S-GW 1922 via reference point S11.

[0380] SGSN 1925 can serve UE 1901 as a node by tracking the location of the individual UE 1901 and performing security functions. Furthermore, SGSN 1925 can perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between 2G / 3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; such as PDN and S-GW selection specified by MME 1921; time zone function processing for UE 1901 specified by MME 1921; and MME selection for handover to E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks. The S3 reference point between MME 1921 and SGSN 1925 can enable user and bearer information exchange for 3GPP indirect access network mobility in idle and / or active states.

[0381] The HSS 1924 may include a database for network users, containing subscription-related information to support network entities in handling communication sessions. The EPC 1920 may include one or more HSS 1924s, depending on the number of mobile users, equipment capacity, network organization, etc. For example, the HSS 1924 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 1924 and MME 1921 can enable the transmission of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the EPC 1920 between the HSS 1924 and MME 1921.

[0382] S-GW 1922 can terminate the S1 interface 1813 towards RAN 1910 (in Figure 19 The S-GW 1922 (referred to as "S1-U") routes data packets between RAN1910 and EPC 1920. Additionally, the S-GW 1922 can serve as a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handover and can also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, billing, and enforcement of certain policies. The S11 reference point between the S-GW 1922 and MME 1921 provides a control plane between MME 1921 and S-GW 1922. The S-GW 1922 can be coupled to the P-GW 1923 via the S5 reference point.

[0383] The P-GW 1923 can terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN 1930. The P-GW 1923 can also be terminated via IP interface 1825 (see example). Figure 18 The P-GW 1923 routes data packets between the EPC 1920 and external networks, such as a network including an application server 1830 (optionally referred to as "AF"). In an implementation, the P-GW 1923 may be located via an IP communication interface 1825 (see, for example...). Figure 18 Communication is coupled to the application server. Figure 18Application server 1830 or Figure 19 The S5 reference point between P-GW 1923 and S-GW 1922 can provide user plane tunneling and tunnel management between P-GW 1923 and S-GW 1922. Due to UE 1901 mobility and if S-GW 1922 needs to connect to a non-co-located P-GW 1923 for required PDN connectivity, the S5 reference point can also be used for S-GW 1922 relocation. P-GW 1923 may also include nodes for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF (not shown)). Additionally, the SGi reference point between P-GW 1923 and Packet Data Network (PDN) 1930 can be an external public or private PDN or an internal operator packet data network, for example, for providing IMS services. P-GW 1923 can be coupled to PCRF 1926 via a Gx reference point.

[0384] PCRF 1926 is the policy and charging control element of EPC 1920. In non-roaming scenarios, a single PCRF 1926 may exist in the domestic Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session of UE 1901. In roaming scenarios with local traffic breaches, two PCRFs may exist associated with the IP-CAN session of UE 1901: the domestic PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and the visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in the visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). PCRF 1926 can be communicatively coupled to application server 1930 via P-GW 1923. Application server 1930 can signal PCRF 1926 to indicate new service flows and select appropriate QoS and charging parameters. PCRF 1926 can configure this rule to a PCEF (not shown) with appropriate TFT and QCI, which begins with QoS and charging specified by application server 1930. The Gx reference point between PCRF 1926 and P-GW 1923 allows QoS policies and charging rules to be transferred from PCRF 1926 to PCRF in P-GW 1923. The Rx reference point can reside between PDN 1930 (or "AF 1930") and PCRF 1926.

[0385] Figure 20The architecture of a system 2000 including a second CN 2020 according to various embodiments is shown. System 2000 is shown as including: a UE 2001, which may be the same as or similar to UE 1801 and UE 1901 previously discussed; a (R)AN 2010, which may be the same as or similar to RAN 1810 and RAN 1910 previously discussed, and may include RAN node 1811 previously discussed; and a DN 2003, which may be, for example, a carrier service, Internet access, or a third-party service; and 5GC 2020. 5GC 2020 may include: AUSF 2022; AMF 2021; SMF 2024; NEF 2023; PCF 2026; NRF 2025; UDM 2027; AF 2028; UPF 2002; and NSSF 2029.

[0386] The UPF 2002 can act as an anchor point for mobility within and between RATs, an external PDU session point interconnected with the DN 2003, and a branch point supporting multihomed PDU sessions. The UPF 2002 can also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, enforcement of the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful packet interception (UP collection), traffic usage reporting, QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), uplink traffic authentication (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), level packet marking in uplink and downlink transmissions, and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 2002 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to the data network. The DN 2003 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The DN 2003 may include or be similar to the previously discussed Application Server 1830. UPF 2002 can interact with SMF2024 via the N4 reference point between SMF 2024 and UPF 2002.

[0387] AUSF 2022 can store authentication data for UE 2001 and handle authentication-related functions. AUSF 2022 facilitates a common authentication framework for various access types. AUSF 2022 can communicate with AMF 2021 via the N12 reference point between AMF 2021 and AUSF 2022; and with UDM 2027 via the N13 reference point between UDM 2027 and AUSF 2022. Additionally, AUSF 2022 can present an interface based on Nausf services.

[0388] AMF 2021 is responsible for registration management (e.g., registering UE 2001, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 2021 can be the termination point of the N11 reference point between AMF 2021 and SMF 2024. AMF 2021 provides transport for SM messages between UE 2001 and SMF 2024 and acts as a transparent pro26 for routing SM messages. AMF 2021 can also provide transport for UE 2001 and SMSF ( Figure 20 SMS messages are transmitted between (not shown in the image). AMF 2021 can act as a SEAF, which may include interaction with AUSF 2022 and UE 2001, receiving an intermediate key established due to the UE 2001 authentication process. In the case of using USIM-based authentication, AMF 2021 may retrieve security material from AUSF 2022. AMF 2021 may also include an SCM function that receives a key from the SEA for deriving a network-specific key for access. Furthermore, AMF 2021 may be the termination point of the RAN CP interface, which may include or be the N2 reference point between (R)AN 2010 and AMF 2021; and AMF 2021 may be the termination point of NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0389] AMF 2021 can also support NAS signaling with UE 2001 via the N3 IWF interface. The N3 IWF can be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3 IWF can be the termination point of the N2 interface between the control plane (R)AN 2010 and AMF 2021, and can be the termination point of the N3 reference point between the user plane (R)AN 2010 and UPF 2002. Therefore, AMF 2021 can process N2 signaling from SMF 2024 and AMF 2021 for PDU sessions and QoS, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunneling, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and perform QoS corresponding to the N3 packet markings, taking into account the QoS requirements associated with such markings received via N2. The N3IWF can also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between UE 2001 and AMF 2021 via the N1 reference point between UE 2001 and AMF 2021, and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between UE 2001 and UPF 2002. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing IPsec tunnels using UE 2001. AMF 2021 can present an interface based on Namf services and can be the N14 reference point between two AMF 2021s and between AMF 2021 and 5G-EIR (…). Figure 20 The endpoint of the N17 reference point (not shown).

[0390] UE 2001 may need to register with AMF 2021 to receive network services. The RM is used to register or deregister UE 2001 with the network (e.g., AMF 2021) and to establish a UE context within the network (e.g., AMF 2021). UE 2001 can operate in either RM-REGISTERED or RM-DEREGISTERED states. In RM DEREGISTERED state, UE 2001 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 2021 does not maintain valid location or routing information for UE 2001; therefore, AMF 2021 cannot reach UE 2001. In RM REGISTERED state, UE 2001 is registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 2021 can maintain valid location or routing information for UE 2001; therefore, AMF 2021 can reach UE 2001. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 2001 can execute mobility registration update procedures, execute periodic registration update procedures triggered by the expiration of periodic update timers (e.g., to notify the network that UE 2001 is still active), and execute registration update procedures to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0391] AMF 2021 can store one or more RM contexts for UE 2001, where each RM context is associated with a specific access to the network. RM contexts can be data structures, database objects, etc., indicating or storing, in particular, the registration status and periodic update timers for each access type. AMF 2021 can also store 5GC MM contexts that are the same as or similar to the previously discussed (E)MM contexts. In various implementations, AMF 2021 can store CE Mode B limitation parameters for UE 2001 in the associated MM or RM context. AMF 2021 can also derive values ​​from UE usage setting parameters already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context) when needed.

[0392] The CM can be used to establish and release signaling connections between UE 2001 and AMF 2021 via the N1 interface. The signaling connection enables NAS signaling exchange between UE 2001 and CN 2020, and includes signaling connections between the UE and AN (e.g., RRC connections or UE-N3IWF connections for non-3GPP access) and N2 connections between the AN (e.g., RAN 2010) and AMF 2021 for UE 2001. UE 2001 can operate in one of two CM states (CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When UE 2001 operates in CM-IDLE state / mode, UE 2001 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with AMF 2021 via the N1 interface, and (R)AN 2010 signaling connections (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connections) may exist for UE 2001. When UE 2001 operates in CM-CONNECTED state / mode, UE 2001 may have a NAS signaling connection established with AMF 2021 via the N1 interface, and may have (R)AN 2010 signaling connections (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connections) for UE 2001. Establishing an N2 connection between (R)AN 2010 and AMF 2021 can cause UE 2001 to transition from CM-IDLE mode to CM-CONNECTED mode, and UE 2001 can transition from CM-CONNECTED mode to CM-IDLE mode when the N2 signaling between (R)AN 2010 and AMF 2021 is released.

[0393] SMF 2024 can be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, modification, and publication, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring UPF traffic redirection to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface toward policy control functions; policy enforcement and QoS control portions; lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces with the LI system); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to the AN via N2 through AMF; and determining the SSC mode of the session. SM can refer to the management of PDU sessions, and a PDU session or "session" can refer to the PDU connectivity service that provides or enables PDU exchange between UE 2001 and data network (DN) 2003, identified by the data network name (DNN). A PDU session can be established, modified, and released upon request by UE 2001, modified, and released upon request by both UE 2001 and 5GC 2020, using NAS SM signaling exchanged between UE 2001 and SMF 2024 via the N1 reference point. Upon request from the application server, 5GC 2020 can trigger a specific application in UE 2001. In response to receiving a trigger message, UE 2001 can pass the trigger message (or relevant portions / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE 2001. The identified applications in UE 2001 can establish a PDU session to a specific DNN. SMF 2024 can check whether a UE 2001 request matches the user subscription information associated with UE 2001. In this regard, SMF 2024 can retrieve and / or request to receive update notifications regarding SMF 2024 level subscription data from UDM 2027.

[0394] The SMF 2024 may include the following roaming functions: handling local execution to apply QoS SLAs (VPLMN); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces with the LI system, in the VPLMN); and support for interaction with external DNs to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication via external DNs. In roaming scenarios, an N16 reference point between two SMF 2024s may be included in System 2000, which may be located between an SMF 2024 in the visited network and another SMF 2024 in the home network. Additionally, the SMF 2024 may present an interface based on Nsmf services.

[0395] NEF 2023 provides means for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 2028), edge computing, or fog computing systems. In such implementations, NEF 2023 can authenticate, authorize, and / or restrict AFs. NEF 2023 can also translate information exchanged with AF 2028 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 2023 can translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 2023 can also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on their exposure capabilities. This information can be stored as structured data at NEF 2023 or stored at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information can then be re-exposed by NEF 2023 to other NFs and AFs, and / or used for other purposes such as analysis. Additionally, NEF 2023 can present an interface based on Nnef services.

[0396] NRF 2025 supports service discovery, receiving NF discovery requests from NF instances and providing information about discovered NF instances to those instances. NRF 2025 also maintains information about available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiation," etc., can refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" can refer to the concrete occurrence of an object, such as during the execution of program code. Additionally, NRF 2025 can present interfaces based on NRF services.

[0397] PCF 2026 provides control plane functions to enforce their policy rules and also supports a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. PCF 2026 can also implement FE to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of UDM 2027. PCF 2026 can communicate with AMF 2021 via the N15 reference point between PCF 2026 and AMF 2021, which may include PCF 2026 in the visited network and AMF 2021 in roaming scenarios. PCF 2026 can communicate with AF 2028 via the N5 reference point between PCF 2026 and AF 2028; and with SMF 2024 via the N7 reference point between PCF 2026 and SMF 2024. System 2000 and / or CN 2020 may also include an N24 reference point between PCF 2026 (in the home network) and PCF 2026 in the visited network. In addition, PCF 2026 can present an interface based on NPCF services.

[0398] UDM 2027 can process subscription-related information to support network entities in handling communication sessions and can store UE 2001's subscription data. For example, subscription data can be transmitted between UDM 2027 and AMF2021 via the N8 reference point between UDM 2027 and AMF. UDM 2027 may include two parts: the application FE and the UDR (User Data Transfer Protocol). Figure 20 (FE and UDR are not shown). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data of UDM 2027 and PCF 2026, and / or structured data for exposure of NEF 2023, as well as application data (including PFD for application detection, application request information of multiple UE 2001s). The interface based on the Nudr service may be presented by the UDR 221 to allow UDM 2027, PCF 2026, and NEF 2023 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as notifications for reading, updating (e.g., adding, modifying), deleting, and subscribing to relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different front-ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. The UDR may interact with SMF 2024 via the N10 reference point between UDM 2027 and SMF 2024. UDM 2027 also supports SMS management, with SMS-FE implementing similar application logic discussed earlier. Additionally, UDM 2027 can present an interface based on Nudm services.

[0399] AF 2028 can provide application-level influence on traffic routing, provide access to the NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. The NCE can be a mechanism allowing 5GC 2020 and AF 2028 to provide information to each other via NEF 2023, which can be used in edge computing implementations. In such implementations, network operators and third-party services can be hosted near the UE 2001 access point to achieve efficient service delivery through reduced end-to-end latency and load on the transport network. For edge computing implementations, 5GC can select a UPF 2002 near UE 2001 and perform traffic redirection from UPF 2002 to DN 2003 via the N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by AF 2028. Thus, AF 2028 can influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 2028 is considered a trusted entity, network operators can allow AF 2028 to interact directly with the relevant NF. In addition, AF 2028 can present an interface based on Naf services.

[0400] NSSF 2029 can select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 2001. If needed, NSSF 2029 can also determine the allowed NSSAIs and the mapping to subscribed S-NSSAIs. NSSF 2029 can also determine the AMF set or list of candidate AMFs 2021 for serving UE 2001 based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying NRF 2025. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 2001 can be triggered by AMF 2021, where UE 2001 registers through interaction with NSSF 2029, which can result in a change to AMF 2021. NSSF 2029 can interact with AMF 2021 via the N22 reference point between AMF 2021 and NSSF 2029; and via the N31 reference point (…). Figure 20 (Not shown) Communicates with another NSSF 2029 in the visited network. Additionally, the NSSF 2029 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0401] As previously discussed, CN 2020 may include an SMSF responsible for SMS subscription checks and authentication, and for relaying SM messages to / from UE 2001 to / from other entities such as SMS-GMSC / IWMSC / SMS routers. SMS may also interact with AMF 2021 and UDM 2027 for notification procedures indicating that UE 2001 is available for SMS delivery (e.g., setting a UE unreachable flag and notifying UDM 2027 when UE 2001 is available for SMS).

[0402] CN 120 may also include Figure 20 Other elements not shown include data storage systems / architecture, 5G-EIR, SEPP, etc. Data storage systems may include SDSF, UDSF, etc. Any NF can be transmitted via any NF and UDSF ( Figure 20 The N18 reference points (not shown) between NFs store unstructured data in or retrieve it from the UDSF (e.g., UE context). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data, or each NF may have its own UDSF located at or near the individual NF. Additionally, the UDSF may present an interface based on the Nudsf service (…). Figure 20 (Not shown). 5G-EIR can be an NF that checks the status of PEI to determine whether to blacklist a specific device / entity from the network; and SEPP can be a non-transparent pro26 that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on the control plane interface between PLMNs.

[0403] Furthermore, there can be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services; however, for clarity, Figure 20 These interfaces and reference points are omitted. In one example, CN 2020 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between the MME (e.g., MME 1921) and AMF 2021 to enable interoperability between CN 2020 and CN 1920. Other exemplary interfaces / reference points may include an interface based on N5g-EIR services presented by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between an NRF in the visited network and an NRF in the home network, and an N31 reference point between an NSSF in the visited network and an NSSF in the home network.

[0404] Figure 21 Examples of infrastructure equipment 2100 according to various embodiments are shown. Infrastructure equipment 2100 (or “system 2100”) may be implemented as a base station, a radio head unit, a RAN node (such as RAN node 1811 and / or AP 1806 previously shown and described), an application server 1830, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, system 2100 may be implemented in or by a UE.

[0405] System 2100 includes: application circuitry 2105, baseband circuitry 2110, one or more radio front-end modules (RFEMs) 2115, memory circuitry 2120, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 2125, power tee circuitry 2130, network controller circuitry 2135, network interface connector 2140, satellite positioning circuitry 2145, and user interface circuitry 2150. In some embodiments, device 2100 may include additional components, such as, for example, memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuitry may be individually included in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU, or other similar implementations.

[0406] Application circuit 2105 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: a low-dropout regulator (LDO), an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, I2C, or a universal programmable serial interface module, a real-time clock (RTC), a timer-counter including an interval timer and a watchdog timer, general-purpose input / output (I / O or IO), a memory card controller such as a Secure Digital (SD) Multimedia Card (MMC) or similar, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) interface, and a Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of application circuit 2105 may be coupled to or may include memory / storage elements, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on system 2100. In some implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0407] The processor of application circuit 2105 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC machine (ARM) processors, one or more Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, application circuit 2105 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operation according to the various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of application circuit 2105 may include one or more Processors, such as A5-A9 processors; Intel or Processor; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or Processors; ARM-based processors licensed by ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors provided by Cavium™, Inc. MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior P-class processor; etc. In some implementations, system 2100 may not utilize application circuitry 2105 and may instead include a dedicated processor / controller to process, for example, IP data received from an EPC or 5GC.

[0408] In some implementations, application circuitry 2105 may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, etc. These hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. For example, programmable processing devices may be one or more field-programmable devices (FPDs), such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs); ASICs, such as structured ASICs; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and so on. In such implementations, the circuitry of application circuitry 2105 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, and other interconnect resources that can be programmed to perform various functions such as processes, methods, functions, etc., as discussed in the various implementations herein. In such implementations, the circuitry of application circuit 2105 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), fuses, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic architectures, data, etc. in lookup tables (LUTs).

[0409] The baseband circuit 2110 can be implemented, for example, as a solderable substrate, which includes one or more integrated circuits, a single-package integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. (Refer to below) Figure 23 This paper discusses the various hardware electronic components of the baseband circuit 2110.

[0410] User interface circuitry 2150 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with system 2100 or peripheral component interfaces, wherein the peripheral component interfaces are designed to enable peripheral components to interact with system 2100. User interfaces may include, but are not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light-emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, headphones, a display screen or display device, etc. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile memory ports, universal serial bus (USB) ports, audio jacks, power interfaces, etc.

[0411] The radio front-end module (RFEM) 2115 may include a millimeter-wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter-wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some specific implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter-wave RFICs may be physically separated from the millimeter-wave RFEM. The RFIC may be included with one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, for example, below). Figure 23 The antenna array 2311) is a connector, and the RFEM can be connected to multiple antennas. In an alternative embodiment, the radio functions of both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave can be implemented in the same physical RFEM 2115 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter wave antennas.

[0412] The memory circuit 2120 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory including dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and non-volatile memory (NVM) including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as "flash memory"), phase-change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may be combined with and A three-dimensional (3D) XPOINT memory. The memory circuit 2120 can be implemented as one or more of the following: a solder-in packaged integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and an insertable memory card.

[0413] The PMIC 2125 may include a voltage regulator, surge protector, power alarm detection circuitry, and one or more backup power sources, such as batteries or capacitors. The power alarm detection circuitry can detect one or more of a power outage (undervoltage) and a power surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 2130 can provide power drawn from the network cable to provide both power and data connectivity to the infrastructure equipment 2100 using a single cable.

[0414] Network controller circuitry 2135 may provide connectivity to the network using standard network interface protocols such as Ethernet, GRE-tunneled Ethernet, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based Ethernet, or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from infrastructure equipment 2100 via a physical connection via network interface connector 2140; this physical connection may be an electrical connection (typically referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. Network controller circuitry 2135 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, network controller circuitry 2135 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0415] Positioning circuit 2145 includes circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcast by a positioning network of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems, or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler orbit chart and satellite integrated radio positioning (DORIS), etc.). Positioning circuit 2145 includes various hardware components (e.g., hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc.) for facilitating OTA communication to communicate with components of the positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, positioning circuit 2145 may include a micro-technology (micro PNT) IC for positioning, navigation, and timing, which performs position tracking / estimation using a master timing clock in the absence of GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 2145 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 2110 and / or RFEM 2115 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 2145 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 2105, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructures, such as RAN node 1811.

[0416] Figure 21The components shown can communicate with each other using interface circuitry, which may include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Extended ISA (EISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended (PCIx), PCI Express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus, for example, used in a SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems may be included, such as I2C interfaces, SPI interfaces, point-to-point interfaces, and power buses, etc.

[0417] Figure 22 Examples of platform 2200 (or “device 2200”) according to various embodiments are shown. In embodiments, computer platform 2200 may be adapted to function as UE 1801, UE 1901, UE 2001, application server 1830 and / or any other element / device discussed herein. Platform 2200 may include any combination of the components shown in the examples. Components of platform 2200 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of ICs, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware or combinations thereof adapted in computer platform 2200, or implemented as components otherwise integrated within the chassis of a larger system. Figure 22 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of the computer platform 2200. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other specific embodiments.

[0418] Application circuitry 2205 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: LDO, interrupt controller, serial interface (such as SPI), I2C or general programmable serial interface module, RTC, timers (including interval timers and watchdog timers), general-purpose I / O, memory card controller (such as SD MMC or similar controller), USB interface, MIPI interface, and JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of application circuitry 2205 may be coupled to or may include memory / storage elements, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on system 2200. In some embodiments, the memory / storage element may be on-chip memory circuitry that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0419] The processor of application circuit 2105 may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, multi-threaded processors, ultra-low voltage processors, embedded processors, some other known processing elements, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, application circuit 2105 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operation according to various embodiments herein.

[0420] As an example, the processor of application circuit 2205 may include those from... The company's one or more A-series processors, such as A5-A9 processors. The processor in Application Circuit 2205 can also be one or more of the following: based on... Architecture Core TM processors, such as Quark TM Atom TM i3, i5, i7, or MCU-level processors, or available from Santa Clara, CA. company( Another processor of this type from [Company Name]; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM Processor, Texas Instruments OpenMultimedia Applications Platform(OMAP) TM Processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some specific implementations, the application circuit 2205 may be part of a system-on-a-chip (SoC), where the application circuit 2205 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package, such as those from MIPS Technologies, Inc. company( Edison Corporation TM Or Galileo TM SoC board.

[0421] In addition to or alternatively, application circuitry 2205 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more field-programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs); ASICs such as structured ASICs; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and so on. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry 2205 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, and other interconnect resources that can be programmed to perform various functions such as processes, methods, functions, etc., as discussed in the various embodiments herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry 2205 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), fuses, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic architectures, data, etc., in lookup tables (LUTs).

[0422] The baseband circuit 2210 can be implemented, for example, as a soldered substrate, including one or more integrated circuits, a single-package integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. (Refer to below) Figure 23 This paper discusses the various hardware electronic components of the 2210 baseband circuit.

[0423] RFEM 2215 may include a millimeter-wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter-wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some specific implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter-wave RFICs may be physically separated from the millimeter-wave RFEM. The RFIC may be included with one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, for example, below). Figure 23 The RFEM is a connector for the antenna array 2311, and can be connected to multiple antennas. In an alternative embodiment, both millimeter-wave and sub-millimeter-wave radio functions can be implemented in the same physical RFEM 2215 that combines both millimeter-wave and sub-millimeter-wave antennas.

[0424] Memory circuitry 2220 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a fixed amount of system memory. For example, memory circuitry 2220 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM); and non-volatile memory (NVM), including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase-change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. Memory circuitry 2220 may be developed according to the Joint Electronic Equipment Committee (JEDEC) design based on low-power double data rate (LPDDR), such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 2220 can be implemented as one or more of the following: solder-in packaged integrated circuits, single-die packages (SDP), dual-die packages (DDP), or quad-die packages (Q17P), socket memory modules, dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) including micro DIMMs or mini DIMMs, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In low-power implementations, the memory circuit 2220 can be an on-chip memory or register associated with application circuitry 2205. To provide persistent storage for information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 2220 can include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, in particular, solid-state drives (SSDDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), miniature HDDs, resistance-changing memories, phase-change memories, holographic memories, or chemical memories. For example, the computer platform 2200 can incorporate from... and 3D XPOINT memory.

[0425] The removable memory circuitry 2223 may include devices, circuitry, enclosures / housings, ports, or sockets for coupling portable data storage devices to the platform 2200. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, Micro SD cards, xD picture cards, etc.), as well as USB flash drives, optical discs, external HDDs, etc.

[0426] Platform 2200 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) for connecting external devices to platform 2200. External devices connected to platform 2200 via this interface circuitry include sensor circuitry 2221 and electromechanical components (EMC) 2222, as well as a removable memory device coupled to removable memory circuitry 2223.

[0427] Sensor circuit 2221 includes devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in their environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to other devices, modules, subsystems, etc. Examples of such sensors include, in particular: inertial measurement units (IMUs) including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and / or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) including triaxial accelerometers, triaxial gyroscopes, and / or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless aperture sensors); light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors, etc.), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other similar audio capture devices; etc.

[0428] EMC 2222 includes devices, modules, or subsystems intended to enable platform 2200 to change its state, position, and / or orientation, or movement or control mechanisms or (sub)systems. Additionally, EMC 2222 can be configured to generate messages / signaling and send messages / signaling to other components of platform 2200 to indicate the current state of EMC 2222. Examples of EMC 2222 include one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and / or solid-state relays (SSRs)), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, propellers, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks, and / or other similar electromechanical components. In embodiments, platform 2200 is configured to operate one or more EMC 2222s based on one or more captured events and / or commands or control signals received from a service provider and / or various clients.

[0429] In some implementations, the interface circuitry can connect platform 2200 to positioning circuitry 2245. Positioning circuitry 2245 includes circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcast by a GNSS positioning network. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the US GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the EU's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems, or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.). Positioning circuitry 2245 includes various hardware components (e.g., hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc.) for facilitating OTA communication to communicate with components of the positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some implementations, positioning circuitry 2245 may include a miniature PNT IC that performs position tracking / estimation using a master timing clock without GNSS assistance. Positioning circuitry 2245 may also be part of or interact with baseband circuitry 2110 and / or RFEM 2215 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 2245 can also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 2205, which can use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructures (e.g., radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, etc.

[0430] In some implementations, the interface circuitry can connect platform 2200 to near-field communication (NFC) circuitry 2240. NFC circuitry 2240 is configured to provide contactless short-range communication based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards, where a magnetic field sensor is used to enable communication between NFC circuitry 2240 and NFC-enabled devices (e.g., “NFC contacts”) external to platform 2200. NFC circuitry 2240 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to NFC circuitry 2240 by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit short-range RF signals. The RF signals may power passive NFC tags (e.g., microchips embedded in stickers or wristbands) to transmit stored data to NFC circuitry 2240, or initiate data transfer between NFC circuitry 2240 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) located near platform 2200.

[0431] Driver circuitry 2246 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to platform 2200. Driver circuitry 2246 may include various drivers that allow other components of platform 2200 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may exist within or be connected to platform 2200. For example, driver circuitry 2246 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device; a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface of platform 2200; a sensor driver for acquiring sensor readings of sensor circuitry 2221 and controlling and allowing access to sensor circuitry 2221; an EMC driver for acquiring actuator position of EMC 2222 and / or controlling and allowing access to EMC 2222; a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device; and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0432] The power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 2225 (also referred to as "power management circuit 2225") manages the power supplied to various components of the platform 2200. Specifically, relative to the baseband circuit 2210, the PMIC 2225 controls power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMIC 2225 is typically included when the platform 2200 can be powered by the battery 2230, for example, when the device is included in UE1801, UE1901, or UE2001.

[0433] In some implementations, the PMIC 2225 can be controlled or otherwise integrated into various power-saving mechanisms of the platform 2200. For example, if the platform 2200 is in the RRC_Connected state, where it remains connected to the RAN node because traffic is expected to be received soon, it can enter a state known as Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the platform 2200 can power down for short intervals to save power. If there is no data service activity for an extended period, the platform 2200 can transition to the RRC_Idle state, where the device is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The platform 2200 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, where the device periodically wakes up again to listen to the network and then power down again. The platform 2200 may not receive data in this state; to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power-saving modes can allow the device to be unable to use the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to several hours). During this period, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will result in significant latency, which is assumed to be acceptable.

[0434] Battery 2230 can power platform 2200, but in some examples, platform 2200 may be installed and deployed in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the power grid. Battery 2230 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery (such as zinc-air batteries, aluminum-air batteries, lithium-air batteries, etc.). In some specific implementations, such as in V2X applications, battery 2230 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0435] In some implementations, battery 2230 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in platform 2200 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of battery 2230. The BMS can be used to monitor other parameters of battery 2230 to provide fault prediction, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of battery 2230. The BMS can transmit information about battery 2230 to application circuitry 2205 or other components of platform 2200. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that allows application circuitry 2205 to directly monitor the voltage of battery 2230 or the current from battery 2230. Battery parameters can be used to determine actions that platform 2200 can perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0436] A power block coupled to the grid or other power source can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 2230. In some examples, a wireless power receiver can replace the power block XS30 to wirelessly obtain power, for example, via a loop antenna in the computer platform 2200. In these examples, wireless battery charging circuitry can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuitry chosen may depend on the size of the battery 2230 and therefore on the required current. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standards published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Radio Power Alliance, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Radio Power Alliance.

[0437] User interface circuitry 2250 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present within or connected to platform 2200, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with platform 2200 and / or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable interaction with peripheral components of platform 2200. User interface circuitry 2250 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual device for accepting input, particularly including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual device for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). Output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators (e.g., light-emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), wherein the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by the operation of platform 2200. Output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio transmitting devices, printers, etc. In some embodiments, sensor circuitry 2221 may be used as input device circuitry (e.g., image capture devices, motion capture devices, etc.) and one or more EMCs may be used as output device circuitry (e.g., actuators for providing haptic feedback, etc.). In another example, NFC circuitry may be included for reading electronic tags and / or connecting to another NFC-enabled device, the NFC circuitry including an NFC controller and processing device coupled to an antenna element. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile memory ports, USB ports, audio jacks, power interfaces, etc.

[0438] Although not shown, components of platform 2200 may communicate with each other using suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technologies, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, Time Triggered Protocol (TTP) systems, FlexRay systems, or any other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus / IX, for example, used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems may be included, such as I2C interfaces, SPI interfaces, point-to-point interfaces, and power buses, etc.

[0439] Figure 23 Exemplary components of a baseband circuit 2310 and a radio front-end module (RFEM) 2315 according to various embodiments are shown. The baseband circuit 2310 corresponds to... Figure 21 The baseband circuit 2110 and Figure 22 The baseband circuit 2210. RFEM2315 corresponds to respectively Figure 21 RFEM 2115 and Figure 22 The RFEM 2215. As shown in the figure, the RFEM 2315 may include at least the radio frequency (RF) circuit 2306, the front-end module (FEM) circuit 2308, and the antenna array 2311 coupled together as shown in the figure.

[0440] Baseband circuitry 2310 includes circuitry and / or control logic components configured to perform various radio / network protocols and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via RF circuitry 2306. Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, RF shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of baseband circuitry 2310 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 2310 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Implementations of modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments. Baseband circuitry 2310 is configured to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 2306 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 2306. The baseband circuit 2310 is configured to work with the application circuits 2105 / 2205 (see...). Figure 21 and Figure 22 The baseband circuit 2310 is connected to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 2306. The baseband circuit 2310 can handle various radio control functions.

[0441] The aforementioned circuitry and / or control logic components of the baseband circuitry 2310 may include one or more single-core or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor 2304A, a 4G / LTE baseband processor 2304B, a 5G / NR baseband processor 2304C, or other baseband processors 2304D for other existing, developing, or future generations (e.g., sixth generation (6G)). In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 2304A-2304D may be included in modules stored in memory 2304G and executed via a central processing unit (CPU) 2304E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 2304A-2304D may be provided as hardware accelerators (e.g., FPGAs, ASICs, etc.) loaded with appropriate bitstreams or logic blocks stored in corresponding memory cells. In various implementations, memory 2304G may store program code for a real-time operating system (RTOS), which, when executed by CPU 2304E (or other baseband processor), enables CPU 2304E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources of baseband circuitry 2310, schedule tasks, etc. Examples of RTOS may include those developed by… The provided Operating System Embedded (OSE) TM By Mentor Nucleus RTOS provided TM By Mentor The provided Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) is powered by Express. ThreadX provided TM ,Depend on The provided FreeRTOS and REX OS are powered by the Open Kernel (OK). The provided OKL4 or any other suitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. Furthermore, the baseband circuitry 2310 includes one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 2304F. The audio DSP 2304F includes elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements.

[0442] In some implementations, each processor in processors 2304A-2304E includes a corresponding memory interface for sending data to / receiving data from memory 2304G. Baseband circuitry 2310 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuitry / devices, such as interfaces for sending data to / receiving data from memory external to baseband circuitry 2310; and interfaces for sending data to / receiving data from memory external to baseband circuitry 2310. Figures 21 to 23 Application circuit interface for sending / receiving data from application circuit 2105 / 2205; used for sending data to / receiving data from application circuit; Figure 23 RF circuit 2306 is an RF circuit interface for transmitting / receiving data from / from one or more wireless hardware components (e.g., near field communication (NFC) components). Low power components The PMIC 2225 has a wireless hardware connection interface for transmitting data to / receiving data from these wireless hardware components; and a power management interface for transmitting power or control signals to / receiving power or control signals from the PMIC.

[0443] In an alternative embodiment (which may be combined with the embodiments described above), baseband circuitry 2310 includes one or more digital baseband systems coupled to each other and to a CPU subsystem, an audio subsystem, and an interface subsystem via interconnect subsystems. The digital baseband subsystems may also be coupled to a digital baseband interface and a mixed-signal baseband subsystem via another interconnect subsystem. Each of the interconnect subsystems may include a bus system, point-to-point connections, a network-on-chip (NOC) architecture, and / or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include DSP circuitry, buffer memory, program memory, voice processing accelerator circuitry, data converter circuitry such as analog-to-digital converter circuitry and digital-to-analog converter circuitry, analog circuitry including one or more amplifiers and filters, and / or other similar components. In one aspect of this disclosure, baseband circuitry 2310 may include protocol processing circuitry having one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuitry and / or radio frequency circuitry (e.g., radio front-end module 2315).

[0444] although Figure 23Not shown, but in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 2310 includes various processing devices (e.g., a "multi-protocol baseband processor" or "protocol processing circuitry") for operating one or more wireless communication protocols and various processing devices for implementing PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry operates or implements various protocol layers / entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, when baseband circuitry 2310 and / or RF circuitry 2306 are part of millimeter-wave communication circuitry or some other suitable cellular communication circuitry, the protocol processing circuitry can operate LTE protocol entities and / or 5G / NR protocol entities. In the first example, the protocol processing circuitry will operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, when baseband circuitry 2310 and / or RF circuitry 2306 are part of a Wi-Fi communication system, the protocol processing circuitry can operate one or more IEEE-based protocols. In the second example, the protocol processing circuitry will operate Wi-Fi MAC and Logical Link Control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuitry may include one or more memory structures (e.g., 2304G) for storing program code and data for operating protocol functions, and one or more processing cores for executing the program code and performing various operations using the data. The baseband circuitry 2310 may also support radio communication using more than one wireless protocol.

[0445] The various hardware components of the baseband circuit 2310 discussed herein can be implemented, for example, as a solderable substrate, including one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single-packaged IC soldered to a main board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more ICs. In one example, components of the baseband circuit 2310 may be suitably combined in a single chip or a single chipset, or disposed on the same board. In another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 2310 and the RF circuit 2306 may be implemented together, such as, for example, a system-on-a-chip (SOC) or a system-in-package (SiP). In yet another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 2310 may be implemented as a separate SoC communicatively coupled to the RF circuit 2306 (or multiple instances of the RF circuit 2306). In yet another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 2310 and the application circuits 2105 / 2205 may be implemented together as a separate SoC mounted to the same board (e.g., a “multi-chip package”).

[0446] In some implementations, baseband circuit 2310 can provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some implementations, baseband circuit 2310 can support communication with E-UTRAN or other WMAN, WLAN, WPAN. Implementations that configure baseband circuit 2310 to support radio communication with more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuits.

[0447] RF circuit 2306 enables communication with a wireless network via a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 2306 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuit 2306 may include a receive signal path that includes circuitry for down-converting the RF signal received from FEM circuit 2308 and providing a baseband signal to baseband circuit 2310. RF circuit 2306 may also include a transmit signal path that includes circuitry for up-converting the baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 2310 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to FEM circuit 2308.

[0448] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 2306 may include mixer circuit 2306a, amplifier circuit 2306b, and filter circuit 2306c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 2306 may include filter circuit 2306c and mixer circuit 2306a. RF circuit 2306 may also include synthesizer circuit 2306d for synthesizing the frequency used by mixer circuit 2306a in both the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 2306a in the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from FEM circuit 2308 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 2306d. Amplifier circuit 2306b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 2306c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal can be provided to the baseband circuit 2310 for further processing. In some embodiments, although not required, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a receiving the signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0449] In some implementations, the mixer circuit 2306a of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 2306d to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 2308. The baseband signal can be provided by the baseband circuit 2310 and can be filtered by the filter circuit 2306c.

[0450] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0451] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, RF circuitry 2306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuitry and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and baseband circuitry 2310 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with RF circuitry 2306.

[0452] In some dual-mode implementations, separate radio IC circuits can be provided to process signals for each spectrum, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0453] In some implementations, synthesizer circuit 2306d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of implementations is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 2306d may be a Δ-∑ synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0454] Synthesizer circuit 2306d can be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 2306a of RF circuit 2306. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 2306d can be a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0455] In some implementations, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not mandatory. The divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuit 2310 or the application circuit 2105 / 2205 according to the desired output frequency. In some implementations, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application circuit 2105 / 2205.

[0456] The synthesizer circuit 2306d of the RF circuit 2306 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0457] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 2306d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used in conjunction with quadrature generator and frequency divider circuitry to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at that carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, RF circuitry 2306 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0458] FEM circuit 2308 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from antenna array 2311, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuit 2306 for further processing. FEM circuit 2308 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by RF circuit 2306 for transmission by one or more antenna elements in antenna array 2311. In various embodiments, amplification via the transmit signal path or the receive signal path may be performed only in RF circuit 2306, only in FEM circuit 2308, or in both RF circuit 2306 and FEM circuit 2308.

[0459] In some embodiments, FEM circuit 2308 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit and receive mode operation. FEM circuit 2308 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuit 2308 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., provided to RF circuit 2306). The transmit signal path of FEM circuit 2308 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying the input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuit 2306), and one or more filters for generating the RF signal subsequently transmitted by one or more antenna elements of antenna array 2311.

[0460] Antenna array 2311 includes one or more antenna elements, each configured to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and to convert received radio waves back into electrical signals. For example, a digital baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 2310 is converted into an analog RF signal (e.g., a modulated waveform), which is amplified and transmitted via the antenna elements of antenna array 2311, which includes one or more antenna elements (not shown). Antenna elements can be omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof. Antenna elements can be formed in various arrangements as known and / or discussed herein. Antenna array 2311 may include microstrip antennas or printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. Antenna array 2311 may be formed as a metal foil patch of various shapes (e.g., a patch antenna) and may be coupled to RF circuit 2306 and / or FEM circuit 2308 using metal transmission lines, etc.

[0461] The processors of application circuitry 2105 / 2205 and baseband circuitry 2310 are elements that can be used to execute one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuitry 2310 can be used individually or in combination to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of application circuitry 2105 / 2205 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the RRC layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the MAC layer, RLC layer, and PDCP layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the PHY layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0462] Figure 24 Various protocol functions that can be implemented in wireless communication devices according to some implementation schemes are illustrated. In particular, Figure 24This includes an arrangement 2400 illustrating the interconnections between various protocol layers / entities. It provides various protocol layers / entities operating in conjunction with 5G / NR system standards and LTE system standards. Figure 24 The following description, but Figure 24 Some or all of these aspects may also be applicable to other wireless communication network systems.

[0463] In addition to other higher-layer functions not shown, the protocol layers of arrangement 2400 may also include one or more of PHY 2410, MAC 2420, RLC 2430, PDCP 2440, SDAP 2447, RRC 2455, and NAS layer 2457. These protocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g., capable of providing communication between two or more protocol layers). Figure 24 Items 2459, 2456, 2450, 2449, 2445, 2435, 2425, and 2415.

[0464] The PHY 2410 can transmit and receive physical layer signals 2405, which can be received from or transmitted to one or more other communication devices. Physical layer signals 2405 may include one or more physical channels, such as those discussed herein. The PHY 2410 can also perform link adaptive or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers (such as RRC 2455). The PHY 2410 can also perform error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transport channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. In some embodiments, instances of the PHY 2410 may process requests from instances of the MAC 2420 and provide indications to them via one or more PHY-SAP 2415. According to some embodiments, requests and indications transmitted via the PHY-SAP 2415 may include one or more transport channels.

[0465] An instance of MAC 2420 can process requests from instances of RLC2430 and provide instructions to them via one or more MAC-SAP 2425s. These requests and instructions transmitted via MAC-SAP 2425s may include one or more logical channels. MAC 2420 can perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplex MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels onto a TB to be delivered to PHY 2410 via a transport channel, demultiplex MAC SDUs from a TB delivered from PHY 2410 via a transport channel onto one or more logical channels, multiplex MAC SDUs onto a TB, schedule information reports, perform error correction via HARQ, and perform logical channel prioritization.

[0466] An instance of RLC 2430 can process requests from instances of PDCP 2440 and provide them with instructions via one or more Radio Link Control Service Access Points (RLC-SAP) 2435. These requests and instructions transmitted via RLC-SAP 2435 may include one or more RLC channels. RLC 2430 can operate in several modes, including Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). RLC 2430 can perform transmission of Upper Layer Protocol Data Units (PDUs), error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLCSDUs for UM and AM data transmission. RLC 2430 can also perform resegmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transmission, reordering of RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detection of duplicate data for UM and AM data transmission, discarding of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detection of protocol errors for AM data transmission, and RLC re-establishment.

[0467] Instances of PDCP 2440 can process and provide instructions to instances of RRC 2455 and / or SDAP 2447 via one or more Packet Data Convergence Protocol Service Access Points (PDCP-SAP ...

[0468] Instances of SDAP 2447 can process requests from one or more higher-layer protocol entities and provide them with indications via one or more SDAP-SAP 2449s. These requests and indications transmitted via SDAP-SAP 2449s can include one or more QoS flows. SDAP 2447 can map QoS flows to DRBs and vice versa, and can also tag QFIs in DL and UL packets. A single SDAP entity 2447 can be configured for a single PDU session. In the UL direction, NG-RAN 1810 can control the mapping of QoS flows to DRBs in two different ways (reflective mapping or explicit mapping). For reflective mapping, UE 1801's SDAP 2447 can monitor the QFI of DL packets for each DRB and can apply the same mapping for packets flowing in the UL direction. For DRBs, UE 1801's SDAP 2447 can map UL packets belonging to a QoS flow that corresponds to the QoS flow ID and PDU session observed in the DL packets of that DRB. To implement reflection mapping, NG-RAN 2010 can tag DL packets with QoS flow IDs via the Uu interface. Explicit mapping may involve RRC 2455 configuring SDAP 2447 with explicit mapping rules from QoS flow to DRB, which can be stored and followed by SDAP 2447. In implementations, SDAP 2447 may be used only in NR-specific implementations and may not be used in LTE-specific implementations.

[0469] The RRC 2455 can configure aspects of one or more protocol layers via one or more Management Service Access Points (M-SAPs), which may include one or more instances of PHY 2410, MAC 2420, RLC 2430, PDCP 2440, and SDAP 2447. In an implementation, an instance of RRC 2455 may process requests from one or more NAS entities 2457 and provide them with instructions via one or more RRC-SAPs 2456. The main services and functions of the RRC 2455 may include broadcasting system information (e.g., included in NAS-related MIBs or SIBs), broadcasting system information related to the Access Layer (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of RRC connections between UE 1801 and RAN 1810 (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. These MIBs and SIBs may include one or more IEs, each of which may include a separate data field or data structure.

[0470] The NAS 2457 forms the highest layer of the control plane between UE 1801 and AMF 2021. The NAS 2457 supports the mobility and session management procedures of UE 1801 to establish and maintain the IP connection between UE 1801 and P-GW in the LTE system.

[0471] According to various implementation schemes, one or more protocol entities deployed in UE 1801, RAN node 1811, AMF 2021 in NR implementation or MME 1921 in LTE implementation, UPF 2002 in NR implementation or S-GW 1922 and P-GW 1923 in LTE implementation, etc., can be implemented for control plane or user plane communication protocol stacks between the aforementioned devices. In such implementation schemes, one or more protocol entities that can be implemented in one or more of UE 1801, gNB 1811, AMF 2021, etc., can communicate with corresponding peer protocol entities that can be implemented in another device or on another device (using the services of the corresponding lower-level protocol entities to perform such communication). In some implementations, the gNB-CU of gNB1811 may host the RRC 2455, SDAP 2447, and PDCP 2440 of gNB 1811 that control the operation of one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DU of gNB 1811 may each host the RLC 2430, MAC 2420, and PHY 2410 of gNB 1811.

[0472] In the first example, the control plane protocol stack may include NAS 2457, RRC2455, PDCP 2440, RLC 2430, MAC 2420, and PHY 2410 in order from the highest to the lowest layer. In this example, the upper layer 2460 may be built on top of NAS2457, which includes IP layer 2461, SCTP 2462, and application layer signaling protocol (AP) 2463.

[0473] In a specific NR implementation, AP 2463 may be an NG application protocol layer (NGAP or NG-AP) 2463 for an NG interface 1813 that is limited between NG-RAN node 1811 and AMF 2021, or AP 2463 may be an Xn application protocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) 2463 for an Xn interface 1812 that is limited between two or more RAN nodes 1811.

[0474] NG-AP 2463 can support the functionality of NG interface 1813 and may include an initial procedure (EP). The NG-AP EP can be the interaction unit between NG-RAN point 1811 and AMF 2021. NG-AP 2463 services may include two groups: UE-related services (e.g., services related to UE 1801) and non-UE-related services (e.g., services related to the entire NG interface instance between NG-RAN node 1811 and AMF 2021). These services may include, but are not limited to: paging functions for sending paging requests to NG-RAN node 1811 involved in a specific paging area; UE context management functions for allowing AMF 2021 to establish, modify, and / or release UE contexts in AMF 2021 and NG-RAN node 1811; mobility functions for UE 1801 in ECM-CONNECTED mode, enabling intra-system HOs to support mobility within the NG-RAN and inter-system HOs to support mobility from / to EPS systems; NAS signaling transmission functions for transmitting or rerouting NAS messages between UE 1801 and AMF 2021; NAS node selection functions for determining the association between AMF 2021 and UE 1801; NG interface management functions for setting up the NG interface and monitoring errors through the NG interface; warning message transmission functions for providing means to transmit warning messages or cancel ongoing warning message broadcasts via the NG interface; and functions for transmitting warning messages via CN. 1820 is a configuration transfer function that requests and transfers RAN configuration information (e.g., SON information, performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between two RAN nodes 1811; and / or other similar functions.

[0475] XnAP 2463 supports the functions of Xn interface 1812 and may include XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. XnAP basic mobility procedures may include processes for handling UE mobility within NG RAN 1811 (or E-UTRAN 1910), such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN state transfer procedures, UE context retrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, and procedures related to dual connectivity. XnAP global procedures may include procedures independent of a specific UE 1801, such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RAN update procedures, and cell activation procedures.

[0476] In a specific LTE implementation, AP 2463 can be an S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 2463 for an S1 interface 1813 limited between E-UTRAN node 1811 and MME, or AP 2463 can be an X2 application protocol layer (X2AP or X2-AP) 2463 for an X2 interface 1812 limited between two or more E-UTRAN nodes 1811.

[0477] The S1 Application Protocol Layer (S1-AP) 2463 supports the functions of the S1 interface and, similar to the previously discussed NG-AP, may include an S1-AP EP. The S1-AP EP can be an interaction unit between the E-UTRAN node 1811 and the MME 1921 within the LTE CN 1820. S1-AP 2463 services may include two groups: UE-associated services and non-UE-associated services. These services perform functions including, but not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transmission, RAN Information Management (RIM), and configuration transmission.

[0478] X2AP 2463 supports the functions of X2 interface 1812 and may include X2AP basic mobility procedures and X2AP global procedures. X2AP basic mobility procedures may include procedures for handling UE mobility within E-UTRAN 1820, such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN state transmission procedures, UE context retrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, and procedures related to dual connectivity. X2AP global procedures may include procedures independent of a specific UE 1801, such as X2 interface setup and reset procedures, load indication procedures, error indication procedures, and cell activation procedures.

[0479] The SCTP layer (optionally referred to as the SCTP / IP layer) 2462 provides guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP or XnAP messages in NR implementations, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in LTE implementations). SCTP 2462 may, in part, rely on the IP protocol supported by IP 2461 to ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between RAN node 1811 and AMF 2021 / MME 1921. The Internet Protocol layer (IP) 2461 can be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. In some implementations, IP layer 2461 may use point-to-point transmission to deliver and transmit PDUs. In this regard, RAN node 1811 may include L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) with the MME / AMF to exchange information.

[0480] In the second example, the user plane protocol stack may include SDAP 2447, PDCP 2440, RLC 2430, MAC 2420, and PHY 2410 in order from the highest to the lowest layer. The user plane protocol stack can be used for communication between UE1801, RAN node 1811, and UPF 2002 in an NR implementation, or between S-GW 1922 and P-GW 1923 in an LTE implementation. In this example, the upper layer 2451 may be built on top of SDAP 2447 and may include User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and IP Security Layer (UDP / IP) 2452, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol for the User Plane Layer (GTP-U) 2453, and User Plane PDU Layer (UP PDU) 2463.

[0481] The transport network layer 2454 (also known as the "transport layer") can be built on top of IP transport, and the GTP-U 2453 can be used on top of the UDP / IP layer 2452 (which includes the UDP layer and the IP layer) to carry user plane PDUs (UP-PDUs). The IP layer (also known as the "Internet layer") can be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. The IP layer can assign IP addresses to user data packets in any of the formats, such as IPv4, IPv6, or PPP.

[0482] The GTP-U 2453 can be used to carry user data within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network and the core network. For example, the transmitted user data can be packets in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats. The UDP / IP 2452 provides checksums for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication for selected data streams. RAN node 1811 and S-GW 1922 can exchange user plane data via the S1-U interface through a protocol stack including L1 layer (e.g., PHY 2410), L2 layer (e.g., MAC 2420, RLC 2430, PDCP 2440, and / or SDAP 2447), UDP / IP layer 2452, and GRP-U 2453. The S-GW 1922 and P-GW 1923 can exchange user plane data via an S5 / S8a interface through a protocol stack including L1, L2, UDP / IP layer 2452, and GTP-U 2453. As previously discussed, the NAS protocol supports the mobility and session management procedures of UE 1801 to establish and maintain the IP connection between UE 1801 and P-GW1923.

[0483] Furthermore, despite Figure 24Not shown, but the application layer may exist above AP 2463 and / or transport network layer 2454. The application layer may be a layer where users of UE 1801, RAN node 1811, or other network elements interact with software applications, such as those executed by application circuitry 2105 or application circuitry 2205. The application layer may also provide one or more interfaces for software applications to interact with the communication systems of UE 1801 or RAN node 1811 (such as baseband circuitry 2310). In some implementations, the IP layer and / or application layer may provide the same or similar functionality as layers 5 through 7 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, or portions thereof (e.g., OSI layer 7—application layer, OSI layer 6—presentation layer, and OSI layer 5—session layer).

[0484] Figure 25 Components of a core network according to various embodiments are illustrated. Components of CN 1920 may be implemented in a single physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from machine-readable or computer-readable media (e.g., non-transitory machine-readable storage media). In embodiments, components of CN 2020 can be implemented in the same or similar manner as those discussed herein with respect to components of CN 1920. In some embodiments, NFV is used to virtualize any or all of the aforementioned network node functions (described in further detail below) via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media. A logical instance of CN 1920 may be referred to as network slice 2501, and individual logical instances of CN 1920 may provide specific network capabilities and network characteristics. A portion of a logical instance of CN 1920 may be referred to as network subslice 2502 (e.g., network subslice 2502 is shown as including PGW 1923 and PCRF 1926).

[0485] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiation," etc., can refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" can refer to the concrete occurrence of an object, such as during the execution of program code. A network instance can refer to information identifying a domain that can be used for service detection and routing in cases of different IP domains or overlapping IP addresses. A network slice instance can refer to a set of network function (NF) instances and the resources (e.g., compute, storage, and network resources) required to deploy a network slice.

[0486] Regarding 5G systems (see example) Figure 20Network slices always consist of RAN and CN portions. Support for network slices relies on the principle that traffic for different slices is handled by different PDU sessions. Different network slices can be implemented through scheduling and by providing different L1 / L2 configurations. If provided by NAS, UE 2001 provides auxiliary information for network slice selection in the appropriate RRC message. While the network can support a large number of slices, the UE does not need to support more than eight slices simultaneously.

[0487] Network slices may include the CN 2020 control plane and user plane NF, NG-RAN 2010 in the serving PLMN, and N3IWF functionality in the serving PLMN. Each network slice may have a different S-NSSAI and / or a different SST. An NSSAI includes one or more S-NSSAIs, and each network slice is uniquely identified by its S-NSSAI. Network slices may differ for supported features and network function optimizations, and / or multiple network slice instances may deliver the same service but for different groups of UEs 2001 (e.g., enterprise users). For example, each network slice may deliver different committed services and / or be dedicated to a specific customer or enterprise. In this example, each network slice may have different S-NSSAIs with the same SST but different slice differentiators. Additionally, a single UE may simultaneously serve one or more network slice instances via 5G AN and be associated with eight different S-NSSAIs. Furthermore, an AMF 2021 instance serving a single UE 2001 may belong to each network slice instance serving that UE.

[0488] Network slicing in NG-RAN 2010 involves RAN slice awareness. RAN slice awareness includes differentiated processing of traffic for different pre-configured network slices. Slice awareness in NG-RAN 2010 is introduced at the PDU session level by indicating the S-NSSAI corresponding to the PDU session in all signaling, including PDU session resource information. How NG-RAN 2010 supports slices enabled with respect to NG-RAN functions (e.g., a set of network functions per slice) is implementation-specific. NG-RAN 2010 uses auxiliary information provided by UE 2001 or 5GC 2020 to select the RAN portion of a network slice that clearly identifies one or more pre-configured network slices in the PLMN. NG-RAN 2010 also supports resource management and policy enforcement between slices in accordance with SLAs. A single NG-RAN node can support multiple slices, and NG-RAN 2010 can also apply appropriate RRM policies for the appropriate SLAs to each supported slice. NG-RAN 2010 also supports QoS differentiation within slices.

[0489] If available, NG-RAN 2010 may also use UE assistance information to select AMF 2021 during initial attachment. NG-RAN 2010 uses the assistance information to route the initial NAS to AMF 2021. If NG-RAN 2010 cannot use the assistance information to select AMF 2021, or if UE 2001 does not provide any such information, NG-RAN 2010 sends NAS signaling to the default AMF 2021, which may be in a pool of AMF 2021. For subsequent access, UE 2001 provides a temp ID assigned to UE 2001 by 5GC 2020 to enable NG-RAN 2010 to route NAS messages to the appropriate AMF 2021, provided that the temp ID is valid. NG-RAN 2010 is aware of and can reach the AMF 2021 associated with the temp ID. Otherwise, the method used for initial attachment applies.

[0490] NG-RAN 2010 supports resource isolation between slices. NG-RAN 2010 resource isolation is achieved through RRM policies and protection mechanisms that should prevent a lack of shared resources if one slice interrupts the service level protocol used by another slice. In some implementations, NG-RAN 2010 resources can be fully allocated to a single slice. How NG-RAN 2010 supports resource isolation is implementation-specific.

[0491] Some slices may only be available in a portion of the network. The awareness of slices supported in neighboring cells in NG-RAN 2010 can be beneficial for inter-frequency mobility in connectivity modes. Slice availability may not change within the UE's registered area. NG-RAN 2010 and 5GC 2020 are responsible for handling service requests for slices that may or may not be available in a given area. Admission or denial of access to a slice may depend on factors such as support for that slice, resource availability, and NG-RAN 2010 support for the requested service.

[0492] UE 2001 can be associated with multiple network slices simultaneously. If UE 2001 is associated with multiple slices, only one signaling connection is maintained, and for intra-frequency cell reselection, UE 2001 attempts to pre-allocate the best cell. For inter-frequency cell reselection, a dedicated priority can be used to control the frequency pre-allocated by UE 2001. 5GC 2020 is used to verify that UE 2001 has the right to access network slices. Before receiving the Initial Context Setup Request message, based on the knowledge of the specific slice requested by UE 2001, NG-RAN 2010 may apply some temporary / local policies. During the Initial Context Setup, NG-RAN 2010 is notified of the slice for which it is requesting resources.

[0493] NFV architectures and infrastructure can be used to virtualize one or more NFs onto a physical resource that includes a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (or alternatively, proprietary hardware). In other words, NFV systems can be used to perform virtual or reconfigurable concrete implementations of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0494] Figure 26 This is a block diagram illustrating components of an NFV-enabled system 2600 according to some exemplary embodiments. The system 2600 is shown as including VIM 2602, NFVI 2604, VNFM 2606, VNF 2608, EM 2610, NFVO 2612, and NM 2614.

[0495] VIM 2602 manages the resources of NFVI 2604. NFVI 2604 may include physical or virtual resources and applications (including hypervisors) used to run system 2600. VIM 2602 can utilize NFVI 2604 to manage the lifecycle of virtual resources (e.g., the creation, maintenance, and teardown of VMs associated with one or more physical resources), track VM instances, track the performance, failure, and security of VM instances and associated physical resources, and expose VM instances and associated physical resources to other management systems.

[0496] The VNFM 2606 manages the VNF 2608. The VNF 2608 can be used to perform EPC components / functions. The VNFM 2606 manages the lifecycle of the VNF 2608 and tracks the performance, faults, and security of the virtual aspects of the VNF 2608. The EM 2610 tracks the performance, faults, and security of the functional aspects of the VNF 2608. Tracking data from the VNFM 2606 and EM 2610 may include, for example, PM data used by the VIM 2602 or NFVI 2604. Both the VNFM 2606 and EM 2610 can scale the number of VNFs in System 2600.

[0497] NFVO 2612 can coordinate, authorize, release, and engage the resources of NFVI 2604 to provide requested services (e.g., to perform EPC functions, components, or slices). NM 2614 can provide a group of end-user functions responsible for network management, which may include network elements with VNFs, non-virtualized network functions, or both (management of VNFs may occur via EM2610).

[0498] Figure 27 This is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some exemplary embodiments, capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any or more methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 27 A schematic diagram of hardware resource 2700 is shown, which includes one or more processors (or processor cores) 2710, one or more memory / storage devices 2720, and one or more communication resources 2730, each of which is communicatively coupled via bus 2740. For implementations utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 2702 can be executed to provide an execution environment for enabling one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resource 2700.

[0499] Processor 2710 may include, for example, processor 2712 and processor 2714. Processor 2710 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0500] The memory / storage device 2720 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 2720 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage devices, etc.

[0501] Communication resource 2730 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 2704 or one or more databases 2706 via network 2708. For example, communication resource 2730 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB), cellular communication components, NFC components, etc. (or Low-power components Components and other communication components.

[0502] Instructions 2750 may include software, programs, applications, applets, or other executable code for causing at least one processor in processor 2710 to perform any or more of the methods discussed herein. Instructions 2750 may reside wholly or partially within at least one of processors 2710 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), memory / storage device 2720, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of instructions 2750 may be transferred from any combination of peripheral device 2704 or database 2706 to hardware resource 2700. Thus, the memory of processor 2710, memory / storage device 2720, peripheral device 2704, and database 2706 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0503] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0504] Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0505] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system performs a method, such as any method embodiment of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0506] In some implementations, the device (e.g., UE 106, BS 102, network element 600) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and the processor is configured to read from the memory medium and execute the program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations of method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0507] By interpreting each message / signal X received by the user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X transmitted by the base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y transmitted by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any method described herein for operating the UE can serve as the basis for a corresponding method for operating the base station.

[0508] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the disclosure is fully understood. This disclosure is intended to render the following claims as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for determining contention window size adjustment, comprising: performing uplink transmission based on code block groups CBG; Identifying an uplink UL reference burst of the CBG-based uplink UL transmission; Determine the contention window size CWS adjustment at the first time, wherein the CWS adjustment includes: The CWS for all priority levels at a wireless device is reset to a minimum value if: A UL grant is received and a new data indicator NDI bit for at least one active HARQ process of the active hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process is not switched, and at least one or more acknowledgments ACK of Y% of the CBGs of at least one active HARQ process of the active HARQ process are indicated, wherein for each bit of the CBG transmission information CBGTI in the UL grant, when the NDI is not switched, a value of 1 is regarded as a negative acknowledgement NACK, and a value other than 1 is regarded as an ACK; Otherwise, one of the following operations is performed: maintaining the CWS for all priority levels, or increasing the CWS for all priority levels at the wireless device to the next higher level.

2. The method according to claim 1, Wherein identifying the UL reference burst of the CBG-based UL transmission is performed in one of the following ways: selecting a configured amount of time from the start of a UL burst as the UL reference burst in a manner independent of subcarrier spacing; selecting a portion of subframes from the start of the UL burst as the UL reference burst; selecting a portion of subframes and subsequent subframes from the start of the UL burst as the UL reference burst, wherein if the portion of subframes is the only subframe included in the UL burst, only the portion of subframes is used as the UL reference burst; or A configured number of symbols from the start of the UL burst is selected as the UL reference burst.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the UL reference burst occurs at least a configured number of symbols before determining the UL grant adjusted by the CWS.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein to determine the CWS adjustment, the method further comprises: If the NDI bit of at least one active HARQ process of the HARQ process ID of the uplink reference burst is not toggled in the uplink grant determining the CWS adjustment, or if the HARQ process ID of the uplink reference burst is not scheduled in the uplink grant determining the CWS adjustment, then the CWS is increased.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein to determine the CWS adjustment, the method further comprises: If the configured Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) attempts for the priority level use a maximum CWS value, then the CWS is reset to a minimum CWS value for the priority level.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: identifying a number of ACKs received for the uplink reference burst and a number of NACKs received for the uplink reference burst, Wherein the CWS adjustment is determined based at least in part on one or more of the number of ACKs received for the uplink reference burst or the number of NACKs received for the uplink reference burst.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining the CWS for all priority classes is performed when a new uplink transmission starts before N time slots in a previous Category 4 Cat-4 Listen Before Talk (LBT) process have passed.

8. A baseband processor, comprising: A memory storing instructions, which when executed cause the baseband processor to: performing uplink transmission based on code block groups CBG; Identifying an uplink UL reference burst of the CBG-based uplink transmission; Determine the contention window size CWS adjustment at the first time, wherein the CWS adjustment includes: The CWS for all priority levels at a wireless device is reset to a minimum value if: A UL grant is received and a new data indicator NDI bit for at least one active HARQ process of the active hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process is not switched, and at least one or more acknowledgments ACK of Y% of the CBGs of at least one active HARQ process of the active HARQ process are indicated, wherein for each bit of the CBG transmission information CBGTI in the UL grant, when the NDI is not switched, a value of 1 is regarded as a negative acknowledgement NACK, and a value other than 1 is regarded as an ACK; Otherwise, one of the following is performed: maintaining the CWS for all priority levels, or increasing the CWS for all priority levels at the wireless device to the next higher level.

9. The baseband processor of claim 8, when a new uplink transmission starts before N time slots in a previous Category 4 Cat-4 Listen Before Talk (LBT) process have passed, maintaining the CWS for all priority categories is performed.

10. The baseband processor of claim 8, wherein the baseband processor is configured to identify the UL reference burst of the CBG-based UL transmission in one of the following ways: selecting a configured amount of time from the start of a UL burst as the UL reference burst in a manner independent of subcarrier spacing; selecting a portion of subframes from the start of the UL burst as the UL reference burst; selecting the partial subframes and subsequent subframes from the start of the UL burst as the UL reference burst, wherein if the partial subframes are the only subframes included in the UL burst, only the partial subframes are used as the UL reference burst; or A configured number of symbols from the start of the UL burst is selected as the UL reference burst.

11. The baseband processor according to claim 8, The UL reference burst occurs at least a configured number of symbols before determining the UL grant adjusted by the CWS.

12. The baseband processor of claim 8, wherein to determine the CWS adjustment, the baseband processor is further configured to: If the NDI bit of at least one active HARQ process of the HARQ process ID of the uplink reference burst is not toggled in the uplink grant determining the CWS adjustment, or if the HARQ process ID of the uplink reference burst is not scheduled in the uplink grant determining the CWS adjustment, then the CWS is increased.

13. The baseband processor of claim 8, wherein to determine the CWS adjustment, the baseband processor is further configured to: If the configured Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) attempts for a priority level uses a maximum CWS value, then the CWS is reset to a minimum CWS value for that priority level.

14. The baseband processor of claim 8, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to: identifying a number of ACKs received for the uplink reference burst and a number of NACKs received for the uplink reference burst, Wherein the CWS adjustment is determined based at least in part on one or more of the number of ACKs received for the uplink reference burst or the number of NACKs received for the uplink reference burst.

15. A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a user to equip a device: performing uplink transmission based on code block groups CBG; Identifying an uplink UL reference burst of the CBG-based uplink transmission; Determine the contention window size CWS adjustment at the first time, wherein the CWS adjustment includes: The CWS for all priority levels at a wireless device is reset to a minimum value if: A UL grant is received and a new data indicator NDI bit for at least one active HARQ process of the active hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process is not switched, and at least one or more acknowledgments ACK of Y% of the CBGs of at least one active HARQ process of the active HARQ process are indicated, wherein for each bit of the CBG transmission information CBGTI in the UL grant, when the NDI is not switched, a value of 1 is regarded as a negative acknowledgement NACK, and a value other than 1 is regarded as an ACK; Otherwise, one of the following is performed: maintaining the CWS for all priority levels, or increasing the CWS for all priority levels at the wireless device to the next higher level.

16. The non-volatile computer readable storage medium according to claim 15, Wherein when a new uplink transmission starts before N time slots in the previous Category 4 Cat-4 Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) process have passed, the CWS maintaining all priority categories is executed.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, identifying the UL reference burst for the CBG-based UL transmission is performed in one of the following ways: selecting a configured amount of time from the start of a UL burst as the UL reference burst in a manner independent of subcarrier spacing; selecting a portion of subframes from the start of the UL burst as the UL reference burst; selecting a portion of subframes and subsequent subframes from the start of the UL burst as the UL reference burst, wherein if the portion of subframes is the only subframe included in the UL burst, only the portion of subframes is used as the UL reference burst; or A configured number of symbols from the start of the UL burst is selected as the UL reference burst.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the UL reference burst occurs at least a configured number of symbols prior to determining the CWS-adjusted UL grant.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein at least one processor of the one or more processors is a baseband processor.

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