Contention window size update for CAT.4 LBT for CBG-based retransmission in NR systems operating on unlicensed spectrum

Abstract

A system, apparatus, method, and computer-readable medium for wireless communication using an unlicensed spectrum are provided. An access point (AP) operating in the unlicensed spectrum includes a processor circuit, a transmitter, and a receiver. The processor circuit is configured to perform an LBT process using a listen-before-talk (LBT) parameter and a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), which is compatible with another wireless protocol using the unlicensed spectrum. The processor circuit is configured to divide a transport block (TB) into a plurality of code block groups (CBGs) for transmission on the unlicensed spectrum. The transmitter is configured to transmit the plurality of CBGs to a destination, and the receiver is configured to receive hybrid automatic repeat and request confirmation (HARQ‑ACK) information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs. The processor circuit is further configured to determine a HARQ‑ACK evaluation for the TB based on the HARQ‑ACK information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs, and to adjust a contention window size based on the HARQ‑ACK evaluation for the TB.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 790,376, filed on January 9, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0003] Various embodiments may generally relate to the field of wireless communications. Summary of the invention

[0004] This summary provides a brief description of one or more of the embodiments and / or examples found within the present disclosure.

[0005] The present disclosure describes an access point (AP) or a device thereof for wireless communication using an unlicensed spectrum. The AP includes a processor circuit configured to perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) process using a listen-before-talk (LBT) parameter and a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) compatible with another wireless protocol using an unlicensed spectrum. The processor circuit is configured to divide a transport block (TB) into a plurality of code block groups (CBGs) for transmission on an unlicensed spectrum. The AP includes a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter being configured to transmit a plurality of CBGs to a destination, the receiver being configured to receive hybrid automatic repeat and request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs. The processor circuit is further configured to determine a HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB based on the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs, and to adjust a contention window size based on the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB. In some embodiments, the other wireless protocol is Wi-Fi.

[0006] The present disclosure also describes a method for wireless communication on an unlicensed spectrum performed by an access point. The method includes performing an LBT process using a listen-before-talk (LBT) parameter and a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), which is compatible with another wireless protocol using an unlicensed spectrum. The method includes dividing a transport block (TB) into a plurality of code block groups (CGBs) for transmission on an unlicensed spectrum, and transmitting a plurality of CBGs to a destination. The method includes receiving hybrid automatic repeat and request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs. The method includes determining a HARQ-ACK evaluation for a TB based on the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs, and adjusting a contention window size based on the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB. In some embodiments, the other wireless protocol is Wi-Fi.

[0007] The present disclosure also describes a computer readable medium (CRM) comprising computer instructions to be executed by one or more processors of an access point (AP) of a wireless communication system on an unlicensed spectrum. The computer instructions cause one or more processors to perform an LBT process using a listen-before-talk (LBT) parameter and a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), which is compatible with another wireless protocol using an unlicensed spectrum. The instructions cause one or more processors to divide a transport block (TB) into a plurality of code block groups (CBGs) for transmission on an unlicensed spectrum. The instructions cause one or more processors to transmit a plurality of CBGs to a destination and receive hybrid automatic repeat and request confirmation (HARQ-ACK) information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs. The instructions cause one or more processors to determine a HARQ-ACK evaluation of a TB based on the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs, and to adjust the contention window size based on the HARQ-ACK evaluation of the TB. In some embodiments, the other wireless protocol is Wi-Fi. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 Depicted are examples of reference downlink (DL) bursts according to some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 2 Another example of a reference downlink (DL) burst is depicted in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 3 A diagram depicting the timing between an uplink (UL) reference burst and a CORESET containing a UL grant reception or configuration grant downlink control information (DCI) according to some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 4 Depicted is a diagram of a partial Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) repetition used as a reference burst in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 5 Depicted are exemplary processes according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 6 Depicted is the architecture of a system of networks according to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 7 An architecture of a system including a first core network according to some embodiments is depicted.

[0015] Figure 8 An architecture of a system including a second core network according to some embodiments is depicted.

[0016] Fig. 9Depicted are examples of infrastructure equipment according to various embodiments.

[0017] Fig.10 Depicted are exemplary components of a platform according to various embodiments.

[0018] Fig.11 Depicted are exemplary components of baseband circuitry and radio frequency circuitry according to some embodiments.

[0019] Fig.12 Depicted are diagrams of various protocol functions that may be used in various protocol stacks according to various embodiments.

[0020] Fig.13 Components of a core network are shown according to various embodiments.

[0021] Fig.14 is a block diagram illustrating components of a system for supporting network function virtualization (NFV) according to some exemplary embodiments.

[0022] Fig.15 Depicted are block diagrams showing components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium (eg, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some exemplary embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following specific embodiments relate to the accompanying drawings. The same figure numbers may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so that the description of various embodiments will not be obscured by unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0024] Every year, the number of mobile devices connecting to wireless networks increases significantly. In order to keep up with the demand for mobile data traffic, necessary changes must be made to system requirements to be able to meet these demands. The three key areas that require enhancements to achieve this traffic increase are greater bandwidth, lower latency, and higher data rates.

[0025] One of the major limiting factors in wireless innovation is the availability of spectrum. To mitigate this, unlicensed spectrum has been an area of ​​great interest in extending the availability of LTE. In this context, one of the major enhancements to LTE in 3GPP Release 13 is to enable it to operate in unlicensed spectrum via Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), which extends the system bandwidth by leveraging the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework introduced by the Advanced LTE system.

[0026] Since the main building blocks of the framework for NR have been established, the natural enhancement is to allow it to operate on unlicensed spectrum as well. Work on introducing shared / unlicensed spectrum in 5G NR has already begun, and a new study item on "NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum" was approved in TSG RAN meeting #77. The purpose of this new SI is to study NR-based operations in unlicensed spectrum, including:

[0027] 1. The physical channel inherits the choices made as part of the NR studies on duplex mode, waveform, carrier bandwidth, subcarrier spacing, frame structure and physical layer design and avoids unnecessary divergence in decisions made in the NR WI:

[0028] ● Consider unlicensed bands below and above 6 GHz, up to 52.6 GHz

[0029] ● Consider unlicensed bands above 52.6 GHz to the extent that the waveform design principles remain unchanged relative to bands below 52.6 GHz

[0030] ● Consider similar forward compatibility principles as those established in NR WI

[0031] 2. Initial access, channel access, scheduling / HARQ, and mobility including connected / inactive / idle mode operation and radio link monitoring / failure

[0032] 3. Coexistence methods between NR-based operations in unlicensed spectrum and LAA based on LTE, and with other existing RATs, based on regulatory requirements for, e.g., 5 GHz, 37 GHz, 60 GHz bands

[0033] The coexistence methods already defined for the 5 GHz band in an LTE-based LAA environment should be assumed as a baseline for 5 GHz operation. Enhancements based on these methods in 5 GHz should not be precluded. NR-based operation in unlicensed spectrum should not have a greater impact on deployed Wi-Fi services (data, video, and voice services) than additional Wi-Fi networks on the same carrier.

[0034] While this SI is in its initial stages, it is important to identify aspects of the design that can be enhanced for NR when operating in unlicensed spectrum. In this case, one of the challenges is that the system must maintain fair coexistence with other existing technologies, and to this end, some restrictions may be considered when designing the system, depending on the specific frequency band in which it may operate. For example, if operating in the 5 GHz band, a listen-before-talk (LBT) process may need to be performed in some parts of the world to acquire the medium before transmission can occur.

[0035] In Rel.15NR, the HARQ process is improved and modified in addition to other enhancements to the PHY layer. In fact, Rel.15NR introduces the concept of code block groups (CBGs), where essentially the transport blocks (TBs) are 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 retransmissions is to cope with the fact that NR supports very large transport block sizes (TBSs) and the scheduler works with a BLER (block error rate) target of 10%, as in traditional LTE. This means that if the gNB is transmitting data to the UE with a large TBS, about 10% of the data will undergo retransmissions. However, if the TBs are divided into smaller subsets, the UE will only send NACKs for the failed subsets, and the gNB only needs to retransmit the failed subset instead of the entire TB. This can effectively reduce the retransmission overhead and improve the spectral efficiency, but on the other hand this will increase the HARQ feedback overhead, because the UE will no longer need to transmit a single bit per TB, but will send multiple bits per TB based on the number of CBGs. To reduce this overhead, the CBG-based (re)transmission process is configurable. In fact, the UE can be semi-statically configured by RRC signaling to enable CBG-based retransmission, and the maximum number of CBGs per TB can be configured by RRC to {2,4,6,8}. By changing the number of CBGs per TB, the number of code blocks (CBs) per CBG also changes according to the TBS. In Rel.15NR, CBG-based (re)transmission is only allowed for TBs for HARQ processes. The CBG-based (re)transmission process can also be configured separately for UL and DL.

[0036] When operating an NR system on unlicensed spectrum, the LBT procedure should be performed before initiating any transmission. In Rel-13 and Rel-14, the LBT priority levels, LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​provided in Table I for DL ​​and in Table II for UL are agreed upon.

[0037] Table I - LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​for DL

[0038]

[0039] Table II - LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​for UL

[0040]

[0041] In traditional LAA, the contention window size (CWS) is adjusted based on HARQ-ACK feedback.

[0042] For DL: Given a reference subframe set (which is the first DL subframe of the latest DL data burst for which HARQ-ACK feedback can be provided), if at least 80% of the HARQ-ACK feedback values ​​for the reference subframe are NACKs, the CWS is increased. Otherwise, the CWS is reset to the minimum value.

[0043] For UL, given a reference subframe (which is the first subframe with UL-SCH that is transmitted at least 4ms before the reception of a UL grant in the latest transmitted burst of consecutive subframes transmitted after performing a Category 4 LBT process) and a 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 HARQ process in the active HARQ processes of HARQ_ID_ref (i.e., TB is not disabled) is toggled, the CWS of all priority levels at the UE is reset for all priority levels. Otherwise (i.e., the NDI of the active HARQ process of HARQ_ID_ref is not scheduled or the HARQ_ID_ref is not toggled), the contention window size of all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value. In addition, 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, the CWS is reset to the minimum value, where K is selected by the UE specific implementation from a set of (1,...,8) values.

[0044] It is possible that for NR operating on unlicensed spectrum, Tables I and II can be used as is, but the CWS adjustment process for DL ​​and UL can also be modified. In fact, while in traditional LAA, a TB-based (re)transmission process is used and CWS adjustment is customized based on it, in NR-U, a CBG-based retransmission process is used. The present disclosure provides multiple options on how to update CWS when a CBG-based (re)transmission process is used.

[0045] When operating a cellular system on unlicensed spectrum, the LBT procedure may be required by regional regulation and a CWS regulation procedure is needed to maintain fair coexistence with other existing technologies. In LTE LAA, the CWS regulation procedure is based on HARQ-ACK feedback, where a TB-based retransmission procedure is used. In Rel.15NR, CBG-based (re)transmissions are introduced, and for this reason, the traditional CWS regulation procedure cannot be reused. In the present disclosure, multiple options are provided on how to update the CWS.

[0046] In Rel.15NR, in addition to other enhancements to the PHY layer, the concept of code block group (CBG) based transmission is introduced to reduce overhead and improve spectrum efficiency when transmitting data packets with large TBS. The TB is divided into multiple CBGs, and when decoding the CBG, the UE sends HARQ-ACK feedback for each individual CBG instead of for the TB, and the gNB only retransmits the CBGs that are not received or decoded. Although this process is effective for large TBS, this may cause a large overhead of HARQ-ACK feedback, which may outweigh the benefits of reducing the retransmission overhead for small TBS. For this reason, the CBG-based retransmission process is configurable. In fact, the UE is semi-statically configured by RRC signaling to enable CBG-based retransmission, and the maximum number of CBGs per TB can be configured by RRC to {2,4,6,8}, and it is configured separately for UL and DL.

[0047] When operating an NR system (NR-U) on unlicensed spectrum, the LBT process should be performed before initiating any transmission and its CWS should be adjusted based on HARQ-ACK feedback. During LAA WI, the CWS adjustment process is introduced to allow fair coexistence with existing technologies. For NR-U, similar intentions should be maintained when designing the corresponding CWS adjustment process. Although the Rel-14 LBT priority levels, LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​summarized in Table I will be used as is for NR-U, this does not apply to the LTE LAA Rel-14 CWS adjustment process, which requires some modifications to cope with the CBG-based retransmission process introduced for NR in Rel-15.

[0048] Collection for CWS regulation

[0049] In one embodiment, the parameters from Table I and Table II are reused. In one embodiment, the LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​of Table II are the same as in Table III to make NR-U consistent with Wi-Fi and allow the two technologies to be equivalent. In particular, it is noted that for the following table, as an example, aCWmax=1023.

[0050] Table III - LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​for UL (expressed in aCWmax)

[0051]

[0052] CWS regulation for DL ​​in NR-U

[0053] In Rel. 13, the following is agreed: If at least 80% of the HARQ-ACK feedback values ​​for a reference subframe set are NACKs, the CWS is increased to the next higher value. Otherwise, the CWS is reset to the minimum value.

[0054] As in NR, CBG-based (re)transmissions are introduced, so the CWS adjustment process defined for LAA can be modified to clarify how the feedback for each CBG is counted into X% of the HARQ-ACK feedback, where X is 80 in one example.

[0055] In some embodiments, a reference DL burst is defined for CWS regulation, such as Figure 1 As shown. Figure 1 As shown, the reference burst 104 is always 1 ms long, regardless of the subcarrier spacing, and starts from the beginning of the DL burst 102 .

[0056] In some embodiments, the reference burst 204 consists of a partial subframe (SF) or time slot from the beginning of the DL burst 202 plus a subsequent SF or time slot 206, regardless of the subcarrier spacing, such as Figure 2 shown.

[0057] In some embodiments, when a partial subframe is the only subframe included in a reference DL burst, only the partial subframe is used for CWS adjustment.

[0058] In some implementations, the reference burst consists of N symbols (eg, 14) from the beginning of the DL burst, where N is RRC configured, and N may be greater than the number of symbols in a partial slot.

[0059] In some embodiments, the reference burst consists of only a partial time slot.

[0060] In some embodiments, the reference burst consists of Tms or μs from the start of the DL burst, where T is, for example, 1 ms.

[0061] In some embodiments, when CBG-based transmission is configured, NACKs are counted such that if at least one of the CBGs for a particular TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedback for that TB within the reference time slot set is also counted as NACKs.

[0062] In some embodiments, when CBG-based transmission is configured, each feedback is counted as NACK or ACK individually for each CBG within a TB, regardless of the values ​​of other CBG feedback for that TB.

[0063] In some embodiments, ACK / NACK is counted per TB, which requires the use of CBG-based HARQ ACK feedback to represent the ACK / NACK for each TB. In this case, in one embodiment, a 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.

[0064] In some embodiments, when CBG-based transmission is configured, NACKs are counted on a per-TB basis, which means that all CBGs for each TB are bundled into one bit. In this case, if the gNB does not schedule at least one or all unsuccessful CBGs for a TB, we have 2 options: either the TB is considered as NACK even if all scheduled CBGs are received correctly, or the TB is not counted for CWS regulation in this case. As a non-limiting example, only the currently scheduled CBGs are considered to derive the bundled HARQ-ACK for CWS regulation.

[0065] In some embodiments, a TB may be counted as NACK if 1) all of its currently scheduled CBGs are NACK, 2) at least one of its currently scheduled CBGs is NACK, or 3) X% of its currently scheduled CBGs are NACK.

[0066] In some embodiments, since some UEs may be configured with CBG-based transmissions while other UEs will perform TB-based transmissions, the percentage Z of NACKs may be evaluated in one of the following ways:

[0067] 1.Z=(c* NACK CBG +t* NACK TB ) / (c* N CBG +t* N TB ) (1)

[0068] 2. Z=(u* NACK CBG +(1-u)* NACK TB ) / (u* N CBG +(1-u)* N TB ) (2)

[0069] NACK CBG is the number of NACKs per CBG in the reference DL burst, NACK TB is the number of NACKs per TB in the reference DL burst, NCBG is the total number of CBG feedbacks in the DL reference burst, N TB is the total number of TB feedbacks in the DL reference burst.

[0070] In some embodiments, if formula (1) is used, "c" and "t" are two variables, where, for example, 0 <= c <= 1 and 0 <= t <= 1. Note that the variables "c" and "t" may be defined as a function of the maximum number of CBGs in a time slot for a UE or 8. In another option, these two values ​​may depend on the number of TB and / or CBG transmissions scheduled in a window or DL ​​burst.

[0071] In some embodiments, the values ​​of c and / or t are RRC configurable or configuration dependent.

[0072] In some embodiments, if formula (2) is used, "u" is a variable such that 0 <= u <= 1. The value of u is RRC configurable or configuration dependent.

[0073] In some embodiments, TB / CBG / CB feedback is not used for CWS regulation for one or more of the following situations:

[0074] 1.TB / CBG / CB is punctured by other transmissions, e.g. URLLC

[0075] 2. In the initial part of the time slot, TB / CBG / CB is deleted due to late channel occupancy

[0076] 3. Due to BWP switching, the UE does not report HARQ-ACK for a specific PDSCH. In this case, the transmission is considered as NACK by default or ignored for CWS adjustment.

[0077] 4. If the gNB does not schedule at least one or all unsuccessful CBGs for a TB, such TBs are not counted.

[0078] In some embodiments, for self-scheduling, DTX is considered an indication of a conflict and is considered a NACK with respect to the CWS regulation mechanism. In one embodiment, for cross-carrier scheduling, DTX is ignored with respect to the CWS regulation mechanism. In one embodiment, for cross-carrier scheduling, DTX is considered an indication of a conflict and is considered a NACK with respect to the CWS regulation of the scheduling cell. In one embodiment, if the associated PDCCH is transmitted in a DL burst followed by a CAT-4 LBT, the DTX is considered an indication of a conflict and is considered a NACK with respect to the CWS regulation. In one embodiment, if the associated PDCCH is transmitted in a reference burst within a DL burst followed by a CAT-4 LBT, the DTX is considered an indication of a conflict and is considered a NACK with respect to the CWS regulation.

[0079] Another aspect that needs to be considered is the CWS update for the gNB when the acquired COT is shared with unlicensed or scheduled UEs, or when PDSCH transmission is not performed by the gNB.

[0080] In some embodiments, if the gNB performs a PDSCH transmission and a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for UL transmissions with overlapping time domain resources for scheduled or unlicensed transmissions, then in one embodiment, a CWS update is performed as described above.

[0081] In some embodiments, if the gNB does not perform any PDSCH transmissions, a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for UL transmissions with overlapping time domain resources.

[0082] In some embodiments, if the eNB schedules UL transport blocks (TBs) with 25 μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH, the gNB increases the CWS 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, where X is 10 as an example, and where Q is given by one of the following formulas:

[0083] 1.Q=(c* NACK CBG +t* NACK TB ) / (c* N CBG +t* N TB ), (3)

[0084] 2.Q=(u* NACK CBG +(1-u)* NACK TB ) / (u* N CBG +(1-u)* N TB ), (4)

[0085] NACK CBG is the number of NACKs per scheduled UL CBG in the reference DL burst, NACK TB is the number of NACKs for the TB scheduled by UL in the reference DL burst, N CBG is the total number of scheduled UL CBG feedbacks in the DL reference burst, N TB is the total number of UL scheduled TB feedbacks in the DL reference burst.

[0086] In some embodiments, 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.

[0087] In some embodiments, the values ​​of "c" and / or "t" are RRC configurable or configuration dependent.

[0088] In some embodiments, if formula (4) is used, "u" is a variable such that 0 <= u <= 1. The value of u is RRC configurable or configuration dependent.

[0089] In some embodiments, if the gNB schedules UL transport blocks (TBs) with 25 μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH and also shares the MCOT with unlicensed UEs, a CWS update may be performed based on the scheduled and / or unlicensed TBs or CBGs that have been detected by the gNB.

[0090] CWS regulation for UL in NR-U

[0091] In some embodiments, for Category 4 LBT for UL transmissions, the CWS is adjusted per UE and at the UE.

[0092] In some embodiments, a reference UL burst is defined for CWS regulation in the following manner.

[0093] In some implementations, the reference UL burst is always 1 ms long, regardless of the subcarrier spacing, and starts from the beginning of the UL burst.

[0094] In some embodiments, the reference burst consists of a partial SF from the beginning of the UL burst + subsequent SFs that are independent of the subcarrier spacing. If the partial subframe is the only subframe included in the reference UL burst, only the partial subframe is used for CWS adjustment.

[0095] In some implementations, the reference burst consists of N symbols from the beginning of the UL burst, where N is RRC configured and N may be greater than the number of symbols that make up the initial partial slot.

[0096] In some embodiments, the reference burst consists of only the initial portion of the time slots.

[0097] In some embodiments, the reference burst consists of Tms from the start of the UL burst, where T is, for example, 1 ms.

[0098] In some embodiments, the gNB configures the number of symbols N such that the reference burst occurs at least in symbols ns-N, where ns is the first or last symbol of the CORESET containing the UL grant or DFI DCI. In one embodiment, N is evaluated as

[0099] N=N x +Y, (5)

[0100] Where N x is the processing delay based on the gNB capability for PUSCH decoding (which depends on the subcarrier spacing), and y is the margin given to the gNB scheduling freedom.

[0101] As a non-limiting example, in some embodiments, N is evaluated as

[0102] N=N x +TA+Y, (6)

[0103] Where N x is the processing delay based on the gNB capability for PUSCH decoding (which depends on the subcarrier spacing), and y is the margin given to the gNB scheduling freedom, and TA is the timing advance of the UE.

[0104] In some embodiments, similar to conventional LTE-LAA, the gNB configures the number of time slots N 306 such that the UL reference burst 302 occurs before ns-N, where ns is the time slot containing the UL grant or DFI DCI 304, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 shown.

[0105] In some embodiments, HARQ_ID_ref is defined as the HARQ process identifier (ID) of the reference burst.

[0106] In some embodiments, for a scheduled UE, if the NDI bit of at least one active HARQ process for the HARQ_ID_ref in the reference burst is toggled, the contention window size at the UE is reset for all priority levels.

[0107] In some implementations, if the NDI of the active HARQ process for a HARQ_ID_ref is not scheduled or is not switched, then the contention window size for all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value.

[0108] In one embodiment, if CBG-based transmission is configured, each bit of CBG transmission information (CBGTI) = 1 is considered to be a failure, i.e., NACK, when NDI is not switched (i.e., retransmitted) for the same HARQ process, otherwise, it is considered to be successful, i.e., ACK. In one embodiment, CBG is bundled to indicate information about TB failure / success in the CWS regulation mechanism.

[0109] In some embodiments, if CBG-based transmission is configured, all CBGs of TBs transmitted in the reference burst are considered in the CWS adjustment.

[0110] In some embodiments, if CBG-based transmission is configured, only the currently transmitted CBG of the TB transmitted in the reference burst is considered for CWS adjustment.

[0111] In some embodiments, when CBG-based transmission is configured, NACKs are counted such that if at least one of the CBGs for a particular TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedback for that TB within the reference burst set is also counted as a NACK. As a non-limiting example, in some embodiments, when CBG-based transmission is configured, each feedback is counted as a NACK or ACK for each CBG within the TB individually, regardless of the value of other CBG feedback for that TB.

[0112] In some embodiments, ACK / NACK is counted per TB, which requires the use of CBG-based HARQ ACK feedback to represent the ACK / NACK for each TB. In this case, in one embodiment, a 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.

[0113] In some embodiments, the percentage X of NACKs is estimated by one of the following formulas:

[0114] 1.X=(c* NACK CBG +t* NACK TB ) / (c* N CBG +t* N TB ), (7)

[0115] 2.X=(u* NACK CBG +(u-1)* NACK TB ) / (u* N CBG +(u-1)* N TB ), (8)

[0116] NACK CBG is the number of NACKs per CBG in the reference UL burst, NACK TB is the number of NACKs per TB in the reference UL burst, N CBG is the total number of CBG feedbacks in the UL reference burst, N TB is the total number of TB feedbacks in the UL reference burst.

[0117] In some embodiments, if formula (7) 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 UL burst. The values ​​of "c" and / or "t" are RRC configurable or depend on the configuration.

[0118] In some embodiments, if formula (8) is used, "u" is a variable such that 0 <= u <= 1. The value of u is RRC configurable or configuration dependent.

[0119] In some embodiments, as in Rel-14, if the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts is transmitted at a priority level only for the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts, the CWS can be reset to the minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE.

[0120] For ungranted uplink transmission in NR-U, in some embodiments, if a UL grant or a DFI-DCI is received, then if a UL grant is received and the NDI bit for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref is toggled, or a DFI-DCI is received and it indicates: ACK for all CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref; ACK for one of the CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref; or ACK for Y% of the CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref, then the CWS is reset for all priority levels.

[0121] In some embodiments, if a UL grant is received and the NDI bits of all active HARQ processes for a reference burst are not toggled, or a UL grant is received and no active HARQ process is scheduled for the reference burst, or a DFI-DCI is received that does not indicate: ACKs for all CBGs of at least one active HARQ process for the reference burst, ACKs for X% of all CBGs of at least one active HARQ process for the reference burst, or ACKs for X% of the CBGs of at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref, the CWS for all priority levels at the UE is increased to the second highest value.

[0122] In some embodiments, as in Rel-14, if the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts is transmitted at a priority level only for the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts, the CWS can be reset to the minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE.

[0123] If there is at least one previous Category 4 (Cat-4) LBT UL transmission, N or more time slots have passed since its starting time slot and neither UL grant nor DFI-DCI was received, where, as an example, if X>0 and N=0, then N=maximum(X, corresponding UL burst length+1), otherwise, where X is RRC configured. For each previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmission (from its starting time slot, N or more time slots have passed and neither UL grant nor DFI-DCI was received), the CWS for all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value, and each such previous Cat-4 LBT transmission is used to adjust the CWS only once.

[0124] If the UE starts a new Cat-4 LBT UL transmission before N slots have elapsed from the previous Cat-4 LBT and has received neither a UL grant nor a DFI-DCI, the CWS is unchanged.

[0125] If the UE receives feedback for one or more previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmissions for which N or more time slots have passed since its starting time slot and neither UL grant nor DFI-DCI has been received, it may recalculate the CWS as follows: i) it restores the CWS to the value used to transmit the first burst of such previous Cat-4 LBT transmissions; ii) it updates the CWS in an orderly manner in the transmission order of the bursts as follows. If the feedback indicates ACK for all CBGs for the first time slot of the burst, or ACK for X% of all CBGs for the first time slot of the burst, the CWS is reset, otherwise, the CWS is doubled. If the UE CWS changes while a Cat-4 LBT procedure is ongoing, the UE derives a new random backoff counter and applies it to the ongoing LBT procedure.

[0126] In some embodiments, only the PUSCH used for one or more of the following cases is used for CWS regulation:

[0127] I. PUSCH whose only starting symbol is within the reference burst;

[0128] II. Only PUSCH in the reference burst;

[0129] III. Only the earliest PUSCH in the reference burst

[0130] In some embodiments, when a TB / CBG is truncated by other items (e.g., URLLC), when one or more TB / CBGs are truncated due to late channel occupancy in the initial portion of the time slot, the TB / CBG is not used for CWS adjustment.

[0131] In some embodiments, for multi-slot PUSCH of N symbols 412 of Cat-4 LBT 402, one of the following options may be implemented to prevent the possible reuse of part of the PUSCH as a reference burst, such as Figure 4 As shown:

[0132] In some embodiments, the gNB may be implemented to ensure that after obtaining the reference timing ns-N, there is always a PUSCH with complete repetitions, e.g., rep1 404, rep2 406, rep3 408, rep4 410, etc., which may be used as a reference burst.

[0133] As a non-limiting example, in some embodiments, if the reference timing ns-N is in the middle of a repetition of a TB, the UE may skip that TB and use some even earlier PUSCH transmission as a reference burst.

[0134] In some embodiments, a threshold may be configured to decide whether a TB may be used within a reference burst. The threshold may be the number of repetitions. Let the reference timing ns-N fall in the middle of the repetitions of a TB. If the number of repetitions received by the gNB is above the threshold, the HARQ-ACK for that TB may still be a good reference for CWS; otherwise, the UE may skip that TB and use an earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0135] As a non-limiting example, a threshold may be used to determine the number of repetitions used by the gNB. The threshold may be the maximum coding rate. Letting the reference timing ns-N be in the middle of the repetitions of a TB, if the coding rate of the repetitions received by the gNB is below the threshold, the current TB may be used within the reference burst. Otherwise, the UE may skip that TB and use some earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst.

[0136] 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 regulation.

[0137] In some embodiments, for example, multiple PUSCHs may be transmitted in a reference burst, where there is a multi-slot PUSCH in the reference burst and when the gNB receives only a portion of its repetitions, only the other PUSCHs are considered in the CWS regulation.

[0138] System and implementation

[0139] Figure 5 An exemplary process according to some embodiments is shown. The exemplary process may be described in detail in relation to Figures 6 to 15 Executed in the system or device described. According to some embodiments, at step 502, a transport block (TB) is divided into a plurality of code block groups (CBGs) for transmission over a 5G new air interface system on an unlicensed spectrum (5G NR-U). Similar to LTE, in a 5G new air interface (5G NR) system, a TB is divided into a plurality of code blocks (CBs). Thus, a TB may include a plurality of CBGs, and a CBG may include a plurality of CBs. As a non-limiting example, a TB may include a CBG that may have a plurality of CBs, or a TB may include a CBG that may have a single CB. As described above, a CBG is an essentially smaller subset of a TB and is decoded by a UE. The UE then sends HARQ feedback for each CBG.

[0140] According to some embodiments, at step 504, listen-before-talk (LBT) parameters and maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) values ​​are updated to transmit multiple CBGs via 5G NR-U to align with another technology used on the unlicensed spectrum. As described above, by updating one or more LBT parameters and one or more MCOT values ​​according to Table 3 above, the 5G NR-U system is equivalent to other technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi). Therefore, the 5G NR-U system is configured for consistent LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​for Wi-Fi and the 5G NR-U system.

[0141] According to some embodiments, at step 506, hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback is determined for TBs transmitted as multiple CBGs via 5G NR-U. As described above, at step 502, the TBs for transmission are divided into multiple CBGs, and the UE may send HARQ-ACK feedback for each CBG received at the UE. Since the CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback is sent by the UE, only CBGs that the UE did not receive or that the UE did not successfully decode (i.e., negative acknowledgement (NACK)) are retransmitted.

[0142] According to some embodiments, at step 508, the contention window size (CWS) is adjusted based on the HARQ-ACK feedback to the TB. As a non-limiting example, as described herein, for CWS adjustment based on HARQ-ACK feedback, the TB is considered to be negatively acknowledged (NACKed) when it is determined that at least one CBG of the plurality of CBGs is NACKed. According to some embodiments, the TB is considered to be negatively acknowledged (NACKed) when the percentage of the CBGs that are negatively acknowledged by the TB exceeds a preconfigured percentage threshold. As a non-limiting example, the preconfigured percentage threshold may be no less than 80%.

[0143] According to some embodiments, at step 510, in response to a CBG that NACKs a non-scheduled TB, HARQ-ACK feedback may be discarded to adjust the CWS. Similarly, at step 512, when the transmission of a CBG or TB is punctured, HARQ-ACK feedback may be ignored to adjust the CWS.

[0144] Figure 6 An exemplary architecture of a network system 600 according to various embodiments is shown. The following description is provided for an example system 600 operating in conjunction with LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this regard, and the embodiments may 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.), and the like.

[0145] like Figure 6 As shown, system 600 includes UE 601a and UE 601b (collectively referred to as "UE 601"). In this example, UE 601 is shown as a smart phone (e.g., a handheld touch screen 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 electronic devices, mobile phones, smart phones, feature phones, tablet computers, wearable computer devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handheld devices, desktop computers, laptop computers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument panels (ICs), head-up display (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDTs), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine electronic control units (ECUs), electronic / engine electronic control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or "smart" appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, etc.

[0146] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 601 may be an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via PLMN, ProSe or D2D communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchanges may be machine-initiated data exchanges. 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., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0147] UE 601 may be configured to connect, e.g., be communicatively coupled, to RAN 610. In an embodiment, RAN 610 may be an NG RAN or 5G RAN, E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN" or the like may refer to RAN 610 operating in NR or 5G system 600, while the term "E-UTRAN" or the like may refer to RAN 610 operating in LTE or 4G system 600. UE 601 utilizes connections (or channels) 603 and 604, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

[0148] In this example, connections 603 and 604 are shown as air interfaces to achieve communication coupling, and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and / or any other communication protocol discussed herein. In an embodiment, the UE 601 may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 605. The ProSe interface 605 may alternatively be referred to as a SL interface 605, and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, and PSBCH.

[0149] UE 601b is shown as being configured to access AP 606 (also referred to as "WLAN node 606", "WLAN 606", "WLAN terminal 606", "WT 606", etc.) via connection 607. Connection 607 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 606 will include wireless fidelity router. In this example, AP 606 is shown connected to the Internet without being connected to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, UE 601b, RAN 610, and AP 606 may be configured to utilize LWA operation and / or LWIP operation. LWA operation may involve UE 601b in RRC_CONNECTED state being configured by RAN nodes 611a-b to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve UE 601b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 607) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent through connection 607. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0150] The RAN 610 includes one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 611a and 611b (collectively referred to as "RAN nodes 611") that enable connections 603 and 604. As used herein, the terms "access node", "access point", etc. may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functions for data and / or voice connections between a 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" and the like may refer to a RAN node 611 (e.g., a gNB) operating in an NR or 5G system 600, while the terms "E-UTRAN node" and the like may refer to a RAN node 611 (e.g., an eNB) operating in an LTE or 4G system 600. According to various embodiments, the RAN node 611 may be implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station and / or a low power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity or higher bandwidth than a macrocell.

[0151] In some embodiments, all or part of the RAN node 611 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement RAN functional partitioning, such as PDCP partitioning, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 611; MAC / PHY partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 611; or "lower PHY" partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers, and upper portions of the PHY layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the lower portions of the PHY layers are operated by individual RAN nodes 611. This virtualization framework allows idle processor cores of the RAN node 611 to execute other virtualized applications. In some specific implementations, individual RAN nodes 611 may represent a plurality of RAN nodes 611 connected to the RAN via individual F1 interfaces ( Figure 6 In these embodiments, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs (see, e.g., Fig. 9), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server (not shown) located in the RAN 610 or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. In addition or alternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 611 may be a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), which is a next generation eNB that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminals to the UE 601 and is connected to the 5GC (e.g., Figure 8 CN 820) RAN node.

[0152] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the RAN nodes 611 may be an RSU or act as an RSU. The term "roadside unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU may 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 may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the road side that provides connectivity support to a passing vehicle UE 601 (vUE 601). The 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 Short Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide extremely low latency communications required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications as well as other cellular communication services. In addition or 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 communications. Some or all of the computing device and the RSU's RF circuitry may be packaged in a weather-resistant enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or backhaul network.

[0153] Any of the RAN nodes 611 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 601. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 611 may fulfill various logical functions of the RAN 610, including but not limited to the functions of a radio network controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0154] In an embodiment, UE 601 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN nodes 611 over a multi-carrier communication channel using OFDM communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, OFDMA communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or SC-FDMA communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0155] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 611 to the UE 601, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. For OFDM systems, such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice, which makes wireless resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each 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 includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0156] According to various embodiments, UEs 601, 602 and RAN nodes 611, 612 communicate (e.g., send and receive) data via a licensed medium (also referred to as a "licensed spectrum" and / or a "licensed band") and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as an "unlicensed spectrum" and / or an "unlicensed band"). The licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, and the unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz band.

[0157] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 601, 602 and the RAN nodes 611, 612 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these specific implementations, the UE 601, 602 and the RAN nodes 611, 612 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0158] LBT is a mechanism for equipment (e.g., UE 601, 602, RAN nodes 611, 612, etc.) to sense a medium (e.g., a channel or carrier frequency) and transmit when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a particular channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine whether other signals are present on the channel in order to determine whether the channel is occupied or idle. The 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 on an expected transmission band over a period of time, and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0159] Typically, existing systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs use a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 601 or 602, AP 606, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. In addition, in the case where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the same time, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid conflicts. The backoff mechanism may be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS that increases exponentially when a conflict occurs and is reset to a minimum value when the transmission is successful. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA / CA of WLAN. In some specific implementations, the LBT process for a DL or UL transmission burst (including PDSCH or PUSCH transmission) may have a LAA contention window of variable length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the CWS of LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmissions may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and MCOT (eg, transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0160] The LAA mechanism is built on the CA technology of the LTE-Advanced system. 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 up to five CCs can be aggregated, so the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In an FDD system, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL ​​and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, each CC may have a different bandwidth from other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are typically the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0161] CA also includes individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may be different, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary serving cell or PCell may provide the PCC for both UL and DL, and may handle activities related to RRC and NAS. Other serving cells are called SCells, and each SCell may provide individual SCCs for both UL and DL. SCCs may be added and removed as needed, and changing PCCs may require UE 601, 602 to undergo switching. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in an unlicensed spectrum (referred to as "LAA SCells"), and the LAA SCells are assisted by the PCells operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells, indicating different PUSCH start positions within the same subframe.

[0162] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to the UE 601. The PDCCH carries, among other information, information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It may also inform the UE 601 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 601b within a cell) may be performed on any of the RAN nodes 611 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 601. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of the UEs 601.

[0163] PDCCH uses CCE to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols 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 of four physical resource elements, respectively, called REGs. Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the DCI and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0164] Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more ECCEs may be used to transmit EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, referred to as EREG. In some cases, ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0165] RAN nodes 611 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 612. In embodiments where system 600 is an LTE system (eg, when CN 620 is a Figure 7 ), the interface 612 may be an X2 interface 612. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 611 (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC 620, and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC 620. In some specific implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide a flow control mechanism for user packets transmitted over the X2 interface, and may be used to transmit information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from the MeNB to the SeNB; information about the successful in-sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs from the SeNB to the UE 601 for user data; information about PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to the UE 601; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE; and the like. X2-C can provide intra-LTE access mobility functions, including context transfer from source eNB to target eNB, user plane transmission control, etc.; load management functions; and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0166] When system 600 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., when CN 620 is Figure 8In an implementation scheme of the 5GC 820 in the 5GC 620, the interface 612 may be an Xn interface 612. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 611 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC 620, between a RAN node 611 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB connected to the 5GC 620, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC 620. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functions. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for the UE 601 in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) includes functions for managing UE mobility in a connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 611. The mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 611 to the new (target) serving RAN node 611; and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving RAN node 611 and the new (target) serving RAN node 611. The protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on an Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of a UDP and / or IP layer 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 SCTP. SCTP may be on top of the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transport 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 or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0167] RAN 610 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network—in this embodiment, communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 620. The CN 620 may include a plurality of network elements 622 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / users (e.g., users of UE 601) connected to the CN 620 via the RAN 610. The components of the CN 620 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the above-mentioned network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of the CN 620 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of the CN 620 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. The NFV architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (alternatively performed by proprietary hardware). In other words, the NFV system may be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0168] Generally speaking, the application server 630 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 630 may also be configured to support one or more communication services for the UE 601 via the EPC 620 (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.).

[0169] In an embodiment, CN 620 may be a 5GC (referred to as "5GC 620" or the like), and RAN 610 may be connected to CN 620 via an NG interface 613. In an embodiment, NG interface 613 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 614, which carries traffic data between RAN node 611 and UPF; and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 615, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 611 and AMF. Figure 8 An implementation of CN 620 as 5GC 620 is discussed in more detail.

[0170] In an embodiment, CN 620 may be a 5G CN (referred to as "5GC 620", etc.), while in other embodiments, CN 620 may be an EPC. In the case where CN 620 is an EPC (referred to as "EPC 620", etc.), RAN 610 may be connected to CN 620 via an S1 interface 613. In an embodiment, S1 interface 613 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 614, which carries traffic data between RAN node 611 and S-GW; and an S1-MME interface 615, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 611 and MME. Figure 7 An exemplary architecture is shown in which CN 620 is an EPC 620 .

[0171] Figure 7 FIG. 7 shows an exemplary architecture of a system 700 including a first CN 720 according to various embodiments. In this example, the system 700 may implement the LTE standard, where the CN 720 is a Figure 6 In addition, UE 701 can communicate with Figure 6 The UE 601 is the same as or similar to the UE 601, and the E-UTRAN 710 may be Figure 6 The CN 720 may be a RAN that is the same as or similar to the RAN 610 of the mobile station, and may include the RAN node 611 discussed previously. The CN 720 may include an MME 721, an S-GW 722, a P-GW 723, an HSS 724, and an SGSN 725.

[0172] The MME 721 may be similar in function to the control plane of a conventional SGSN, and may implement MM functions to keep track of the current location of the UE 701. The MME 721 may perform various MM procedures to manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. MM (also referred to as "EPS MM" or "EMM" in an E-UTRAN system) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, data stores, etc. for maintaining knowledge of the current location of the UE 701, providing user identity confidentiality to users / subscribers, and / or performing other similar services. Each UE 701 and MME 721 may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and when the attachment procedure is successfully completed, an MM context may be established in the UE 701 and the MME 721. The MM context may be a data structure or database object that stores MM-related information of the UE 701. The MME 721 may be coupled to the HSS 724 via an S6a reference point, to the SGSN 725 via an S3 reference point, and to the S-GW 722 via an S11 reference point.

[0173] SGSN 725 may be a node that serves UE 701 by tracking the location of individual UE 701 and performing security functions. In addition, SGSN 725 may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between 2G / 3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by MME 721; handling of UE 701 time zone functions, as specified by MME 721; and MME selection for handover to E-UTRAN 3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between MME 721 and SGSN 725 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in an idle state and / or an active state.

[0174] The HSS 724 may include a database for network users, which includes subscription-related information for supporting network entities in handling communication sessions. The EPC 720 may include one or several HSSs 724, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 724 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing solutions, location dependencies, etc. The S6a reference point between the HSS 724 and the MME 721 may enable the transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing users to access the EPC 720 between the HSS 724 and the MME 721.

[0175] The S-GW 722 may terminate the S1 interface 613 towards the RAN 710 (at Figure 7 The S-GW 722 may be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and enforcement of certain policies. The S11 reference point between the S-GW 722 and the MME 721 may provide a control plane between the MME 721 and the S-GW 722. The S-GW 722 may be coupled to the P-GW 723 via the S5 reference point.

[0176] The P-GW 723 may terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN 730. The P-GW 723 may communicate with the PDN 730 via the IP interface 625 (see, e.g., Figure 6 ) routes data packets between EPC 720 and external networks such as a network including an application server 630 (alternatively referred to as an "AF"). In an embodiment, P-GW 723 can communicate with the EPC 720 via IP communication interface 625 (see, e.g., Figure 6 ) is communicatively coupled to an application server ( Figure 6 Application server 630 or Figure 7The S5 reference point between the P-GW 723 and the S-GW 722 may provide user plane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW 723 and the S-GW 722. The S5 reference point may also be used for S-GW 722 relocation due to the mobility of the UE 701 and whether the S-GW 722 needs to be connected to a non-colocated P-GW 723 for the required PDN connectivity. The P-GW 723 may also include nodes for policy implementation and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF (not shown)). In addition, the SGi reference point between the P-GW 723 and the packet data network (PDN) 730 may be an operator external public, private PDN, or an internal operator packet data network, for example, for providing IMS services. The P-GW 723 may be coupled to the PCRF 726 via a Gx reference point.

[0177] PCRF 726 is a policy and charging control element of EPC 720. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF 726 in a domestic public land mobile network (HPLMN) associated with an Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session of UE 701. In a roaming scenario with local traffic breakout, there may be two PCRFs associated with the IP-CAN session of UE 701: a domestic PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN). PCRF 726 may be communicatively coupled to application server 730 via P-GW 723. Application server 730 may signal PCRF 726 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate QoS and charging parameters. PCRF 726 may configure the rule to a PCEF (not shown) with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which starts QoS and charging as specified by application server 730. The Gx reference point between PCRF 726 and P-GW 723 may allow for the transfer of QoS policies and charging rules from PCRF 726 to PCEF in P-GW 723. The Rx reference point may reside between PDN 730 (or "AF 730") and PCRF 726.

[0178] Figure 8The architecture of a system 800 including a second CN 820 according to various embodiments is shown. The system 800 is shown to include a UE 801, which may be the same or similar to the previously discussed UE 601 and UE 701; an (R) AN 810, which may be the same or similar to the previously discussed RAN 610 and RAN 710, and which may include the previously discussed RAN node 611; and a DN 803, which may be, for example, an operator service, Internet access, or a 3rd party service; and a 5GC 820. The 5GC 820 may include an AUSF 822; an AMF 821; an SMF 824; an NEF 823; a PCF 826; an NRF 825; an UDM 827; an AF 828; an UPF 802; and an NSSF 829.

[0179] UPF 802 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnected with DN 803, and a branch point to support multi-host PDU sessions. UPF 802 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement) on the user plane, perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 802 may include an uplink classifier for supporting routing of traffic flows to data networks. DN 803 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. DN 803 may include or be similar to the application server 630 discussed previously. UPF 802 may interact with SMF 824 via the N4 reference point between SMF 824 and UPF 802.

[0180] The AUSF 822 may store data for authentication of the UE 801 and handle authentication-related functions. The AUSF 822 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 822 may communicate with the AMF 821 via the N12 reference point between the AMF 821 and the AUSF 822; and may communicate with the UDM 827 via the N13 reference point between the UDM 827 and the AUSF 822. In addition, the AUSF 822 may present an interface based on the Nausf service.

[0181] AMF 821 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering UE 801, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 821 may be the termination point of the N11 reference point between AMF 821 and SMF 824. AMF 821 may provide transport for SM messages between UE 801 and SMF 824, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 821 may also provide a transport mechanism for UE 801 and SMSF ( Figure 8 801). AMF 821 may act as a SEAF, which may include interaction with AUSF 822 and UE 801, receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 801 authentication process. In the case of USIM-based authentication, AMF 821 may retrieve security material from AUSF822. AMF 821 may also include an SCM function that receives keys from SEA for deriving access network-specific keys. In addition, AMF 821 may be a termination point for the RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between (R)AN 810 and AMF821; and AMF 821 may be a termination point for NAS (N1) signaling, and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0182] AMF 821 may also support NAS signaling with UE 801 over the N3 IWF interface. N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. N3IWF may be the termination point for the N2 interface between (R)AN 810 and AMF 821 for the control plane, and may be the termination point for the N3 reference point between (R)AN 810 and UPF 802 for the user plane. Thus, AMF 821 may process N2 signaling for PDU sessions and QoS from SMF 824 and AMF 821, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunnels, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and perform QoS corresponding to N3 packet markings, taking into account QoS requirements associated with such markings received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 801 and the AMF 821 via the N1 reference point between the UE 801 and the AMF 821, and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 801 and the UPF 802. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 801. The AMF 821 may present an interface based on the Namf service, and may be an N14 reference point between the two AMF 821 and the AMF 821 and the 5G-EIR ( Figure 8 The termination point of the N17 reference point between the two (not shown).

[0183] UE 801 may need to register with AMF 821 in order to receive network services. RM is used to register UE 801 with the network (e.g., AMF 821) or deregister the UE, and establish a UE context in the network (e.g., AMF 821). UE 801 may operate in the RM-REGISTERED state or the RM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, UE 801 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 821 does not maintain the valid location or routing information of UE 801, so AMF 821 cannot reach UE 801. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 801 is registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 821 may maintain the valid location or routing information of UE 801, so AMF 821 can reach UE 801. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 801 may perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by the expiration of a periodic update timer (e.g., to notify the network that UE 801 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0184] AMF 821 may store one or more RM contexts for UE 801, each RM context being associated with a specific access to the network. An RM context may be a data structure, a database object, or the like, which indicates or stores, among other things, a registration status and a periodic update timer for each access type. AMF 821 may also store a 5GC MM context which may be the same or similar to the (E)MM context discussed previously. In various embodiments, AMF 821 may store CE mode B restriction parameters for UE 801 in an associated MM context or RM context. AMF 821 may also derive values ​​from usage setting parameters of the UE already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context) when necessary.

[0185] The CM may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 801 and the AMF 821 over the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between the UE 801 and the CN 820, and includes a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., an RRC connection or a UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and an N2 connection of the UE 801 between the AN (e.g., the RAN 810) and the AMF 821. The UE 801 may operate in one of two CM states (CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When the UE 801 operates in the CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 801 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 821 over the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 810 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 801. When the UE 801 operates in the CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 801 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 821 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 810 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 801. Establishing an N2 connection between the (R)AN 810 and the AMF 821 may cause the UE 801 to transition from the CM-IDLE mode to the CM-CONNECTED mode, and when the N2 signaling between the (R)AN 810 and the AMF 821 is released, the UE 801 may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode.

[0186] SMF 824 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring traffic steering of UPF to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface toward the policy control function; control portion of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to AN via AMF over N2; and determining the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between a UE 801 and a data network (DN) 803 identified by a data network name (DNN). A PDU session may be established upon request by UE 801, modified upon request by UE 801 and 5GC 820, and released upon request by UE 801 and 5GC 820 using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1 reference point between UE 801 and SMF 824. Upon request from an application server, 5GC 820 may trigger a specific application in UE 801. In response to receiving a trigger message, UE 801 may deliver the trigger message (or relevant parts / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE 801. The identified applications in UE 801 may establish a PDU session to a specific DNN. SMF 824 may check whether the UE 801 request complies with user subscription information associated with UE 801. In this regard, SMF 824 may retrieve and / or request to receive update notifications about SMF 824 level subscription data from UDM 827.

[0187] SMF 824 may include the following roaming functions: handling local execution to apply QoS SLA (VPLMN); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system, in VPLMN); and support interaction with external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication through external DN. In a roaming scenario, an N16 reference point between two SMFs 824 may be included in the system 800, which may be located between an SMF 824 in a visited network and another SMF 824 in a home network. In addition, SMF 824 may present an interface based on Nsmf services.

[0188] NEF 823 may provide a device for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 828), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, NEF 823 may authenticate, authorize and / or restrict AF. NEF 823 may also convert information exchanged with AF 828 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 823 may convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 823 may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on the exposure capabilities of other network functions. The information may be stored at NEF 823 as structured data, or stored at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed to other NFs and AFs by NEF 823, and / or used for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF 823 may present an interface based on Nnef services.

[0189] NRF 825 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 825 also maintains information of available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the term "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of a program code. In addition, NRF 825 may present an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0190] The PCF 826 may provide for control plane functions to enforce their policy rules, and may also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. The PCF 826 may also implement a FE to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 827. The PCF 826 may communicate with the AMF 821 via the N15 reference point between the PCF 826 and the AMF 821, which may include the PCF 826 in the visited network and the AMF 821 in the case of a roaming scenario. The PCF 826 may communicate with the AF 828 via the N5 reference point between the PCF 826 and the AF 828; and communicate with the SMF 824 via the N7 reference point between the PCF 826 and the SMF 824. The system 800 and / or the CN 820 may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF 826 (in the home network) and the PCF 826 in the visited network. In addition, the PCF 826 may present an interface based on Npcf services.

[0191] UDM 827 may process subscription-related information to support the handling of communication sessions by network entities, and may store subscription data of UE 801. For example, subscription data may be transmitted between UDM 827 and AMF via an N8 reference point between UDM 827 and AMF 821. UDM 827 may include two parts: application FE and UDR ( Figure 8 FE and UDR are not shown). UDR can store subscription data and policy data of UDM 827 and PCF 826, and / or structured data for exposure and application data of NEF 823 (including PFD for application detection, application request information of multiple UE 801). Nudr service-based interface can be presented by UDR 221 to allow UDM 827, PCF 826 and NEF 823 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete and subscribe to notifications of related data changes in UDR. UDM may include UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. In different transactions, several different front ends may serve the same user. UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in UDR, and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management and subscription management. UDR can interact with SMF 824 via the N10 reference point between UDM 827 and SMF 824. UDM 827 may also support SMS management, where SMS-FE implements similar application logic as described above. In addition, UDM 827 may present an interface based on Nudm services.

[0192] AF 828 can provide the influence of applications on traffic routing, provide access to NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. NCE can be a mechanism that allows 5GC 820 and AF 828 to provide information to each other via NEF 823, which can be used for edge computing implementation. In such implementations, network operators and third-party services can be hosted near the UE 801 access point of the attachment to achieve effective service delivery through reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transmission network. For edge computing implementation, 5GC can select UPF 802 near UE 801 and perform traffic steering from UPF 802 to DN 803 via N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by AF 828. In this way, AF 828 can affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 828 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 828 to interact directly with the relevant NF. In addition, AF 828 can present an interface based on Naf services.

[0193] NSSF 829 may select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 801. If necessary, NSSF 829 may also determine the allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAI. NSSF 829 may also determine the AMF set, or a list of candidate AMF 821, to serve UE 801 based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying NRF 825. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 801 may be triggered by AMF 821, where UE 801 registers by interacting with NSSF 829, which may cause AMF 821 to change. NSSF 829 may interact with AMF 821 via the N22 reference point between AMF 821 and NSSF 829; and may communicate with AMF 821 via the N31 reference point ( Figure 8 The NSSF 829 may communicate with another NSSF 829 in the visited network (not shown). In addition, the NSSF 829 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0194] As discussed previously, CN 820 may include SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages from / to other entities, such as SMS-GMSC / IWMSC / SMS routers, to / from UE 801. SMS may also interact with AMF 821 and UDM 827 for notification procedures that UE 801 is available for SMS transmission (e.g., setting a UE unreachable flag and notifying UDM 827 when UE 801 is available for SMS).

[0195] CN 120 may also include Figure 8 Other elements not shown, such as data storage system / architecture, 5G-EIR, SEPP, etc. The data storage system may include SDSF, UDSF, etc. Any NF may communicate with any NF and UDSF ( Figure 8 The N18 reference point between the NF and the NF (not shown) stores or retrieves unstructured data in or from the UDSF (e.g., UE context). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data, or individual NFs may each have their own UDSF located at or near a single NF. In addition, the UDSF may present an interface based on the Nudsf service ( Figure 8 (not shown). The 5G-EIR may be a NF that checks the status of the PEI to determine whether to blacklist a specific equipment / entity from the network; and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0196] Additionally, there may be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in a NF; however, for clarity, Figure 8These interfaces and reference points are omitted. In one example, CN 820 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., MME 721) and AMF 821 to enable intercommunication between CN 820 and CN 720. Other example interfaces / reference points may include an interface based on N5g-EIR services presented by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between an NRF in a visited network and an NRF in a home network; and an N31 reference point between an NSSF in a visited network and an NSSF in a home network.

[0197] Fig. 9 An example of infrastructure equipment 900 according to various embodiments is shown. Infrastructure equipment 900 (or "system 900") can be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node (such as the RAN node 611 and / or AP 606 shown and described previously), an application server 630, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, system 900 can be implemented in or by a UE.

[0198] System 900 includes application circuit 905, baseband circuit 910, one or more radio front end modules (RFEM) 915, memory circuit 920, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 925, power tee circuit 930, network controller circuit 935, network interface connector 940, satellite positioning circuit 945 and user interface 950. In some embodiments, device 900 may include additional elements, such as, for example, memory / storage, display, camera, sensor, or input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuit may be included separately in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU or other similar implementations.

[0199] The application circuit 905 includes circuits 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, 2C or general programmable serial interface module, real-time clock (RTC), timer-counter including interval timer and watchdog timer, general input / output (I / O or IO), memory card controller such as secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar products, universal serial bus (USB) interface, mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface and joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of application circuit 905 can be coupled with memory / storage element or can include memory / storage element, and can be configured to execute instructions stored in memory / storage element to enable various applications or operating systems to run on system 900. In some embodiments, memory / storage element can be on-chip memory circuit, which can 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.

[0200] The processor of the application circuit 905 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, the application circuit 905 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of the application circuit 905 may include one or more Intel FPGAs. 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(TM), Inc. and MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior P-class processor; etc. In some embodiments, system 900 may not utilize application circuit 905, and instead may include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from an EPC or 5GC.

[0201] In some implementations, the application circuit 905 may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, and the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. For example, the programmable processing device may be one or more field programmable devices (FPDs), such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs, such as structured ASICs, and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such implementations, the circuitry of the application circuit 905 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, as well as other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, and the like of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such an embodiment, the circuitry of the application circuit 905 may include a memory unit (e.g., an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, a static memory (e.g., a static random access memory (SRAM), an anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic architectures, data, etc. in a look-up table (LUT), etc.

[0202] Baseband circuit 910 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Fig.11 The various hardware electronic components of baseband circuit 910 are discussed.

[0203] The user interface circuit 950 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the system 900, or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with the system 900. The user interface may include, but is 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 touch pad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0204] The radio front end module (RFEM) 915 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, e.g., below). Fig.11Antenna array 1111), and the RFEM 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 915 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0205] The memory circuit 920 may include one or more of the following: a volatile memory including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and a non-volatile memory (NVM) including a high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as a "flash memory"), a phase change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may be combined with and The memory circuit 920 may be implemented as one or more of: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0206] The PMIC 925 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as a battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of a brownout (undervoltage) and a surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 930 may provide power extracted from a network cable to provide both power and data connections for the infrastructure equipment 900 using a single cable.

[0207] The network controller circuit 935 may provide connectivity to the network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet based on a GRE tunnel, Ethernet based on a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. A physical connection may be used to provide a network connection to / from the infrastructure equipment 900 via a network interface connector 940, which may be an electrical connection (commonly referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. The network controller circuit 935 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuit 935 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0208] The positioning circuit 945 includes circuits for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by the positioning network of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States, the Global Navigation System (GLONASS) of Russia, the Galileo system of the European Union, the Beidou Navigation Satellite System of China, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) of Japan, the Doppler Orbit Chart and Satellite Integrated Radio Positioning (DORIS) of France, etc. for navigation), etc. The positioning circuit 945 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including 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, the positioning circuit 945 may include a micro technology (micro PNT) IC for positioning, navigation and timing, which uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 945 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 910 and / or RFEM 915 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 945 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 905, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., RAN node 611, etc.), etc.

[0209] Fig. 9 The components shown may communicate with each other using interface circuitry that 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, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems may be included, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0210] Fig.10 An example of a platform 1000 (or "device 1000") according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 1000 may be suitable for use as a UE 601, 602, 701, an application server 630, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 1000 may include any combination of components shown in the example. The components of the platform 1000 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), part of an IC, a discrete electronic device, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform 1000, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. Fig.10The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 1000. 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 implementations.

[0211] Application circuit 1005 includes circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and LDO, interrupt controller, serial interface (such as SPI), I 2 The processor (or core) of the application circuit 1005 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 1000. In some embodiments, 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.

[0212] The processor of the application circuit 905 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, the application circuit 905 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein.

[0213] As an example, the processor of the application circuit 1005 may include a processor based on Architecture Core TM Processors such as Quark TM 、Atom TM , i3, i5, i7 or MCU class processors, or available from Santa Clara, CA The processor of application circuit 1005 may also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Inc.'s A5-A9 processors, Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM Processor, Texas Instruments, Open Multimedia 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 implementations, the application circuit 1005 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 1005 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package, such as company( Edison Corporation TM or Galileo TM SoC board.

[0214] Additionally or alternatively, the application circuit 1005 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more field programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs, etc.; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), etc.; ASICs such as structured ASICs, etc.; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); etc. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 1005 may include logic blocks or logic structures, and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions such as the processes, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 1005 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), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc.

[0215] The baseband circuit 1010 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Fig.11The various hardware electronic components of baseband circuit 1010 are discussed.

[0216] The RFEM 1015 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, e.g., below). Fig.11 Antenna array 1111), and the RFEM can be connected to multiple antennas. In an alternative implementation, both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions can be implemented in the same physical RFEM 1015 combining both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0217] The memory circuit 1020 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a quantitative system memory. For example, the memory circuit 1020 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. The memory circuit 1020 may be developed according to the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) based low power double data rate (LPDDR) design such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 1020 may be implemented as one or more of a solder-in package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP), or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low-power implementation, the memory circuit 1020 may be an on-chip memory or register associated with the application circuit 1005. In order to provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 1020 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, among others, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, a resistive change memory, a phase change memory, a holographic memory, or a chemical memory. For example, the computer platform 1000 may be combined with a computer obtained from and Three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memory.

[0218] Removable memory circuitry 1023 may include devices, circuitry, housings / casings, ports or receptacles, etc., for coupling portable data storage devices to platform 1000. 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 disks, external HDDs, etc.

[0219] The platform 1000 may further include an interface circuit (not shown) for connecting external devices to the platform 1000. External devices connected to the platform 1000 via the interface circuit include a sensor circuit 1021 and an electromechanical component (EMC) 1022, and a removable memory device coupled to the removable memory circuit 1023.

[0220] Sensor circuit 1021 comprises a device, module or subsystem that is intended to detect events or changes in its environment and to send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including an accelerometer, a gyroscope and / or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope and / or a magnetometer; a level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.), a depth sensor, an ambient light sensor, an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0221] The EMC 1022 includes devices, modules or subsystems that are intended to enable the platform 1000 to change its state, position and / or orientation or to move or control a mechanism or (sub) system. In addition, the EMC 1022 may be configured to generate messages / signaling and send messages / signaling to other components of the platform 1000 to indicate the current state of the EMC 1022. Examples of the EMC 1022 include one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and / or solid-state relays (SSRs)), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible sound generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, the platform 1000 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 1022 based on one or more capture events and / or instructions or control signals received from a service provider and / or various clients.

[0222] In some specific implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 1000 to the positioning circuit 1045. The positioning circuit 1045 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by the positioning network of the GNSS. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the GPS of the United States, the GLONASS of Russia, the Galileo system of the European Union, the Beidou navigation satellite system of China, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, QZSS of Japan, DORIS of France, etc.), etc. The positioning circuit 1045 may include various hardware elements (e.g., including 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, the positioning circuit 1045 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 1045 may also be part of the baseband circuit 910 and / or the RFEM 1015 or interact with it to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. Positioning circuitry 1045 may also provide location data and / or time data to application circuitry 1005 , which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (eg, radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, and the like.

[0223] In some implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 1000 with a near field communication (NFC) circuit 1040. The NFC circuit 1040 is configured to provide contactless short-range communication based on the radio frequency identification (RFID) standard, where magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between the NFC circuit 1040 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touch point") external to the platform 1000. The NFC circuit 1040 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 the NFC circuit 1040 by executing an 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 a short-range RF signal. The RF signal may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transfer stored data to the NFC circuit 1040, or initiate data transfer between the NFC circuit 1040 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) proximate to the platform 1000.

[0224] The driver circuit 1046 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the platform 1000. The driver circuit 1046 may include various drivers to allow other components of the platform 1000 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the platform 1000. For example, the driver circuit 1046 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface of the platform 1000, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 1021 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 1021, an EMC driver for obtaining an actuator position of the EMC 1022 and / or controlling and allowing access to the EMC 1022, 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.

[0225] A power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1025 (also referred to as “power management circuit 1025”) may manage power provided to various components of the platform 1000. Specifically, the PMIC 1025 may control power selection, voltage regulation, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion relative to the baseband circuit 1010. When the platform 1000 is capable of being powered by a battery 1030, for example, when the device is included in a UE 601, 602, 701, a PMIC 1025 may be generally included.

[0226] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1025 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the platform 1000. For example, if the platform 1000 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which the platform is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the platform 1000 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 1000 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and no operations such as channel quality feedback, handovers, etc. are performed. The platform 1000 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device wakes up periodically again to listen to the network and then powers off again. The platform 1000 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power saving modes may prevent the device from using the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0227] The battery 1030 can power the platform 1000, but in some examples, the platform 1000 can be mounted in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 1030 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 1030 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0228] In some implementations, the battery 1030 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or a battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in the platform 1000 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 1030. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 1030, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 1030, to provide fault prediction. The BMS may transmit information about the battery 1030 to the application circuit 1005 or other components of the platform 1000. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 1005 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 1030 or the current from the battery 1030. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 1000 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0229] A power block or other power source coupled to the grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 1030. In some examples, the power block XS30 can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform 1000. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of the battery 1030 and therefore the current required. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standard published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance.

[0230] The user interface circuit 1050 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present in or connected to the platform 1000, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 1000 and / or a peripheral component interface designed to implement interaction with the peripheral components of the platform 1000. The user interface circuit 1050 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, 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 touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where outputs of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. are generated or produced by the operation of the platform 1000. The output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printers, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor circuit 1021 may be used as an input device circuit (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.), and one or more EMCs may be used as output device circuits (e.g., actuators for providing tactile feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuit may be included to read an electronic tag and / or connect to another NFC-enabled device, the NFC circuit including an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0231] Although not shown, the components of platform 1000 may communicate with each other using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, a time-triggered protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus / IX, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0232] Fig.11 1 shows exemplary components of a baseband circuit 1110 and a radio front end module (RFEM) 1115 according to various embodiments. The baseband circuit 1110 corresponds to Fig. 9 and Fig.10 Baseband circuits 910 and 1010. RFEM 1115 corresponds to Fig. 9 and Fig.10 RFEM 915 and 1015. As shown, RFEM 1115 may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry 1106, front end module (FEM) circuitry 1108, and antenna array 1111 coupled together at least as shown.

[0233] The baseband circuit 1110 includes circuits and / or control logic components configured to execute various radio / network protocols and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 1106. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuit of the baseband circuit 1110 may include a fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping function. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 1110 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The implementation of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions is not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments. The baseband circuit 1110 is configured to process the baseband signal received from the receiving signal path of the RF circuit 1106 and generate a baseband signal for the transmitting signal path of the RF circuit 1106. The baseband circuit 1110 is configured to communicate with the application circuit 905 / 1005 (see Fig. 9 and Fig.10 ) to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuit 1106. Baseband circuit 1110 can handle various radio control functions.

[0234] The aforementioned circuits and / or control logic components of the baseband circuit 1110 may include one or more single-core or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor 1104A, a 4G / LTE baseband processor 1104B, a 5G / NR baseband processor 1104C, or some other baseband processors 1104D for other existing generations, generations under development or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., the sixth generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 1104A-1104D may be included in a module stored in the memory 1104G and executed via a central processing unit (CPU) 1104E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 1104A-1104D may be provided as a hardware accelerator (e.g., FPGA, ASIC, etc.) loaded with appropriate bitstreams or logic blocks stored in corresponding memory units. In various embodiments, the memory 1104G may store program code of a real-time OS (RTOS), which, when executed by the CPU 1104E (or other baseband processor), will enable the CPU 1104E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources of the baseband circuit 1110, schedule tasks, etc. Examples of RTOS may include: Operating System Embedded (OSE) provided TM , by Mentor Nucleus RTOS provided TM , by Mentor Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Express Provided ,Depend on FreeRTOS and REX OS provided by Open Kernel (OK) OKL4 is provided, or any other suitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. In addition, the baseband circuit 1110 includes one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 1104F. The audio DSP 1104F includes elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.

[0235] In some embodiments, each of processors 1104A-1104E includes a corresponding memory interface to send data to / receive data from memory 1104G. Baseband circuit 1110 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to baseband circuit 1110; an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to the baseband circuit; Figures 9 to X Application circuit interface for sending data to / receiving data from the application circuit 905 / 1005 of T; Fig.11 RF circuit 1106 to send data / receive data from the RF circuit RF circuit interface; for receiving data from one or more wireless hardware elements (e.g., near field communication (NFC) components, Low power consumption components, components, etc.) to send data / receive data from these wireless hardware elements; and a power management interface for sending power or control signals to / receiving power or control signals from the PMIC 1025.

[0236] In an alternative embodiment (which can be combined with the above embodiment), the baseband circuit 1110 includes one or more digital baseband systems, which are coupled to each other and to the CPU subsystem, the audio subsystem and the interface subsystem via an interconnection subsystem. The digital baseband subsystem can also be coupled to the digital baseband interface and the mixed signal baseband subsystem via another interconnection subsystem. Each of the interconnection subsystems may include a bus system, a point-to-point connector, a network on chip (NOC) structure and / or some other suitable bus or interconnection technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include a DSP circuit, a buffer memory, a program memory, a voice processing accelerator circuit, a data converter circuit such as an analog-to-digital converter circuit and a digital-to-analog converter circuit, an analog circuit including one or more of an amplifier and a filter, and / or other similar components. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the baseband circuit 1110 may include a protocol processing circuit with one or more control circuit instances (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuit and / or the radio frequency circuit (e.g., the radio front end module 1115).

[0237] although Fig.11Not shown, but in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1110 includes various processing devices (e.g., a "multi-protocol baseband processor" or "protocol processing circuit") to operate one or more wireless communication protocols and various processing devices to implement PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuit operates or implements various protocol layers / entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, when the baseband circuit 1110 and / or the RF circuit 1106 are part of a millimeter wave communication circuit or some other suitable cellular communication circuit, the protocol processing circuit may operate LTE protocol entities and / or 5G / NR protocol entities. In the first example, the protocol processing circuit will operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, when the baseband circuit 1110 and / or the RF circuit 1106 are part of a Wi-Fi communication system, the protocol processing circuit may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols. In the second example, the protocol processing circuit will operate Wi-Fi MAC and logical link control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuit may include one or more memory structures (e.g., 1104G) for storing program code and data for operating protocol functions, and one or more processing cores for executing program code and performing various operations using data. The baseband circuit 1110 may also support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol.

[0238] The various hardware elements of the baseband circuit 1110 discussed herein may be implemented as, for example, a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuit 1110 may be appropriately combined in a single chip or a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 1110 and the RF circuit 1106 may be implemented together, such as, for example, a system on a chip (SOC) or a system-in-package (SiP). In another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 1110 may be implemented as a separate SoC communicatively coupled to the RF circuit 1106 (or multiple instances of the RF circuit 1106). In yet another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 1110 and the application circuit 905 / 1005 may be implemented together as a separate SoC mounted to the same circuit board (e.g., a "multi-chip package").

[0239] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1110 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1110 may support communications with E-UTRAN or other WMANs, WLANs, WPANs. Embodiments in which the baseband circuit 1110 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0240] RF circuit 1106 may enable communication with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 1106 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuit 1106 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting an RF signal received from FEM circuit 1108 and providing a baseband signal to baseband circuit 1110. RF circuit 1106 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting a baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 1110 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to FEM circuit 1108.

[0241] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 1106 may include a mixer circuit 1106a, an amplifier circuit 1106b, and a filter circuit 1106c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 1106 may include a filter circuit 1106c and the mixer circuit 1106a. The RF circuit 1106 may also include a synthesizer circuit 1106d for synthesizing frequencies used by the mixer circuit 1106a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1106a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 1108 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 1106d. The amplifier circuit 1106b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 1106c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuit 1110 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1106a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0242] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1106a of the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 1106d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 1108. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuit 1110 and may be filtered by filter circuit 1106c.

[0243] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1106a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1106a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1106a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1106a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0244] 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, the RF circuit 1106 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 1110 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 1106.

[0245] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0246] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1106d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 1106d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0247] Synthesizer circuit 1106d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a divider control input for use by mixer circuit 1106a of RF circuit 1106. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1106d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0248] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 1110 or application circuitry 905 / 1005 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuitry 905 / 1005.

[0249] The synthesizer circuit 1106d of the RF circuit 1106 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 frequency 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 a 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 element 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. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0250] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1106d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and can be used with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1106 can include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0251] FEM circuitry 1108 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from antenna array 1111, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuitry 1106 for further processing. FEM circuitry 1108 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by RF circuitry 1106 for transmission by one or more antenna elements in antenna array 1111. In various embodiments, amplification by the transmit or receive signal paths may be accomplished only in RF circuitry 1106, only in FEM circuitry 1108, or in both RF circuitry 1106 and FEM circuitry 1108.

[0252] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 1108 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit 1108 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 1108 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 1106). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 1108 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 1106), and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 1111.

[0253] The antenna array 1111 includes one or more antenna elements, each of which is configured to convert an electrical signal into a radio wave to travel through the air and convert the received radio wave into an electrical signal. For example, a digital baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 1110 is converted into an analog RF signal (e.g., a modulated waveform), which is amplified and transmitted via the antenna elements of the antenna array 1111 including one or more antenna elements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formed into a variety of arrangements as known and / or discussed herein. The antenna array 1111 may include a microstrip antenna or a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. The antenna array 1111 may be formed as a patch of metal foil of various shapes (e.g., a patch antenna) and may be coupled to the RF circuit 1106 and / or the FEM circuit 1108 using a metal transmission line or the like.

[0254] The processor of the application circuit 905 / 1005 and the processor of the baseband circuit 1110 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 1110 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuit 905 / 1005 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include an RRC layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a MAC layer, an RLC layer, and a PDCP layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a PHY layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0255] Fig.12 Various protocol functions that may be implemented in a wireless communication device according to some embodiments are shown. Specifically, Fig.12An arrangement 1200 is included to show the interconnection between various protocol layers / entities. Various protocol layers / entities operating in conjunction with 5G / NR system standards and LTE system standards are provided. Fig.12 The following description, but Fig.12 Some or all aspects of the invention may also be applicable to other wireless communication network systems.

[0256] In addition to other higher layer functions not shown, the protocol layers of arrangement 1200 may also include one or more of PHY 1210, MAC 1220, RLC 1230, PDCP 1240, SDAP 1247, RRC 1255, and NAS layer 1257. These protocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g., Fig.12 Items 1259, 1256, 1250, 1249, 1245, 1235, 1225, and 1215).

[0257] PHY 1210 can send and receive physical layer signals 1205, which can be received or sent from one or more other communication devices to one or more other communication devices. Physical layer signals 1205 may include one or more physical channels, such as those discussed herein. PHY 1210 may also perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and switching purposes) and other measurements used by higher layers (e.g., RRC1255). PHY 1210 may also further perform error detection on transmission channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transmission channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. In an embodiment, an instance of PHY 1210 may process a request from an instance of MAC 1220 and provide an indication thereof via one or more PHY-SAP 1215. According to some embodiments, the request and indication transmitted via PHY-SAP 1215 may include one or more transmission channels.

[0258] An instance of MAC 1220 may process requests from an instance of RLC 1230 and provide indications thereto via one or more MAC-SAPs 1225. These requests and indications transmitted via MAC-SAP 1225 may include one or more logical channels. MAC 1220 may perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels onto TBs to be delivered to PHY 1210 via transport channels, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs delivered from PHY 1210 via transport channels to one or more logical channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, and logical channel prioritization.

[0259] An instance of RLC 1230 may process requests from an instance of PDCP 1240 and provide indications thereto via one or more radio link control service access points (RLC-SAPs) 1235. These requests and indications transmitted via RLC-SAPs 1235 may include one or more logical channels. RLC 1230 may operate in a variety of operating modes, including: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). RLC 1230 may perform transmission of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission. RLC 1230 may also perform resegmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transmission, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transmission, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect protocol errors for AM data transmission, and perform RLC re-establishment.

[0260] An instance of PDCP 1240 may process requests from an instance of RRC 1255 and / or an instance of SDAP 1247 and provide indications thereto via one or more Packet Data Convergence Protocol Service Points (PDCP-SAPs) 1245. These requests and indications transmitted via PDCP-SAPs 1245 may include one or more radio bearers. PDCP 1240 may perform header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SNs), perform in-order delivery of upper layer PDUs when lower layers are reestablished, eliminate duplication of lower layer SDUs when lower layers are reestablished for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM, encrypt and decrypt control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification on control plane data, control timer-based data discard, and perform security operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0261] An instance of SDAP 1247 may process requests from one or more higher layer protocol entities and provide instructions thereto via one or more SDAP-SAPs 1249. These requests and instructions transmitted via SDAP-SAPs 1249 may include one or more QoS flows. SDAP 1247 may map QoS flows to DRBs and vice versa, and may also mark QFIs in DL and UL packets. A single SDAP entity 1247 may be configured for a separate PDU session. In the UL direction, NG-RAN 610 may control the mapping of QoS flows to DRBs in two different ways (reflective mapping or explicit mapping). For reflective mapping, SDAP 1247 of UE 601 may monitor the QFI of DL packets for each DRB, and may apply the same mapping to packets flowing in the UL direction. For DRBs, SDAP 1247 of UE 601 may map UL packets belonging to a QoS flow corresponding to the QoS flow ID and PDU session observed in the DL packets of the DRB. To implement the reflective mapping, the NG-RAN 810 may mark the DL packets with a QoS flow ID over the Uu interface. The explicit mapping may involve the RRC 1255 configuring the SDAP 1247 with explicit mapping rules of QoS flows to DRBs, which may be stored and followed by the SDAP 1247. In an embodiment, the SDAP 1247 may be used only in NR implementations and may not be used in LTE implementations.

[0262] The RRC 1255 may configure aspects of one or more protocol layers, which may include one or more instances of PHY 1210, MAC 1220, RLC 1230, PDCP 1240, and SDAP 1247, via one or more Management Service Access Points (M-SAPs). In an embodiment, an instance of the RRC 1255 may process requests from one or more NAS entities 1257 and provide instructions thereto via one or more RRC-SAPs 1256. The main services and functions of the RRC 1255 may include broadcasting of system information (e.g., included in a MIB or SIB related to NAS), broadcasting of system information related to the access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of an RRC connection between the UE 601 and the RAN 610 (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.

[0263] NAS 1257 may form the highest layer of the control plane between UE 601 and AMF 821. NAS 1257 may support mobility and session management procedures of UE 601 to establish and maintain an IP connection between UE 601 and P-GW in the LTE system.

[0264] According to various embodiments, one or more protocol entities of the arrangement 1200 may be implemented in the UE 601, the RAN node 611, the AMF 821 in the NR implementation or the MME 721 in the LTE implementation, the UPF 802 in the NR implementation or the S-GW 722 and the P-GW 723 in the LTE implementation, etc., for control plane or user plane communication protocol stacks between the aforementioned devices. In such embodiments, one or more protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of the UE 601, the gNB 611, the AMF 821, etc. may communicate with corresponding peer protocol entities that may be implemented in or on another device (using services of corresponding lower layer protocol entities to perform such communication). In some embodiments, the gNB-CU of gNB 611 may host the gNB's RRC 1255, SDAP 1247, and PDCP 1240 that control operations of one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DUs of gNB 611 may each host the RLC 1230, MAC 1220, and PHY 1210 of gNB 611.

[0265] In a first example, the control plane protocol stack may include, in order from the highest layer to the lowest layer, NAS 1257, RRC 1255, PDCP 1240, RLC 1230, MAC 1220, and PHY 1210. In this example, an upper layer 1260 may be built on top of NAS 1257, which includes an IP layer 1261, SCTP 1262, and an application layer signaling protocol (AP) 1263.

[0266] In a NR specific implementation, AP 1263 can be an NG application protocol layer (NGAP or NG-AP) 1263 for the NG interface 613 defined between the NG-RAN node 611 and the AMF 821, or AP 1263 can be an Xn application protocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) 1263 for the Xn interface 612 defined between two or more RAN nodes 611.

[0267] The NG-AP 1263 may support the functions of the NG interface 613 and may include an elementary procedure (EP). The NG-AP EP may be an interaction unit between the NG-RAN node 611 and the AMF 821. The NG-AP 1263 services may include two groups: UE-associated services (e.g., services related to UE 601, 602) and non-UE-associated services (e.g., services related to the entire NG interface instance between the NG-RAN node 611 and the AMF 821). These services may include functions including, but not limited to: a paging function for sending a paging request to the NG-RAN node 611 involved in a specific paging area; a UE context management function for allowing the AMF 821 to establish, modify and / or release the UE context in the AMF 821 and the NG-RAN node 611; a mobility function for the UE 601 in ECM-CONNECTED mode, for intra-system HO to support mobility within the NG-RAN, and for inter-system HO to support mobility from / to the EPS system; a NAS signaling transport function for transmitting or rerouting NAS messages between the UE 601 and the AMF 821; a NAS node selection function for determining the association between the AMF 821 and the UE 601; an NG interface management function for setting up the NG interface and monitoring errors through the NG interface; a warning message sending function for providing a means to transmit a warning message via the NG interface or to cancel an ongoing warning message broadcast; a NAS signaling transport function for transmitting or rerouting NAS messages between the UE 601 and the AMF 821; a NAS node selection function for determining the association between the AMF 821 and the UE 601; a ... via the CN 620 is a configuration transmission function for requesting and transmitting RAN configuration information (eg, SON information, performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between two RAN nodes 611; and / or other similar functions.

[0268] The XnAP 1263 may support the functions of the Xn interface 612 and may include XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. The XnAP basic mobility procedures may include procedures for handling UE mobility within the NG RAN 611 (or E-UTRAN 710), such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN state transfer procedures, UE context retrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, procedures related to dual connectivity, etc. The XnAP global procedures may include procedures unrelated to a specific UE 601, such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RAN update procedures, cell activation procedures, etc.

[0269] In an LTE specific implementation, AP 1263 can be an S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 1263 for an S1 interface 613 defined between an E-UTRAN node 611 and an MME, or AP 1263 can be an X2 application protocol layer (X2AP or X2-AP) 1263 for an X2 interface 612 defined between two or more E-UTRAN nodes 611.

[0270] The S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 1263 may support the functionality of the S1 interface, and similar to the NG-AP discussed previously, the S1-AP may include an S1-AP EP. The S1-AP EP may be an interaction unit between the E-UTRAN node 611 and the MME 721 within the LTE CN 620. The S1-AP 1263 services may include two groups: UE-associated services and non-UE-associated services. The functions performed by these services include, but are 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.

[0271] The X2AP 1263 may support the functions of the X2 interface 612 and may include an X2AP basic mobility procedure and an X2AP global procedure. The X2AP basic mobility procedure may include a procedure for handling UE mobility within the E-UTRAN 620, such as a handover preparation and cancellation procedure, an SN state transfer procedure, a UE context retrieval and a UE context release procedure, a RAN paging procedure, a procedure related to dual connectivity, etc. The X2AP global procedure may include a procedure that is not related to a specific UE 601, such as an X2 interface setup and reset procedure, a load indication procedure, an error indication procedure, a cell activation procedure, etc.

[0272] The SCTP layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP / IP layer) 1262 may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP or XnAP messages in NR implementations, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in LTE implementations). The SCTP 1262 may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 611 and the AMF 821 / MME 721 based in part on the IP protocol supported by the IP 1261. The Internet Protocol layer (IP) 1261 may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. In some implementations, the IP layer 1261 may deliver and transmit PDUs using point-to-point transport. In this regard, the RAN node 611 may include L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) with the MME / AMF to exchange information.

[0273] In a second example, the user plane protocol stack may include SDAP 1247, PDCP 1240, RLC 1230, MAC 1220, and PHY 1210 in order from the highest layer to the lowest layer. The user plane protocol stack may be used for communication between UE 601, RAN node 611, and UPF 802 in NR implementation, or communication between S-GW 722 and P-GW 723 in LTE implementation. In this example, the upper layer 1251 may be built on top of SDAP 1247 and may include a user datagram protocol (UDP) and IP security layer (UDP / IP) 1252, a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol for a user plane layer (GTP-U) 1253, and a user plane PDU layer (UP PDU) 1263.

[0274] The transport network layer 1254 (also referred to as the "transport layer") may be built on top of the IP transport, and the GTP-U 1253 may be used on top of the UDP / IP layer 1252 (including the UDP layer and the IP layer) to carry the user plane PDU (UP-PDU). The IP layer (also referred to as the "Internet layer") may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. The IP layer may assign IP addresses to user data packets, for example, in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats.

[0275] GTP-U 1253 may 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 may be packets in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats. UDP / IP 1252 may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication of selected data flows. The RAN node 611 and the S-GW 722 may utilize the S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including an L1 layer (e.g., PHY 1210), an L2 layer (e.g., MAC 1220, RLC 1230, PDCP 1240, and / or SDAP 1247), a UDP / IP layer 1252, and GTP-U 1253. S-GW 722 and P-GW 723 may utilize an S5 / S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including an L1 layer, an L2 layer, a UDP / IP layer 1252, and a GTP-U 1253. As previously discussed, the NAS protocol may support the mobility and session management procedures of UE 601 to establish and maintain an IP connection between UE 601 and P-GW 723.

[0276] In addition, despite Fig.12Not shown, but an application layer may exist above the AP 1263 and / or transport network layer 1254. The application layer may be a layer where a user of the UE 601, RAN node 611, or other network element interacts with a software application, for example, executed by the application circuit 905 or the application circuit 1005, respectively. The application layer may also provide one or more interfaces for the software application to interact with the communication system (such as the baseband circuit 1110) of the UE 601 or RAN node 611. In some implementations, the IP layer and / or the application layer may provide the same or similar functionality as layers 5 to 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).

[0277] Fig.13 Components of a core network according to various embodiments are shown. The components of CN 720 may be implemented in one physical node or in separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In an embodiment, the components of CN 820 may be implemented in the same or similar manner as discussed herein with respect to the components of CN 720. In some embodiments, NFV is used to virtualize any or all of the above-mentioned 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 720 may be referred to as a network slice 1301, and each logical instance of CN 720 may provide specific network functions and network characteristics. A logical instance of a portion of CN 720 may be referred to as a network sub-slice 1302 (e.g., network sub-slice 1302 is shown as including P-GW 723 and PCRF 726).

[0278] As used herein, the terms "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code. A network instance may refer to information identifying a domain, which may be used for traffic detection and routing in different IP domains or in the case of overlapping IP addresses. A network slice instance may refer to a set of network function (NF) instances and the resources (e.g., computing, storage, and networking resources) required to deploy a network slice.

[0279] Regarding 5G systems (see e.g. Figure 8), a network slice always includes a RAN part and a CN part. Support for network slicing relies on the principle that traffic for different slices is handled by different PDU sessions. The network can implement different network slices by scheduling and also by providing different L1 / L2 configurations. If NAS has provided an RRC message, UE 801 provides auxiliary information for network slice selection in an appropriate RRC message. Although the network can support a large number of slices, the UE does not need to support more than 8 slices at the same time.

[0280] The network slice may include the CN 820 control plane and user plane NF, the NG-RAN 810 in the serving PLMN, and the N3IWF function in the serving PLMN. Each network slice may have a different S-NSSAI and / or may have a different SST. The NSSAI includes one or more S-NSSAIs, and each network slice is uniquely identified by the S-NSSAI. The network slice may differ in terms of supported features and network function optimizations, and / or multiple network slice instances may deliver the same service / feature, but differ for different groups of UE 801 (e.g., enterprise users). For example, each network slice may deliver different committed services and / or may be dedicated to a specific customer or enterprise. In this example, each network slice may have a different S-NSSAI with the same SST but with a different slice differentiator. In addition, a single UE may be served simultaneously by one or more network slice instances via a 5G AN and be associated with eight different S-NSSAIs. In addition, an AMF 821 instance serving a single UE 801 may belong to each network slice instance serving the UE.

[0281] Network slicing in NG-RAN 810 involves RAN slice awareness. RAN slice awareness includes differentiated processing for traffic of different network slices that have been pre-configured. Slice awareness in NG-RAN 810 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 810 supports enabling slices in terms of NG-RAN functions (e.g., a set of network functions including each slice) depends on the specific implementation. NG-RAN810 selects the RAN part of the network slice using auxiliary information provided by UE 801 or 5GC 820, which explicitly identifies one or more network slices in the pre-configured network slices in the PLMN. NG-RAN 810 also supports resource management and policy enforcement between slices according to SLA. A single NG-RAN node can support multiple slices, and NG-RAN810 can also appropriately apply appropriate RRM policies for SLA to each supported slice. NG-RAN 810 can also support QoS differentiation within a slice.

[0282] The NG-RAN 810 may also use the UE assistance information to select an AMF 821 during the initial attach, if available. The NG-RAN 810 routes the initial NAS to the AMF 821 using the assistance information. If the NG-RAN 810 cannot select the AMF 821 using the assistance information, or the UE 801 does not provide any such information, the NG-RAN 810 sends the NAS signaling to the default AMF 821, which may be in the AMF 821 pool. For subsequent access, the UE 801 provides the temporary ID assigned to the UE 801 by the 5GC 820 to enable the NG-RAN 810 to route the NAS message to the appropriate AMF 821, as long as the temporary ID is valid. The NG-RAN 810 knows and can reach the AMF 821 associated with the temporary ID. Otherwise, the method for initial attach applies.

[0283] The NG-RAN 810 supports resource isolation between slices. NG-RAN 810 resource isolation can be achieved with the help of RRM policies and protection mechanisms that should avoid starvation of shared resources if one slice breaks the service level agreement for another slice. In some implementations, NG-RAN 810 resources can be fully assigned to a slice. How the NG-RAN 810 supports resource isolation depends on the specific implementation.

[0284] Some slices may be only partially available in the network. Awareness in the NG-RAN 810 of the slices supported in its neighboring cells may be beneficial for inter-frequency mobility in connected mode. Slice availability may not change within the registration area of ​​the UE. The NG-RAN 810 and 5GC 820 are responsible for handling service requests for slices that may or may not be available in a given area. Granting or denying access to a slice may depend on factors such as support for the slice, availability of resources, and support of the requested service by the NG-RAN 810.

[0285] The UE 801 may be associated with multiple network slices simultaneously. In the case where the UE 801 is associated with multiple slices simultaneously, only one signaling connection is maintained and for intra-frequency cell reselection, the UE 801 attempts to camp on the best cell. For inter-frequency cell reselection, dedicated priorities may be used to control the frequency that the UE 801 camps on. The 5GC 820 will verify that the UE 801 has the right to access the network slice. Prior to receiving the Initial Context Setup Request message, the NG-RAN 810 may be allowed to apply some temporary / local policies based on the awareness of the specific slice that the UE 801 is requesting access to. During the Initial Context Setup, the NG-RAN 810 is informed of the slice whose resources are being requested.

[0286] NFV architecture and infrastructure can be used to virtualize one or more NFs onto physical resources including a combination of industry standard server hardware, storage hardware or switches (alternatively performed by proprietary hardware). In other words, the NFV system can be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0287] Fig.14 1400 , according to some exemplary embodiments, is a block diagram illustrating components of a NFV-enabled system 1400. System 1400 is shown to include a VIM 1402, a NFVI 1404, a VNFM 1406, a VNF 1408, an EM 1410, a NFVO 1412, and a NM 1414.

[0288] The VIM 1402 manages resources of the NFVI 1404. The NFVI 1404 may include physical or virtual resources and applications (including a hypervisor) for executing the system 1400. The VIM 1402 may utilize the NFVI 1404 to manage the lifecycle of virtual resources (e.g., creation, maintenance, and teardown of VMs associated with one or more physical resources), track VM instances, track performance, failures, and security of VM instances and associated physical resources, and expose VM instances and associated physical resources to other management systems.

[0289] The VNFM 1406 may manage the VNF 1408. The VNF 1408 may be used to perform EPC components / functions. The VNFM 1406 may manage the lifecycle of the VNF 1408 and track the performance, failures, and security of the virtual aspects of the VNF 1408. The EM 1410 may track the performance, failures, and security of the functional aspects of the VNF 1408. The tracking data from the VNFM 1406 and the EM 1410 may include, for example, PM data used by the VIM 1402 or the NFVI 1404. The VNFM 1406 and the EM 1410 may both scale up / down the number of VNFs of the system 1400.

[0290] NFVO 1412 may coordinate, authorize, release, and engage resources of NFVI 1404 in order to provide requested services (e.g., to execute EPC functions, components, or slices). NM 1414 may provide an end-user functional package responsible for network management, which may include network elements with VNFs, non-virtualized network functions, or both (management of VNFs may occur via EM 1410).

[0291] Fig.15is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some exemplary embodiments. Specifically, Fig.15 A schematic diagram of hardware resources 1500 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1510, one or more memory / storage devices 1520, and one or more communication resources 1530, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1540. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1502 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize hardware resources 1500.

[0292] Processor 1510 may include, for example, processor 1512 and processor 1514. Processor 1510 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.

[0293] The memory / storage device 1520 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1520 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, etc.

[0294] The communication resources 1530 may include an interconnect or network interface component or other suitable device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1504 or one or more databases 1506 via the network 1508. For example, the communication resources 1530 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via USB), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, (or Low power consumption) components, components and other communication components.

[0295] The instructions 1550 may include software, programs, applications, applet, applications, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 1510 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 1550 may reside in whole or in part in at least one of the processor 1510 (e.g., in a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage device 1520, or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 1550 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1500 from any combination of the peripheral device 1504 or the database 1506. Thus, the memory of the processor 1510, the memory / storage device 1520, the peripheral device 1504, and the database 1506 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0296] 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 described in the following example section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following embodiments. For another example, the circuits 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 example section below.

[0297] Example

[0298] Embodiment 1 comprises a method comprising utilizing a CWS update mechanism for NR-U or when configuring CBG based transport.

[0299] Embodiment 2 comprises the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising repeatedly using parameters from table I or II.

[0300] Embodiment 3 includes a method according to embodiment 2 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the LBT parameters and MCOT values ​​of Table II are as shown in Table III to align NR-U towards Wi-Fi, which may, for example, allow the two technologies to be equivalent.

[0301] Embodiment 4 may include the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for DLCWS adjustment, a reference DL burst is defined for CWS adjustment as one or more of the following options:

[0302] The reference burst is always 1 ms long, regardless of the subcarrier spacing, and starts from the start of the DL burst;

[0303] ● The reference burst consists of a partial SF (subframe) from the start of the DL burst + subsequent SFs that are independent of the subcarrier spacing. If the partial subframe is the only subframe included in the reference DL burst, only this partial subframe is used for CWS adjustment;

[0304] A reference burst consists of N symbols (e.g., 14) from the start of the DL burst, where N is RRC configured and may be greater than the number of symbols in a partial slot;

[0305] The reference burst consists of only part of the time slot; or

[0306] • The reference burst consists of Tms or us from the start of the DL burst, where T is for example 1 ms.

[0307] Embodiment 5 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein when CBG-based transmission is configured, NACKs are counted such that if at least one of the CBGs for a particular TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedbacks for that TB within a reference time slot set are also counted as NACKs.

[0308] Embodiment 6 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein when CBG-based transmission is configured, each feedback is counted as NACK or ACK individually for each CBG within a TB, regardless of the value of other CBG feedback for that TB.

[0309] Embodiment 7 includes a method according to embodiment 1 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.

[0310] Embodiment 8 includes a method according to embodiment 7 or some other embodiments herein, wherein a 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.

[0311] Embodiment 9 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein when CBG-based transmission is configured, NACKs are counted on a per-TB basis, which means that all CBGs for each TB are bundled into one bit. In this case, if the gNB does not schedule at least one or all unsuccessful CBGs for a TB, we have 2 options: either the TB is considered as a NACK even if all scheduled CBGs are correctly received, or the TB is not counted for CWS regulation in this case.

[0312] Embodiment 10 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein only the currently scheduled CBG is considered for deriving the bundled HARQ-ACK for CWS regulation.

[0313] Embodiment 11 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein a 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.

[0314] Embodiment 12 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein since some UEs may be configured with CBG-based transmission and other UEs will perform TB-based transmission, the percentage Z of NACKs is evaluated in one of the following ways:

[0315] 1. Z = (c * NACK CBG +t*NACK TB ) / (c*N CBG +t*N TB ) (1)

[0316] 2. Z = (u * NACK CBG +(1-u)*NACK TB ) / (u*N CBG +(1-u)*N TB ) (2)

[0317] In one embodiment, TB / CBG / CB feedback is not used for CWS regulation for one or more of the following situations:

[0318] a.TB / CBG / CB is punctured by other transmissions, e.g., URLLC;

[0319] b. In the initial part of the time slot, TB / CBG / CB is punctured due to late channel occupancy;

[0320] c. Due to BWP switching, the UE does not report HARQ-ACK for a particular PDSCH. In this case, the transmission is considered as NACK by default or ignored for CWS adjustment; or

[0321] d. If the gNB does not schedule at least one or all unsuccessful CBGs for a TB, such TB is not counted.

[0322] Embodiment 13 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein DTX is considered an indication of a conflict for self-scheduling and is considered a NACK with respect to a CWS adjustment mechanism.

[0323] Embodiment 14 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for cross-carrier scheduling, DTX is ignored in terms of the CWS adjustment mechanism.

[0324] Embodiment 15 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein another aspect to be considered is when the acquired COT is shared with an unlicensed or scheduled UE, or when PDSCH transmission is not performed by the gNB, CWS update for the gNB:

[0325] a. If the gNB performs PDSCH transmission and a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for UL transmission with overlapping time domain resources for scheduled or ungranted transmissions, in one embodiment, a CWS update is performed as described above.

[0326] b. If the gNB does not perform any PDSCH transmission, a portion of the acquired MCOT is configured for UL transmission with overlapping time domain resources:

[0327] If the eNB schedules UL transport blocks (TBs) with 25 μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH, then the gNB increases the CWS 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, where X is 10 as an example, and where Q is given by one of the following formulas:

[0328] iQ=(c*NACK CBG +t*NACK TB ) / (c*N CBG +t*N TB ), (3)

[0329] ii.Q=(u*NACK CBG +(1-u)*NACK TB ) / (u*N CBG +(1-u)*N TB ), (4)

[0330] ●If the gNB schedules UL transport blocks (TBs) with 25μs LBT in a shared COT without any PDSCH and also shares the MCOT with unlicensed UEs, CWS update is performed based on the scheduled and / or unlicensed TBs or CBGs that have been detected by the gNB.

[0331] Embodiment 16 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for Cat.4 LBT for UL transmission, the CWS is adjusted per UE and at the UE.

[0332] Embodiment 17 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the reference UL burst is defined for CWS adjustment according to one of the following options:

[0333] The reference burst is always 1 ms long, regardless of the subcarrier spacing, and starts from the start of the UL burst;

[0334] The reference burst consists of a partial SF from the start of the UL burst + subsequent SFs that are independent of the subcarrier spacing. If the partial subframe is the only subframe included in the reference UL burst, only the partial subframe is used for CWS adjustment;

[0335] The reference burst consists of N symbols from the beginning of the UL burst, where N is RRC configured and N may be greater than the number of symbols constituting the initial partial time slot;

[0336] The reference burst consists of the initial part of the time slot only; or

[0337] The reference burst consists of Tms from the start of the UL burst, where T is, for example, 1 ms.

[0338] Embodiment 18 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the gNB configures the number of symbols N so that the reference burst occurs at least in symbols ns-N, where ns is the first or last symbol of the CORESET containing the UL grant or DFI DCI.

[0339] Embodiment 19 includes any of the methods described in Embodiments 1-18 or some other embodiments herein, wherein N is evaluated as

[0340] N=N x +y, (5); or

[0341] N=N x +TA+y, (6).

[0342] Embodiment 20 includes any of the methods described in embodiments 1-19 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the gNB configures the number of time slots N such that the reference burst occurs before ns-N, where ns is the time slot containing the UL grant or DFI DCI.

[0343] Embodiment 21 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein HARQ_ID_ref is defined as the HARQ process ID of the reference burst.

[0344] Embodiment 22 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for a scheduled UE, if the NDI bit of at least one active HARQ process for the HARQ_ID_ref in the reference burst is toggled, the contention window size at the UE is reset for all priority levels.

[0345] Embodiment 23 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein if the NDI of the active HARQ process of the HARQ_ID_ref is not scheduled or the HARQ_ID_ref is not switched, the contention window size of all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value.

[0346] Embodiment 24 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein if CBG-based transmission is configured, CBGTI=1 is considered a failure, e.g., a NACK.

[0347] Embodiment 25 comprises the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein CBG is bundled to represent information about TB failure / success in CWS regulation mechanism.

[0348] Embodiment 26 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein if CBG-based transmission is configured, all CBGs of TBs transmitted in the reference burst are considered in CWS adjustment.

[0349] Embodiment 27 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein if CBG-based transmission is configured, only the CBG of the current transmission of the TB transmitted in the reference burst is considered for CWS adjustment.

[0350] Embodiment 28 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein when CBG-based transmission is configured, NACKs are counted such that if at least one of the CBGs for a particular TB receives a NACK, all other CBG feedbacks for that TB within a reference burst set are also counted as NACKs.

[0351] Embodiment 29 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein when CBG-based transmission is configured, each feedback is counted as NACK or ACK individually for each CBG within a TB, regardless of the value of other CBG feedback for that TB.

[0352] Embodiment 30 includes a method according to embodiment 1 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 implementation, a 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.

[0353] Embodiment 31 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the percentage X of NACK is evaluated by one of the following formulas:

[0354] X=(c*NACK CBG +t*NACK TB ) / (c*N CBG +t*N TB ),or

[0355] X=(u*NACK CBG +(u-1)*NACK TB ) / (u*N CBG +(u-1)*N TB )

[0356] Embodiment 32 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein if the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts is transmitted at a priority level only for the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts, the CWS is reset to a minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE.

[0357] Embodiment 33 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for ungranted uplink transmission in NR-U, if a UL grant or a DFI-DCI is received, then if a UL grant is received and the NDI bit for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref is toggled, or a DFI-DCI is received and it indicates the following:

[0358] ■ ACK for all CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref;

[0359] ■ an ACK for one of the CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref; or

[0360] ■ ACK for Y% of CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with HARQ_ID_ref, then the CWS is reset for all priority levels.

[0361] If a UL grant is received and the NDI bits of all active HARQ processes for a reference burst are not toggled, or a UL grant is received and no active HARQ process is scheduled for a reference burst, or a DFI-DCI is received, the DFI-DCI does the following:

[0362] ● not indicating ACK for all CBGs of at least one active HARQ process for the reference burst;

[0363] • X% ​​of all CBGs that do not indicate an ACK for at least one active HARQ process for a reference burst;

[0364] ● does not indicate ACK for X% of the CBGs for at least one active HARQ process associated with the HARQ_ID_ref, then increase the CWS for all priority levels at the UE to the next higher value;

[0365] If the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts is transmitted at a priority level only for the maximum CWS for K consecutive LBT attempts, the CWS is reset to the minimum value, and the value of K is determined by the specific implementation of the UE.

[0366] If there is at least one previous Cat.4 LBT UL transmission, N or more time slots have passed since its start time slot and neither UL grant nor DFI-DCI was received, where as an example, if X>0 and N=0, then N=maximum(X, corresponding UL burst length+1), otherwise, where X is RRC configured. For each previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmission (from its start time slot, N or more time slots have passed and neither UL grant nor DFI-DCI was received), the CWS for all priority levels at the UE is increased to the next higher value, and each such previous Cat-4 LBT transmission is used to adjust the CWS only once.

[0367] If the UE starts a new Cat-4 LBT UL transmission before N slots have elapsed from the previous Cat-4 LBT and has received neither a UL grant nor a DFI-DCI, the CWS is unchanged.

[0368] If the UE receives feedback for one or more previous Cat-4 LBT (SUL / AUL) transmissions for which N or more time slots have passed since its starting time slot and neither UL grant nor DFI-DCI has been received, it may recalculate the CWS as follows: i) it restores the CWS to the value used to transmit the first burst of such previous Cat-4 LBT transmissions; ii) it updates the CWS in order in the transmission order of the bursts as follows. If the feedback indicates the following:

[0369] ● ACK for all CBGs for the first slot of the burst,

[0370] ● or ACKs for X% of all CBGs in the first slot of the burst,

[0371] Then the CWS is reset, otherwise, the CWS is doubled. If the UE CWS changes while a Cat-4 LBT procedure is ongoing, the UE derives a new random backoff counter and applies it to the ongoing LBT procedure.

[0372] Embodiment 34 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein only PUSCH used for one or more of the following situations is used for CWS regulation:

[0373] a. PUSCH whose starting symbol is within the reference burst;

[0374] b. PUSCH only in the reference burst; or

[0375] c. Only the earliest PUSCH in the reference burst.

[0376] Embodiment 35 includes the method of embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein TB / CBG is not used for CWS regulation for one or more of the following:

[0377] TB / CBG punctured by other terms, e.g., URLLC;

[0378] ● In the initial part of the time slots, TB / CBGs are deleted due to late channel occupancy.

[0379] Embodiment 36 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for a multi-slot PUSCH, one of the following options may be implemented to prevent possible repetition of part of the PUSCH as a reference burst:

[0380] ● It is up to the gNB implementation to ensure that after obtaining the reference timing ns-N, there will always be a PUSCH with complete repetitions that can be used as a reference burst;

[0381] • If the reference timing ns-N is in the middle of a repetition of a TB, the UE may skip that TB and use some earlier PUSCH transmission as a reference burst;

[0382] ● A configurable threshold can be used to decide whether a TB can be used within a reference burst. The threshold can be the number of repetitions. Let the reference timing ns-N fall in the middle of the repetitions of a TB. If the number of repetitions received by the gNB is above the threshold, the HARQ-ACK for this TB can still be a good reference for CWS; otherwise, the UE can skip this TB and use some earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst;

[0383] ● A threshold may be used to determine the number of repetitions used by the gNB. The threshold may be the maximum coding rate. Let the reference timing ns-N be in the middle of the repetitions of a TB, if the coding rate of the repetitions received by the gNB is below the threshold, the current TB may be used in the reference burst. Otherwise, the UE may skip this TB and use some earlier PUSCH transmission as the reference burst;

[0384] 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 regulation;

[0385] ●Assuming multiple PUSCHs are transmitted in a reference burst, if a multi-slot PUSCH is present in the reference burst but the gNB receives only a portion of its repetitions, only the other PUSCHs are considered in the CWS regulation.

[0386] Embodiment Z01 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 36, or any other method or process described herein.

[0387] Embodiment Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 36 or any other method or process described herein.

[0388] Embodiment Z03 may include a device comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of a method described or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 36 or any other method or process described herein.

[0389] Embodiment Z04 may include a method, technique or process described or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 36, or a portion or component thereof.

[0390] Embodiment Z05 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, process, or portion thereof described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 36.

[0391] Embodiment Z06 may include a signal according to or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 36, or a portion or component thereof.

[0392] Embodiment Z07 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0393] Embodiment Z08 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0394] Embodiment Z09 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0395] Embodiment Z10 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0396] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be acquired from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0397] abbreviation

[0398] For the purposes of this document, the following abbreviations may be applied to the examples and implementations discussed herein.

[0399] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0400] 4G Fourth Generation

[0401] 5G Fifth Generation

[0402] 5GC 5G Core Network

[0403] ACK

[0404] AF Application Function

[0405] AM Confirmation Mode

[0406] AMBR Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate

[0407] AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

[0408] AN Access Network

[0409] ANR Automatic Neighbor Relation

[0410] AP application protocol, antenna port, access point

[0411] API Application Programming Interface

[0412] APN Access Point Name

[0413] ARP Assignment Retention Priority

[0414] ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

[0415] AS Access Layer

[0416] ASN.1 Abstract Syntax Notation One

[0417] AUSF authentication server function

[0418] AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

[0419] BCH Broadcast Channel

[0420] BER Bit Error Rate

[0421] BFD Beam Fault Detection

[0422] BLER Block Error Rate

[0423] BPSK Binary Phase Shift Keying

[0424] BRAS Broadband Remote Access Server

[0425] BSS Business Support System

[0426] BS Base Station

[0427] BSR Buffer Status Report

[0428] BW Bandwidth

[0429] BWP Bandwidth Part

[0430] C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0431] CA Carrier Aggregation, Certification Authority

[0432] CAPEX Capital Expenditure

[0433] CBRA Contention-based random access

[0434] CC component carrier, country code, encryption checksum

[0435] CCA Clear Channel Assessment

[0436] CCE Control Channel Element

[0437] CCCH Common Control Channel

[0438] CE Coverage Enhancement

[0439] CDM Content Delivery Network

[0440] CDMA Code Division Multiple Access

[0441] CFRA Contention-free random access

[0442] CG Cell Group

[0443] CI Cell ID

[0444] CID Cell ID (eg, positioning method)

[0445] CIM Common Information Model

[0446] CIR Carrier to Interference Ratio

[0447] CK Cryptographic Key

[0448] CM Connection Management, Conditional Mandatory

[0449] CMAS Commercial Mobile Alert Service

[0450] CMD command

[0451] CMS Cloud Management System

[0452] CO Conditional optional

[0453] CoMP Coordinated Multipoint

[0454] CORESET Control Resource Set

[0455] COTS Commercial Off-the-Shelf

[0456] CP Control Plane, Cyclic Prefix, Attachment Point

[0457] CPD Connection Point Descriptor

[0458] CPE user terminal equipment

[0459] CPICH Common Pilot Channel

[0460] CQI Channel Quality Indicator

[0461] CPU CSI processing unit, central processing unit

[0462] C / R Command / Response field bit

[0463] CRAN Cloud Radio Access Network, Cloud RAN

[0464] CRB Common Resource Block

[0465] CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check

[0466] CRI Channel State Information Resource Indicator, CSI-RS Resource Indicator

[0467] C-RNTI Cell RNTI

[0468] CS Circuit Switched

[0469] CSAR Cloud Service Archive

[0470] CSI Channel State Information

[0471] CSI-IM CSI interference measurement

[0472] CSI-RS CSI reference signal

[0473] CSI-RSRP CSI reference signal received power

[0474] CSI-RSRQ CSI reference signal reception quality

[0475] CSI-SINR CSI signal to interference plus noise ratio

[0476] CSMA Carrier Sense Multiple Access

[0477] CSMA / CA CSMA with collision avoidance

[0478] CSS Common Search Space, Cell Specific Search Space

[0479] CTS Clear to Send

[0480] CW codeword

[0481] CWS Contention Window Size

[0482] D2D Device to Device

[0483] DC dual connection, direct current

[0484] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0485] DF deployment preferences

[0486] DL Downlink

[0487] DMTF Distributed Management Task Force

[0488] DPDK Data Plane Development Kit

[0489] DM-RS, DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

[0490] DN Data Network

[0491] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0492] DRS Discovery Reference Signal

[0493] DRX Discontinuous Reception

[0494] DSL Domain Specific Language, Digital Subscriber Line

[0495] DSLAM DSL Access Multiplexer

[0496] DwPTS Downlink Pilot Time Slot

[0497] E-LAN ​​Ethernet Local Area Network

[0498] E2E End-to-End

[0499] ECCA Extended Clear Channel Assessment, Extended CCA

[0500] ECCE Enhanced Control Channel Element, Enhanced CCE

[0501] ED Energy Detection

[0502] EDGE Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (GSM Evolution)

[0503] EGMF exposes governance management functions

[0504] EGPRS Enhanced GPRS

[0505] EIR Equipment Identity Register

[0506] eLAA Enhanced License Assisted Access, enhanced LAA

[0507] EM Element Manager

[0508] eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband

[0509] EMS Element Management System

[0510] eNB Evolved Node B, E-UTRAN Node B

[0511] EN-DC E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity

[0512] EPC Evolved Packet Core

[0513] EPDCCH Enhanced PDCCH, Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0514] EPRE Energy per resource element

[0515] EPS Evolved Packet System

[0516] EREG Enhanced REG, Enhanced Resource Element Group

[0517] ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute

[0518] ETWS Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System

[0519] eUICC embedded UICC, embedded universal integrated circuit card

[0520] E-UTRA Evolved UTRA

[0521] E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN

[0522] EV2X Enhanced V2X

[0523] F1AP F1 Application Protocol

[0524] F1-C F1 control plane interface

[0525] F1-U F1 User Plane Interface

[0526] FACCH Fast Associated Control Channel

[0527] FACCH / F Fast Associated Control Channel / Full Rate

[0528] FACCH / H Fast Associated Control Channel / Half Rate

[0529] FACH Forward Access Channel

[0530] FAUSCH Fast Uplink Signalling Channel

[0531] FB Function Block

[0532] FBI Feedback

[0533] FCC Federal Communications Commission

[0534] FCCH Frequency Correction Channel

[0535] FDD Frequency Division Duplex

[0536] FDM Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0537] FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0538] FE Front End

[0539] FEC Forward Error Correction

[0540] FFS for further study

[0541] FFT Fast Fourier Transform

[0542] feLAA Further Enhanced License Assisted Access, Further Enhanced LAA

[0543] FN Frame Number

[0544] FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array

[0545] FR Frequency Range

[0546] G-RNTI GERAN Radio Network Temporary Identity

[0547] GERAN GSM EDGE RAN, GSM EDGE Radio Access Network

[0548] GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node

[0549] GLONASS GLObal'naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (Chinese: Global Navigation Satellite System)

[0550] gNB Next Generation Node B

[0551] gNB-CU gNB centralized unit, next generation Node B centralized unit

[0552] gNB-DU gNB distributed unit, next generation Node B distributed unit

[0553] GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

[0554] GPRS General Packet Radio Service

[0555] GSM Global System for Mobile Communications, Mobile Experts Group

[0556] GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol

[0557] GTP-U GPRS Tunneling Protocol for the User Plane

[0558] GTS Go to sleep signal (related to WUS)

[0559] GUMMEI Globally Unique MME Identifier

[0560] GUTI Globally Unique Temporary UE Identifier

[0561] HARQ Hybrid ARQ, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0562] HANDO, HO switch

[0563] HFN Superframe Number

[0564] HHO Hard Handover

[0565] HLR Home Location Register

[0566] HN Home Network

[0567] HO Handover

[0568] HPLMN Home Public Land Mobile Network

[0569] HSDPA High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access

[0570] HSN Hopping Sequence Number

[0571] HSPA High Speed ​​Packet Access

[0572] HSS Home Subscriber Server

[0573] HSUPA High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access

[0574] HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol

[0575] HTTPS Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https is http / 1.1 over SSL (i.e. port 443))

[0576] I-Block Information Block

[0577] ICCID Integrated Circuit Card Identifier

[0578] ICIC Inter-cell Interference Coordination

[0579] ID

[0580] IDFT Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform

[0581] IE Information Elements

[0582] IBE In-Band Emission

[0583] IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

[0584] IEI Information Element Identifier

[0585] IEIDL Information Element Identifier Data Length

[0586] IETF Internet Engineering Task Force

[0587] IF infrastructure

[0588] IM Interference Measurement, Intermodulation, IP Multimedia

[0589] IMC IMS credentials

[0590] IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity

[0591] IMGI International Mobile Group Identity

[0592] IMPI IP Multimedia Privacy Identity

[0593] IMPU IP Multimedia Public Identity

[0594] IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem

[0595] IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity

[0596] IoT

[0597] IP Internet Protocol

[0598] Ipsec IP security, Internet Protocol security

[0599] IP-CAN IP connection access network

[0600] IP-M IP Multicast

[0601] IPv4 Internet Protocol version 4

[0602] IPv6 Internet Protocol version 6

[0603] IR

[0604] IS Synchronization

[0605] IRP Integration Reference Point

[0606] ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

[0607] ISIM IM Service Identity Module

[0608] ISO International Organization for Standardization

[0609] ISP Internet Service Provider

[0610] IWF interworking function

[0611] I-WLAN Intercommunication WLAN

[0612] K is the constraint length of the convolutional code, USIM individual key

[0613] kB kilobyte (1000 bytes)

[0614] kbps kilobits per second

[0615] Kc Cryptographic key

[0616] Ki Individual user authentication key

[0617] KPI Key Performance Indicator

[0618] KQI Key Quality Indicator

[0619] KSI Key Set Identifier

[0620] ksps kilosymbols per second

[0621] KVM Kernel Virtual Machine

[0622] L1 Layer 1 (physical layer)

[0623] L1-RSRP Layer 1 reference signal received power

[0624] L2 Layer 2 (Data Link Layer)

[0625] L3 Layer 3 (Network Layer)

[0626] LAA License Assisted Access

[0627] LAN Local Area Network

[0628] LBT Listen before you speak

[0629] LCM Lifecycle Management

[0630] LCR Low Chip Rate

[0631] LCS Location Services

[0632] LCID Logical Channel ID

[0633] LI layer indicator

[0634] LLC Logical Link Control, Low Layer Compatibility

[0635] LPLMN Local PLMN

[0636] LPP LTE Positioning Protocol

[0637] LSB Least Significant Bit

[0638] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0639] LWA LTE-WLAN Aggregation

[0640] LWIP LTE / WLAN radio level integration with IPsec tunneling

[0641] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0642] M2M Machine to Machine

[0643] MAC Medium Access Control (Protocol Layer Context)

[0644] MAC Message Authentication Code (Security / Cryptography Context)

[0645] MAC-A MAC for authentication and key agreement (TSG T WG3 context)

[0646] MAC-I MAC for data integrity of signalling messages (TSG T WG3 context)

[0647] MANO Management and Orchestration

[0648] MBMS Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service

[0649] MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network

[0650] MCC Mobile Country Code

[0651] MCG Master Cell Group

[0652] MCOT Maximum Channel Occupancy Time

[0653] MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0654] MDAF Management Data Analysis Function

[0655] MDAS Management Data Analysis Service

[0656] Minimization of MDT-driven testing

[0657] ME Mobile Equipment

[0658] MeNB Master eNB

[0659] MER message error rate

[0660] MGL Measurement Gap Length

[0661] MGRP measurement gap repetition period

[0662] MIB Master Information Block, Management Information Base

[0663] MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output

[0664] MLC Mobile Location Center

[0665] MM Mobility Management

[0666] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0667] MN Master Node

[0668] MO measurement object, mobile station calling

[0669] MPBCH MTC Physical Broadcast Channel

[0670] MPDCCH MTC Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0671] MPDSCH MTC Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0672] MPRACH MTC Physical Random Access Channel

[0673] MPUSCH MTC Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0674] MPLS Multi-Protocol Label Switching

[0675] MS Mobile Station

[0676] MSB Most Significant Bit

[0677] MSC Mobile Switching Center

[0678] MSI minimum system information, MCH scheduling information

[0679] MSID Mobile Station Identifier

[0680] MSIN Mobile Station Identification Number

[0681] MSISDN Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number

[0682] MT Mobile station called, mobile terminal

[0683] MTC Machine Type Communication

[0684] mMTC Massive MTC, Massive Machine Type Communication

[0685] MU-MIMO Multi-User MIMO

[0686] MWUS MTC wake-up signal, MTC WUS

[0687] NACK Negative Acknowledgement

[0688] NAI Network Access Identifier

[0689] NAS Non-Access Stratum, Non-Access Stratum

[0690] NCT Network Connection Topology

[0691] NEC network capabilities exposed

[0692] NE-DC NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity

[0693] NEF Network Exposure Function

[0694] NF Network Function

[0695] NFP Network Forwarding Path

[0696] NFPD Network Forwarding Path Descriptor

[0697] NFV Network Function Virtualization

[0698] NFVI NFV Infrastructure

[0699] NFVO NFV Orchestrator

[0700] NG Next generation, next generation

[0701] NGEN-DC NG-RANE-UTRA-NR dual connectivity

[0702] NM Network Manager

[0703] NMS Network Management System

[0704] N-PoP Network Point of Presence

[0705] NMIB, N-MIB Narrowband MIB

[0706] NPBCH Narrowband Physical Broadcast Channel

[0707] NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0708] NPDSCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0709] NPRACH Narrowband Physical Random Access Channel

[0710] NPUSCH Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0711] NPSS Narrowband Primary Synchronization Signal

[0712] NSSS Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal

[0713] NR New air interface, neighbor relationship

[0714] NRF NF Repository Functionality

[0715] NRS Narrowband Reference Signal

[0716] NS Network Services

[0717] NSA Non-standalone operation mode

[0718] NSD Network Service Descriptor

[0719] NSR Network Service Record

[0720] NSSAI Network Slice Selection Assistance Information

[0721] S-NNSAI Single NSSAI

[0722] NSSF network slice selection function

[0723] NW Network

[0724] NWUS Narrowband wake-up signal, narrowband WUS

[0725] NZP Non Zero Power

[0726] O&M Operation and Maintenance

[0727] ODU2 Optical Channel Data Unit - Type 2

[0728] OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0729] OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0730] OOB Out of Band

[0731] OOS Out of Sync

[0732] OPEX Operational Expenses

[0733] OSI Other System Information

[0734] OSS Operation Support System

[0735] OTA

[0736] PAPR Peak to Average Power Ratio

[0737] PAR Peak to Average Ratio

[0738] PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

[0739] PC Power Control, Personal Computer

[0740] PCC Primary Component Carrier, Primary CC

[0741] PCell Primary Cell

[0742] PCI Physical Cell ID, Physical Cell Identity

[0743] PCEF Policy and Charging Enforcement Function

[0744] PCF Policy Control Function

[0745] PCRF Policy Control and Charging Rules Function

[0746] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol, Packet Data Convergence Protocol Layer

[0747] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0748] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0749] PDN Packet Data Network, Public Data Network

[0750] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0751] PDU Protocol Data Unit

[0752] PEI Permanent Equipment Identifier

[0753] PFD Packet Flow Description

[0754] P-GW PDN Gateway

[0755] PHICH Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel

[0756] PHY Physical Layer

[0757] PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

[0758] PIN Personal Identification Number

[0759] PM performance measurement

[0760] PMI Precoding matrix indicator

[0761] PNF Physical Network Function

[0762] PNFD Physical Network Functional Descriptor

[0763] PNFR Physical Network Function Record

[0764] POC PTT over Cellular

[0765] PP, PTP Point to Point

[0766] PPP Point-to-Point Protocol

[0767] PRACH Physical RACH

[0768] PRB Physical Resource Block

[0769] PRG Physical Resource Group

[0770] ProSe Proximity Services, Proximity-Based Services

[0771] PRS Positioning Reference Signal

[0772] PRR Packet Receive Radio

[0773] PS Packet Service

[0774] PSBCH Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel

[0775] PSDCH Physical Sidelink Downlink Channel

[0776] PSCCH Physical Sidelink Control Channel

[0777] PSSCH Physical Sidelink Shared Channel

[0778] PSCell Primary SCell

[0779] PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

[0780] PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network

[0781] PT-RS Phase Tracking Reference Signal

[0782] PTT Push to Talk

[0783] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0784] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0785] QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

[0786] QCI QoS Class Identifier

[0787] QCL Quasi-Co-sited

[0788] QFI QoS flow ID, QoS flow identifier

[0789] QoS Quality of Service

[0790] QPSK Quadrature (Quaternary) Phase Shift Keying

[0791] QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System

[0792] RA-RNTI Random Access RNTI

[0793] RAB Radio Access Bearer, Random Access Burst

[0794] RACH Random Access Channel

[0795] RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service

[0796] RAN Radio Access Network

[0797] RAND random number (for authentication)

[0798] RAR Random Access Response

[0799] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0800] RAU Routing Area Update

[0801] RB Resource Block, Radio Bearer

[0802] RBG Resource Block Group

[0803] REG Resource Element Group

[0804] Rel Release

[0805] REQ Request

[0806] RF

[0807] RI Rank Indicator

[0808] RIV Resource Indicator Value

[0809] RL Radio Link

[0810] RLC Radio Link Control, Radio Link Control Layer

[0811] RLC AM RLC Acknowledgement Mode

[0812] RLC UM RLC Unacknowledged Mode

[0813] RLF Radio Link Failure

[0814] RLM Radio Link Monitoring

[0815] RLM-RS Reference signal for RLM

[0816] RM Registration Management

[0817] RMC Reference Measurement Channel

[0818] RMSI Remaining MSI, Remaining Minimum System Information

[0819] RN Relay Node

[0820] RNC Radio Network Controller

[0821] RNL Radio Network Layer

[0822] RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0823] ROHC Robust Header Compression

[0824] RRC Radio Resource Control, Radio Resource Control Layer

[0825] RRM Radio Resource Management

[0826] RS reference signal

[0827] RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

[0828] RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality

[0829] RSSI Reference Signal Strength Indicator

[0830] RSU Road Side Unit

[0831] RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

[0832] RTP Real Time Protocol

[0833] RTS Ready to Send

[0834] RTT Round Trip Time

[0835] Rx receive, receive, receiver

[0836] S1AP S1 Application Protocol

[0837] S1-MME is used for S1 control plane

[0838] S1-U S1 for user plane

[0839] S-GW Service Gateway

[0840] S-RNTI SRNC Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0841] S-TMSI SAE temporary mobile station identifier

[0842] SA Standalone Operation Mode

[0843] SAE system architecture evolution

[0844] SAP Service Access Point

[0845] SAPD Service Access Point Descriptor

[0846] SAPI Service Access Point Identifier

[0847] SCC Secondary Component Carrier, Secondary CC

[0848] SCell Secondary Cell

[0849] SC-FDMA Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0850] SCG Secondary Cell Group

[0851] SCM Security Context Management

[0852] SCS Subcarrier Spacing

[0853] SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol

[0854] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol, Service Data Adaptation Protocol Layer

[0855] SDL Supplemental Downlink

[0856] SDNF Structured Data Storage Network Function

[0857] SDP Service Discovery Protocol (Bluetooth related)

[0858] SDSF structured data storage function

[0859] SDU Service Data Unit

[0860] SEAF Security Anchoring Function

[0861] SeNB Assisted eNB

[0862] SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy

[0863] SFI Slot Format Indicator

[0864] SFTD Space Frequency Time Diversity, SFN and Frame Timing Difference

[0865] SFN System Frame Number

[0866] SgNB

[0867] SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node

[0868] S-GW Service Gateway

[0869] SI System Information

[0870] SI-RNTI System Information RNTI

[0871] SIB System Information Block

[0872] SIM Subscriber Identity Module

[0873] SIP Session Initiation Protocol

[0874] SiP System in Package

[0875] SL Side Link

[0876] SLA Service Level Agreement

[0877] SM Session Management

[0878] SMF session management functions

[0879] SMS Short Message Service

[0880] SMSF SMS Function

[0881] SMTC SSB-based measurement timing configuration

[0882] SN Secondary node, serial number

[0883] SoC System on Chip

[0884] SON Self-Organizing Network

[0885] SpCell Special Cell

[0886] SP-CSI-RNTI Semi-persistent CSIRNTI

[0887] SPS Semi-persistent Scheduling

[0888] SQN Serial Number

[0889] SR Scheduling Request

[0890] SRB Signalling Radio Bearer

[0891] SRS Sounding Reference Signal

[0892] SS Sync Signal

[0893] SSB Synchronization Signal Block, SS / PBCH Block

[0894] SSBRI SS / PBCH block resource indicator, synchronization signal block resource indicator

[0895] SSC Session and Service Continuity

[0896] SS-RSRP Reference signal received power based on synchronization signal

[0897] SS-RSRQ Reference signal reception quality based on synchronization signal

[0898] SS-SINR Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio based on synchronization signal

[0899] SSS Secondary synchronization signal

[0900] SSSG Search Space Group

[0901] SSSIF Search Space Set Indicator

[0902] SST Slice / Service Type

[0903] SU-MIMO Single User MIMO

[0904] SUL Supplementary Uplink

[0905] TA Timing Advance, Tracking Area

[0906] TAC Tracking Area Code

[0907] TAG Timing Advance Group

[0908] TAU Tracking Area Updates

[0909] TB Transfer Block

[0910] TBS Transport Block Size

[0911] TBD To be defined

[0912] TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0913] TCP transport communication protocol

[0914] TDD Time Division Duplex

[0915] TDM Time Division Multiplexing

[0916] TDMA Time Division Multiple Access

[0917] TE Terminal Equipment

[0918] TEID Tunnel Endpoint Identifier

[0919] TFT Business Flow Template

[0920] TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity

[0921] TNL Transport Network Layer

[0922] TPC Transmit Power Control

[0923] TPMI Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator

[0924] TR Technical Report

[0925] TRP,TRxP Transmission Receive Point

[0926] TRS Tracking Reference Signal

[0927] TRx Transceiver

[0928] TS Technical Specifications, Technical Standards

[0929] TTI Transmission Time Interval

[0930] Tx transmission, transmission, transmitter

[0931] U-RNTI UTRAN Radio Network Temporary Identity

[0932] UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter

[0933] UCI Uplink Control Information

[0934] UE User Equipment

[0935] UDM Unified Data Management

[0936] UDP User Datagram Protocol

[0937] UDSF Unstructured Data Storage Network Function

[0938] UICC Universal Integrated Circuit Card

[0939] UL Uplink

[0940] UM Unconfirmed Mode

[0941] UML Unified Modeling Language

[0942] UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0943] UP User Plane

[0944] UPF User Plane Function

[0945] URI Uniform Resource Identifier

[0946] URL Uniform Resource Locator

[0947] URLLC Ultra-Reliable Low Latency

[0948] USB Universal Serial Bus

[0949] USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module

[0950] USS UE-specific search space

[0951] UTRA UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access

[0952] UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0953] UwPTS Uplink Pilot Time Slot

[0954] V2I Vehicle to Infrastructure

[0955] V2P Vehicle to Pedestrian

[0956] V2V Vehicle to Vehicle

[0957] V2X: Vehicle-to-Everything

[0958] VIM Virtualization Infrastructure Manager

[0959] VL Virtual Link

[0960] VLAN Virtual LAN, Virtual Local Area Network

[0961] VM Virtual Machine

[0962] VNF Virtualized Network Function

[0963] VNFFG VNF forwarding graph

[0964] VNFFGD VNF Forwarding Graph Descriptor

[0965] VNFM VNF Manager

[0966] VoIP Voice over IP, Voice over Internet Protocol

[0967] VPLMN Visited Public Land Mobile Network

[0968] VPN Virtual Private Network

[0969] VRB Virtual Resource Block

[0970] WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

[0971] WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

[0972] WMAN Wireless Metropolitan Area Network

[0973] WPAN Wireless Personal Area Network

[0974] X2-C X2 control plane

[0975] X2-U X2 user plane

[0976] XML Extensible Markup Language

[0977] XRES Expected User Response

[0978] XOR

[0979] ZC Zadoff-Chu

[0980] ZP Zero Power

[0981] the term

[0982] For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply to the examples and implementations discussed herein.

[0983] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functions, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc. In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functions. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and a program code for performing the functions of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0984] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, and / or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and / or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes). The terms "application circuit" and / or "baseband circuit" may be considered synonymous with "processor circuit" and may be referred to as "processor circuit".

[0985] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to a circuit that enables, is a part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, etc.

[0986] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. In addition, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. In addition, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0987] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment and / or infrastructure for providing wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with and / or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN equipment, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, etc.

[0988] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices and / or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing and / or networking resources.

[0989] As used herein, the terms "appliance", "computer appliance", etc. refer to a computer device or computer system with program code (e.g., software or firmware) that is specifically designed to provide specific computing resources. A "virtual appliance" is a virtual machine image to be implemented by a device equipped with a hypervisor that virtualizes or emulates a computer appliance or is otherwise dedicated to providing specific computing resources.

[0990] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, and / or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor / CPU time and / or a processor / CPU usage rate, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage rate, a power supply, an input / output operation, a port or a network socket, a channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage rate, storage, a network, a database and an application, a unit of work, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage and / or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage and / or network resources provided by a virtualized infrastructure to an application, a device, a system, etc. The term "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that a computer device / system can access via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service, and may include computing resources and / or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services that can be accessed through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0991] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous and / or equivalent to "communication channel", "data communication channel", "transmission channel", "data transmission channel", "access channel", "data access channel", "link", "data link", "carrier", "radio frequency carrier" and / or any other similar terms representing a path or medium through which data is transmitted. In addition, the term "link" as used herein refers to a connection between two devices for transmitting and receiving information over a RAT.

[0992] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0993] The terms "coupled," "communicatively coupled," and their derivatives are used herein. The term "coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, may mean that two or more elements are in indirect contact with each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and / or may mean that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements said to be coupled to each other. The term "directly coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with each other. The term "communicatively coupled" may mean that two or more elements may be in contact with each other by means of communication, including through a wire or other interconnect connection, through a wireless communication channel or link, etc.

[0994] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents.

[0995] The term "SMTC" refers to the SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration.

[0996] The term "SSB" refers to SS / PBCH block.

[0997] The term "primary cell" refers to an MCG cell operating on a primary frequency, where the UE either performs an initial connection establishment procedure or initiates a connection re-establishment procedure.

[0998] The term "primary SCG cell" refers to an SCG cell in which a UE performs random access when reconfiguration is performed using a synchronization procedure for DC operation.

[0999] The term "secondary cell" refers to a cell that provides additional radio resources on top of a special cell for a UE configured with CA.

[1000] The term "secondary cell group" refers to a subset of serving cells including a PSCell for a UE configured with DC and zero or more secondary cells.

[1001] The term "serving cell" refers to a primary cell for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED without CA / DC configured, where there is only one serving cell including the primary cell.

[1002] The term "serving cell" refers to a cell set including a special cell for a UE configured with CA / in RRC_CONNECTED and all secondary cells.

[1003] The term "special cell" refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG for DC operation; otherwise, the term "special cell" refers to the Pcell.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication using an unlicensed spectrum, the apparatus comprising: A processor circuit, the processor circuit being configured to: performing an LBT procedure using listen-before-talk (LBT) parameters and a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) aligned with the MCOT of another wireless protocol using the unlicensed spectrum; as well as Dividing a transport block TB into a plurality of code block groups CBG for transmission on the unlicensed spectrum; a transmitter configured to transmit the plurality of CBGs to a destination; a receiver configured to receive hybrid automatic repeat request and acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs; as well as The processor circuit is further configured to: determining a HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB based on the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs; and A contention window size is adjusted based on the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the other wireless protocol is Wi-Fi.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein if the HARQ-ACK information includes a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message for at least one of the plurality of CBGs, the processor circuit determines the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB as a negative acknowledgement.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuit determines the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB as a negative acknowledgement if the HARQ-ACK information includes a percentage of negative acknowledgements (CBGs) that exceeds a preconfigured percentage threshold. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the preconfigured percentage threshold is at least 80%.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to: In response to a CBG that negatively acknowledges that the multiple CBGs were not scheduled, discarding the HARQ-ACK evaluation for adjusting the contention window size.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to: If the TB is a punctured TB or if at least one of the multiple CBGs is a punctured CBG, the HARQ-ACK evaluation is ignored for adjusting the contention window size.

8. A method for wireless communication using an unlicensed spectrum, comprising: Performing an LBT process at an access point AP using a listen-before-talk LBT parameter and a maximum channel occupancy time MCOT, the maximum channel occupancy time being aligned with the MCOT of another wireless protocol using the unlicensed spectrum; Dividing a transport block TB into a plurality of code block groups CBG at the AP for transmission on the unlicensed spectrum; transmitting the plurality of CBGs from the AP to a destination; receiving, at the AP, hybrid automatic repeat request and acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs; determining, by the AP, a HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB based on the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs; as well as A contention window size is adjusted at the AP based on the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the other wireless protocol is Wi-Fi.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining, by the AP, the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB as a negative acknowledgement if the HARQ-ACK information includes a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message for at least one of the plurality of CBGs.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining, by the AP, the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB as a negative acknowledgement if the HARQ-ACK information includes a percentage of negative acknowledgements CBG that exceeds a preconfigured percentage threshold. The method of claim 11 , wherein the preconfigured percentage threshold is at least 80%.

13. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: In response to a negatively acknowledged CBG not scheduling the plurality of CBGs, the AP discards the HARQ-ACK evaluation for adjusting the contention window size.

14. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: If the TB is a punctured TB or if at least one of the multiple CBGs is a punctured CBG, the HARQ-ACK evaluation is ignored by the AP for adjusting the contention window size.

15. A computer readable medium CRM, comprising computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by one or more processors of an access point AP, cause the one or more processors to: performing an LBT process using listen-before-talk (LBT) parameters and a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) aligned with the MCOT of another wireless protocol using unlicensed spectrum; Dividing a transport block TB into a plurality of code block groups CBG for transmission on the unlicensed spectrum; transmitting the plurality of CBGs to a destination; Receiving hybrid automatic repeat request and acknowledgement HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the transmitted multiple CBGs; determining a HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB based on the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the transmitted plurality of CBGs; as well as A contention window size is adjusted based on the HARQ-ACK evaluation of the TB, wherein the other wireless protocol is Wi-Fi.

16. The CRM of claim 15, wherein when executed, if the HARQ-ACK information includes a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message for at least one of the plurality of CBGs, the computer instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB as a negative acknowledgement.

17. The CRM of claim 15, wherein when executed, if the HARQ-ACK information includes a percentage of negatively acknowledged CBGs exceeding a preconfigured percentage threshold, the computer instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine the HARQ-ACK evaluation for the TB as a negative acknowledgement.

18. The CRM of claim 17, wherein the preconfigured percentage threshold is at least 80%.

19. The CRM of claim 15, wherein when executed, in response to a CBG that negatively acknowledges the plurality of CBGs not being scheduled, the computer instructions further cause the one or more processors to discard the HARQ-ACK evaluation with respect to adjusting the contention window size.

20. The CRM of claim 15, wherein when executed, if the TB is a punctured TB or if at least one of the plurality of CBGs is a punctured CBG, the computer instructions further cause the one or more processors to ignore the HARQ-ACK evaluation for adjusting the contention window size.

Images