Synchronization signal block positioning for frame-based device mode in cellular communications

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus for cellular communications. In one aspect, a UE determines an FFP for a cell signal of the UE in a frame-based device mode, determines one or more SSB positions in the cell signal based on the FFP, and performs radio management of the UE based at least in part on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. Performing radio management may include using one or more SSB positions that do not include one or more invalid SSB candidate positions in the FFP. Radio management may include PDSCH rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement, or radio resource management. In some implementations, one or more SSB positions are SSB positions after the first eight SSB positions in the FFP. In some other implementations, one or more SSB positions are SSB positions that at least partially overlap with idle periods between FFPs.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is the 371st national phase of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application No. PCT / CN2020 / 075187, filed on February 14, 2020, and entitled SYNCHRONIZATION SIGNAL BLOCKLOCATION FOR FRAME BASED EQUIPMENT MODE IN CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to user equipment operation and configuration based on synchronization signal block positioning in cellular communications configured for frame-based device mode. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources, such as time, frequency, and power. Examples of such multiple access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems (such as long term evolution (LTE) systems or fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) systems). A wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations or access network nodes, each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices, which may be further referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at city, country, region, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR), which is part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution released by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability, and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). There is a need for further improvements in 5G NR technology. These improvements can also be applied to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the invention

[0006] The systems, methods and devices of the present disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0007] An innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented as a method for wireless communication. The method may be performed by a user equipment (UE) and may include determining a fixed frame period (FFP) for a frame-based equipment (FBE) mode for the UE, determining one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP, and performing radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. Performing radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions may include performing radio management using one or more SSB positions that do not include one or more invalid SSB candidate positions in the FFP. The radio management of the UE may include one or more of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) rate matching (RM), radio link monitoring or measurement (RLM), or radio resource management (RRM).

[0008] In some implementations, the method includes determining a subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the SSB. One or more invalid SSB candidate positions may also be determined based at least in part on the SCS. In some additional implementations, when the FFP is 2.5 milliseconds and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 18, and 19. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the first 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, and 11 of the second 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the third 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the fourth 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 5 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. When the FFP is 10 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. When the FFP is 5 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8 and 9. When the FFP is 10 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8 and 9.

[0009] The method may include determining that the first eight SSB positions in each FFP are valid. Using the one or more SSB positions to perform radio management of the UE includes using one or more SSB positions in the first eight SSB positions in each FFP. When the SCS is 15 kHz, determining that the last two SSB positions of the ten defined SSB positions in each FFP are invalid. When the SCS is 30 kHz, determining that the last twelve SSB positions of the twenty defined SSB positions in each FFP are invalid.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented as a method for wireless communication. The method may be performed by a user equipment (UE) and may include: determining that a fixed frame period (FFP) for a frame-based device (FBE) mode for the UE is 5 milliseconds or 10 milliseconds, and limiting a discovery reference signal (DRS) window length based at least in part on the FFP. In some implementations, the DRS window length is limited by configuring a parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16. The method may include: determining that a subcarrier spacing (SCS) for a synchronization signal block (SSB) in a cell signal is 30 kilohertz, and in response to determining that the SCS is 30 kilohertz, determining that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 2 milliseconds. If the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is not configured, determining that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 2 milliseconds may include assuming by the UE that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 2 milliseconds. In some other implementations, the method includes determining that a subcarrier spacing (SCS) for a synchronization signal block (SSB) in a cell signal is 15 kHz, and in response to determining that the SCS is 15 kHz, determining that the range is 4 milliseconds. If the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-R16 is not configured, determining that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-R16 is 4 milliseconds includes assuming, by the UE, that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-R16 is 4 milliseconds.

[0011] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented as a method for wireless communication. The method may be performed by a user equipment (UE) and may include: determining a fixed frame period (FFP) for a frame-based equipment (FBE) mode for the UE, determining one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions that at least partially overlap with an idle period of the FFP based at least in part on the FFP, and performing radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. In some implementations, performing radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions includes performing radio management using one or more SSB positions that do not include one or more invalid SSB candidate positions in the FFP. The radio management of the UE may include one or more of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement (RLM), or radio resource management (RRM).

[0012] In some implementations, the method includes determining an idle length of an idle period. One or more invalid SSB candidate positions may also be determined based at least in part on the idle length. The method may also include determining a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SSB. One or more invalid SSB candidate positions may also be determined based at least in part on the SCS.

[0013] In some implementations, when the FFP is 1 millisecond, the idle length is 100 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19. When the FFP is 2 milliseconds, the idle length is 100 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 7 and 15 of the first 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 2 milliseconds, the idle length is 100 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 7 and 15 of the third 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 2 milliseconds, the idle length is 100 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3, 11, and 19 of the second 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 2 milliseconds, the idle length is 100 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3, 11, and 19 of the fourth 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 2.5 milliseconds, the idle length is 125 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 9 and 19. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 15 of the first 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 11 of the second 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 7 of the third 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3 and 19 of the fourth 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 5 milliseconds, the idle length is 250 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 19. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 15 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 7 of the first 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 15 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 5 of the second 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 15 kilohertz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 3 of the third 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period.When the FFP is 4 milliseconds, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 15 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 1 and 9 of the fourth 5 milliseconds of the 20 millisecond period. When the FFP is 5 milliseconds, the idle length is 250 microseconds, and the SCS is 15 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 9.

[0014] In some implementations, the method includes determining that the SSB position at least partially overlaps with an idle period, and determining that the SSB position is included in one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on determining that the SSB position at least partially overlaps with the idle period.

[0015] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a method for wireless communication. The method can be performed by a user equipment (UE) and can include: determining a fixed frame period (FFP) for a frame-based device (FBE) mode for the UE, determining a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a synchronization signal block (SSB) in a cell signal, determining one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP and the SCS, and performing radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. In some implementations, performing radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions includes performing radio management using one or more SSB positions that do not include one or more invalid SSB candidate positions in the FFP. Radio management can include one or more of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) rate matching (RM), radio link monitoring or measurement (RLM), or radio resource management (RRM).

[0016] When the FFP is 1 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19. When the FFP is 2 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 7 and 15 of the first 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 2 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 7 and 15 of the third 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 2 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3, 11, and 19 of the second 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 2 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3, 11, and 19 of the fourth 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 2.5 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 18, and 19. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the first 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, and 11 of the second 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 7, 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the third 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the fourth 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 5 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. When the FFP is 10 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 7 for the first 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 5 for the second 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include position 3 for the third 5 ms of the 20 ms period. When the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 1 and 9 of the fourth 5 ms of the 20 ms period.When the FFP is 5 ms, the idle length is 250 μs, and the SCS is 15 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8 and 9. When the FFP is 10 ms, the idle length is 500 μs, and the SCS is 30 kHz, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions include positions 8 and 9.

[0017] In some implementations, the method includes limiting a discovery reference signal (DRS) window length based at least in part on the FFP when the FFP is 5 milliseconds or 10 milliseconds. The DRS window length may be limited by configuring a parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16. The method may include determining that the SCS is 30 kilohertz, and in response to determining that the SCS is 30 kilohertz, determining that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 2 milliseconds. In some other implementations, the method may include determining that the SCS is 15 kilohertz, and in response to determining that the SCS is 15 kilohertz, determining that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 4 milliseconds.

[0018] In some implementations, the method includes determining that an SSB position in the first eight SSB positions in each FFP is valid, wherein using the one or more SSB positions to perform radio management for the UE includes using the one or more SSB positions in the first eight SSB positions in each FFP. When the SCS is 15 kHz, determining that the last two SSB positions in the ten SSB positions defined in each FFP are invalid. When the SCS is 30 kHz, determining that the last twelve SSB positions in the twenty SSB positions defined in each FFP are invalid.

[0019] For the above method, when the cell signal is a neighbor cell signal, the method may include: determining that the FFP of the neighbor cell signal is the same as the FFP of the serving cell signal. Also for the above method, the cell signal may be for 5G-New Radio (5G-NR) cellular communication.

[0020] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented in a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication. The UE includes one or more processors and a memory, the memory is coupled to the one or more processors and stores instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the UE to perform the operations of any of the aforementioned methods.

[0021] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable memory. The computer-readable memory includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform the operations of any of the foregoing methods.

[0022] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication. The UE includes means for performing the operations of any of the aforementioned methods.

[0023] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. It should be noted that the relative dimensions of the following drawings may not be drawn to scale. It should also be noted that dashed lines or boxes may indicate optional steps or components of a method, system, or device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 Diagrams illustrating an example wireless communication system and access network are shown.

[0025] Figure 2A An example of the first 5G / NR frame is shown.

[0026] Figure 2B Example downlink (DL) channels within a 5G / NR timeslot are shown.

[0027] Figure 2C An example of a second 5G / NR frame is shown.

[0028] Figure 2D Example uplink (UL) channels within a 5G / NR timeslot are shown.

[0029] Figure 3 A diagram illustrating an example base station and user equipment (UE) in an access network is shown.

[0030] Figure 4 An example timing of a fixed frame period for communicating over a wireless channel is shown.

[0031] Figure 5 Example timing showing the location of synchronization signal blocks in one or more frames for different subcarrier spacings.

[0032] Figure 6 An example sequence of candidate synchronization signal block locations is shown for different fixed frame periods and subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz.

[0033] Figure 7An example sequence of candidate sync signal block locations is shown for a fixed frame period of 4 milliseconds and for different half-frames of a 20 millisecond block comprising two frames.

[0034] Figure 8 A flow diagram is shown depicting example operations for a UE to perform radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid synchronization signal block candidate locations in a half-frame.

[0035] Fig. 9 A table of example invalid synchronization signal block candidate locations based on a fixed frame period and subcarrier spacing is shown.

[0036] Fig.10 A flow diagram depicting example operations for limiting a discovery reference signal window length based at least in part on a fixed frame period is shown.

[0037] Fig.11 A flow diagram is shown depicting example operations for a UE to perform radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid synchronization signal block candidate locations that at least partially overlap with an idle period of a fixed frame period.

[0038] Fig.12 A table of example invalid synchronization signal block candidate positions based on a fixed frame period, an idle length of an idle period, and a subcarrier spacing is shown.

[0039] Fig.13 A flowchart is shown depicting example operations for a UE to perform radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid synchronization signal block candidate locations, which may at least partially overlap with an idle period of a fixed frame period or be in a later portion of the fixed frame period.

[0040] Fig.14 A table of example invalid synchronization signal block candidate locations based on a fixed frame period and subcarrier spacing is shown.

[0041] Fig.15 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flow between different parts / components in an example apparatus in a UE.

[0042] Fig.16 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the flow of data between different parts / components in an example apparatus in a base station.

[0043] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] For the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of the present disclosure, the following description is directed to some specific implementations. However, it will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. The described implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of sending and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the following: Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR), which may be referred to as 5G-NR, 5G / NR, etc.) standards issued by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, or as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) Standards, and other standards. The described implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of sending and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or methods: code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), single user (SU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO), and multi-user (MU) MIMO. The described implementations can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of the following: wireless wide area network (WWAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), or Internet of Things (IOT) network.

[0045] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0046] For example, an element, or any part of an element, or any combination of elements can be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a system on a chip (SoC), a baseband processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, a gating logic, a discrete hardware circuit, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions described throughout the present disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system can execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, processes, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other.

[0047] Accordingly, in one or more example implementations, the described functions can be implemented with hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented with software, the functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium or encoded as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of computer-readable media of the aforementioned types, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0048] Figure 1 A diagram of an example wireless communication system and access network 100 is shown. The wireless communication system 100 (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (such as a 5G core (5GC)). The base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high-power cellular base station) or a small cell (a low-power cellular base station). A macro cell includes a base station. Small cells include femto cells, pico cells, and micro cells.

[0049] Base stations 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 (such as an S1 interface). Base stations 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with core network 190 via a backhaul link 184. Base stations 102 may perform one or more of the following functions, among other functions: transmission of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (such as handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and transmission of warning messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other via backhaul links 134, such as an X2 interface, directly or indirectly, such as via EPC 160 or core network 190. Backhaul links 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0050] Base station 102 can communicate with UE 104 wirelessly. Each base station 102 in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). A communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, or transmit diversity. The communication link may be through one or more carriers. Base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (such as 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, etc.) per carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. The carriers may be adjacent to each other or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (such as more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​than for UL). The component carrier may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0051] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on IEEE 802.11 standards, LTE, or NR.

[0052] The wireless communication system may also include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) before communicating to determine whether the channel is available.

[0053] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may improve coverage of the access network or increase capacity of the access network.

[0054] The base station 102 (whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (such as a macro base station)) may include an eNB, a gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in the traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, or near mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave or mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30Ghz to 300GHz and has a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can extend down to frequencies of 3GHz with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3Ghz and 30GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands (such as between 3 GHz - 300 GHz) have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.

[0055] The base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals in one or more transmit directions 182' to the UE 104. The UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182". The UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180 and the UE 104 may perform beam training to determine an optimal receive direction and an optimal transmit direction for each of the base station 180 and the UE 104. The transmit direction and the receive direction of the base station 180 may or may not be the same. The transmit direction and the receive direction of the UE 104 may or may not be the same.

[0056] The EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may communicate with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. Typically, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are transmitted through the serving gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS services to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area that broadcasts a specific service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS-related billing information.

[0057] The core network 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a session management function (SMF) 194, and a user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may communicate with a unified data management (UDM) 196. AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and the core network 190. Typically, AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are transmitted through UPF 195. UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. UPF 195 is connected to IP services 197. IP services 197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, or other IP services.

[0058] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmit receive point (TRP), or some other appropriate term. Base station 102 provides an access point to EPC 160 or core network 190 for UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (such as an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet device, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similarly functional device. Some of UE 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (such as parking meters, gas pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handheld device, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0059] Figure 2A An example of a first time slot 200 within a 5G / NR frame structure is shown. Figure 2B An example of a DL channel 230 within a 5G / NR timeslot is shown. Figure 2C An example of a second time slot 250 within a 5G / NR frame structure is shown. Figure 2D An example of a UL channel 280 within a 5G / NR time slot is shown. In some cases, the 5G / NR frame structure may be FDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), a time slot within a subcarrier set is dedicated to either DL transmission or UL transmission. In other cases, the 5G / NR frame structure may be TDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), a time slot within a subcarrier set is dedicated to both DL transmission and UL transmission. Figure 2A and 2CIn the example shown in , the 5G / NR frame structure is based on TDD, where slot 4 is configured with slot format 28 (most of which are DL), where D indicates DL, U indicates UL, and X indicates that the slot can be flexibly used between DL and UL, and where slot 3 is configured with slot format 34 (most of which are UL). Although slots 3 and 4 are shown with slot formats 34 and 28, respectively, any particular slot can be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are full DL and full UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The UE can be dynamically configured with a slot format through downlink control information (DCI), or semi-statically configured with a slot format through radio resource control (RRC) signaled by a slot format indicator (SFI). The configured slot format can also be applied to a 5G / NR frame structure based on FDD.

[0060] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures or different channels. A frame may be divided into multiple subframes of equal size. For example, a frame with a duration of 10 microseconds (μs) may be divided into 10 subframes of equal size, each subframe having a duration of 1 μs. Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a microslot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbol on the DL may be a cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbol. The symbol on the UL may be a CP-OFDM symbol (such as for high throughput scenarios) or a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol (also known as a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbol) (such as for power-limited scenarios).

[0061] The number of slots within a subframe can be based on the slot configuration and parameter set. For slot configuration 0, different parameter sets (μ) 0 to 5 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter sets 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and parameter set μ, there are 14 symbols per slot and 2μ slots per subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are functions of the parameter set. The subcarrier spacing can be equal to 2^μ*15kHz, where μ is parameter set 0 to 5. Therefore, parameter set μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and parameter set μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480kHz. The symbol length / duration is negatively correlated with the subcarrier spacing. Figure 2A-2DAn example is provided for slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter set μ=0 with 1 slot per subframe. The subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz and the symbol duration is approximately 66.7 microseconds (μs).

[0062] The resource grid can be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also known as a physical RB (PRB)), which spans 12 consecutive subcarriers and extends across multiple symbols. The intersection of subcarriers and spans 14 symbols. The intersection of subcarriers and RBs defines multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0063] like Figure 2A As shown in , some of the REs carry reference signals (RS) for the UE. In some configurations, one or more REs may carry a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) (indicated as Rx for a particular configuration, where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are also possible). In some configurations, one or more REs may carry a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for channel measurement at the UE. REs may also include a beam measurement reference signal (BRS), a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS), and a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS).

[0064] Figure 2B Examples of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame are shown. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including nine RE groups (REGs), each REG including four consecutive REs in one OFDM symbol. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of the frame. The PSS is used by UE 104 to determine subframe or symbol timing and physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of the frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE may determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries the master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not sent through the PBCH (such as System Information Blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0065] like Figure 2CAs shown in , some of the REs carry DM-RS for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for one specific configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are also possible). The UE can send DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS can be sent in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. Depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is sent and depending on the specific PUCCH format used, the PUCCH DM-RS can be sent in different configurations. Although not shown, the UE can send a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS can be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to achieve frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0066] Figure 2D An example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame is shown. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI) such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), or UCI.

[0067] Figure 3A block diagram of an example base station 310 and UE 350 in an access network is shown. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functions. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functions associated with: broadcasting of system information (such as MIB and SIB), RRC connection control (such as RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with: header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and switching support functions; RLC layer functions associated with: transmission of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0068] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1 (which includes the physical (PHY) layer) may include error detection on the transmission channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transmission channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 processes the mapping to the signal constellation diagram based on various modulation schemes (such as binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols can be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (such as a pilot signal) in the time domain or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived based on a reference signal or channel condition feedback sent by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0069] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, they can be merged into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. The RX processor 356 then transforms the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point sent by the base station 310. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent on the physical channel by the base station 310. The data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functions.

[0070] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

[0071] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functions associated with: system information (such as MIB and SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with: header compression / decompression, and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with: transmission of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0072] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 358 based on a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0073] UL transmissions are processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

[0074] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between transport channels and logical channels to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations. Information to be communicated wirelessly (such as for communications based on LTE or NR) is encoded at the PHY layer and mapped to one or more wireless channels for transmission.

[0075] exist Figure 3 In the example of , each antenna 352 of UE 350 is coupled to a corresponding transmitter 354TX. However, in actual implementations, many UEs may have fewer transmitters (or transmit chains) than receive (RX) antennas. Although not shown for simplicity, each transmitter can be coupled to a corresponding power amplifier (PA), which amplifies the signal to be transmitted. The combination of a transmitter and a PA may be referred to as a "transmit chain" or "TX chain" in this article. In order to save cost or die area, the same PA can be reused to send signals on multiple RX antennas. In other words, one or more TX chains of a UE can be switchably coupled to multiple RX antenna ports.

[0076] Some cellular communication systems (such as Figure 1 The network 100 in FIG. 1 is configured for a listen-before-talk (LBT) scheme to access a wireless channel for wireless communication. One option for LBT is a frame-based device (FBE) mode. In FBE mode, the base station performs a clear channel assessment (CCA) at the end of each fixed frame period (FFP). If the CCA is successful (the base station does not sense that the wireless channel is occupied), the base station is able to transmit during the next FFP. If the CCA is unsuccessful (the base station senses that the wireless channel is occupied, such as by another cellular device, WLAN device, etc.), the base station assumes that the channel is busy and waits until the end of the next FFP to perform another CCA.

[0077] Figure 4An example timing 400 of an FFP 402 and an FFP 404 for communicating over a wireless channel is shown. The FFP 402 includes a channel occupation time (CoT) 406 during which the channel may be occupied by a UE or a base station. The FFP 402 also includes an idle period 410 during which the base station may perform LBT (such as CCA 414). The FFP 404 includes a channel occupation time (CoT) 408 during which the channel may be occupied by a UE or a base station. The FFP 404 also includes an idle period 412 during which the base station may perform LBT (such as CCA 416). The length of the FFP is fixed, where the length of the FFP 402 is equal to the length of the FFP 404. If the CCA 414 is successful, the base station may occupy the channel (such as to transmit to one or more UEs) during the CoT 408 of the next FFP 404.

[0078] The FBE mode of operation was introduced by 3GPP in Release 16 of the NR-U standard specification (referred to herein as the "standard specification"). As indicated in the standard specification, whether the network is operating in FBE mode may be indicated in the Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) sent by the base station to one or more UEs. The FFP configuration may be included in the first system information block (SIB1) of the RMSI. In some other implementations, the base station of the serving cell may signal the FFP configuration to the UE using UE-specific RRC signaling. The standard specification indicates the length of the FFP (including the idle period, such as Figure 4 The idle period (as shown) is configured to be 1 millisecond (ms), 2ms, 2.5ms, 4ms, 5ms, or 10ms. In addition, the idle period will be at least the minimum idle length that allows the base station to perform LBT. The standard specification indicates that the minimum idle length is the greater of five percent of the FFP or 100 microseconds. Before the base station transmits at the beginning of the FFP, the base station can perform a single LBT (e.g., during the 25 microsecond duration for the first symbol of the FFP).

[0079] To start transmission by the base station to the UE, the base station may send one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) after a single LBT. The UE uses the SSBs to perform radio management (such as PDSCH rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement (RLM), or radio resource management (RRM)). In some implementations, the base station sends an SSB burst (comprising multiple consecutive SSBs, such as 4 consecutive or 8 consecutive SSBs).

[0080] Figure 5An example timing 500 is shown for the location of SSBs in one or more frames for different subcarrier spacings. The subcarrier spacing (SCS) indicates the duration between OFDM symbols and, therefore, the number of SSB locations that can exist during a 10 ms frame. The SCS can be 15 kilohertz (kHz) or 30 kHz. A 20 ms object 502 includes two 10 ms frames 504 and 506. Each 10 ms frame includes ten 1 ms subframes (such as subframes 508-526 of frame 504). When the SCS is 15 kHz, up to two SSBs can be sent during a subframe (where each 1 ms subframe includes 14 symbols). In this way, each subframe includes two candidate SSB locations.

[0081] For a conventional system (such as LTE) in a load-based equipment (LBE) mode of an LBT scheme, an SSB may be sent during the first four subframes (first 4 ms) of the first half of every other frame (such as during subframes 508-514 of frame 504). In this way, the maximum SSB burst may be 8 SSBs because the first 4 ms includes 8 consecutive candidate SSB positions. For a 5G system, an SSB may also be sent during the last subframe (last 1 ms) of a frame half (such as during subframe 516). In this way, a maximum length SSB burst of 8 SSBs may span subframes 508-514 or subframes 510-516. Allowing the last 1 ms of a frame half to be used for an SSB burst allows the base station to use more time to perform LBT before an SSB burst when needed. In this way, frame 504 includes 10 candidate SSB positions (two for subframe 508, two for subframe 510, two for subframe 512, two for subframe 514, and two for subframe 516). SSB candidate positions 528 show the ten candidate positions 0-9 associated with the first five subframes 508-516 when the SCS is 15 kHz.

[0082] When the SCS is 30kHz, up to four SSBs may be sent during a subframe (where each half of the subframe includes 14 symbols). In this manner, each subframe includes four candidate SSB positions. For a 5G system that allows SSBs to be sent during the first five subframes of every other frame (such as during subframes 508-516), the first five subframes include 20 candidate SSB positions. SSB candidate positions 530 show twenty candidate positions 0-19 associated with the first five subframes 508-516 when the SCS is 30kHz. SSB candidate positions may also be referred to as candidate SSB positions.

[0083] When the network is in FBE mode, the base station may not be able to send SSBs during certain times of FFP, such as during one or more of SSB candidate positions in SSB candidate positions 528 when the SCS is 15 kHz or during one or more of SSB candidate positions in SSB candidate positions 530 when the SCS is 30 kHz. For example, an SSB position that does not start FFP may not start an SSB burst. In another example, an SSB position that at least partially overlaps an idle period may not be used to send an SSB.

[0084] Figure 6 An example sequence 600 of candidate SSB positions for different FFPs and an SCS of 30 kHz is shown. Each of SSB candidate positions 602-606 shows SSB positions 0-19. SSB candidate position 602 is associated with a 2.5 ms FFP, SSB candidate position 604 is associated with a 4 ms FFP, and SSB candidate position 606 is associated with a 5 ms FFP.

[0085] For an SCS of 30 kHz, each 1 ms subframe includes 4 candidate SSB positions. Referring to SSB candidate positions 602, the FFP is equal to 2.5 ms, the first FFP includes positions 0-9, and the second FFP includes positions 10-19. If an SSB burst is sent at the beginning of the FFP, and the maximum SSB burst is 8 SSBs, the first 8 SSBs of the FFP may be valid candidate SSB positions for including SSBs. For example, the first FFP includes valid candidate SSB positions 0-8, and the second FFP includes valid candidate SSB positions 10-17. In this way, SSB candidate positions 8 and 9 of the first FFP and SSB candidate positions 18 and 19 of the second FFP may not include SSBs. Referring to SSB candidate positions 604, the FFP is equal to 4 ms, the first FFP includes positions 0-15, and positions 16-19 are included in the second FFP. The first 8 SSBs of the FFP may be valid candidate SSB positions for including SSBs. Thus, the first FFP includes valid candidate SSB positions 0-7, and the second FFP includes valid candidate SSB positions 16-19. In this way, SSB candidate positions 8-15 of the first FFP may not include an SSB. Referring to SSB candidate position 606, the FFP is equal to 5ms, and the first FFP includes positions 0 to 19. The first 8 SSBs of the first FFP may be valid candidate SSB positions for including an SSB. Thus, the first FFP includes valid candidate SSB positions 0-7. In this way, SSB candidate positions 8-19 of the first FFP may not include an SSB. An SSB candidate position that does not include an SSB may be referred to as an invalid SSB candidate position or an empty SSB candidate position.

[0086] The base station can also be configured to send a signal outside the first 5 ms of every other frame (such as Figure 5 The base station may be configured to send an SSB burst during subframes 518-526 (during the second 5 ms of the 20 ms block 502). If the FFP is 2.5 ms, 5 ms, or 10 ms (because those values ​​divide evenly into 10 ms), then determining the valid SSB candidate position is the same as Figure 6 Otherwise, you can Figure 7 The figure shows the valid SSB candidate positions determined when the FFP is 4 ms.

[0087] Figure 7 The FFP for 4 ms and for a 20 ms block including two frames (such as Figure 5 700 of example sequences of candidate SSB positions for different half-frames of block 502 including frame 504 and frame 506. For a 20 ms block and a 4 ms FFP, the block includes 5 FFPs (indicated by 4ms FFP indices 0, 1, 2, 3, 4). The SSB burst sent in the first half of the first frame (first 5 ms of the 20 ms block) is represented by half-frame A. The SSB burst sent in the second half of the first frame (second 5 ms of the 20 ms block) is represented by half-frame B. The SSB burst sent in the first half of the second frame (third 5 ms of the 20 ms block) is represented by half-frame C. The SSB burst sent in the second half of the second frame (fourth 5 ms of the 20 ms block) is represented by half-frame D. As shown in FIG. Figure 7 As shown, the length of four half frames is equal to the length of five FFP indexes (20ms).

[0088] Half-frame A 702 indicates 20 candidate SSB positions for the first 5 ms of a 20 ms block when the SCS is 30 kHz. The start of half-frame A 702 is aligned with the start of the first FFP (FFP0). Therefore, if the base station is to send an SSB burst during the first 5 ms of a 20 ms block (during half-frame A 702), the first 8 SSB positions of half-frame A 702 can be considered valid (because the first 8 SSB positions of FFP0 are aligned with the first 8 SSB positions of half-frame A 702). For FFP equal to 4 ms, each FFP includes 16 SSB candidate positions. Therefore, for half-frame A 702, the remaining SSB positions in FFP0 (after the first 8 positions) are positions 8-15, and positions 8-15 can be considered invalid SSB candidate positions (where the SSB is not sent at any of the remaining SSB positions). The next FFP (FFP1) starts with SSB candidate position 16 of field A 702, and SSB positions 16-19 can be considered valid as being part of the first 8 SSB candidate positions of FFP1.

[0089] Half-frame B 704 indicates 20 candidate SSB positions for the second 5 ms of a 20 ms block when the SCS is 30 kHz. The start of half-frame B 704 is aligned with the last 3 ms of FFP1. Therefore, if the base station is to send an SSB burst during the second 5 ms of a 20 ms block (during half-frame B 704), the first 8 SSB positions of half-frame B 704 can be considered valid (because the 8 SSB positions of FFP1 are aligned with the first 8 SSB positions of half-frame B 704). The remaining SSB positions in FFP1 (after the first 8 positions) are positions 8-11, and positions 8-11 can be considered invalid SSB candidate positions (where an SSB is not sent at any of the remaining SSB positions). The next FFP (FFP2) starts with SSB candidate position 12 of half-frame B 704, and SSB positions 12-19 can be considered valid because they are the first 8 SSB candidate positions of FFP2.

[0090] Half frame C 706 indicates 20 candidate SSB positions for the third 5 ms of a 20 ms block when the SCS is 30 kHz. The start of half frame C 706 is aligned with the last 2 ms of FFP2. Therefore, if the base station is to send an SSB burst during the third 5 ms of a 20 ms block (during half frame C 706), the first 8 SSB positions of half frame C 706 can be considered valid (because the 8 SSB positions of FFP2 are aligned with the first 8 SSB positions of half frame C 706). There are no remaining SSB positions in FFP2 (after the first 8 positions), and the next FFP (FFP3) starts with SSB candidate position 8 of half frame C 706. Therefore, SSB positions 8-15 can be considered valid because they are the first 8 SSB candidate positions of FFP3. The remaining SSB positions in FFP3 (after the first 8 positions) are positions 16-19, and positions 16-19 can be considered invalid SSB candidate positions (where the SSB is not sent in any of the remaining SSB positions).

[0091] Half-frame D 708 indicates 20 candidate SSB positions for the fourth 5 ms of a 20 ms block when the SCS is 30 kHz. The start of half-frame D 708 is aligned with the last 1 ms of FFP3. Therefore, if the base station is to send an SSB burst during the fourth 5 ms of the 20 ms block (during half-frame D 708), the first 4 SSB positions of half-frame D 708 can be considered valid (because the last 4 SSB positions of FFP3 are aligned with the first 4 SSB positions of half-frame D 708). The next FFP (FFP4) starts with SSB candidate position 4 of half-frame D 708. Therefore, SSB positions 4-11 can be considered valid because they are the first 8 SSB candidate positions of FFP4. The remaining SSB positions in FFP4 (after the first 8 positions) are positions 12-19, and positions 12-19 can be considered invalid SSB candidate positions (where the SSB is not sent at any of the remaining SSB positions).

[0092] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, one or more SSB positions in the latter part of the FFP may be considered invalid, wherein the base station does not send an SSB during the one or more SSB positions. In addition, one or more SSB positions in the half frame may at least partially overlap with an idle period of the FFP, and the base station does not send an SSB during the SSB position overlapping with the idle period of the FFP (and the SSB position may be considered an invalid SSB candidate position).

[0093] However, the UE listens to the SSB during invalid SSB candidate positions, even though the base station does not transmit SSBs during those positions. As a result, the UE may attempt to perform radio management (such as rate matching, RLM, or RRM) based on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. Using invalid SSB candidate positions for radio management may negatively impact the quality of the connection between the UE and the base station (such as by affecting rate matching, link measurements, etc.). In addition, the UE listening to the SSB during invalid SSB candidate positions prevents these times from being used in other ways. For example, these times used to listen to non-incoming SSBs are not used to transmit on the PDSCH (thus limiting throughput).

[0094] In some implementations, the UE is configured to determine one or more invalid SSB candidate locations and perform radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations. For example, the UE may perform radio management using one or more SSB locations that do not include one or more invalid SSB candidate locations (thereby preventing one or more invalid SSB candidate locations from being used). In this way, the UE may limit the monitored SSBs to valid SSB candidate locations. In some implementations, the UE may communicate via the PDSCH (instead of monitoring the SSBs to perform radio management, such as rate matching, RLM, or RRM) using a time that includes one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

[0095] Figure 8 A flow chart depicting example operations 800 for a UE to perform radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions in a half-frame is shown. At 802, the UE determines an FFP (where the UE operates in FBE mode). For example, the UE may determine that the FFP is one of 1 ms, 2 ms, 2.5 ms, 4 ms, 5 ms, or 10 ms based on SIB1 from a serving base station. If the FFP is not configured or the UE is otherwise unable to determine the FFP, the UE may assume that the FFP is 5 ms.

[0096] In some implementations, the UE may determine the SCS (804). For example, the UE may determine whether the SCS is 15 kHz or 30 kHz. If the SCS is 15 kHz, each half frame may include 10 SSB positions. If the SCS is 30 kHz, each half frame may include 20 SSB positions.

[0097] At 806, the UE determines one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP. In some implementations, the invalid SSB candidate positions may be predefined based on the FFP and the half-frame during which the SSB burst is to be transmitted. For example, the invalid SSB candidate positions may be indicated in a standard from 3GPP based at least in part on the FFP, and such positions may be programmed into the UE (such as in a lookup table storing invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP).

[0098] In some implementations, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are also determined based in part on the SCS (808).For example, a lookup table and / or a standard from 3GPP may also indicate invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the SCS.

[0099] Fig. 9 Table 900 shows example invalid SSB candidate positions based on FFP and SCS. In some implementations, the UE may store a version of table 900 to determine one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. The SSB positions that include invalid SSB candidate positions are in a half frame (5 ms) of a 20 ms block during which an SSB burst is to be transmitted. If the SCS is 15 kHz, then the ten defined SBS positions are the designated half frames (such as Figure 7 If the SCS is 30kHz, the twenty defined SBS positions are 0-19 of the specified half-frame.

[0100] Referring to Table 900, if the FFP is 1 ms or 2 ms, it is determined based on Table 900 that there is no invalid SSB candidate position. If the FFP is 2.5 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions (referred to as empty SSB positions) are positions 8, 9, 18, and 19. If the FFP is 4 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 9-15 in the case of the first half frame (first 5 ms), positions 8-11 in the case of the second half frame (second 5 ms), positions 16-19 in the case of the third half frame (third 5 ms), or positions 12-19 in the case of the fourth half frame (fourth 5 ms). If the FFP is 5 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8-19. If the FFP is 5 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8 and 9. If the FFP is 10 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8-19. If the FFP is 10 ms and the SCS is 15 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8 and 9. In this way, later SSB positions in the FFP can be considered invalid.

[0101] Return to reference Figure 8 , the UE performs radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions (810). In some implementations, the UE performs radio management using one or more SSB positions that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions (812). For example, referring back to Fig. 9 , if the FFP is 5ms, the UE may prevent SSB positions 8-19 of the half frame from being used for radio management. For example, the UE does not monitor the SSB during SSB positions 8-19. Return to reference Figure 8 In some implementations of radio management, the UE may perform one or more of PDSCH rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement, or radio resource management (814).

[0102] In addition to or in lieu of determining one or more invalid SSB candidate positions, the UE may determine that the first eight SSB positions of an FFP (such as for each FFP) are valid SSB positions. In this way, the UE may use the first eight SSB positions to perform radio management. For example, the UE may listen to the SSB during eight SSB positions, and the UE may perform one or more of PDSCH rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement, or radio resource management based on the SSBs received during the eight SSB positions. In some implementations, if the SCS is 15kHz, the UE may consider the last two SSB positions in each FFP to be invalid. If the SCS is 30kHz, the UE may consider the last twelve SSB positions in each FFP to be invalid.

[0103] Instead of or in addition to (such as by using Fig. 9 The SSB position is predefined as valid or invalid by Table 900 in Figure 900, and the window of the SSB burst can be adjusted. The Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission window duration is a maximum of 5 ms and is typically set to 5 ms. For example, when the duration is unknown, the UE assumes that the duration is 5 ms. In another example, depending on the performance requirements of the DRS transmission window duration (such as RRM), the duration can be assumed to be 5 ms. For the above example, the DRS transmission window duration is set to a duration of 5 ms.

[0104] The periodicity of the DRS transmission window is the same as the periodicity of the SSB burst. Therefore, a 5ms DRS transmission window corresponds to a half frame during which an SSB burst can be sent. In this way, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 can be configured to a specific length to indicate the amount of time that includes the first 8 SSB positions of the FFP. For example, if the SCS is 30kHz, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 can be set to 2ms because each ms includes four SSB candidate positions. If the SCS is 15kHz, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 can be set to 4ms because each ms includes two SSB candidate positions. In this way, the UE can listen to the SSB during the indicated time and perform radio management based on the received SSB during that time.

[0105] Fig.10 A flow chart depicting example operations 1000 for limiting a DRS window length based at least in part on an FFP is shown. At 1002, the UE determines whether the FFP is 5 ms or 10 ms. In some implementations, the UE may also determine the SCS (1004). At 1006, the UE limits the DRS window duration based at least in part on the FFP. In some implementations of limiting the DRS window duration, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 (1008) may be adjusted, and the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 (1010) may be adjusted based at least in part on the SCS. For example, if the SCS is 30 kHz, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 may be set to 2 ms. If the SCS is 15 kHz, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 may be set to 4 ms. If the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-R16 is not configured by the base station, the UE may assume that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-R16 is 2 ms or 4 ms based at least in part on the SCS.

[0106] Figures 6 to 10The example in relates to one or more SSB positions in the latter portion of the FFP being invalid. As described herein, an SSB position that at least partially overlaps an idle period at the end of the FFP may also be considered invalid. For example, the idle period is the greater of 5% of the FFP or 100 microseconds, and downlink and uplink transmissions are not allowed during the idle period. However, some SSB positions partially overlap the idle period based on the FFP and SCS. For example, returning to reference Figure 6 , for FFP equal to 2.5 ms and SCS equal to 30 kHz, SSB position 9 of the first FFP may partially overlap with the idle period at the end of the FFP. In some implementations, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are determined based at least in part on the idle period (such as the idle length of the idle period).

[0107] Fig.11 A flow chart depicting exemplary operations 1100 for a UE to perform radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions that at least partially overlap an idle period of an FFP is shown. At 1102, the UE determines an FFP for an FBE mode. In some implementations, the UE may determine an idle length of the idle period (1104). For example, the idle length may be the greater of five percent of the FFP and 100 microseconds. In some additional implementations, the UE may determine an SCS (1106). For example, the SCS may be determined to be 15 kHz or 30 kHz.

[0108] At 1108, the UE determines, based at least in part on the FFP, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions that at least partially overlap with an idle period of the FFP. In some implementations, the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are also determined based in part on one or more of the idle length or the SCS (1110). The invalid SSB candidate positions may be predefined based on the FFP and one or more of the idle length, the SCS, or a half-frame during which an SSB burst is to be transmitted. For example, the invalid SSB candidate positions may be indicated in a standard from 3GPP based at least in part on the FFP, and such positions may be programmed into the UE (such as in a lookup table that stores the invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP).

[0109] Fig.12 A table 1200 of example invalid SSB candidate positions based on FFP, idle length of idle period, and SCS is shown. The table may indicate SSB positions that may overlap with idle periods for any FFP. Invalid SSB candidate positions may also be based on the half-frame of the 20ms block that includes the defined SSB position (such as Figure 7In some implementations, the UE may store a version of table 1200 to determine one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. The SSB positions that include invalid SSB candidate positions are in the half-frame (5 ms) of the 20 ms block during which the SSB burst is to be transmitted. If the SCS is 15 kHz, then the ten defined SBS positions are the designated half-frames (such as Figure 7 If the SCS is 30kHz, the twenty defined SBS positions are 0-19 of the specified half-frame.

[0110] Referring to Table 1200, if the FFP is 1 ms, the idle length is 100 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19. If the FFP is 2 ms, the idle length is 100 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 7 and 15 for the first half frame (first 5 ms), positions 3, 11, and 19 for the second half frame (second 5 ms), positions 7 and 15 for the third half frame (third 5 ms), and positions 3, 11, and 19 for the fourth half frame (fourth 5 ms). If the FFP is 2.5 ms, the idle length is 125 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 9 and 19. If the FFP is 4 ms, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate position is position 15 for the first half frame (first 5 ms), position 11 for the second half frame (second 5 ms), position 7 for the third half frame (third 5 ms), and positions 3 and 19 for the fourth half frame (fourth 5 ms). If the FFP is 4 ms, the idle length is 200 microseconds, and the SCS is 15 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate position is position 7 for the first half frame (first 5 ms), position 5 for the second half frame (second 5 ms), position 3 for the third half frame (third 5 ms), and positions 1 and 9 for the fourth half frame (fourth 5 ms). If the FFP is 5 ms, the idle length is 250 microseconds, and the SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate position is position 19. If the FFP is 5 ms, the idle length is 250 microseconds, and the SCS is 15 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate position is position 9. In Table 1200, there are no invalid SSB candidate positions for FFP between 1 ms and 2.5 ms and SCS of 15 kHz (because when the SCS is 15 kHz, no SSB position could potentially overlap with an idle period having an idle length of 100 microseconds). Additionally, there are no invalid SSB candidate positions for FFP of 10 ms (because the FFP will have the same length as the frame, and the SSB position of each half frame will be before the idle period).

[0111] Return to reference Fig.11 , the UE performs radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions (1112). In some implementations, the UE performs radio management using one or more SSB positions that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions (1114). For example, referring back to Fig.12 , if the FFP is 5ms and the SCS is 30kHz, the UE may prevent the SSB position 19 of the half frame from being used for radio management. For example, the UE does not listen to the SSB during the SSB position 19. Return to reference Fig.11 In some implementations of radio management, the UE may perform one or more of PDSCH rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement, or radio resource management (1116).

[0112] In addition to or in lieu of predefining one or more SSB positions as invalid, the UE may measure the SSB position and the FFP to determine whether the SSB may partially overlap with an idle period. In this manner, the UE may determine that the SSB position at least partially overlaps with the idle period, and the UE may determine that the SSB position is included in one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on determining that the SSB position at least partially overlaps with the idle period.

[0113] As described above, in some examples, SSB positions in the later portion of the FFP may be considered invalid, and in some other examples, SSB positions that may at least partially overlap with an idle period of the FFP may be considered invalid. In some implementations, the UE may determine one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based on the SSB position being in the later portion of the FFP or the SSB position possibly overlapping with an idle period of the FFP.

[0114] Fig.13 A flowchart depicting example operations 1300 for a UE to perform radio management based at least in part on one or more invalid SSB candidate positions, which may overlap at least in part with an idle period of an FFP or be in a later portion of the FFP is shown. At 1302, the UE determines the FFP. At 1304, the UE determines the SCS. At 1306, the UE determines one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP and the SCS. The invalid SSB candidate positions may be predefined based on the FFP and the SCS. For example, invalid SSB candidate positions may be indicated in a standard from 3GPP based at least in part on the FFP and the SCS, and these positions may be programmed into the UE (such as in a lookup table storing invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP and the SCS).

[0115] Fig.14 A table 1400 of example invalid SSB candidate positions based on FFP and SCS is shown. The table may indicate SSB positions that may overlap with an idle period for any FFP or after 8 SSB positions for an SSB burst in an FFP. Invalid SSB candidate positions may also be based on a half-frame of a 20ms block that includes a defined SSB position, such as Figure 7 In some implementations, the UE may store a version of table 1400 to determine one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. The SSB positions including the invalid SSB candidate positions are in the half-frame (5 ms) of the 20 ms block during which the SSB burst is to be transmitted. If the SCS is 15 kHz, then the ten defined SBS positions are the designated half-frames (such as Figure 7 If the SCS is 30kHz, the twenty defined SBS positions are 0-19 of the specified half-frame.

[0116] Referring to Table 1400, if FFP is 1 ms and SCS is 30 kHz, the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19 (with Fig.12 1400). If the FFP is 2 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 7 and 15 for the first half frame (first 5 ms), positions 3, 11, and 19 for the second half frame (second 5 ms), positions 7 and 15 for the third half frame (third 5 ms), and positions 3, 11, and 19 for the fourth half frame (fourth 5 ms). The entries in Table 1400 are similar to Fig.12 If the FFP is 2.5 ms and the SCS is 30 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8, 9, 18, and 19. This entry is similar to Table 1200 in FIG. Fig. 9 Similar to Table 900 in Fig.12 1400. If FFP is 4 ms and SCS is 30 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8-15 for the first half frame (first 5 ms), positions 8-11 for the second half frame (second 5 ms), positions 7 and 16-19 for the third half frame (third 5 ms), and positions 3 and 12-19 for the fourth half frame (fourth 5 ms). The entries in Table 1400 are Fig. 9 The entries in table 900 and Fig.12 If FFP is 5 ms and SCS is 30 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8-19. This entry is consistent with Fig. 9 Similar to Table 900 in Fig.12A subset of the positions listed in Table 1200 in . If FFP is 10 ms and SCS is 30 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8-19. This entry is related to Fig. 9 Similar to Table 900 in Fig.12 1200 in . If FFP is 4 ms and SCS is 15 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are position 7 for the first half frame (first 5 ms), position 5 for the second half frame (second 5 ms), position 3 for the third half frame (third 5 ms), and positions 1 and 9 for the fourth half frame (fourth 5 ms). This entry is consistent with Fig.12 If FFP is 5 ms and SCS is 15 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8 and 9. This entry is similar to Table 1200 in FIG. Fig. 9 If FFP is 10 ms and SCS is 15 kHz, then the invalid SSB candidate positions are positions 8 and 9. This entry is similar to Table 900 in FIG. Fig. 9 Comparing Table 900, Table 1200, and Table 1400, Table 1400 is a combination of Table 900 and Table 1200 (as shown, the SSB positions between similar entries in Table 900 and Table 1200 are combined for each entry of Table 1400).

[0117] Return to reference Fig.13 , the UE performs radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions (1308). In some implementations, the UE performs radio management using one or more SSB positions that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions (1310). For example, referring back to Fig.14 , if the FFP is 5ms and the SCS is 30kHz, the UE may prevent SSB positions 8-19 of the half frame from being used for radio management. For example, the UE does not listen to the SSB during SSB positions 8-19. Return to reference Fig.13 In some implementations of radio management, the UE may perform one or more of PDSCH rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement, or radio resource management (1312).

[0118] In addition to or in lieu of predefining one or more SSB positions as invalid, the DRS window length may be limited when the FFP is 5 ms or 10 ms. In some implementations, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 may be configured. For example, if the SCS is determined to be 30 kHz, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 may be determined to be 2 ms. In another example, if the SCS is determined to be 15 kHz, the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 may be determined to be 4 ms.

[0119] In addition, in addition to or in lieu of predefining one or more SSB positions as invalid, the UE may determine the first eight SSB positions of an FFP (such as for each FFP) as valid SSB positions. In this way, the UE may use the first eight SSB positions to perform radio management. For example, the UE may listen to the SSB during the eight SSB positions, and the UE may perform one or more of PDSCH rate matching, radio link monitoring or measurement, or radio resource management based on the SSBs received during the eight SSB positions. In some implementations, if the SCS is 15kHz, the UE may treat the last two SSB positions in each FFP as invalid. If the SCS is 30kHz, the UE may treat the last twelve SSB positions in each FFP as invalid.

[0120] The above implementation can be applied to signals from a serving cell or from a neighboring cell. For example, the UE can perform measurements (such as radio link measurements) for a neighboring cell. If the signal comes from a serving cell, the FFP is known based on the information provided by the base station. However, if the signal comes from a neighboring cell, the UE may not be able to determine the FFP based on the neighboring cell signal. In some implementations, the UE determines the FFP of the neighboring cell signal to be the same as the FFP of the serving cell signal. In this way, the UE can assume that the FFP matches in order to determine an invalid SSB candidate position (or perform radio management in other ways). If the FFP of the serving cell signal is unknown, the UE can assume that the FFP of the neighboring cell signal is 5ms.

[0121] By any combination of the above implementations, the UE may prevent the use of SSB positions for radio management (including listening to SSB) when it is known that the base station will not transmit SSBs during the SSB positions. In this way, the UE may save processing resources, and in some implementations, the UE may use such time for PDSCH communications (increasing the throughput of the channel).

[0122] Fig.1515 is a conceptual data flow diagram 1500 illustrating the data flow between different parts / components in an example apparatus 1502. The apparatus may be a UE (or be included in a UE). The apparatus 1502 may include a receiving component 1504 that receives a signal from a base station 1550. The apparatus 1502 also includes an FFP determination component 1506 that determines an FFP for the UE in FBE mode, an invalid SSB candidate location determination module 1508 that determines one or more invalid SSB candidate locations based at least in part on the FFP, and a radio management component 1512 that performs radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations. The apparatus may also include a transmitting component 1510 that transmits to the base station 1550. In some implementations, the radio management component 1512 may be coupled to the receiving component 1504 or the transmitting component 1510 to cause the apparatus 1502 to perform radio management. For example, radio management component 1512 can cause receiving component 1504 to refrain from listening to an SSB from base station 1550 during one or more of the invalid SSB candidate locations determined by component 1508.

[0123] The device 1502 may include executing Figure 8 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.13 Each block of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowchart or an additional component of each block as described in the examples of this document. In some implementations, the device 1502 may include an SCS determination component 1514 that determines the SCS for the received signal. The device 1502 may also include an idle length determination component 1516 that determines the idle length of the idle period of the FFP. In some implementations, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions may also be determined by component 1508 based on one or more of the SCS or the idle length. In some implementations, the device 1502 may include a DRS window duration limiting component 1518 that limits the DRS window duration based on FFP and SCS (such as by determining a parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16). The determined parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 can be used by the radio management component 1512 for radio management. Therefore, Figure 8 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.13Each block in the foregoing flowchart or each block as described in the examples herein may be performed by a component, and the device 1502 may include one or more of those components. The components of the device 1502 may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, may be implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, may be stored in a computer-readable medium for processor implementation, or may be some combination thereof.

[0124] Although the example methods are described with reference to being performed by a UE, in some implementations, one or more of the methods (or at least a portion of one or more methods) may be performed by a base station. The base station may serve the UE, or may be a neighbor cell of the UE.

[0125] Fig.16 1600 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the flow of data between different parts / components in an example apparatus 1602. The apparatus may be (or included in) a base station that transmits to (or receives from) a UE 1650. The apparatus 1602 may include a receiving component 1604 that receives a signal from the UE 1650. The apparatus 1602 also includes a transmitting component 1610 that transmits a signal to the UE 1650.

[0126] The apparatus 1602 may include an FFP determining component 1606 that determines an FFP for transmitting a signal to the UE 1650 in the FBE mode. The apparatus 1602 may also include an invalid SSB candidate position determining module 1608 that determines one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP and a radio management component 1612 that performs radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions. In some implementations, the radio management component 1612 may be coupled to the receiving component 1604 or the transmitting component 1610 to cause the apparatus 1602 to perform radio management. For example, the radio management component 1612 may cause the transmitting component 1610 to prevent the transmission of SSBs during one or more invalid SSB candidate positions in the invalid SSB candidate positions determined by the component 1608. In another example, the radio management component 1612 may cause the transmitting component 1610 to include information about the FFP (or a parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-R16 or other suitable parameters) in the RMSI (e.g., including SIB1) transmitted to the UE 1650.

[0127] The device 1602 may include executing Figure 8 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.13Each box of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowchart or an additional component of each box as described in the examples of this document. In some implementations, the device 1602 may include an SCS determination component 1614 that determines the SCS. The SCS can be used to be sent by the sending component 1610 to the UE 1650. The device 1602 may also include an idle length determination component 1616 that determines the idle length of the idle period of the FFP. In some implementations, one or more invalid SSB candidate positions can also be determined by component 1608 based on one or more of the SCS or the idle length. In some implementations, the device 1602 may include a DRS window duration limiting component 1618 that limits the DRS window duration based on FFP and SCS (such as by determining a parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16). The determined parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 can be used by the radio management component 1612 for radio management. Therefore, Figure 8 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.13 Each block in the aforementioned flow chart or each block as described in the examples of this article may be performed by a component, and the device 1602 may include one or more of those components. The components of the device 1602 may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, may be implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, may be stored in a computer-readable medium for processor implementation, or may be some combination thereof.

[0128] Further disclosures are included in the appendix.

[0129] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" or "one or more of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" or "one or more of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc.

[0130] The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. The interchangeability of hardware and software has been generally described around functionality and is shown in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0131] The hardware and data processing apparatus for implementing the various illustrative logics, logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose single-chip or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (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 or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor 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. In some implementations, a particular process or method may be performed by circuits specific to a given function.

[0132] In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware (including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents), or any combination thereof. Implementations of the subject matter described in this specification may also be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on computer storage media to be executed by data processing apparatus or to control the operation of data processing apparatus.

[0133] If implemented in software, the function can be stored on a computer-readable medium or transmitted through it as one or more instructions or codes. The process of the method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented in a processor executable software module that can reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and the communication media include any medium that can be capable of transmitting a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection can be appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. As used herein, disks and optical disks include compact disks (CDs), laser optical disks, optical optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks and blue-ray disks, wherein disks usually copy data magnetically, while optical disks use lasers to optically copy data. The above combination should also be included in the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and instructions on a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0134] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but rather to be consistent with the disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features in the broadest sense.

[0135]

[0136]

[0137]

[0138]

[0139]

[0140]

[0141]

[0142]

[0143]

[0144]

[0145]

[0146]

[0147]

[0148]

[0149]

Claims

1. A method for cellular communication performed by a user equipment UE, comprising: Determine a fixed frame period FFP for a frame based equipment FBE mode for the UE; determining one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: Performing radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions includes performing radio management using one or more SSB positions in the FFP that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein: The radio management of the UE includes one or more of the following: Physical downlink shared channel PDSCH rate matching RM; Radio Link Monitoring or Measurement (RLM); or Radio Resource Management RRM.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: A subcarrier spacing SCS for the SSB is determined, wherein the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are also determined at least in part based on the SCS.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: It is determined that first eight SSB positions in each FFP are valid, wherein using one or more SSB positions to perform radio management of the UE includes using one or more of the first eight SSB positions in each FFP.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein: When the SCS is 15 kHz, it is determined that the last two SSB positions of the defined ten SSB positions in each FFP are invalid.

7. A method for cellular communication performed by a user equipment UE, comprising: Determine a fixed frame period FFP of a cell for a frame based equipment (FBE) mode of the UE; determining, based at least in part on the FFP, one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions that at least partially overlap with an idle period of the FFP; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: Performing radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions includes performing radio management using one or more SSB positions in the FFP that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein: Radio management includes one or more of the following: Physical downlink shared channel PDSCH rate matching RM; Radio Link Monitoring or Measurement (RLM); or Radio Resource Management RRM.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: An idle length of the idle period is determined, wherein the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are also determined based at least in part on the idle length.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: A subcarrier spacing SCS of the SSB is determined, wherein the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are also determined at least in part based on the SCS.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining that an SSB position at least partially overlaps with the idle period; as well as The SSB position is determined to be included in the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions based at least in part on determining that the SSB position at least partially overlaps with the idle period.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein: The cell is a neighbor cell, and the method further includes: determining that the FFP of the neighbor cell is the same as the FFP of the serving cell.

14. A method for cellular communication performed by a user equipment UE, comprising: Determining a fixed frame period FFP of a frame-based equipment (FBE) mode for the UE; Determine the subcarrier spacing SCS of the synchronization signal block SSB of the cell; determining one or more invalid SSB candidate locations based at least in part on the FFP and the SCS; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein: Performing radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions includes performing radio management using one or more SSB positions in the FFP that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein: Radio management includes one or more of the following: Physical downlink shared channel PDSCH rate matching RM; Radio Link Monitoring or Measurement (RLM); or Radio Resource Management RRM.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising: When the FFP is 5 milliseconds or 10 milliseconds, a discovery reference signal (DRS) window length is limited based at least in part on the FFP.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the DRS window length is limited by configuring a parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: Determining that the SCS is 30 kHz; as well as In response to determining that the SCS is 30 kHz, it is determined that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 2 milliseconds.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising: Determining that the SCS is 15 kHz; as well as In response to determining that the SCS is 15 kHz, it is determined that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 4 milliseconds.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising: Determining that an SSB position in first eight SSB positions in each FFP is valid, wherein using one or more SSB positions to perform radio management for the UE includes using one or more of the first eight SSB positions in each FFP.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein: The cell is a neighboring cell, and the method further includes: It is determined that the FFP of the neighbor cell is the same as the FFP of the serving cell.

23. A user equipment UE, comprising: one or more processors; as well as a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to: Determine a fixed frame period FFP of a cell for a frame based equipment (FBE) mode of the UE; determining, based at least in part on the FFP, one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions that at least partially overlap with an idle period of the FFP; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

24. The UE according to claim 23, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to perform the radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions and also cause the UE to perform the radio management using one or more SSB positions in the FFP that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions.

25. The UE according to claim 24, wherein: The radio management includes one or more of the following: Physical downlink shared channel PDSCH rate matching RM; Radio Link Monitoring or Measurement (RLM); or Radio Resource Management RRM.

26. The UE according to claim 24, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to determine an idle length of the idle period, wherein the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are also determined based at least in part on the idle length.

27. The UE according to claim 26, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to determine a subcarrier spacing SCS of an SSB, wherein the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions are also determined based at least in part on the SCS.

28. A user equipment UE, comprising: one or more processors; as well as a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to: Determine the fixed frame period FFP2 of the frame-based equipment FBE mode for the UE Determine the subcarrier spacing SCS of the synchronization signal block SSB of the cell; determining one or more invalid SSB candidate locations based at least in part on the FFP and the SCS; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

29. The UE according to claim 28, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to perform the radio management based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions and also cause the UE to perform the radio management using one or more SSB positions in the FFP that do not include the one or more invalid SSB candidate positions.

30. The UE according to claim 29, wherein: The radio management includes one or more of the following: Physical downlink shared channel PDSCH rate matching RM; Radio Link Monitoring or Measurement (RLM); or Radio Resource Management RRM.

31. The UE according to claim 28, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to limit a discovery reference signal (DRS) window length based at least in part on the FFP when the FFP is 5 milliseconds or 10 milliseconds.

32. The UE according to claim 31, wherein: The DRS window length can be limited by configuring the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16.

33. The UE according to claim 32, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to: determining that the SCS is 30 kHz; and In response to determining that the SCS is 30 kHz, it is determined that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 2 milliseconds.

34. The UE according to claim 32, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to: Determining that the SCS is 15 kHz; as well as In response to determining that the SCS is 15 kHz, it is determined that the parameter DiscoveryBurst-WindowLength-r16 is 4 milliseconds.

35. The UE according to claim 32, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to determine that an SSB position in the first eight SSB positions in each FFP is valid, wherein one or more SSB positions are used to manage the radio of the UE using one or more of the first eight SSB positions in each FFP.

36. An apparatus for cellular communication, comprising means for executing a method for cellular communication performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: Determine a fixed frame period FFP for a frame based equipment FBE mode for the UE; determining one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

37. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for cellular communication performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: Determine a fixed frame period FFP for a frame based equipment FBE mode for the UE; determining one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

38. A computer program product comprising computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement a method for cellular communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Determine a fixed frame period FFP for a frame based equipment FBE mode for the UE; determining one or more invalid synchronization signal block (SSB) candidate positions based at least in part on the FFP; as well as Radio management is performed based at least in part on the one or more invalid SSB candidate locations.

Images