Channel Access Competition Management for Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC)

Abstract

A wireless communication system and method related to channel access contention management in a shared radio frequency band are provided. A first wireless communication device transmits a grant for transmitting a first communication signal to a second wireless communication device, and the grant indicates a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration. After transmitting the grant, the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device transmit an LBT configuration modification. The first wireless communication device transmits the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority and the benefit of U.S. Non - Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 094,115, filed on November 10, 2020, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 947,920, filed on December 13, 2019. The entire contents of these patent applications are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to channel access contention management for ultra - reliable low - latency communication (URLLC).

[0004] Introduction

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These systems can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless multi - access communication system may include multiple base stations (BSs), each of which simultaneously supports the communication of multiple communication devices, which may also be referred to as user equipment (UEs).

[0006] To meet the growing demand for extended mobile broadband connectivity, wireless communication technologies are evolving from Long - Term Evolution (LTE) technologies to next - generation New Radio (NR) technologies, which may be referred to as the fifth generation (5G). For example, NR is designed to provide lower latency, higher bandwidth or higher throughput, and higher reliability than LTE. NR is designed to operate over a wide range of frequency bands, such as from low - frequency bands below about 1 gigahertz (GHz) and intermediate frequency bands from about 1 GHz to about 6 GHz to high - frequency bands such as millimeter - wave (mmWave) bands. NR is also designed to operate over different spectrum types from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to pool spectrum in a timely manner to dynamically support high - bandwidth services. Spectrum sharing can extend the benefits of NR technologies to operating entities that may not have access to licensed spectrum.

[0007] When communicating in shared or unlicensed spectrum, one way to avoid collisions is to use a listen - before - talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that the shared channel is clear before transmitting a signal in the shared channel. For example, a transmitting node can listen to the channel to determine if there is an active transmission in the channel. When the channel is idle, the transmitting node can send a reservation signal (e.g., a preamble) to reserve the channel occupancy time (COT) in the shared channel and can communicate with the receiving node during the COT. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Some aspects of the present disclosure are outlined below to provide a basic understanding of the technologies discussed. This summary is not an extensive review of all the expected features of the present disclosure, and is neither intended to identify the key or important elements of all aspects of the present disclosure, nor to depict the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in an overview form as a prelude to the more detailed description presented later.

[0009] For example, in one aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method includes: transmitting, by a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device, a permission for transmitting a first communication signal, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration; and after transmitting the permission, transmitting, by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, an LBT configuration modification; and transmitting, by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, the first communication signal based on the LBT configuration modification.

[0010] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method includes: transmitting, by a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device, a permission for transmitting one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period; and transmitting, by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, at least one of the following: a first communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period; or a second communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0011] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a device includes a transceiver configured to: transmit, with a second wireless communication device, a permission for transmitting a first communication signal, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration; and after transmitting the permission, transmit, with the second wireless communication device, an LBT configuration modification; and transmit, with the second wireless communication device, the first communication signal based on the LBT configuration modification.

[0012] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a device includes a transceiver configured to transmit, with a second wireless communication device, a permission for transmitting one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period; and communicate, with the second wireless communication device, at least one of the following: a first communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period; or a second communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0013] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code including: code for causing a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device to transmit a permission for transmitting a first communication signal, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration; and code for causing the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device to transmit an LBT configuration modification after transmitting the permission; and code for causing the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device to transmit the first communication signal based on the LBT configuration modification.

[0014] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code including: code for causing a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device to transmit a permission for transmitting one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period; and code for causing the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device to transmit at least one of: a first communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period; or a second communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0015] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus includes: a module for transmitting a permission for transmitting a first communication signal to a second wireless communication device, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration; and a module for transmitting an LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device after transmitting the permission; and a module for transmitting the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification.

[0016] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus includes: code for causing a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device to transmit a permission for transmitting one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period; and code for transmitting at least one of the following to the second wireless communication device: a first communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period; or a second communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0017] After reviewing the following description of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although the features of the present invention may be discussed with respect to certain embodiments and drawings below, all embodiments of the present invention may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more embodiments may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of these features may also be used in accordance with different embodiments of the present invention discussed herein. In a similar manner, although the exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as device, system, or method embodiments, it should be understood that these exemplary embodiments may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods. Description of the Drawings

[0018] Figure 1 A wireless communication network is shown in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2 A scheduling scheme for communication on a shared radio frequency band is shown in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 3 A channel access competition scenario in a wireless communication network is shown in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a user equipment (UE) in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary base station (BS) in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 6A is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 6B A listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration is shown in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 7 is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 8 is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 9 is a timing diagram showing a modified channel access competition scheme in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 10is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition modification scheme according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 11 shows a channel access competition modification scheme according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 12A is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 12B shows an LBT configuration modification according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 12C shows an LBT configuration modification according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 13 is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a communication method according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 15 is a flowchart of a communication method according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0036] The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. It will be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that the concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0037] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication systems, also referred to as wireless communication networks. In various embodiments, techniques and apparatus may be used in wireless communication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, global system for mobile communications (GSM) networks, fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks, and other communication networks. As used herein, the terms "network" and "system" may be used interchangeably.

[0038] OFDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Specifically, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a version of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS, and LTE are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). These various radio technologies and standards are known or under development. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration among groups of telecommunications associations aimed at defining globally applicable third-generation (3G) mobile phone specifications. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP plan aimed at improving the UMTS mobile phone standard. 3GPP can define specifications for next-generation mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. This disclosure relates to the evolution of wireless technologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and also relates to shared access to the wireless spectrum among networks using a collection of new and different radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.

[0039] Specifically, 5G networks contemplate various deployments, various spectrums, and various services and devices that can be implemented using an OFDM-based unified air interface. To achieve these goals, in addition to developing new radio technologies for 5G NR networks, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are also contemplated. 5G NR will be able to scale to provide: (1) coverage for massive Internet of Things (IoT) with ultra-high density (e.g., ~1M nodes / km 2 ), ultra-low complexity (e.g., ~ dozens of bits / second), ultra-low energy (e.g., ~ 10+ years of battery life), and deep coverage with the ability to reach challenging locations; (2) including mission-critical control with strong security for protecting sensitive personal, financial, or classified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ~99.9999% reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ~1ms), and users with a wide range of mobility or lack of mobility; and (3) enhanced mobile broadband with extremely high capacity (e.g., ~10 Tbps / km 2 ), extremely high data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rates, 100+ Mbps user experience rate), and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimization.

[0040] 5G NR can be implemented to use an optimized OFDM-based waveform with scalable numerology and transmission time intervals (TTIs); have a general flexible architecture to efficiently multiplex services and features with a dynamic, low-latency time-division duplex (TDD) / frequency-division duplex (FDD) design; and employ advanced radio technologies such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), robust millimeter-wave (mmWave) transmission, advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility. Using the scaling of subcarrier spacing, the scalability of numerology in 5G NR can efficiently address operating different services over different spectrums and different deployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro-coverage deployments with less than 3 GHz FDD / TDD implementations, the subcarrier spacing can occur at 15 kHz for bandwidths (BW) such as 5, 10, 20 MHz, etc. For other various outdoor and small-cell coverage deployments with TDD greater than 3 GHz, the subcarrier spacing can occur at 30 kHz for 80 / 100 MHz BW. For other various indoor broadband implementations using TDD in the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, the subcarrier spacing can occur at 60 kHz for 160 MHz BW. Finally, for various deployments transmitting with a millimeter-wave component at 28 GHz TDD, the subcarrier spacing can occur at 120 kHz for 500 MHz BW.

[0041] The scalable numerology of 5G NR contributes to scalable TTIs for different latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTIs can be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTIs can be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficient multiplexing of long and short TTIs allows transmissions to start at symbol boundaries. 5G NR also considers a self-contained integrated subframe design with UL / downlink scheduling information, data, and acknowledgments in the same subframe. The self-contained integrated subframe supports communication in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum, adaptive UL / downlink, which can be flexibly configured per cell to dynamically switch between UL and downlink to meet current traffic needs.

[0042] Various other aspects and features of the present disclosure are further described below. It is apparent that the teachings herein can be embodied in many forms and that any specific structure, function, or both disclosed herein are merely representative and not restrictive. Based on the teachings herein, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number of the aspects set forth herein can be used to implement an apparatus or practice a method. Additionally, other structures, functions, or both can be used or can be used in addition to one or more of the aspects set forth herein to implement such an apparatus or practice such a method. For example, a method can be implemented as part of a system, device, apparatus, and / or as instructions stored on a computer-readable medium for execution on a processor or computer. Additionally, one aspect can include at least one element of a claim.

[0043] Deploying NR on unlicensed spectrum is referred to as NR-Unlicensed (NR-U). Some research has been conducted on deploying NR-U on the 5 gigahertz (GHz) band to support enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) are working on managing 6 GHz as a new unlicensed band for wireless communication. The addition of the 6 GHz band allows for hundreds of megahertz (MHz) of bandwidth (BW) to be available for unlicensed band communication. One focus of NR technology is to provide URLLC. However, due to the contention nature of unlicensed band communication and the low latency requirements of URLLC, deploying URLLC on unlicensed spectrum can be challenging.

[0044] This application describes mechanisms for channel access contention management on a shared radio frequency band (e.g., in unlicensed spectrum or shared spectrum). For example, the BS can configure the UE with a grant for UL transmission and can configure the UE with a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration to perform LBT before UL transmission. The BS can include the LBT configuration in the grant. The grant can be a dynamic scheduling grant or a semi-static configuration grant. The dynamic scheduling grant can indicate the resources scheduled for UL transmission, which can be referred to as scheduled UL (SUL) transmission. The semi-static configuration grant can indicate a set of resources configured for one or more UL transmissions and spaced apart in time (e.g., at a certain time interval), which can be referred to as configured grant-UL (CG-UL) transmission. The UE can use any of the configured resources for transmission without having to receive a separate grant from the BS for each configured resource.

[0045] In some aspects, the LBT configuration may include various LBT parameters, such as the contention window (CW) size, CW maximum value, CW minimum value, energy detection (ED) threshold, clear channel assessment (CCA) delay period, and / or earliest LBT start time. The LBT parameters can determine the channel access contention priority of UL transmissions. Therefore, the BS can control the channel access contention priority of UL transmissions by changing the LBT parameters in the grant.

[0046] In some aspects, the BS can modify the LBT configuration by sending an LBT configuration modification to the UE after sending a configured grant or a dynamic scheduling grant and before the transmission time of the SUL transmission or CG-UL transmission. For example, the BS can modify one or more LBT parameters via the LBT configuration modification to reduce the channel access contention priority of the SUL transmission or CG-UL transmission, e.g., to accommodate higher priority traffic of the UE, higher priority traffic of another UE, or higher priority traffic of the BS. The higher priority traffic may be associated with UL URLLC, DL URLLC, and / or a dynamic scheduling grant. Alternatively, the BS can modify one or more LBT parameters via the LBT configuration modification to increase the channel access contention priority of the SUL transmission or CG-UL transmission. In some aspects, the BS can indicate that the LBT configuration modification is applicable during a specific time interval.

[0047] In some aspects, the BS can configure the UE to perform LBT based on signal detection (of a specific signal sequence, specific waveform, and / or specific message) instead of based on ED. Additionally, the BS can indicate that the signal detection-based LBT is applicable during a specific time interval, but the ED-based LBT can be used outside the specific time interval.

[0048] In some aspects, the BS may configure the UE with a configured grant for one or more CG-UL transmissions, and may apply some restrictions to CG-UL transmissions outside the BS's COT. In this regard, when the UE has received a dynamic scheduling grant for SUL transmission during the BS's COT, the BS may indicate a restriction rule for CG-UL transmission within a specific time period after the BS's COT. CG-UL transmissions outside the BS's COT may be referred to as CG-UL transmissions outside the COT. SUL transmissions within the BS's COT may be referred to as SUL transmissions within the COT. The restrictions can be at various levels. In some aspects, the restriction may prohibit the transmission of CG-UL transmissions outside the COT and the corresponding LBT within a specific time period after the COT. In some aspects, when the CG-UL transmission outside the COT has the same traffic priority as the SUL transmission within the COT, the restriction may prohibit the transmission of CG-UL transmissions outside the COT and the corresponding LBT during a specific time period. In some aspects, the LBT parameters (e.g., a reduced ED threshold) for the LBT for CG-UL transmissions outside the COT during this time period may be restricted. In some aspects, the BS may dynamically enable or disable the restriction.

[0049] In some aspects, the BS may send a COT structure indicator (SI) at the start of the COT obtained by the BS. The COT SI may indicate that the BS owns the COT and indicate the allowable CG-UL traffic priorities within the COT. When the COT SI is detected, the UE may transmit in the CG-UL resources during the COT when the CG-UL transmission has an allowable CG-UL traffic priority. Conversely, when the traffic priority of the CG-UL transmission is different from or lower than the allowable CG-UL traffic priority, the UE may refrain from transmitting in the CG-UL resources during the COT.

[0050] Aspects of the present disclosure can provide several benefits. For example, including various LBT parameters in dynamic scheduling grants or semi-static configured grants allows the BS to have greater control over the channel access competition priority of UL transmissions. Additionally, the use of dynamic LBT configuration modifications allows the BS to have flexibility in adjusting the channel access priority of already scheduled SUL transmissions and / or configured CG-UL transmissions, and thus the BS can better serve high-priority traffic (e.g., UL URLLC, DL URLLC), meet the quality of service (QoS) of high-priority traffic, and / or be able to send dynamic scheduling grants to schedule the UE for communication. Time-related LBT configuration modifications can further provide the BS with the flexibility to temporarily modify the channel access priority of already scheduled SUL transmissions and / or configured CG-UL transmissions. Furthermore, using SUL transmissions within the COT to limit CG-UL transmissions outside the COT can improve fairness among different UEs when sharing the shared channel for communication.

[0051] Figure 1 FIG. 100 shows a wireless communication network 100 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. Network 100 may be a 5G network. Network 100 includes multiple base stations (BSs) 105 (labeled 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d, 105e, and 105f, respectively) and other network entities. BS 105 may be a station that communicates with UE 115 and may also be referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation eNB (gNB), an access point, etc. Each BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to this specific geographical coverage area of BS 105 and / or the BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0052] BS 105 may provide communication coverage for macro cells or small cells (such as pico cells or femto cells) and / or other types of cells. Macro cells typically cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with a service subscription to the network provider. Small cells such as pico cells typically cover a relatively small geographical area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with a service subscription to the network provider. Small cells such as femto cells typically also cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a home), and in addition to unrestricted access, may provide restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs of users in a home, etc.). The BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. The BS for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell BS, a pico BS, a femto BS, or a home BS. In Figure 1In the example shown, BSs 105d and 105e can be conventional macro BSs, while BSs 105a - 105c can be macro BSs enabled with one of three-dimensional (3D), full-dimensional (FD), or massive MIMO. BSs 105a - 105c can utilize their higher-dimensional MIMO capabilities to employ 3D beamforming in elevation and azimuth beamforming to increase coverage and capacity. BS 105f can be a small cell BS, which can be a home node or a portable access point. BS 105 can support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells.

[0053] Network 100 can support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs can have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different BSs can be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs can have different frame timings, and transmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time.

[0054] UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 115 can be fixed or mobile. UE 115 can also be referred to as a terminal, mobile station, subscriber unit, station, etc. UE 115 can be a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless modem, wireless communication device, handheld device, tablet computer, laptop computer, cordless phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, etc. In one aspect, UE 115 can be a device including a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). In another aspect, the UE can be a device without a UICC. In some aspects, UE 115 without a UICC can also be referred to as an IoT device or an Internet of Everything (IoE) device. UEs 115a - 115d are examples of mobile smartphone-type devices accessing the network 100. UE 115 can also be a machine specifically configured for connection communication, including machine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), etc. UEs 115e - 115h are examples of various machines configured for communication accessing the network 100. UEs 115i - 115k are examples of vehicles equipped with wireless communication devices configured for communication accessing the network 100. UE 115 can be capable of communicating with any type of BS, whether it is a macro BS, small cell, etc. In Figure 1 which, the lightning bolt (e.g., communication link) indicates a wireless transmission between UE 115 and serving BS 105, a required transmission between BSs 105, a backhaul transmission between BSs, or a sidelink transmission between UEs 115, and the serving BS 105 is the BS designated to serve UE 115 on the downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL).

[0055] In operation, BSs 105a - 105c can serve UEs 115a and 115b using 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques such as coordinated multi-point (CoMP) or multi-connectivity. Macro BS 105d can perform backhaul communication with BSs 105a - 105c and the small cell (BS 105f). Macro BS 105d can also send multicast services subscribed to and received by UEs 115c and 115d. Such multicast services can include mobile TV or streaming video, or can include other services for providing community information such as weather emergencies or alerts such as Amber alerts or Gray alerts.

[0056] BS 105 can also communicate with the core network. The core network can provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. At least some of BS 105 (e.g., which can be an example of a gNB or access node controller (ANC)) can interface with the core network via a backhaul link (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and can perform radio configuration and scheduling to communicate with UE 115. In various examples, BSs 105 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the core network) over a backhaul link (e.g., X1, X2, etc.), which can be a wired or wireless communication link.

[0057] Network 100 can also support mission-critical communication with mission-critical devices such as UE 115e (which can be a drone) with ultra-reliable and redundant links. The redundant communication links to UE 115e can include links from macro BSs 105d and 105e and from small cell BS 105f. Other machine type devices such as UE 115f (e.g., a thermometer), UE 115g (e.g., a smart meter), and UE 115h (e.g., a wearable device) can communicate directly with BSs such as small cell BS 105f and macro BS 105e via network 100, or can communicate in a multi-hop configuration by communicating with another user equipment that relays their information to the network, such as UE 115f passing temperature measurement information to the smart meter (UE 115g), and then the temperature measurement information is reported to the network via small cell BS 105f. Network 100 can also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD / FDD communication such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communication between UEs 115i, 115j, or 115k and other UEs 115, and / or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication between UEs 115i, 115j, or 115k and BS 105.

[0058] In some embodiments, network 100 communicates using an OFDM-based waveform. An OFDM-based system can divide the system BW into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as subcarriers, tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In some cases, the subcarrier spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system BW. The system BW can also be divided into subbands. In other cases, the subcarrier spacing and / or the duration of the TTI can be scalable.

[0059] In some aspects, BS 105 can allocate or schedule transmission resources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RBs)) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in network 100. DL refers to the transmission direction from BS 105 to UE 115, and UL refers to the transmission direction from UE 115 to BS 105. The communication can take the form of radio frames. The radio frames can be divided into multiple subframes or time slots, e.g., about 10. Each time slot can be further divided into mini-slots. In the FDD mode, simultaneous UL and DL transmissions can occur in different frequency bands. For example, each subframe includes a UL subframe in the UL frequency band and a DL subframe in the DL frequency band. In the TDD mode, UL and DL transmissions occur in the same frequency band at different time periods. For example, a subset of the subframes (e.g., DL subframes) in the radio frame can be used for DL transmissions, while another subset of the subframes (e.g., UL subframes) in the radio frame can be used for UL transmissions.

[0060] DL subframes and UL subframes can be further divided into several regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe can have predefined regions for transmitting reference signals, control information, and data. The reference signal is a predefined signal that facilitates communication between BS 105 and UE 115. For example, the reference signal can have a specific pilot pattern or structure, where the pilot tones can span the operating BW or frequency band, and each pilot tone is located at a predefined time and predefined frequency. For example, BS 105 can send a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) and / or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) so that UE 115 can estimate the DL channel. Similarly, UE 115 can send a sounding reference signal (SRS) so that BS 105 can estimate the UL channel. The control information can include resource allocation and protocol control. The data can include protocol data and / or operation data. In some aspects, BS 105 and UE 115 can communicate using self-contained subframes. A self-contained subframe can include a portion for DL communication and a portion for UL communication. A self-contained subframe can be DL-centric or UL-centric. A DL-centric subframe can include a longer duration for DL communication than for UL communication. A UL-centric subframe can include a longer duration for UL communication than for DL communication.

[0061] In some aspects, network 100 can be an NR network deployed on licensed spectrum. BS 105 can send synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) in network 100 to facilitate synchronization. BS 105 can broadcast system information associated with network 100 (e.g., including a master information block (MIB), remaining system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI)) to facilitate initial network access. In some cases, BS 105 can broadcast PSS, SSS, and / or MIB in the form of a synchronization signal block (SSB) on the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and can broadcast RMSI and / or OSI on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0062] In some aspects, UE 115 attempting to access network 100 can perform initial cell search by detecting the PSS from BS 105. The PSS can achieve periodic timing synchronization and can indicate a physical layer identity value. UE 115 can then receive the SSS. The SSS can enable radio frame synchronization and can provide a cell identity value that can be combined with the physical layer identity value to identify the cell. The PSS and SSS can be located in the central portion of the carrier or at any suitable frequency within the carrier.

[0063] After receiving the PSS and SSS, the UE 115 may receive the MIB. The MIB may include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for the RMSI and / or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE 115 may receive the RMSI and / or OSI. The RMSI and / or OSI may include radio resource control (RRC) information related to the random access channel (RACH) procedure, paging, control resource set (CORESET) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, physical UL control channel (PUCCH), physical UL shared channel (PUSCH), power control, and SRS.

[0064] After obtaining the MIB, RMSI, and / or OSI, the UE 115 may perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105. In some examples, the random access procedure may be a four-step random access procedure. For example, the UE 115 may send a random access preamble, and the BS 105 may respond with a random access response. The random access response (RAR) may include the detected random access preamble identifier (ID) corresponding to the random access preamble, timing advance (TA) information, UL grant, temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and / or a fallback indicator. Upon receiving the random access response, the UE 115 may send a connection request to the BS 105, and the BS 105 may respond with a connection response. The connection response may indicate contention resolution. In some examples, the random access preamble, RAR, connection request, and connection response may be referred to as message 1 (MSG1), message 2 (MSG2), message 3 (MSG3), and message 4 (MSG4), respectively. In some examples, the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, where the UE 115 may send the random access preamble and the connection request in a single transmission, and the BS 105 may respond by sending the random access response and the connection response in a single transmission.

[0065] After establishing the connection, the UE 115 and the BS 105 may enter the normal operation phase, where operation data may be exchanged. For example, the BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 for UL and / or DL communication. The BS 105 may send UL and / or DL scheduling grants to the UE 115 via the PDCCH. The scheduling grant may be sent in the form of downlink control information (DCI). The BS 105 may send DL communication signals (e.g., carrying data) to the UE 115 via the PDSCH according to the DL scheduling grant. The UE 115 may send UL communication signals to the BS 105 via the PUSCH and / or PUCCH according to the UL scheduling grant.

[0066] In some aspects, BS 105 can communicate with UE 115 using HARQ techniques to improve communication reliability, for example, to provide URLLC services. BS 105 can schedule UE 115 for PDSCH communication by sending DL grants in the PDCCH. BS 105 can send DL data packets to UE 115 according to the scheduling in the PDSCH. The DL data packets can be sent in the form of transport blocks (TBs). If UE 115 successfully receives the DL data packet, UE 115 can send a HARQ ACK to BS 105. On the contrary, if UE 115 fails to successfully receive the DL transmission, UE 115 can send a HARQ NACK to BS 105. When receiving a HARQ NACK from UE 115, BS 105 can retransmit the DL data packet to UE 115. The retransmission can include the same DL data coding version as the initial transmission. Alternatively, the retransmission can include a coding version of the DL data different from the initial transmission. UE 115 can apply soft combining to combine the coded data received from the initial transmission and the retransmission for decoding. BS 105 and UE 115 can also use a mechanism substantially similar to DL HARQ to apply HARQ to UL communication.

[0067] In some aspects, network 100 can operate on the system BW or component carrier (CC) BW. Network 100 can divide the system BW into multiple BWPs (e.g., parts). BS 105 can dynamically allocate for UE 115 to operate on a certain BWP (e.g., a certain part of the system BW). The allocated BWP can be referred to as the active BWP. UE 115 can monitor the active BWP for signaling information from BS 105. BS 105 can schedule UE 115 for UL or DL communication in the active BWP. In some aspects, BS105 can allocate a pair of BWPs within the CC to UE 115 for UL and DL communication. For example, the BWP pair can include one BWP for UL communication and one BWP for DL communication.

[0068] In some aspects, network 100 can operate on a shared channel, which can include a shared frequency band and / or an unlicensed frequency band. For example, network 100 can be an NR-U network operating on an unlicensed frequency band. In such aspects, BS 105 and UE 115 can be operated by multiple network operation entities. To avoid collisions, BS 105 and UE 115 can employ a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to monitor for transmission opportunities (TXOPs) in the shared channel. A TXOP can also be referred to as a channel occupancy time (COT). For example, a transmitting node (e.g., BS 105 or UE 115) can perform LBT before transmitting in the channel. When LBT passes, the transmitting node can continue transmission. When LBT fails, the transmitting node can refrain from transmitting in the channel.

[0069] LBT can be based on energy detection (ED) or signal detection. For ED-based LBT, LBT results in a pass when the signal energy measured from the channel is below a threshold. Conversely, LBT results in a failure when the signal energy measured from the channel exceeds the threshold. For signal-detection-based LBT, LBT results in a pass when no channel reservation signal (e.g., a predetermined preamble signal) is detected in the channel. Additionally, LBT can be in multiple modes. The LBT mode can be, for example, Category 4 (CAT4) LBT, Category 2 (CAT2) LBT, or Category 1 (Class 1) LBT. CAT1 LBT is referred to as the no-LBT mode, where LBT is not performed before transmission. CAT2 LBT refers to LBT without a random compensation time period. For example, a transmitting node can determine channel measurements in a time interval and determine whether the channel is available based on a comparison of the channel measurements with an ED threshold. CAT4 LBT refers to LBT with a random backoff and a variable contention window (CW). For example, a transmitting node can draw a random number and back off for a period of time based on the drawn random number within a certain time unit.

[0070] NR-U employs ED-based LBT and an LBT ED threshold of approximately -72 decibel-milliwatts (dBm) to transmit at a transmit power of approximately 23 dBm in a 20 MHz BW. Compared with IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) or WiFi, in IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) or WiFi, a preamble detection (PD) threshold of approximately 82 dBm is used to transmit at a transmit power of approximately 23 dBm in a 20 MHz BW, and NR-U LBT may be less sensitive or capable. In other words, compared with WiFi devices (e.g., access points (APs) and stations (STAs)), NR-U devices can have a smaller sensing area or range where transmissions of other wireless communication devices can be detected. Therefore, unscheduled LBT methods may not be applicable to NR-U operations. Accordingly, NR-U has adopted a scheduling-based communication scheme where serving BS 105 can compete for a COT based on LBT and dynamically schedule one or more UEs 115 for UL and / or DL communication within the acquired COT. In some instances, serving BS 105 can also configure a set of resources for CG-UL transmission for UE 115 via a configured grant. SUL transmission and CG-UL transmission are as Figure 2 shown.

[0071] Figure 2 FIG. 6 is a timing diagram showing a communication scheme 200 on a shared radio frequency band according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Scheme 200 can be used by a BS such as BS 105 and a UE such as UE 115 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, the BS can use scheme 200 to configure the UE to perform SUL transmission and / or CG-UL transmission on a shared radio frequency band shared by multiple network operation entities (e.g., in an unlicensed spectrum or a shared spectrum). In Figure 2 FIG. 6, the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units.

[0072] In scheme 200, BS 205 (e.g., Figure 1 BS 105 in FIG. 6) competes for COT 202 by performing CAT4 LBT 210 in the shared channel, e.g., using the ED mechanism discussed above with reference to Figure 1 FIG. 3. When passing through CAT4 LBT 210, e.g., at time T0, COT 202 can start. COT 202 can include one or more time slots. BS 205 can schedule UE 215 (e.g., Figure 1The UE 115) performs UL and / or DL communication during the COT 202. As shown in the figure, the BS 205 sends a UL scheduling grant 212 to schedule the UE 215 for UL communication at time T1 during the COT 202. The scheduling grant 212 may indicate the resources allocated for UL communication (e.g., time-frequency resources or RBs) and / or the transmission parameters of the UL communication (e.g., modulation and coding scheme (MCS)). After receiving the UL scheduling grant 212, the UE 215 performs CAT2 LBT 220 before the scheduled time T1, e.g., using the ED mechanism discussed above with reference to Figure 1 At time T1, after passing the CAT2 LBT 220, the UE sends a UL communication signal 222 based on the UL scheduling grant 212. The UE 215 may perform CAT2 LBT 220 for the transmission of the UL communication signal 222 based on the scheduling of the UL communication signal 222 within the COT 202 of the BS. In some other instances, based on the BS 205 having acquired the COT 202, the UE 215 may not perform any LBT before sending the UL communication signal 222. The UL communication signal 222 may include UL data and / or UL control information. For example, the UL data may be carried in the PUSCH, while the UL control information may be carried in the PUCCH. The UL control information may include a scheduling request (SR), a channel state information (CSI) report, and / or HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The UL data may include eMBB data or URLLC data.

[0073] In addition, the BS sends a UL scheduling grant 214 to schedule the UE 215 for another UL communication at time T2 outside the COT 202. After receiving the UL scheduling grant 214, the UE 215 performs CAT4 LBT 230 before the scheduled time T0, e.g., using the ED mechanism discussed above with reference to Figure 1 At time T1, after passing the CAT4 LBT 230, the UE sends a UL communication signal 232 based on the UL scheduling grant 214. The UE 215 may perform CAT4 LBT 230 for the transmission of the UL communication signal 232 based on the scheduling of the UL communication signal 232 outside the COT 202 of the BS. The UL scheduling grant 214 and the UL communication signal 232 may be substantially similar to the scheduling grant 212 and the UL communication signal 232, respectively.

[0074] In some aspects, BS 205 can send UL scheduling grants 212 and 214 in the PDCCH via dynamic DCI signaling. For example, UL scheduling grants 212 and 214 can schedule UL communication signals 222 and 232 in the same time slot in which UL scheduling grants 212 and 214 are sent, respectively, or in several time slots (e.g., about 1, 2, or 3) after the UL scheduling grants 212 and 214 are sent. Thus, UL scheduling grants 212 and 214 are also referred to as dynamic scheduling grants.

[0075] In addition, BS 205 sends a UL configuration grant 250 to configure UE 215 with a set of resources (e.g., time-frequency resource blocks) for transmission. BS 205 can send the UL configuration grant 250 via RRC configuration. BS 205 can send the UL configuration grant 250 during the COT of BS 205 at an earlier time before time T0. The configuration grant 250 can indicate the time and frequency location and / or periodicity of the resources. For example, the set of resources can be spaced apart in time. The allocation of the set of resources can be referred to as semi-static periodic allocation. UE 215 can use the configured resources for transmission without having to receive a separate scheduling grant from BS for each configured resource. In Figure 2 the example shown, the configuration grant 250 indicates the configured resources at time T3. Since time T3 is outside the COT 202 of the BS, the UE performs CAT4 LBT 240 before transmitting in the configured resources. At time T3, after passing CAT4 LBT 240, UE 215 uses the configured resources to send a UL communication signal 242. The configuration grant 250 can indicate the periodicity of the configured resources. For example, the configuration grant 250 can indicate that the configured resources repeat at time interval 204, where another resource is configured for UE 215 at time T4. Similar to UL communication signals 222 and / or 232, UL communication signal 242 can include UL data (e.g., eMBB data or URLLC data) and / or UL control information (e.g., SR, CSI, HARQ ACK / NACK). CAT4 LBTs 210, 230, and 240 can be substantially similar, but can utilize different LBT parameters, such as the CW size for random backoff, as described in more detail herein.

[0076] A dynamic scheduling mechanism with LBT and a resource configuration mechanism configured may work well for deploying eMBB on NR-U. However, it may not work well for deploying URLLC on NR-U and / or for deploying both eMBB and URLLC on NR-U because URLLC has high QoS (e.g., low latency) requirements. For example, Solution 200 may not be able to easily pre-empt an already scheduled or configured eMBB transmission to accommodate the arrival of URLLC data, which may be a low-latency transmission. In addition, unlike NR-licensed, due to LBT uncertainty, the BS may not have guaranteed access to the shared radio frequency band and may therefore not be able to send a dynamic scheduling grant at any time, such as to serve URLLC traffic. As a result, the QoS requirements of URLLC may not be met.

[0077] In addition, in some cases, the UE 215 may transmit at a reduced power, e.g., at approximately 18 dBm in NR-U lite instead of at approximately 23 dBm in NR-U. For interference management, the UE 215 may adjust the ED threshold of LBT. For example, the UE 215 may use an ED threshold of approximately -67 dBm instead of -72 dBm in NR-U. As Figure 3 shown, a higher ED threshold may reduce the sensing range or sensing area of the UE 215.

[0078] Figure 3 Fig. 300 shows a channel access competition scenario in a wireless communication network (e.g., Network 100) according to some aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 3 the example shown, the BS 205 applies an ED threshold of approximately -72 dBm to LBT (e.g., CAT4 LBT 210), while the UE 215 applies an ED threshold of approximately -67 dBm to LBT (e.g., CAT4 LBTs 230 and 240). With an ED threshold of approximately -72 dBm at the BS 205, the BS 205 may sense a transmission from another device within the sensing range or area 302. With a higher ED threshold of approximately -67 dBm at the UE 215, the UE 215 may have a smaller sensing range or area 304. With the smaller sensing area 304, the UE 215 may not detect a transmission from the BS 205 (outside the sensing area 304). In this way, the UE 215 may potentially maintain access to the channel while the BS 205 may be blocked from transmitting because the BS 205 can detect a transmission from the UE 215.

[0079] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides techniques for a BS to manage and prioritize channel access for different priority services (e.g., when deploying URLLC and eMBB) and competition between the BS and UEs when operating on a shared radio frequency band. For example, the BS can control the UL channel access competition priority by configuring the UE with a UL grant (e.g., a dynamic scheduling grant or a configured grant) including LBT parameters for performing LBT before a permitted transmission. In addition, the BS can dynamically adjust or modify the LBT parameters of a scheduled SUL transmission or a configured CG-UL transmission to allow one type of UL service (e.g., UL URLLC) to have priority over another type of UL service (e.g., UL eMBB), or to allow the DL service of the BS to have priority over the UL service of the UE. Mechanisms for managing channel access competition priority are described in more detail herein.

[0080] Figure 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 400 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The UE 400 can be the UE 115 discussed above in Figure 1 or the UE 215 discussed above in Figure 2 and Figure 3 . As shown, the UE 400 can include a processor 402, a memory 404, a channel access module 408, a transceiver 410 including a modem subsystem 412 and a radio frequency (RF) unit 414, and one or more antennas 416. These elements can communicate directly or indirectly with each other, e.g., via one or more buses.

[0081] The processor 402 can include a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof, configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 402 can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0082] Memory 404 may include a cache memory (e.g., the cache memory of processor 402), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state storage devices, hard disk drives, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or combinations of different types of memory. In one aspect, memory 404 includes non-transitory computer-readable media. Memory 404 may store or record instructions 406 thereon. Instructions 406 may include instructions that, when executed by processor 402, cause processor 402 to perform the operations described herein with reference to UE 115 in connection with aspects of the present disclosure (e.g., Figures 1 - 3 and aspects of FIGS. 6A-6B, 7-11, 12A-12C, 13-15). Instructions 406 may also be referred to as program code. This program code may be used to cause a wireless communication device to perform these operations, such as by causing one or more processors (e.g., processor 402) to control or command the wireless communication device to do so. The terms "instructions" and "code" should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statement. For example, the terms "instructions" and "code" may refer to one or more programs, routines, subroutines, functions, procedures, etc. "Instructions" and "code" may include a single computer-readable statement or multiple computer-readable statements.

[0083] Channel access module 408 may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, channel access module 408 may be implemented as a processor, circuitry, and / or instructions 406 stored in memory 404 and executed by processor 402. In some instances, channel access module 408 may be integrated within modem subsystem 412. By way of example, channel access module 408 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within modem subsystem 412.

[0084] Channel access module 408 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, e.g., Figures 1 - 3, aspects of 6A - 6B, 7 - 11, 12A - 12C, and 13 - 15. For example, the channel access module 408 is configured to receive from a BS (e.g., BS 105 and / or 205) a grant indicating resources (e.g., time - frequency resources) for UL transmission and an LBT configuration for performing LBT before transmitting a UL transmission in the resources, receive a dynamic LBT configuration modification after receiving the grant and before the granted transmission time, perform LBT based on the LBT configuration modification, and continue to transmit the UL transmission according to the grant when passing the LBT. In some instances, the grant may be a dynamic scheduling grant for SUL transmission and may be received via a PDCCH DCI message. In some other instances, the grant may be a configuration grant for CG - UL transmission and may be received via RRC configuration. The LBT configuration may include one or more LBT parameters, such as CW size, CW maximum value, CW minimum value, ED threshold, CCA delay period (e.g., the number of CCA time slots to delay before CAT4 LBT backoff), and / or earliest LBT start time. The LBT configuration modification may modify one or more LBT parameters indicated by the LBT configuration or one or more default or pre - configured LBT parameters to increase or decrease the channel access contention priority of the UL transmission. Mechanisms for configuring LBT and / or modifying LBT parameters based on LBT parameters to increase or decrease the channel access contention priority are described in more detail herein.

[0085] In some aspects, the LBT configuration modification indicates a modified valid or applicable time period. Thus, the channel access module 408 is configured to determine whether the expected SUL resource or CG - UL resource is within the modified time period, perform LBT according to the LBT configuration modification before transmitting in the SUL resource or CG - UL resource when it is determined that the SUL resource or CG - UL resource is within the modified time period, and / or perform LBT according to the LBT configuration (without considering the modification) before transmitting in the SUL resource or CG - UL resource when it is determined that the SUL resource or CG - UL resource is outside the modified time period.

[0086] In some aspects, the LBT configuration modification indicates a time period during which signal - detection - based LBT rather than ED - based LBT is to be performed. Thus, the channel access module 408 is configured to determine whether the SUL resource or CG - UL resource is within the modified time period, perform LBT based on signal detection before transmitting in the SUL resource or CG - UL resource when it is determined that the SUL resource or CG - UL resource is within the modified time period, and / or perform LBT based on ED (without considering the modification) before transmitting in the SUL resource or CG - UL resource when it is determined that the SUL resource or CG - UL resource is outside the modified time period.

[0087] In some aspects, the LBT configuration indicates a restriction on CG-UL transmissions outside the COT during a specific restricted time period after the COT for SUL transmissions within the COT. The restriction can be at various levels. In some aspects, the restriction can prohibit CG-UL transmissions outside the COT and the corresponding LBT during a specific time period after the COT. Accordingly, the channel access module 408 is configured to receive a scheduling grant for SUL transmissions in the COT for the BS, determine whether the CG-UL resource is within the restricted time period after the COT, and inhibit transmission in the CG-UL resource when the CG-UL resource is within the restricted time period. In some aspects, when the CG-UL transmission outside the COT has the same traffic priority as the SUL transmission within the COT, the restriction can prohibit CG-UL transmissions outside the COT and the corresponding LBT during a specific time period. Accordingly, the channel access module 408 is configured to receive a scheduling grant for SUL transmissions in the COT for the BS, determine whether the CG-UL resource is within the restricted time period after the COT, determine whether the CG-UL resource is configured for CG-UL transmissions having the same traffic priority as the SUL transmission, and inhibit transmission in the CG-UL resource when the CG-UL resource is within the restricted time period and the CG-UL transmission has the same transmission priority as the SUL transmission. In some aspects, the LBT parameters (e.g., a reduced ED threshold) for the LBT for CG-UL transmissions outside the COT during this time period can be restricted. Accordingly, the channel access module 408 is configured to receive a scheduling grant for SUL transmissions in the COT for the BS, determine whether the CG-UL resource is within the restricted time period after the COT, and when the CG-UL resource is within the restricted time period, perform LBT using the LBT parameters based on the restriction configuration and transmit in the CG-UL resource when passing the LBT.

[0088] In some aspects, the channel access module 408 is configured to receive a CG-UL grant from the BS, detect a COT SI from the BS, the COT SI indicating timing information associated with the COT obtained by the BS and the allowable CG-UL traffic priorities within the COT, determine that the CG-UL resource configured by the CG-UL grant is within the COT, inhibit transmitting the CG-UL transmission in the CG-UL resource if the CG-UL transmission has a priority different from the allowable CG-UL traffic priority, and / or continue transmitting the CG-UL transmission in the CG-UL resource if the CG-UL transmission has a priority corresponding to the allowable CG-UL traffic priority. Mechanisms for performing LBT and transmitting UL transmissions according to channel access contention priorities configured and / or modified by the BS are described in more detail herein.

[0089] As shown in the figure, the transceiver 410 may include a modem subsystem 412 and an RF unit 414. The transceiver 410 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices such as the BS 105. The modem subsystem 412 may be configured to modulate and / or encode data from the memory 404 and / or the channel access module 408 according to a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), such as a low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a polar coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 414 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) the modulated / coded data (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, SUL data, CG-UL data, UL eMBB data, UL URLLC data) from the modem subsystem 412 (on an outbound transmission) or the modulated / coded data of a transmission originating from another source such as the UE 115 or the BS 105. The RF unit 414 may also be configured to perform analog beamforming in combination with digital beamforming. Although shown as being integrated together in the transceiver 410, the modem subsystem 412 and the RF unit 414 may be separate devices that are coupled together at the UE 115 to enable the UE 115 to communicate with other devices.

[0090] The RF unit 414 may provide the modulated and / or processed data, such as data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one or more data packets and other information), to the antenna 416 for transmission to one or more other devices. The antenna 416 may also receive data messages sent from other devices. The antenna 416 may provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at the transceiver 410. The transceiver 410 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, configuration grant, dynamic scheduling grant, RRC configuration, LBT configuration, LBT configuration modification, COT SI, DL eMBB data, DL URLLC data) to the channel access module 408 for processing. The antenna 416 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to maintain multiple transmission links. The RF unit 414 may configure the antenna 416.

[0091] In some aspects, the transceiver 410 is configured to transmit a grant for transmitting a first communication signal to a second wireless communication device (e.g., the BS 105 and / or 205), the grant indicating an LBT configuration, transmit an LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device after transmitting the grant, and transmit the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification, e.g., by coordinating with the channel access module 408.

[0092] In some aspects, the transceiver 410 is configured to communicate with a second wireless communication device (e.g., BS 105 and / or 205) a grant for transmitting one or more communication signals, the grant indicating a first LBT configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period, and communicate with the second wireless communication device at least one of, for example: a first communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or a second communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period by coordinating with the channel access module 408.

[0093] In one aspect, the UE 400 may include multiple transceivers 410 that implement different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, the UE 400 may include a single transceiver 410 that implements multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, the transceiver 410 may include various components, and different combinations of the components may implement different RATs.

[0094] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary BS 500 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The BS 500 may be the BS 105 in the network 100, as discussed above in Figure 1 As shown, the BS 500 may include a processor 502, a memory 504, a channel access module 508, a transceiver 510 including a modem subsystem 512 and an RF unit 514, and one or more antennas 516. These elements may communicate directly or indirectly with each other, e.g., via one or more buses.

[0095] The processor 502 may have various features of a specific type of processor. For example, these may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof, configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 502 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0096] Memory 504 may include a cache memory (e.g., the cache memory of processor 502), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid state storage devices, one or more hard disk drives, a memristor-based array, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. In some aspects, memory 504 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Memory 504 may store instructions 506. Instructions 506 may include instructions that, when executed by processor 502, cause processor 502 to perform operations in aspects described herein, e.g., Figures 1 - 3 and aspects of FIGS. 6A-6B, 7-11, 12A-12C, 13-15. Instructions 506 may also be referred to as code, which may be broadly interpreted to include any type of computer-readable statement, as discussed above with reference to Figure 4 discussed.

[0097] Channel access module 508 may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, channel access module 508 may be implemented as a processor, circuitry, and / or instructions 506 stored in memory 504 and executed by processor 502. In some instances, channel access module 508 may be integrated within modem subsystem 512. By way of example, channel access module 508 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within modem subsystem 512.

[0098] Channel access module 508 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, e.g., Figures 1 - 3 and aspects of FIGS. 6A-6B, 7-11, 12A-12C, 13-15. For example, channel access module 508 is configured to send to a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400) a grant indicating resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) for UL transmission and an LBT configuration for performing LBT before transmitting a UL transmission in the resources, send a dynamic LBT configuration modification after sending the grant and before the granted transmission time, and receive a UL transmission from the UE in the resources indicated by the grant. In some instances, the grant may be a dynamic scheduling grant for SUL transmission and may be sent via a PDCCH DCI message. In some other instances, the grant may be a configuration grant for CG-UL transmission and may be sent via RRC configuration.

[0099] In some aspects, the channel access module 508 is configured to determine the licensed channel access contention priority (e.g., based on the traffic priority of UL transmissions), and determine one or more LBT parameters of the LBT configuration (e.g., CW size, CW maximum value, CW minimum value, ED threshold, number of CCA delay slots, and / or earliest LBT start time) based on the determined channel access priority. When the license is for high-priority traffic (e.g., URLLC), the channel access module 508 is configured to select a smaller CW size, a higher ED threshold, a smaller number of CCA delay slots, and / or an earlier time for the LBT start time of the LBT configuration. When the license is for low-priority traffic (e.g., eMBB traffic), the channel access module 508 is configured to select a larger CW size, a lower ED threshold, a larger number of CCA delay slots, and / or a later time for the LBT start time of the LBT configuration.

[0100] In some aspects, the channel access module 508 is configured to reduce the channel access priority of an earlier scheduled SUL transmission or an earlier configured CG-UL transmission, e.g., to prioritize higher-priority traffic of the UE (e.g., URLLC), higher-priority traffic of another UE, or the DL traffic of the BS 500. For example, the channel access module 508 is configured to modify the LBT configuration by increasing the CW size, decreasing the ED threshold, increasing the number of CCA delay slots, and / or delaying the LBT start time, to reduce the channel access contention priority configured by the LBT configuration, and include the modified LBT parameters in the LBT configuration modification.

[0101] In some aspects, the channel access module 508 is configured to increase the channel access priority of an earlier scheduled SUL transmission or an earlier configured CG-UL transmission, e.g., based on a notification that UL URLLC traffic from the UE has arrived and / or a prediction that the UE may be ready for UL URLLC traffic (e.g., through machine learning techniques). For example, the channel access module 508 is configured to modify the LBT configuration by decreasing the CW size, increasing the ED threshold, decreasing the number of CCA delay slots, and / or advancing the LBT start time, to increase the channel access contention priority configured by the LBT configuration, and indicate the modified LBT parameters in the LBT configuration modification.

[0102] In some aspects, the channel access module 508 is configured to determine a modified time period for the LBT configuration modification (e.g., based on the arrival of DL URLLC and / or UL URLLC discussed above), and include an indication of the modified time period in the LBT configuration modification. In some aspects, the channel access module 508 is configured to indicate in the LBT configuration or LBT configuration modification that a set of one or more predetermined sequences or messages will be used for channel occupancy detection during LBT, rather than based on the ED threshold.

[0103] In some aspects, the channel access module 508 is configured to indicate, in the LBT configuration or LBT configuration modification, a restriction on CG-UL transmissions outside the COT within a specific restricted time period after the COT of the SUL transmission within the COT. The restriction can be at various levels. In some aspects, the restriction can prohibit the transmission of CG-UL transmissions outside the COT and the corresponding LBT within a specific time period after the COT. In some aspects, when the CG-UL transmission outside the COT has the same traffic priority as the SUL transmission within the COT, the restriction can prohibit the transmission of CG-UL transmissions outside the COT and the corresponding LBT during a specific time period. In some aspects, the LBT parameters (e.g., a reduced ED threshold) for the LBT used for CG-UL transmissions outside the COT during this time period can be restricted.

[0104] In some aspects, the channel access module 508 is configured to perform CAT4 LBT to obtain a COT, and send COT SI indicating the timing information associated with the COT and the allowable CG-UL traffic priority in the COT. The mechanism for managing channel access competition priorities is described in more detail here.

[0105] As shown in the figure, the transceiver 510 may include a modem subsystem 512 and an RF unit 514. The transceiver 510 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices, such as UE 115 and / or 400 and / or another core network element. The modem subsystem 512 may be configured to modulate and / or encode data according to MCS, for example, LDPC coding scheme, turbo coding scheme, convolutional coding scheme, polar coding scheme, digital beamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 514 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) the modulated / encoded data (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, configured grant, dynamic scheduling grant, RRC configuration, LBT configuration, LBT configuration modification, COTSI, DL eMBB data, DL URLLC data) from the modem subsystem 512 (on an outbound transmission) or the modulated / encoded data of a transmission originating from another source such as UE 115 and / or UE 400. The RF unit 514 may also be configured to perform analog beamforming in combination with digital beamforming. Although shown as being integrated together in the transceiver 510, the modem subsystem 512 and / or the RF unit 514 may be separate devices coupled together at the BS 105 to enable the BS 105 to communicate with other devices.

[0106] The RF unit 514 may provide the modulated and / or processed data, such as data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one or more data packets and other information), to the antenna 516 for transmission to one or more other devices. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, this may include, for example, transmitting information to complete attachment to the network and communicate with the resident UE 115 or 400. The antenna 516 may also receive data messages sent from other devices and provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at the transceiver 510. The transceiver 510 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, SUL data, CG-UL data, eMBB data, URLLC data) to the channel access module 508 for processing. The antenna 516 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to maintain multiple transmission links.

[0107] In some aspects, the transceiver 510 is configured to transmit a grant for transmitting a first communication signal to a second wireless communication device (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400), the grant indicating an LBT configuration, transmit an LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device after transmitting the grant, and transmit the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification, for example, by coordinating with the channel access module 508.

[0108] In some aspects, the transceiver 510 is configured to transmit, with a second wireless communication device (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400), a permission to transmit one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first LBT configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period, and to transmit, with the second wireless communication device, at least one of, for example: a first communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or a second communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period, by coordinating with the channel access module 508.

[0109] In one aspect, the BS 500 may include multiple transceivers 510 that implement different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, the BS 500 may include a single transceiver 510 that implements multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, the transceiver 510 may include various components, where different combinations of components may implement different RATs.

[0110] Figures 6A - 6B , Figures 7 - 11 , Figures 12A - 12C and Figure 13 Various mechanisms are shown for a network (e.g., network 100) or a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500) to manage channel access in a shared channel or shared radio frequency band (e.g., unlicensed spectrum), for example, to support high priority services or services with high QoS requirements, such as URLLC. Figures 6A - 6B , 7-11, 12A-12C, and 13 do not show transmission of all BSs within the COT. However, it should be understood that the BS can perform a CAT4 LBT (e.g., CAT4 LBT 210) to acquire a COT (e.g., COT 202), and can continue to transmit within the acquired COT while passing through the CAT4 LBT.

[0111] Will combine Figure 6B discuss Figure 6A , to illustrate a mechanism for restricting CG-UL transmission outside the COT based on SUL transmission within the COT. At this point, if the UE has been scheduled by the BS for SUL transmission during the COT of the BS, the BS (e.g., BS105, 205 and / or 500) may restrict the UE (e.g., UE 115, 215 and / or 400) from using CG-UL resources during a specific time interval after the COT of the BS.

[0112] Figure 6Ais a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme 600 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Scheme 600 may be used by BSs such as BS 105 and 205 and UEs such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, BS 205 may manage the channel access competition, as shown in scheme 600. In Figure 6A , the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units. A communication scenario similar to that in Figure 2 is used to describe scheme 600, and for simplicity, the same reference numerals as in Figure 2 may be used.

[0113] In scheme 600, BS 205 configures UE 215 with a configured grant 650. The configured grant 650 may be substantially similar to the configured grant 250 (e.g., indicating the configured resources at time T3 and the periodicity of the configured resources), and further includes an LBT configuration 680. The LBT configuration 680 may include various LBT parameters (e.g., in the LBT parameter field 682 shown in Figure 6B ) for UE 215 to perform CAT4 LBT 240 before transmitting the UL communication signal 242 in the configured resources. The LBT configuration 680 may indicate the CAT4 LBT type and LBT parameters, such as CW size, CW minimum value, CW maximum value, ED threshold, number of delayed CCA time slots, and / or earliest CAT4 LBT start point.

[0114] In some aspects, UE 215 may perform a random backoff based on the CW size, e.g., by drawing a random number from a range of values corresponding to the CW size. For example, if the CW size is 64, UE 215 may draw a random number from the range of values between 0 and 64 for the random backoff. UE 215 may configure the backoff period by setting a counter based on the drawn random number within a specific time unit. If the channel remains idle during the duration of the backoff period, UE 215 may transmit at the end of the backoff period (e.g., when the counter counts to zero). In some other instances, UE 215 may draw a random number from the range of values between the CW minimum value and the CW maximum value.

[0115] In some aspects, UE 215 may determine whether the channel is available or busy based on a comparison between the signal energy measurement and the ED threshold. For example, UE 215 may receive a signal from the shared channel, calculate the received signal power, and compare the calculated signal power with the ED threshold. If the received signal power is greater than the ED threshold, UE 215 determines that the channel is occupied. If the received signal power is less than the ED threshold, UE 215 determines that the channel is available.

[0116] In some aspects, the UE 215 may delay the CAT4 LBT 240 by the number of deferred CCA time slots. For example, the UE 215 may configure a waiting period by setting a counter based on the number of deferred CCA time slots. If the channel is idle or available during the deferred CCA time slots, the UE 215 may proceed with the CAT4 LBT 240 at the end of the waiting period (e.g., when the counter counts down to zero). If the channel is busy during the deferred CCA time slots, the UE 215 may restart the delay (e.g., by resetting the counter based on the number of deferred CCA time slots). Additionally, if the UE 215 detects that the channel is busy during the backoff period, the UE 215 may wait for another CCA delay period (e.g., based on the number of deferred CCA time slots), and if the channel is idle during the CCA delay period, may resume the backoff.

[0117] In some aspects, the UE 215 may start performing the CAT4 LBT 240 after the earliest CAT4 LBT start point. For example, the UE 215 may wait until the earliest CAT4 LBT start point to begin the CCA delay or random backoff.

[0118] Generally, the LBT configuration 680 may indicate any suitable combination of LBT parameters, and the UE 215 may utilize the indicated LBT parameters when performing the CAT4 LBT 240. The BS 205 may control the channel access contention priority of the UL communication signal 242 by adjusting the LBT parameters. For example, a larger CW size corresponds to a lower channel access contention priority, while a smaller CW size corresponds to a higher channel access contention priority. A lower ED threshold corresponds to a lower channel access contention priority, while a higher ED threshold corresponds to a higher channel access contention priority. A larger number of CCA delay time slots corresponds to a lower channel access contention priority, while a smaller number of CCA delay time slots corresponds to a higher channel access contention priority. A later CAT4 LBT start point corresponds to a lower channel access contention priority, while an earlier CAT4 LBT start point corresponds to a higher channel access contention priority.

[0119] In the scenario 600, if the BS 205 permits the UE 215 to perform a UL transmission (e.g., the UL communication signal 222) within the COT 202, the BS 205 restricts the UE 215 from performing a CG-UL transmission (e.g., the UL communication signal 242) outside the COT 202 during a restricted period 602 that starts at the end of the COT 202. The BS 205 may indicate the restricted period 602 in the LBT configuration 680 (e.g., in the Figure 6B shown restricted period field 684).

[0120] The restrictions can be of multiple levels. In some aspects, when the BS 205 permits the UE 215 to perform SUL transmission (e.g., UL communication signal 222) during the COT 202, the BS 205 prohibits the UE 215 from performing CAT4 LBT for CG-UL transmission (e.g., UL communication signal 242) outside the COT during a specific time interval (e.g., restricted time period 602) after the COT 202. In Figure 6A In the example shown, the BS 205 permits the UE 215 to use the SUL communication signal 222 within the COT 202, so the UE 215 can avoid performing CAT4 LBT 240 and transmitting the CG-UL communication signal 242 (as indicated by the cross symbol "X") during the restricted time period 602 after the COT 202.

[0121] In some aspects, if the SUL communication signal 222 within the COT and the CG-UL communication signal 242 outside the COT belong to the same service priority category, the BS 205 prohibits the UE 215 from performing CAT4 LBT 240 and transmitting the CG-UL communication signal 242 outside the COT. For example, this prohibition can be applied when the SUL communication signal 222 within the COT and the CG-UL communication signal 242 outside the COT are URLLC services. Alternatively, this prohibition can be applied when the SUL communication signal 222 within the COT and the CG-UL communication signal 242 outside the COT are eMBB services. The BS can indicate the service priority level information in the LBT configuration 680 (e.g., in Figure 6B the priority level parameter field 686 shown).

[0122] In some aspects, the BS 205 can reduce the channel access competition priority for transmitting the CG-UL communication signal 242 outside the COT. In this regard, the BS 205 can instruct the UE 215 to reduce the ED threshold of the CAT4 LBT 240 during the restricted time period 602. Alternatively or additionally, the BS 205 can instruct the UE 215 to increase the CW size of the CAT4 LBT 240 during the restricted time period 602, e.g., by doubling the CW size. The BS can indicate the competition priority change in the LBT configuration 680 (e.g., in Figure 6B the competition priority change field 688 shown).

[0123] In some aspects, BS 205 can use any suitable combination of the above-discussed restrictions to limit CG-UL transmissions outside the COT based on SUL transmissions within the COT. For example, BS 205 can configure a reduced channel access contention priority for CG-UL transmissions outside the COT for UE 215 during a restricted time period 602 based on SUL transmissions within the COT, regardless of the traffic priorities of CG-UL transmissions outside the COT and SUL transmissions within the COT. Alternatively, when CG-UL transmissions outside the COT have the same traffic priority as SUL transmissions within the COT, BS 205 can configure a reduced channel access contention priority for CG-UL transmissions outside the COT for UE 215 during the restricted time period 602 based on SUL transmissions within the COT.

[0124] Figure 6B The message structure of an LBT configuration 680 according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The LBT configuration 680 can include one or more of an LBT parameter field 682, a restricted time period field 684, a priority class field 686, and a contention priority change field 688. For example, in some instances, the LBT configuration 680 can include the LBT parameter field 682 and the restricted time period field 684. In some instances, the LBT configuration 680 can include the LBT parameter field 682, the restricted time period field 684, and the priority class field 686. In some instances, the LBT configuration 680 can include all of the LBT parameter field 682, the restricted time period field 684, the priority class field 686, and the contention priority change field 688.

[0125] As described above, the LBT parameter field 682 can include one or more LBT parameters, such as CW size, CW maximum value, CW minimum value, ED threshold, number of delayed CCA time slots, and / or an earlier CAT4 LBT start point. The restricted time period field 684 can indicate the duration of the restricted time period 602 in any suitable time unit (e.g., in symbols, time slots, or ms). The priority class field 686 can indicate whether the restriction is based on SUL transmissions within the COT and CG-UL transmissions outside the COT having the same traffic priority class (e.g., by indicating a bit value of 1) or is independent of traffic priority (e.g., by indicating a bit value of 0). The contention priority change field 688 can indicate whether the restriction reduces the contention priority of CAT4 LBT. For example, the contention priority change field 688 can be set to a value of 1 to indicate that the ED threshold is to be reduced for CAT4 LBT 240 during the restricted time period 602, and can be set to a value of 2 to indicate that the CW size is to be doubled.

[0126] Figure 7is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme 700 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Scheme 700 can be used by base stations (BSs) such as BS 105 and 205 and user equipments (UEs) such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, BS 205 can manage the channel access competition as shown in scheme 700. In Figure 7 , the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units. Scheme 700 is substantially similar to scheme 600, and for simplicity, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 6 can be used. However, in scheme 700, BS 205 can further send a restriction on / off command 714 to enable or disable a restricted time period 602. In this regard, if the restriction on / off command 714 indicates an on command, UE 215 can apply the restriction during the restricted time period 602 as indicated by the LBT configuration 680 for a CG-UL transmission outside the COT for an SUL transmission within the COT as described above. However, if the restriction on / off command 714 indicates an off command, UE 215 can ignore the restriction during the restricted time period 602. In other words, UE 215 can perform CAT4 LBT 240 based on the LBT parameters indicated by the LBT configuration 680 (in the LBT parameter field 682) and continue to transmit the CG-UL transmission 242 outside the COT regardless of whether an SUL transmission 222 is scheduled for UE 215 in the COT 202. In some aspects, BS 205 can send the restriction on / off command 714 via dynamic DCI signaling (e.g., in a DCI message carried in the PDCCH) to dynamically enable or disable the restriction, for example, based on the occupancy rate of the shared channel. For example, if the shared channel has a high occupancy rate, BS 205 can enable the restriction. Or, if the shared channel has a low occupancy rate, BS 205 can disable the restriction. In some aspects, BS 205 can use a bit value of 1 to enable the restriction and can use a bit value of 0 to disable the restriction.

[0127] Figure 8 is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme 800 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Scheme 800 can be used by base stations (BSs) such as BS 105 and 205 and user equipments (UEs) such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, BS 205 can manage the channel access competition as shown in scheme 800. In Figure 8 , the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units. A communication scenario similar to that in Figure 2 is used to describe scheme 800, and for simplicity, the same reference numerals as in Figure 2 can be used. In scheme 800, BS 205 can control the start time of CAT4 LBT before a CG-UL transmission or an SUL transmission.

[0128] In this regard, the BS 205 configures the UE 215 using a configuration grant 850 that includes an LBT configuration 880, and the configuration grant 850 indicates the earliest time at which the UE 215 can start performing CAT4 LBT before transmitting a CG-UL transmission. Similar to the configuration grant 250, the configuration grant 850 can indicate the configured resources at time T3 and the periodicity of the configured resources. In some instances, as described above, the LBT configuration 880 can also include other LBT parameters (e.g., CW size, ED threshold, and / or CCA delay period).

[0129] In Figure 8 the example shown, the LBT configuration 880 indicates the earliest CAT4 LBT start time 802 (at time T4). Thus, the UE 215 can wait until at least time T4 to start the random backoff for CAT4 LBT 240. When the UE 215 is configured with a CCA delay period, the CCA delay period can start at time T4.

[0130] Similarly, the BS 205 can dynamically schedule the UE 215 for UL transmissions outside the COT 202 by sending a scheduling grant 814 similar to the scheduling grant 214 (e.g., via PDCCH DCI), and also include an LBT configuration 882 in the scheduling grant 814. The LBT configuration 882 can include the earliest time at which the UE 215 can start performing CAT4 LBT 230 for transmitting the UL communication signal 232. In some instances, as described above, the LBT configuration 882 can also include other LBT parameters (e.g., CW size, ED threshold, and / or CCA delay period).

[0131] In Figure 8 the example shown, the LBT configuration 880 indicates the earliest CAT4 LBT start time 804 (at time T5) for performing CAT4 LBT 230 on the UL communication signal 232. Thus, the UE 215 can wait until at least time T5 to start the random backoff for CAT4 LBT 230. When the UE 215 is configured with a CCA delay period, the CCA delay period can start at time T5.

[0132] The LBT configuration 880 can indicate the earliest CAT4 LBT start time 802 in any suitable time unit. In some aspects, the LBT configuration 880 can indicate the earliest CAT4 LBT start time 802 as an offset relative to the start of the corresponding transmission time (e.g., time offset = T3 - T4). Similarly, the LBT configuration 882 can indicate the earliest CAT4 LBT start time 804 as an offset relative to the start of the corresponding transmission time (e.g., time offset = T2 - T5).

[0133] In some aspects, BS 205 may configure the earliest CAT4 LBT start time 802 or 804 to prioritize DL traffic over UL traffic. In this regard, BS 205 may restrict UE 215 from starting CAT4 LBT at a later time to allow BS205 the opportunity to compete for the shared channel before UE 215, e.g., to serve DL URLLC traffic.

[0134] Figure 9 is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition modification scheme 900 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Scheme 900 may be used by BSs such as BS 105 and 205 and UEs such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, BS 205 may manage channel access competition as shown in scheme 900. In Figure 9 which, the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units. A communication scenario similar to that in Figure 2 is used to describe scheme 900, and for simplicity, the same reference numerals as in Figure 2 may be used. In scheme 900, BS 205 dynamically modifies the LBT configuration of a CG-UL transmission configured at an earlier time.

[0135] As shown, BS 205 configures UE 215 with a configuration grant 950. Configuration grant 950 may be substantially similar to configuration grant 250, e.g., indicating the configured resources at time T3, and may include the periodicity of the configured resources, and includes an LBT configuration 980. LBT configuration 980 may be substantially similar to LBT configurations 680 and / or 880. For example, LBT configuration 980 may include one or more LBT parameters such as CW size, CW maximum, CW minimum, ED threshold, CCA delay period, and / or earliest CAT4 start point, as discussed above with reference to Figure 6A 、 6B 、7 and / or 8.

[0136] In scheme 900, BS 205 dynamically modifies LBT configuration 980 at a later time after transmitting configuration grant 950 to modify the channel access competition priority. In Figure 9In the example shown, BS 205, for example during COT 202, after transmitting the configured grant 950, transmits the LBT configuration modification 914. BS 205 may transmit the LBT configuration modification 914 as a PDCCH DCI message (e.g., dynamic DCI signaling). The LBT configuration modification 914 may modify one or more LBT parameters indicated by the LBT configuration 980. After receiving the LBT configuration modification 914, UE 215 may perform CAT4 LBT 240 based on the LBT configuration modification 914. If CAT4 LBT 240 passes, UE 215 may transmit the UL communication signal 242 in the configured resources. If CAT4 LBT 240 fails, UE 215 may refrain from transmitting in the configured resources.

[0137] In some aspects, the configured grant 950 may be a grant for UL eMBB traffic (e.g., UL communication signal 242), and BS 205 may reduce the channel access contention priority for transmitting UL eMBB traffic in order to prioritize UL URLLC traffic transmissions for another UE (e.g., UE 115 and / or 215). In some aspects, BS 205 may reduce the channel access contention priority for transmitting the UL communication signal 242 in order to prioritize DL transmissions (e.g., DL URLLC traffic or scheduling grants).

[0138] BS 205 may modify the channel access contention priority by modifying various LBT parameters. In some aspects, the LBT configuration 980 indicates a first CW size, while the LBT configuration modification 914 indicates a second CW size different from the first CW size. For example, the LBT configuration modification 914 may configure the second CW size to be larger than the first CW size to reduce the channel access contention priority of an earlier granted transmission (e.g., UL communication signal 242). In certain instances, the second CW size may be twice the first CW size.

[0139] In some aspects, the LBT configuration 980 indicates a first CCA time period, while the LBT configuration modification 914 indicates a second CCA time period different from the first CCA time period. For example, the LBT configuration modification 914 may configure the second CCA time period to include a greater number of CCA delay slots than the first CCA time period to reduce the channel access contention priority of an earlier granted transmission (e.g., UL communication signal 242).

[0140] In some aspects, the LBT configuration 980 indicates a first LBT start time (e.g., the earliest CAT4 LBT start times 802 and 804), while the LBT configuration modification 914 indicates a second LBT start time different from the first LBT start time. For example, the LBT configuration modification 914 may configure the second LBT start time to be later than the first LBT start time to reduce the channel access competition priority of earlier granted transmissions (e.g., UL communication signal 242).

[0141] In some aspects, the LBT configuration 980 indicates a first ED threshold, while the LBT configuration modification 914 indicates a second ED threshold different from the first ED threshold. For example, the LBT configuration modification 914 may configure the second ED threshold to be lower than the first ED threshold to reduce the channel access competition priority of earlier granted transmissions (e.g., UL communication signal 242).

[0142] In some other aspects, the LBT configuration modification 914 may modify the LBT parameters to increase the channel access competition priority of earlier granted transmissions (e.g., UL communication signal 242), e.g., by reducing the CW size, reducing the CCA delay period, increasing the ED threshold, and / or modifying the CAT4 start time to an earlier time. For example, the configured grant 950 may be a grant for UL URLLC traffic, and the BS 205 may detect that the UE 215 has UL URLLC traffic, and thus may increase the channel access competition priority so that the UE 215 has a higher chance of winning the competition in the shared channel. In this regard, the BS 205 may use various mechanisms to determine that the UE 215 has UL URLLC traffic ready for transmission. For example, the BS 205 may receive a request for UL URLLC transmission scheduling from the UE 215, e.g., in a frequency band different from the frequency band in which the configured grant 950 is sent, e.g., the licensed band or another unlicensed band. In some other instances, the BS 205 may determine that the UE 215 has UL URLLC traffic ready for transmission based on traffic prediction. The prediction may be based on observing the UL URLLC traffic pattern of the UE 215 over a period of time. In some cases, the BS 205 may apply machine learning techniques to perform the prediction.

[0143] Figure 10 is a timing diagram illustrating a channel access competition modification scheme 1000 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The scheme 1000 may be used by BSs such as BS 105 and 205 and UEs such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, the BS 205 may manage the channel access competition as shown in the scheme 1000. In Figure 10In [the figure], the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units. Scenario 1000 is substantially similar to Scenario 900 and shows a scenario where an LBT configuration modification is applied to dynamic SUL transmission instead of CG-UL transmission. The communication scenario similar to that in Figure 2 is used to describe Scenario 1000, and for simplicity, the same reference numerals as in Figure 2 can be used.

[0144] As shown, BS 205 sends a UL scheduling grant 1014 to schedule UE 215 to perform a UL transmission outside COT 202 at time T3. The UL scheduling grant 1014 can be substantially similar to the scheduling grant 214, but additionally includes an LBT configuration 1080. The LBT configuration 1080 can be substantially similar to the LBT configurations 680, 880, and / or 980. For example, the LBT configuration 1080 can include one or more LBT parameters, such as the CW size, CW maximum value, CW minimum value, ED threshold, CCA delay period, and / or earliest CAT4 start point as described above.

[0145] Similar to Scenario 900, BS 205 can dynamically modify the LBT configuration 1080 at a later time after sending the LBT configuration modification 1016 to modify the channel access competition priority of an earlier scheduled UL transmission. In Figure 10 the example shown, BS 205 sends the LBT configuration modification 1016 after sending the scheduling grant 1014 (via dynamic DCI signaling). The LBT configuration modification 1016 can modify one or more LBT parameters indicated by the LBT configuration 1080. For example, as discussed above with reference to Figure 9 Scenario 900, the LBT configuration modification 1016 can modify the CW size, ED threshold, CCA delay period, and / or CAT4 LBT start time.

[0146] Figure 11 Shows a channel access competition modification scenario 1100 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Scenario 1100 can be used by BSs such as BS 105 and 205 and UEs such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, BS 205 can manage the channel access competition as shown in Scenario 1100. In Figure 11In this case, the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units, and the y-axis represents frequency in some constant units. Scheme 1100 is basically similar to Schemes 900 and 1000, and shows a scenario where an LBT configuration modification is sent in a frequency carrier or frequency band different from the scheduling grant or configuration grant. For example, BS 205 may configure UE 215 to operate in carrier aggregation (CA) mode on two separate frequency bands (e.g., frequency carrier A 1102 and frequency carrier B 1104). In some other instances, BS 205 may configure UE 215 to operate in dual connectivity (DC) mode on two separate frequency bands (e.g., frequency carrier A 1102 and frequency carrier B 1104).

[0147] At this point, at time T0, BS 205 sends a UL grant 1112 to UE 215 via frequency carrier A 1102 (e.g., an unlicensed band). UL grant 1112 grants UE 215 to perform a UL transmission 1132 in frequency carrier A 1102 at time T2, and includes an LBT configuration 1180 for performing CAT4 LBT 1130 before the UL transmission 1132. In some instances, UL grant 1112 may be a configuration grant similar to, for example, configuration grants 250, 650, 850, and / or 950 sent via RRC configuration, so UL transmission 1132 is a CG-UL transmission. In some other instances, UL grant 1112 may be a dynamic scheduling grant similar to UL scheduling grants 212, 214, and / or 814, for example, sent via a PDCCH DCI message, so UL transmission 1132 is an SUL transmission. LBT configuration 1180 may be basically similar to LBT configurations 680, 880, 980, and / or 1080. For example, LBT configuration 1180 may include one or more LBT parameters, such as the CW size, CW maximum value, CW minimum value, ED threshold, CCA delay period, and / or earliest CAT4 start point discussed above for CAT4 LBT 1130.

[0148] Similar to Schemes 900 and 1000, BS 205 may dynamically modify LBT configuration 1180 at a later time after sending UL grant 1112 to modify the channel access competition priority of the previously granted UL transmission. However, in Scheme 1100, BS 205 may send an LBT configuration modification 1114 in a frequency carrier different from the frequency carrier on which UL grant 1112 is sent. In Figure 11In the example shown, at time T1, BS 205 transmits an LBT configuration modification 1114 in frequency carrier B 1104. In some instances, frequency carrier B 1104 is a licensed band. In some other instances, it is a frequency carrier in an unlicensed band. The LBT configuration modification 1114 may modify one or more LBT parameters indicated by the LBT configuration 1180. For example, as discussed above with reference to Figure 9 In scenario 900, the LBT configuration modification 1114 may modify the CW size, ED threshold, CCA delay period, and / or CAT4 LBT start time.

[0149] In some aspects, BS 205 may send a UL grant 1112 and an LBT configuration modification 1114 to UE 215 via different transmit receive points (TRPs). In this regard, BS 205 may communicate with multiple TRPs located at different geographical locations, and may configure one TRP to send a UL grant 1112 to UE 215, and configure another TRP to send an LBT configuration modification 1114 to UE 215.

[0150] In some aspects, BS 205 may send an LBT configuration modification (e.g., LBT configuration modifications 914, 1016, and / or 1114) to a group of UEs via a GC-PDCCH DCI message to modify the channel access contention priority at each UE, rather than sending a separate LBT configuration modification to each UE via a UE-specific DCI. Thus, BS 205 may group UEs (e.g., UE 115 and / or 215) according to traffic priority classes. In some aspects, the LBT configuration modification may indicate that the modification may be applied to UL transmissions carrying eMBB traffic, but not to UL transmissions carrying URLLC traffic. For example, after receiving an LBT configuration modification, UE 215 may determine whether an earlier scheduled SUL transmission or an earlier configured CG-UL transmission grant is associated with eMBB or URLLC. If the earlier scheduled SUL transmission or the earlier configured CG-UL transmission grant is associated with eMBB, then before the SUL or CG-UL transmission, UE 215 may not apply the modification to LBT. However, if the earlier scheduled SUL transmission or the earlier configured CG-UL transmission grant is associated with URLLC, then UE 215 may apply the modification to LBT before the SUL or CG-UL transmission.

[0151] will be combined with Figure 12B and 12C discussed Figure 12A to illustrate the mechanism for temporary or time-related LBT configuration modifications. Figure 12Ais a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme 1200 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Scheme 1200 can be used by BSs such as BS 105 and 205 and UEs such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, BS 205 can manage channel access competition as shown in scheme 1200. In Figure 12A , the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units. In scheme 1200, BS 205 can temporarily modify the LBT configuration by specifying a period during which the LBT configuration modification is effective or applicable.

[0152] At time T0, BS 205 sends a configuration grant 1250 to UE 215, for example, via dynamic DCI signaling. Configuration grant 1250 can be substantially similar to configuration grants 250, 650, 850, and / or 950, and can indicate, for example, a set of configured resources at times T3, T4, and T6. Configuration grant 1250 also includes an LBT configuration 1280 for UE 215 to perform CAT4 LBT (e.g., CAT4 LBT 1240a, 1240b, or 1240c) before transmitting using the configured resources (e.g., UL transmissions 1242a, 1242b, or 1242c). LBT configuration 1280 can be substantially similar to LBT configurations 680, 880, 980, 1080, and / or 1180. For example, LBT configuration 1280 can include one or more LBT parameters, such as the CW size, CW maximum, CW minimum, ED threshold, CCA delay period, and / or earliest CAT4 start point as discussed above for CAT4 LBT 1240a, 1240b, and / or 1240c.

[0153] Similar to schemes 900, 1000, 1100, BS 205 can dynamically modify LBT configuration 1280 at a later time after sending configuration grant 1250 to modify the channel access competition priority for UL transmissions of earlier grants. In scheme 1200, BS 205 can further indicate that the modification to LBT configuration 1280 is temporary (e.g., during a certain time interval). In Figure 12A the example shown, at time T1, BS 205 sends an LBT configuration modification 1214 to modify LBT configuration 1280 during a modification period 1202 between times T2 and T5. LBT configuration modification 1214 can modify one or more LBT parameters indicated by LBT configuration 1280. For example, LBT configuration modification 1214 can reduce the channel access competition priority of the configured CG-UL transmissions during modification period 1202.

[0154] When receiving the LBT configuration modification 1214, the UE 215 may apply the LBT configuration modification 1214 when transmitting UL transmissions during the modification time period 1202, but does not apply the LBT configuration modification 1214 when transmitting UL transmissions outside the modification time period 1202. In Figure 12A In the example shown, since the CAT4 LBT 1240a and the UL transmission 1242a are within the modification time period 1202, the UE 215 applies the LBT configuration modification 1214 when performing the CAT4 LBT 1240a before transmitting the UL transmission 1242a at time T3. Similarly, since the CAT4 LBT transmission 1240b and the UL transmission 1242b are within the modification time period 1202, the UE 215 applies the LBT configuration modification 1214 when performing the CAT4 LBT 1240b before transmitting the UL transmission 1242b at time T4. However, when performing the CAT4 LBT 1240c before transmitting the UL transmission 1242c at time T6, the UE 215 does not apply the LBT configuration modification 1214 because the CAT4 LBT 1240c and the UL transmission 1242c are outside the modification time period 1202.

[0155] In some aspects, the LBT configuration modification 1214 may be an ED threshold modification as shown in Figure 12B In some aspects, the LBT configuration modification 1214 may change the channel occupancy detection mechanism from ED to signal detection, as shown in Figure 12C shown.

[0156] Figure 12B Shows an LBT configuration modification 1290 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The LBT configuration modification 1290 may correspond to the LBT configuration modification 1214 in Figure 12A . The LBT configuration modification 1290 includes an ED threshold modification field 1282 and a modification time period field 1284. The ED threshold modification field 1282 may indicate the modified ED threshold, while the modification time period field 1284 may indicate the modification time period 1202 during which the modified ED threshold will be applied to perform the CAT4 LBT.

[0157] In some aspects, the ED threshold modification field 1282 can indicate an ED threshold, e.g., in dBm. The ED threshold can be a reduced ED threshold. For example, the LBT configuration 1280 can indicate an ED threshold of approximately -72 dBm, and the ED threshold modification field 1282 can indicate an ED threshold of approximately -78 dBm. In some aspects, the ED threshold modification field 1282 can indicate the amount of decrement to be applied to the ED threshold, where the decrement can be any suitable step size. In some aspects, the ED threshold modification field 1282 can request the UE 215 to modify the ED threshold based on the most recent RSRP measured from the serving BS 205. For example, the UE 215 can receive a reference signal from the serving BS 205 and determine the RSRP of the reference signal. When the RSRP is high, the UE 215 can use a higher ED threshold, and when the RSRP is low, a lower ED threshold can be used. Modification of the ED threshold based on RSRP measurement can be useful when the UE 215 is far from the BS 205, so that the BS 205 may have an outdated RSRP report from the UE 215 and may not be able to specify a suitable ED threshold for the UE 215.

[0158] In some aspects, the modification time period field 1284 can indicate the start time (e.g., T2) and end time (e.g., T5) of the modification time period 1202. In some other aspects, the modification time period field 1284 can indicate the start time (e.g., T2) and duration of the modification time period 1202.

[0159] In some aspects, when the BS 205 expects to compete for the channel during the modification time period 1202 (e.g., to send a scheduling grant for high-priority traffic), the BS 205 can send an LBT configuration modification 1290, so that the BS 205 can reduce the channel access competition priority of the UE 215 to allow the BS 205 to have a higher chance of winning the channel competition.

[0160] Figure 12C An LBT configuration modification 1292 according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The LBT configuration modification 1292 can correspond to Figure 12AThe LBT configuration modification 1214 in [ ]. The LBT configuration modification 1292 includes a message / sequence detection field 1286 and a modified time period field 1284. The modified time period field 1284 can be substantially similar to the modified time period field 1284. For example, the modified time period field 1284 can indicate a modified time period 1202. The message / sequence detection field 1286 can indicate that the UE 215 will perform LBT based on message detection or sequence detection, regardless of the channel energy measurement during the modified time period field 1284. In other words, the UE 215 will determine whether the channel is available based on signal detection and ignore the ED threshold that may have been configured earlier. For example, if the UE 215 detects a specific message or sequence in the channel, the UE 215 can determine that the channel is busy. Conversely, if the UE 215 fails to detect a specific message or sequence in the channel, the UE 215 can determine that the channel is available. In some aspects, the message / sequence detection field 1282 can indicate a set of one or more predetermined sequences (e.g., preambles and / or certain waveforms) for detecting the channel state during LBT. The UE 215 can determine whether a signal sequence is detected from the channel by calculating the correlation between the signal received from the channel and the signal sequence and applying a correlation threshold to the calculated correlation. If the calculated correlation value is higher than the correlation threshold, the UE 215 determines that the signal sequence is detected. Otherwise, if the calculated correlation value is lower than the correlation threshold, the UE 215 determines that the signal sequence is not detected. For example, if the UE 215 detects any one of the sequences in the set, the UE 215 can determine that the LBT fails. In some aspects, the message / sequence detection field 1286 can indicate a set of one or more messages (e.g., reservation messages) for detecting the channel state during LBT. For example, if the UE 215 detects any one of the messages in the set, the UE 215 can determine that the LBT fails.

[0161] Although the scheme 1200 is described in the context of applying time-related LBT configuration modifications to CG-UL transmissions, in some instances, a similar time-related LBT configuration modification mechanism can be applied to SUL transmissions.

[0162] Figure 13 is a timing diagram showing a channel access competition scheme 1300 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The scheme 1300 can be used by BSs such as BS 105 and 205 and UEs such as UE 115 and 215 in a network such as network 100. Specifically, the BS 205 can manage the channel access competition as shown in the scheme 1300. In Figure 13In [the figure], the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units. In scenario 1300, BS 205 may indicate the traffic priority allowed for CG-UL transmission during the COT of BS 205, rather than allowing CG-UL transmission with any traffic priority during the COT of BS 205.

[0163] In Figure 13 In the example shown, at time T0, BS 205 sends configuration grant 1350 to configure UE 215 with a first set of configured resources for CG-UL transmission for priority A 1302. For example, the first set of configured resources includes the configured resources at time T3. At time T1, BS 205 sends another configuration grant 1352 to configure UE 215 with a second set of configured resources for CG-UL transmission with a priority B 1304 different from priority A 1302. For example, the second set of configured resources includes the configured resources at time T4. Each of configuration grant 1350 and configuration grant 1352 may include an LBT configuration similar to LBT configurations 680, 880, 980, 1080, 1180, and / or 1280.

[0164] BS 205 performs CAT4 LBT 1310 (e.g., CAT4 LBT 210). CAT4 LBT 1310 is a pass, so BS 205 obtains COT 1302 starting at time T2. BS 205 sends a COT structure indicator (SI) 1312 indicating information associated with COT 1302. COT SI 1312 may indicate the timing information associated with COT 1302, for example, including the duration of COT1302 or the end time of COT1302. Additionally, BS 205 may determine what type of CG-UL transmission is allowed during COT 1302 and indicate the allowed CG-UL traffic priority class in COT SI 1312. For example, COT SI1312 indicates that CG-UL traffic with priority A1302 is allowed during COT 1302.

[0165] When receiving COT SI 1312, UE 215 knows that BS 205 has obtained COT 1302 and permits CG-UL of priority A 1302 during COT 1302. UE 215 may wish to use the configured resources configured by configured grant 1352 to send UL transmission 1322 at time T3. UE 215 may determine that the configured resources at time T3 are within COT 1302. UE 215 may determine, based on COT SI 1312, that CG-UL transmission 1322 has priority A 1302, which is permitted in COT 1302. Thus, UE 215 may continue to perform CAT4 LBT 1320 (e.g., CAT4 LBT 230, 240, and / or 1240) before time T3. If CAT4 LBT 1240 is a pass, UE 215 continues to send CG-UL transmission 1322 at time T3 (shown by the checkmark).

[0166] In addition, UE 215 may wish to use the configured resources configured by configured grant 1350 to send UL transmission 1332 at time T4. UE 215 may determine that the configured resources at time T4 are within COT 1302. UE 215 may determine, based on COT SI 1312, that CG-UL transmission 1332 has priority B 1304, which is not permitted in COT 1302. Thus, UE 215 may avoid sending CG-UL transmission 1332 at time T4, as shown by the cross symbol "X", and may thus also avoid performing CAT4 LBT 1330 before time T4.

[0167] In some aspects, priority A 1302 may correspond to the URLLC service class, and priority B 1304 may correspond to the eMBB service class. BS 205 may permit CG-UL transmission for URLLC during COT 1302, but does not permit CG-UL transmission for eMBB during COT 1302.

[0168] In some aspects, BS 205 may indicate a set of permissible service priority classes in COT 1302. For example, COT SI 1312 may indicate a set of values that identify a set of permissible service priority classes in COT 1302.

[0169] In some aspects, BS 205 may enable or disable CG-UL transmission in COT 1302. For example, BS 205 may schedule high-priority traffic (e.g., UL URLLC or DL URLLC) in COT 1302. For example, BS 205 may include a flag in COT SI1312, where a bit value of 1 may indicate that CG-UL transmission is allowed in COT 1302, and a bit value of 0 may indicate that CG-UL transmission is not allowed in COT 1302.

[0170] As can be observed, scheme 1300 provides BS 205 with greater control over transmissions in the COT of BS 205 and can thus better serve traffic with strict timing or latency requirements (e.g., DL URLLC or UL URLLC).

[0171] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a communication method 1400 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of method 1400 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuitry, and / or other suitable components) of a wireless communication device or by other suitable means for performing these steps. For example, a wireless communication device (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400) may utilize one or more components (e.g., processor 402, memory 404, channel access module 408, transceiver 410, modem 412, and one or more antennas 416) to perform the steps of method 1400. Alternatively, a wireless communication device such as BS 105, 205, and / or 500 may utilize one or more components (e.g., processor 502, memory 504, channel access module 508, transceiver 510, modem 512, and one or more antennas 516) to perform the steps of method 1400. Method 1400 may use mechanisms similar to those in schemes 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and / or 1300 discussed above with reference to Figure 6A 、 7 、8, 9, 10, 11, 12A, and / or 13. As shown, method 1400 includes a number of enumerated steps, but aspects of method 1400 may include additional steps before, after, and between the enumerated steps. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0172] At block 1410, a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device transmit a grant for transmitting a first communication signal, the grant indicating an LBT configuration. In some instances, the first wireless communication device may utilize one or more components, such as processors 402 and 502, channel access modules 408 and 508, transceivers 410 and 510, modems 412 and 512, and one or more antennas 416 and 516, to transmit the grant.

[0173] In some aspects, the grant may be a configured UL grant, similar to configured grants 650, 850, 950, 1112, 1250, 1350, and / or 1352, and may be transmitted via RRC signaling. In some aspects, the grant may be a dynamic UL scheduling grant similar to scheduling grants 814, 1014, and / or 1112. The LBT configuration may be similar to LBT configurations 680, 880, 980, 1080, 1180, and / or 1280.

[0174] At block 1420, after transmitting the grant, the first wireless communication device transmits an LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device. In some instances, the first wireless communication device may utilize one or more components, such as processors 402 and 502, channel access modules 408 and 508, transceivers 410 and 510, modems 412 and 512, and one or more antennas 416 and 516, to transmit the LBT configuration modification, for example, via dynamic DCI signaling, which may be UE-specific DCI or GC-DCI.

[0175] In some aspects, the LBT configuration indicates a first CW, while the LBT configuration modification indicates a second CW different from the first CW. In some aspects, the LBT configuration indicates a first CCA time period, while the LBT configuration modification indicates a second CCA time period different from the first CCA time period. In some aspects, the LBT configuration indicates a first LBT start time, while the LBT configuration modification indicates a second LBT start time different from the first LBT start time. In some aspects, the LBT configuration indicates a first ED threshold, while the LBT configuration modification indicates a second ED threshold different from the first ED threshold. In some aspects, the LBT configuration indicates an ED threshold, and the LBT configuration modification includes a configuration for modifying the ED threshold based on RSRP measurements. In some aspects, as referred to Figure 12A In scenario 1200 discussed, the LBT configuration modification is associated with a time period (e.g., modification time period 1202). In some aspects, the LBT configuration and the LBT configuration modification may be transmitted via different frequency carriers and / or via different TRPs.

[0176] At block 1430, a first wireless communication device transmits a first communication signal to a second wireless communication device based on a modified LBT configuration. In some instances, the first wireless communication device may utilize one or more components, such as processors 402 and 502, channel access modules 408 and 508, transceivers 410 and 510, modems 412 and 512, and one or more antennas 416 and 516, to transmit the first communication signal based on the modified LBT configuration.

[0177] In some aspects, the first wireless communication device may correspond to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500), and the second wireless communication device may correspond to a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400). Accordingly, at block 1410, the first wireless communication device may send an LBT configuration to the second wireless communication device, at block 1420, send a modified LBT configuration to the second wireless communication device, and at block 1430, receive the first communication signal from the second wireless communication device.

[0178] In some aspects, the first wireless communication device may correspond to a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400), and the second wireless communication device may correspond to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500). Accordingly, at block 1410, the first wireless communication device may receive an LBT configuration from the second wireless communication device, at block 1420, receive a modified LBT configuration from the second wireless communication device, and at block 1430, transmit the first communication signal based on the modified LBT configuration to the second wireless communication device.

[0179] Figure 15 is a flowchart of a communication method 1500 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of method 1500 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuitry, and / or other suitable components) of a wireless communication device or other suitable means for performing these steps. For example, a wireless communication device (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400) may utilize one or more components (e.g., processor 402, memory 404, channel access module 408, transceiver 410, modem 412, and one or more antennas 416) to perform the steps of method 1500. Alternatively, a wireless communication device such as BS 105, 205, and / or 500 may utilize one or more components (e.g., processor 502, memory 504, channel access module 508, transceiver 510, modem 512, and one or more antennas 516) to perform the steps of method 1500. Method 1500 may be implemented in a manner similar to that described above with reference to Figure 6A and Figure 7Similar mechanisms in the discussed scenarios 600 and 700. As shown, method 1500 includes a number of enumerated steps, but aspects of method 1500 may include additional steps before, after, and between the enumerated steps. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0180] At block 1510, a first wireless communication device transmits to a second wireless communication device a permission (e.g., permission 650) for transmitting one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first LBT configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period. In some instances, the first wireless communication device may utilize one or more components, such as processors 402 and 502, channel access modules 408 and 508, transceivers 410 and 510, modems 412 and 512, and one or more antennas 416 and 516, to transmit the permission.

[0181] In some aspects, the first time period (e.g., restricted time period 602) is after the COT, during which scheduled communication between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device is permitted, and the second time period is outside the first time period. In some aspects, the first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmission of a first communication signal during the first time period after the COT. In some aspects, when the first communication signal has the same traffic priority as the scheduled communication, the first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmission of the first communication signal during the first time period after the COT. In some aspects, the first LBT configuration includes first LBT parameters, and the second LBT configuration includes second LBT parameters different from the first LBT parameters, where the first LBT parameters and the second LBT parameters are associated with at least one of an ED threshold or a CW.

[0182] At block 1520, the first wireless communication device transmits to the second wireless communication device at least one of a first communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or a second communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period. In some instances, the first wireless communication device may utilize one or more components, such as processors 402 and 502, channel access modules 408 and 508, transceivers 410 and 510, modems 412 and 512, and one or more antennas 416 and 516, to transmit at least one of the first communication signal based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or the second communication signal based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0183] In some aspects, the first wireless communication device may correspond to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500), and the second wireless communication device may correspond to a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400). Accordingly, at block 1510, the first wireless communication device may send the permission to the second wireless communication device, and at block 1520, receive at least one of a first communication signal based on a first LBT configuration during a first time period or a second communication signal based on a second LBT configuration during a second time period.

[0184] In some aspects, the first wireless communication device may correspond to a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400), and the second wireless communication device may correspond to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500). Accordingly, at block 1510, the first wireless communication device may receive a permission from the second wireless communication device, and at block 1520, send at least one of a first communication signal based on a first LBT configuration during a first time period or a second communication signal based on a second LBT configuration during a second time period.

[0185] In some aspects, as referred to above Figure 7 In the scenario 700 discussed above, the first wireless communication device may also transmit an instruction to enable the first LBT configuration to the second wireless communication device during a first time period. In some instances, the first wireless communication device may utilize one or more components, such as processors 402 and 502, channel access modules 408 and 508, transceivers 410 and 510, modems 412 and 512, and one or more antennas 416 and 516, to transmit the instruction to enable the first LBT configuration during a first time period. In some aspects, as referred to above Figure 7 In the scenario 700 discussed above, the first wireless communication device may also transmit an instruction to disable the first LBT configuration to the second wireless communication device during a first time period. In some instances, the first wireless communication device may utilize one or more components, such as processors 402 and 502, channel access modules 408 and 508, transceivers 410 and 510, modems 412 and 512, and one or more antennas 416 and 516, to transmit the instruction to disable the first LBT configuration during a first time period. Other aspects of the present disclosure include a wireless communication method. The wireless communication method includes transmitting, by the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device, a permission for transmitting a first communication signal, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration. The wireless communication method further includes, after transmitting the permission, transmitting, by the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device, an LBT configuration modification. The wireless communication method further includes transmitting, by the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device, the first communication signal based on the LBT configuration modification.

[0186] The wireless communication method may further include one or more of the following features. For example, the method includes that the LBT configuration modification is associated with the channel access priority. The LBT configuration indicates a first contention window, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second contention window different from the first contention window. The LBT configuration indicates a first idle channel assessment time period, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second idle channel assessment time period different from the first idle channel assessment time period. The LBT configuration indicates a first LBT start time, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second LBT start time different from the first LBT start time. The LBT configuration indicates a first energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second ED threshold different from the first ED threshold. The LBT configuration indicates an energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification includes a configuration for modifying the ED threshold based on the reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement. The LBT configuration modification is associated with a time period. The method may include that the first wireless communication device performs LBT based on the LBT configuration modification in response to determining that the first communication signal will be transmitted during the time period. The transmission permission includes that the first wireless communication device transmits a configuration permission for the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The transmission permission includes that the first wireless communication device conveys a scheduling permission for the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. Transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes that the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device transmit the LBT configuration modification via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. Transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes that the first wireless communication device transmits the LBT configuration modification to a group of wireless communication devices including the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. Transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes that the first wireless communication device receives the LBT configuration modification from the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. Transmitting the first communication signal includes that the first wireless communication device sends the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device using the LBT configuration modification in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with a first service priority. The first service priority is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), while the second service priority is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). Transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes that the first wireless communication device sends the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device in response to the determination. The first communication signal is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and the second communication signal is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).The transmission permission includes the permission for the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device to transmit on a first frequency carrier; and the transmission of LBT configuration modification includes the transmission of LBT configuration modification by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device on a second frequency carrier different from the first frequency carrier. The transmission of LBT configuration includes the transmission of permission by the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device through a first transmit-receive point (TRP); and the transmission of LBT configuration modification includes the transmission of LBT configuration modification by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device via a second TRP different from the first TRP. The LBT configuration modification includes at least one of a signal detection configuration or a message detection configuration for determining the channel occupancy status. The transmission of the first communication signal includes the transmission of the first communication signal by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device during a configured time period within the COT in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with the traffic priority allowed in the COT. The traffic priority allowed in the COT is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).

[0187] Other aspects of the present disclosure include a wireless communication method. The wireless communication method includes the transmission of permission for the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device to transmit one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period, and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period. The wireless communication method further includes the transmission of at least one of the first communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or the second communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device.

[0188] The wireless communication method may further include one or more of the following features. For example, the method includes a first time period that follows a channel occupancy time (COT) during which scheduled communication between a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device is permitted, and a second time period that is outside the first time period. A first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmission of a first communication signal during the first time period after the COT. A first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmission of a first communication signal during the first time period after the COT when the first communication signal has the same traffic priority as the scheduled communication. The first LBT configuration includes first LBT parameters, and a second LBT configuration includes second LBT parameters different from the first LBT parameters, where the first LBT parameters and the second LBT parameters are associated with at least one of an energy detection (ED) threshold or a contention window (CW). The method may include the first wireless communication device transmitting instructions to the second wireless communication device to enable the first LBT configuration during the first time period. The method may include the first wireless communication device transmitting instructions to the second wireless communication device to disable the first LBT configuration during the first time period.

[0189] Other aspects of the present disclosure include an apparatus that includes a transceiver configured to transmit to a second wireless communication device a permission for transmitting a first communication signal, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration; and after transmitting the permission, transmit an LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device; and based on the LBT configuration modification, transmit the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device.

[0190] The apparatus may further include one or more of the following features. For example, the apparatus includes a case where the LBT configuration modification is associated with channel access priority. The LBT configuration indicates a first contention window, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second contention window different from the first contention window. The LBT configuration indicates a first idle channel assessment time period, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second idle channel assessment time period different from the first idle channel assessment time period. The LBT configuration indicates a first LBT start time, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second LBT start time different from the first LBT start time. The LBT configuration indicates a first energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second ED threshold different from the first ED threshold. The LBT configuration indicates an energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification includes a configuration for modifying the ED threshold based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement. The LBT configuration modification is associated with a time period. The apparatus may include a processor configured to perform LBT based on the LBT configuration modification in response to determining that a first communication signal is to be transmitted during the time period. A transceiver configured to transmit a grant is configured to transmit a configuration grant for the first communication signal to a second wireless communication device via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. A transceiver configured to transmit a grant is configured to transmit a scheduling grant for the first communication signal to a second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. A transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to a second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. A transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to send the LBT configuration modification to a group of wireless communication devices including the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. A transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to receive the LBT configuration modification from the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. A transceiver configured to transmit the first communication signal is configured to send the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device using the LBT configuration modification in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with a first traffic priority. The first traffic priority is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), while the second traffic priority is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). A transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to send the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device in response to the determination. The first communication signal is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and a second communication signal is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).A transceiver configured to transmit a permission is configured to transmit the permission to a second wireless communication device via a first frequency carrier; and a transceiver configured to transmit an LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device via a second frequency carrier different from the first frequency carrier. A transceiver configured to transmit an LBT configuration is configured to transmit the permission to a second wireless communication device via a first transmit-receive point (TRP); and a transceiver configured to transmit an LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device via a second TRP different from the first TRP. The LBT configuration modification includes at least one of a signal detection configuration or a message detection configuration for determining a channel occupancy state. The transceiver is further configured to transmit a channel occupancy time (COT) indicator to the second wireless communication device, the COT indicator indicating the COT and a permitted traffic priority in the COT; the apparatus further includes a processor configured to determine that a configured time period of a first communication signal indicated by the permission is within the COT; and determine whether the first communication signal is associated with a permitted traffic priority in the COT; and a transceiver configured to transmit the first communication signal is configured to transmit the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device during the configured time period within the COT in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with a permitted traffic priority in the COT. The permitted traffic priority in the COT is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).

[0191] Other aspects of the present disclosure include an apparatus including a transceiver configured to transmit to a second wireless communication device a permission for transmitting one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period; and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period. The apparatus further includes transmitting to the second wireless communication device at least one of a first communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or a second communication signal among the one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0192] The apparatus may further include one or more of the following features. For example, the apparatus includes a first time period after a channel occupancy time (COT) during which scheduled communication between the apparatus and a second wireless communication device is permitted, and a second time period outside the first time period. A first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmission of a first communication signal during the first time period after the COT. The first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmission of the first communication signal during the first time period after the COT when the first communication signal has the same traffic priority as the scheduled communication. The first LBT configuration includes first LBT parameters, and a second LBT configuration includes second LBT parameters different from the first LBT parameters, where the first LBT parameters and the second LBT parameters are associated with at least one of an energy detection (ED) threshold or a contention window (CW). The transceiver is further configured to communicate to the second wireless communication device an instruction to enable the first LBT configuration during the first time period. The transceiver is further configured to communicate to the second wireless communication device an instruction to disable the first LBT configuration during the first time period.

[0193] Other aspects of the present disclosure include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The non-transitory computer-readable medium includes code for causing a first wireless communication device to communicate to a second wireless communication device a permission for transmitting a first communication signal, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration. The non-transitory computer-readable medium further includes code for causing the first wireless communication device to communicate to the second wireless communication device an LBT configuration modification after the transmission permission. The non-transitory computer-readable medium further includes code for causing the first wireless communication device to communicate the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification.

[0194] The non-transitory computer-readable medium may further include one or more of the following features. For example, the LBT configuration modification is associated with a channel access priority. The LBT configuration indicates a first contention window, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second contention window different from the first contention window. The LBT configuration indicates a first idle channel assessment period, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second idle channel assessment period different from the first idle channel assessment period. The LBT configuration indicates a first LBT start time, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second LBT start time different from the first LBT start time. The LBT configuration indicates a first energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second ED threshold different from the first ED threshold. The LBT configuration indicates an energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification includes a configuration for modifying the ED threshold based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement. The LBT configuration modification is associated with a time period. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include code for causing a first wireless communication device to perform LBT based on the LBT configuration modification in response to determining that a first communication signal is to be transmitted during the time period. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit a grant is configured to transmit a configuration grant for the first communication signal to a second wireless communication device via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit a grant is configured to transmit a scheduling grant for the first communication signal to a second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to a second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to a group of wireless communication devices including the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to receive the LBT configuration modification from the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the first communication signal is configured to send the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device using the LBT configuration modification in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with a first traffic priority. The first traffic priority is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), while the second traffic priority is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to send the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device in response to the determination. The first communication signal is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and the second communication signal is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the permission is configured to transmit the permission with the second wireless communication device via a first frequency carrier; and the code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification with the second wireless communication device on a second frequency carrier different from the first frequency carrier. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the LBT configuration is configured to transmit the permission with the second wireless communication device via a first transmit-receive point (TRP); and the code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification with the second wireless communication device via a second TRP different from the first TRP. The LBT configuration modification includes at least one of a signal detection configuration or a message detection configuration for determining a channel occupancy state. The code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit a first communication signal is configured to transmit the first communication signal with the second wireless communication device during a configured time period within the COT in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with a traffic priority allowed in the COT. The traffic priority allowed in the COT is related to ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).

[0195] Other aspects of the present disclosure include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The non-transitory computer-readable medium includes code for causing a first wireless communication device to transmit with a second wireless communication device a permission for transmitting one or more communication signals, the permission indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period, and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period. The non-transitory computer-readable medium further includes code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit with the second wireless communication device at least one of a first communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or a second communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0196] The non - transitory computer - readable medium may further include one or more of the following features. For example, a first time period is after a channel occupancy time (COT), during which scheduled communication between a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device is permitted, and a second time period is outside the first time period. A first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmitting a first communication signal during the first time period after the COT. The first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmitting the first communication signal during the first time period after the COT when the first communication signal has the same traffic priority as the scheduled communication. The first LBT configuration includes first LBT parameters, and a second LBT configuration includes second LBT parameters different from the first LBT parameters, where the first LBT parameters and the second LBT parameters are associated with at least one of an energy detection (ED) threshold or a contention window (CW). The non - transitory computer - readable medium may include code for causing the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device to transmit instructions for enabling the first LBT configuration during the first time period. The non - transitory computer - readable medium may include code for causing the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device to transmit instructions for disabling the first LBT configuration during the first time period.

[0197] Other aspects of the present disclosure include an apparatus that further includes a module for transmitting, to a second wireless communication device, a permission for transmitting a first communication signal, the permission indicating a listen - before - talk (LBT) configuration. The apparatus further includes a module for transmitting, to the second wireless communication device, an LBT configuration modification after transmitting the permission. The apparatus further includes a module for transmitting the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification.

[0198] The apparatus may further include one or more of the following features. For example, the LBT configuration modification is associated with channel access priority. The LBT configuration indicates a first contention window, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second contention window different from the first contention window. The LBT configuration indicates a first idle channel assessment time period, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second idle channel assessment time period different from the first idle channel assessment time period. The LBT configuration indicates a first LBT start time, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second LBT start time different from the first LBT start time. The LBT configuration indicates a first energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification indicates a second ED threshold different from the first ED threshold. The LBT configuration indicates an energy detection (ED) threshold, and the LBT configuration modification includes a configuration for modifying the ED threshold based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement. The LBT configuration modification is associated with a time period. The apparatus may include a module for performing LBT based on the LBT configuration modification in response to determining to transmit a first communication signal during the time period. The module for transmitting a grant is configured to transmit a configuration grant for the first communication signal to a second wireless communication device via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The module for transmitting a grant is configured to transmit a scheduling grant for the first communication signal to a second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The module for transmitting the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to a second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The module for transmitting the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to a group of wireless communication devices including the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. The module for transmitting the LBT configuration modification is configured to receive the LBT configuration modification from the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling. The module for transmitting the first communication signal is configured to transmit the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device using the LBT configuration modification in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with a first traffic priority. The first traffic priority is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), while the second traffic priority is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). The module for transmitting the LBT configuration modification is configured to send the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device in response to the determination. The first communication signal is associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and the second communication signal is associated with ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). The module for transmitting a grant is configured to transmit a grant to the second wireless communication device via a first frequency carrier; and the module for transmitting the LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device via a second frequency carrier different from the first frequency carrier.The module for transmitting the LBT configuration is configured to transmit a grant to a second wireless communication device via a first transmit-receive point (TRP); and the module for transmitting an LBT configuration modification is configured to transmit an LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device via a second TRP different from the first TRP. The LBT configuration modification includes at least one of a signal detection configuration or a message detection configuration for determining a channel occupancy state. The module for transmitting a first communication signal is configured to transmit the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device during a configured time period within a COT in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with a traffic priority allowed in the COT. The traffic priority allowed in the COT is related to ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).

[0199] Other aspects of the present disclosure include an apparatus that includes a module for transmitting a grant for transmitting one or more communication signals to a second wireless communication device, the grant indicating a first listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration associated with a first time period and a second LBT configuration associated with a second time period different from the first time period. The apparatus further includes a module for transmitting to the second wireless communication device at least one of a first communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the first LBT configuration during the first time period or a second communication signal among one or more communication signals based on the second LBT configuration during the second time period.

[0200] The apparatus may further include one or more of the following features. For example, the apparatus includes where the first time period is after a channel occupancy time (COT) during which scheduled communication between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device is permitted, and where the second time period is outside the first time period. The first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmitting the first communication signal during the first time period after the COT. The first LBT configuration prohibits type 4 LBT and prohibits transmitting the first communication signal during the first time period after the COT when the first communication signal has the same traffic priority as the scheduled communication. The first LBT configuration includes first LBT parameters, and where the second LBT configuration includes second LBT parameters different from the first LBT parameters, where the first LBT parameters and the second LBT parameters are associated with at least one of an energy detection (ED) threshold or a contention window (CW). The apparatus may include a module for transmitting instructions to enable the first LBT configuration to the second wireless communication device during the first time period. The apparatus may include a module for transmitting instructions to disable the first LBT configuration to the second wireless communication device during the first time period.

[0201] Information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsets referred to throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0202] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0203] The functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination of these. The features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various positions, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented at different physical locations. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, the "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list beginning with phrases such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, such that a list of [at least one of A, B, or C] represents A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

[0204] As will now be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art and depending on the particular application at hand, many modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made in the materials, apparatus, configurations, and methods of use of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In view of this, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the scope of the specific embodiments illustrated and described herein, as they are merely examples of the present disclosure, but rather should be fully commensurate with the scope of the following appended claims and their functional equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting, by a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device, a grant for transmitting a first communication signal on a first frequency carrier, the grant indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration ； and after transmitting the grant, transmitting, by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, an LBT configuration modification based on a second communication signal having a higher traffic priority than the first communication signal, on a second frequency carrier different from the first frequency carrier; and transmitting, by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, the first communication signal based on the LBT configuration modification.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the LBT configuration modification is associated with a channel access priority.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the LBT configuration indicates a first contention window, and wherein the LBT configuration modification indicates a second contention window different from the first contention window.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the LBT configuration indicates a first idle channel assessment period, and wherein the LBT configuration modification indicates a second idle channel assessment period different from the first idle channel assessment period.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the LBT configuration indicates a first LBT start time, and wherein the LBT configuration modification indicates a second LBT start time different from the first LBT start time.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the LBT configuration modification is associated with a time period; and the method further comprises: performing, by the first wireless communication device in response to determining that the first communication signal will be transmitted during the time period, LBT based on the LBT configuration modification.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, transmitting the LBT configuration modification comprises: transmitting, by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, the LBT configuration modification via downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, transmitting the LBT configuration modification comprises: transmitting, by the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, the LBT configuration modification via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the first wireless communication device, whether the first communication signal is associated with a first traffic priority or a second traffic priority, wherein transmitting the first communication signal comprises: transmitting, by the first wireless communication device in response to determining that the first communication signal is associated with the first traffic priority, the first communication signal to the second wireless communication device using the LBT configuration modification.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the first wireless communication device, that the second communication signal has a higher traffic priority than the first communication signal, wherein transmitting the LBT configuration modification comprises: transmitting, by the first wireless communication device in response to the determination, the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: transmitting the LBT configuration comprises: The first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device transmit the permission via a first transmission-reception point (TRP); and Transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes: The first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device transmit the LBT configuration modification via a second TRP different from the first TRP.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The LBT configuration modification includes at least one of a signal detection configuration or a message detection configuration for determining a channel occupancy state.

13. An apparatus, comprising: A transceiver configured to: Transmit a permission for transmitting a first communication signal on a first frequency carrier with a second wireless communication device, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration ； and After transmitting the permission, transmit an LBT configuration modification with the second wireless communication device on a second frequency carrier different from the first frequency carrier based on a second communication signal having a higher traffic priority than the first communication signal; and Transmit a first communication signal with the second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, The LBT configuration modification is associated with a channel access priority.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, The LBT configuration modification indicates at least one of the following: A first contention window different from a second contention window indicated in the LBT configuration; A first idle channel assessment period different from a second idle channel assessment period indicated in the LBT configuration; or A first LBT start time different from a second LBT start time indicated in the LBT configuration.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, The transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to: Transmit the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

17. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, The transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to: Transmit the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling.

18. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: The transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration is configured to: Transmit the permission to the second wireless communication device via a first transmission-reception point (TRP); and the transceiver configured to transmit the LBT configuration modification is configured to: Transmit the LBT configuration modification to the second wireless communication device via a second TRP different from the first TRP.

19. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, The LBT configuration modification includes at least one of a signal detection configuration or a message detection configuration for determining a channel occupancy state.

20. An apparatus, comprising: Components for transmitting a permission for transmitting a first communication signal on a first frequency carrier with a second wireless communication device, the permission indicating a listen-before-talk (LBT) configuration; a component for transmitting, after transmitting the permission, an LBT configuration modification to a second wireless communication device based on a second communication signal having a higher traffic priority than the first communication signal on a second frequency carrier different from the first frequency carrier; and a component for transmitting a first communication signal to a second wireless communication device based on the LBT configuration modification.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein, the LBT configuration modification is associated with a channel access priority.

22. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein, the LBT configuration modification indicates at least one of the following: a first contention window different from a second contention window indicated in the LBT configuration; a first idle channel assessment period different from a second idle channel assessment period indicated in the LBT configuration; or a first LBT start time different from a second LBT start time indicated in the LBT configuration.

23. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein, the component for transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes: a component for transmitting the LBT configuration modification to a second wireless communication device via downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

24. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein, the component for transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes: a component for transmitting the LBT configuration modification to a second wireless communication device via group common downlink control information (GC-DCI) signaling.

25. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein: the component for transmitting the LBT configuration includes: a component for a first transmit-receive point (TRP) to transmit the permission to a second wireless communication device; and the component for transmitting the LBT configuration modification includes: a component for transmitting the LBT configuration modification to a second wireless communication device via a second TRP different from the first TRP.

26. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein, the LBT configuration modification includes at least one of a signal detection configuration or a message detection configuration for determining a channel occupancy state.

27. A computer-readable medium having recorded thereon one or more computer instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to execute the method of wireless communication according to any one of claims 1-12.

28. A computer program product comprising one or more computer instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to execute the method of wireless communication according to any one of claims 1-12.

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