Communication method and computer-readable medium during channel occupancy time initiated by user equipment

Abstract

The present application relates to communication during user equipment-initiated channel occupancy time. The present application relates to devices and components including apparatuses, systems, and methods for sharing user equipment-initiated channel occupancy time.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) provides communication between network devices, including user equipment (UE) and next-generation Node Bs (gNBs). The operation and coordination of these network devices are defined by technical specifications (TSs) periodically released by 3GPP. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Figure 1 A network environment is shown according to some embodiments.

[0003] Figure 2 A channel access diagram is shown according to some embodiments.

[0004] Figure 3 Another channel access diagram is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0005] Figure 4 Another channel access diagram is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0006] Figure 5 Another channel access diagram is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0007] Figure 6 An operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0008] Figure 7 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 8 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0010] Figure 9 User equipment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0011] Figure 10 A base station according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The following detailed description relates to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces or technologies, are set forth for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments can be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B) or (A and B).

[0013] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0014] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or grouped) or memory (shared, dedicated, or grouped) configured to provide the described functionality, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, a programmable system on chip (SoC)), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In some embodiments, the circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" can also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the functions of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code can be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0015] As used herein, the term "processor circuitry" refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that is capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuitry" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0016] As used herein, the term "interface circuitry" refers to circuitry that enables, is part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, or a network interface card.

[0017] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and that may represent a remote user of network resources in a communication network. The term "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous with and may be referred to as a client, mobile terminal, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, or reconfigurable mobile device. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0018] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, database, and application or workload units. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by a virtualized infrastructure to an application, device, or system. The terms "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that can be accessed or utilized by a computer device / system via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any type of shared entity that provides a service, and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services that can be accessed through a server, where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

[0019] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

[0020] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0021] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0022] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, or virtualized network function.

[0023] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0024] Figure 1 A network environment 100 is shown according to some embodiments. Network environment 100 may include UEs, such as UE 104 and UE 112. Network environment 100 may also include base station 108, which provides one or more radio access cells through which UEs 104 / 112 can communicate with base station 108. In some aspects, base station 108 may be a gNB providing a 3GPP New Radio (NR) cell or an evolved Node B (eNB) providing a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) cell. UE 104 and base station 108 communicate over an air interface that may be compatible with 3GPP TSs, such as those defining 5G NR or LTE system standards, and may occupy frequency bands in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) (e.g., below 7.225 GHz), Frequency Range 2 (FR2) (e.g., 24.250 GHz and above, also known as mmWave), or higher frequency bands (e.g., between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz or 114.25 GHz).

[0025] The network environment 100 may operate on a licensed or unlicensed spectrum. When operating on an unlicensed spectrum, the devices of the network environment 100 may operate in accordance with the NR Unlicensed (NR-U) specification. In NR-U, the devices of the network environment 100 may perform a channel access procedure to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. A channel may refer to a carrier or a portion of a carrier that includes a set of contiguous resource blocks (RBs). Unless otherwise described herein, the channel access procedures may be similar to those described in 3GPP TS 37.213 v16.5.0 (2021-03).

[0026] The channel access process may include sensing the medium during a sensing time slot having a duration of, for example, 9 microseconds to determine whether the channel is available for transmission. The channel access process may include or be otherwise referred to as a listen-before-talk (LBT) process. If the detected power within a time period (e.g., 4 microseconds) within the sensing time slot duration is less than an energy detection (ED) threshold, the sensing time slot duration may be considered idle. Otherwise, the sensing time slot duration may be considered busy.

[0027] After a device performs a channel access procedure and determines that a number of sensing slots are idle, the device may occupy the channel for a period of time known as the Channel Occupancy Time (COT). 3GPP TS 37.213 describes sensing slots, which are used to determine whether a device can occupy a channel for both downlink and uplink channel access procedures.

[0028] If the UE performs a channel access procedure to acquire a channel, the resulting COT may be referred to as a UE-initiated COT. The UE-initiated COT may be defined relative to a configured granted physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a scheduled uplink (UL).

[0029] 3GPP TS 37.213 describes specific instances in which UE-initiated COT can be shared with a gNB. For example, a gNB is allowed to transmit control / broadcast signals / channels for any UE, as long as the transmission includes transmissions for the UE initiating the COT, or downlink signals / channels (e.g., physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or reference signals) are intended for the UE initiating the COT. The gNB can configure an ED threshold, which the UE will apply when initiating channel occupation to be shared with the gNB. If no ED threshold is configured, gNB transmissions in a UE-initiated COT can only include control / broadcast signal / channel transmissions of up to 2 / 4 / 8 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a 15 / 30 / 60 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS). When this is not possible based on another technology (e.g., wireless local area network (WLAN) technology) that assumes the absence of a shared channel, the gNB-configured ED threshold for initiating channel occupation is determined based on the maximum gNB transmit power.

[0030] In various instances, network functionality and flexibility may be increased by enabling base stations that share a UE-initiated COT to also transmit or receive unicast information to or from UEs other than the initiating UE. Additionally, this may be useful for ensuring channel access for UEs in ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) use case scenarios. For example, allowing a base station to temporarily capture a portion of a UE-initiated COT for transmitting URLLC traffic to another UE may enable fair and efficient use of the unlicensed spectrum. Embodiments of the present disclosure describe alternating UE transmission / reception in a UE-initiated COT in a manner that increases effective spectrum utilization while maintaining fair access to the unlicensed spectrum among devices utilizing NR-U and other technologies.

[0031] For purposes of this description, UE 104 may be referred to as an initiating UE, e.g., a UE that performs a channel access procedure to acquire a COT to be shared with base station 108. Base station 108 may capture a portion of the UE-initiated COT from UE 104 for transmission to / from one or more other UEs, e.g., UE 112. UE 112 may also be referred to as a non-initiating UE.

[0032] In a first aspect of the disclosure, the base station 108 may capture a UE-initiated COT after the UE 104 completes the transmission and schedule the one or more additional UEs (eg, UE 112) within the UE-initiated COT. Figures 2 to 4 A channel access diagram according to a first aspect of some embodiments is shown.

[0033] Figure 2 2 shows a channel access map 200 according to some embodiments. The channel access map 200 may include a UE-initiated COT 204 resulting from the UE 104 successfully performing a channel access procedure and acquiring a channel. The UE 104 may provide information to the base station 108 including an indication that the UE 104 has acquired the channel for the UE-initiated COT 204. In some embodiments, the indication may be an uplink transmission to the base station 108.

[0034] At the start of a UE-initiated COT 204, communications may be limited to communications involving the initiating UE, i.e., UE 104. For example, communications may include unicast transmissions to / from UE 104, and may also include transmissions from base station 108 to other UEs, as long as those transmissions are also intended for UE 104. Thus, base station 108 may transmit control signals or broadcast channels to both UE 104 and UE 112. However, base station 108 may not transmit / receive unicast transmissions with user plane data to / from UEs other than UE 104.

[0035] Upon acquiring the channel, UE 104 may perform a transmission at UE1 Tx 208. Following UE1 Tx 208, base station 108 may perform a downlink / uplink transmission at BS Tx / Rx 212. Through BS Tx / Rx 212, base station 108 may acquire a channel for another UE, such as UE 112. The remaining UE-initiated COTs 204 may then be used for communications with UE 112. These communications may include unicast transmissions to and from UE 112. For example, these unicast transmissions may include an uplink transmission from UE 112 at UE2 Tx 216. In some embodiments, communications may also include transmissions from base station 108 to other UEs, as long as those transmissions are also intended for UE 112.

[0036] The base station 108 may acquire the channel from the UE 104 at any of various times within the UE-initiated COT 204. For example, in a first option, the base station 108 may acquire the channel from the UE 104 after the base station 108 determines that the transmission to / from the UE 104 has completed. In a second option, the base station 108 may proactively cancel the transmission to / from the UE 104. Thus, in the second option, the base station 108 may cut off the transmission to / from the UE 104. The first option may be less disruptive to the UE 104, while the second option may enable the base station 108 to acquire the channel for the UE 104 at the specific time needed.

[0037] In some embodiments, the transmission within BS Tx / Rx 212 may include a control signal sent to UE 112 to schedule transmissions to / from UE 112. The control signal may also have an indication of the duration of the remaining UE-initiated COT 204 to be obtained for the benefit of UE 112.

[0038] Figure 3 Shown are a channel access map 300 and a channel access map 304 according to some embodiments. The channel access maps 300 / 304 illustrate options for restricting transmissions from the UE 112 in the time domain (eg, multiple OFDM symbols).

[0039] Channel access map 300 may include UE-initiated COT 308 resulting from UE 104 successfully performing a channel access procedure and acquiring a channel, as described above. UE 104 may provide information including an indication that UE 104 has acquired the channel for UE-initiated COT 308 to base station 108. Upon acquiring the channel, UE 104 may perform uplink transmissions during UE1 Tx 312, and base station 108 may perform downlink / uplink transmissions during BS Tx / Rx 316.

[0040] At some point during BS Tx / Rx 316, base station 108 may acquire a channel from UE 104 for the benefit of UE 112, after which unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 104 may cease and unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 112 may begin. Base station 108 may transmit a control signal in BS Tx / Rx 316 to inform UE 104 or UE 112 to acquire a channel for the benefit of UE 112. The control signal may also provide an indication of the number of symbols to which UE2's transmission duration, such as UE2 Tx 320, is limited. UE2 Tx 320 may not occupy the entire remaining UE-initiated COT 308. The remaining portion of UE-initiated COT 308 may be canceled by base station 108 or returned to UE 104, in which case additional unicast transmissions to / from UE 104 may occur before the expiration of UE-initiated COT 308. Base station 108 may transmit a control signal to UE 104 to cancel the remaining COT after a transmission to / from UE 112, or to return control to UE 104. The control signal may be part of the signal used to initially acquire the channel from UE 104, or may be transmitted after a transmission to / from UE 112.

[0041] Channel access map 304 may include UE-initiated COT 324 resulting from UE 104 successfully performing a channel access procedure and acquiring a channel, as described above. UE 104 may provide information including an indication that UE 104 has acquired a channel for UE-initiated COT 324 to base station 108. Upon acquiring the channel, UE 104 may perform uplink transmissions during UE1 Tx 328, and base station 108 may perform downlink / uplink transmissions during BS Tx / Rx 332.

[0042] At some point during BS Tx / Rx 332, base station 108 may acquire a channel from UE 104 for the benefit of UE 112, after which unicast transmissions / receptions to / from UE 104 may be stopped, and unicast transmissions / receptions to / from UE 112 may be started. These communications may include uplink transmissions from UE 112 during UE2 Tx 336. Base station 108 may transmit control signals in BS Tx / Rx 332 to inform UE 104 or UE 112 to acquire a channel for the benefit of UE 112. The control signals may also provide an indication of the number of symbols to which UE2's transmission duration, i.e., UE2 Tx 336, is limited.

[0043] Unlike channel access diagram 300, UE2 Tx 336 of channel access diagram 304 may not begin immediately after BS Tx / Rx 332. Instead, a gap may be provided so that UE 112 can perform LBT operations and then perform its uplink access at the time of UE2 Tx 336. LBT operations may be similar to the channel access procedure discussed above, with variables (e.g., the selected sensing time slot and ED threshold) adjusted to suit the specific goals of a particular implementation.

[0044] In some embodiments, the LBT operation performed by UE 112 may be Category 3 LBT or Category 4 LBT, as described, for example, in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.889 v16.0.0 (2018-12). Category 3 LBT may be performed using a random backoff with a fixed-size temporary window. For example, a transmitting entity may draw a random number N within a contention window bounded by a minimum and maximum value of N. The size of the contention window may be fixed. The random number N may be used during the LBT process to determine the duration of time that a channel is sensed as idle before the transmitting entity transmits on the channel.

[0045] Category 4 LBT can be performed using random backoff with a variable-sized contention window. This can be similar to Category 3 LBT discussed above, except that the transmitting entity changes the size of the contention window when drawing the random number N.

[0046] In some embodiments, the LBT operation performed by UE 112 may be a category other than 3 or 4, or may not be a defined LBT category at all, which may be the case, for example, for NR operation at higher frequencies above 52.6 GHz.

[0047] Figure 4 Shown are a channel access map 400 and a channel access map 404 according to some embodiments. The channel access maps 400 / 404 illustrate options for acquiring some, but not all, COT resources for non-originating UE communications.

[0048] Channel access map 400 may include UE-initiated COT 408 resulting from UE 104 successfully performing a channel access procedure and acquiring a channel, as described above. UE 104 may provide information to base station 108 including an indication that UE 104 has acquired the channel for UE-initiated COT 408. Upon acquiring the channel, UE 104 may perform uplink transmissions during UE1 Tx 412, and base station 108 may perform downlink / uplink transmissions during BS Tx / Rx 416.

[0049] At some point during BS Tx / Rx 416, base station 108 may obtain a first portion of the channel from UE 104 for the benefit of UE 112, may thereafter limit unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 104 to the second portion of the channel, and may begin unicast transmission / reception in the first portion of the channel to / from UE 112. Base station 108 may transmit a control signal in BS Tx / Rx 416 to inform UE 104 or UE 112 to obtain the first portion of the channel for the benefit of UE 112.

[0050] The first portion and the second portion may be partitioned based on frequency, space, code, or other dimensions (or some combination of these dimensions). For example, the first portion may correspond to a first set of frequencies, and the second portion may correspond to a second set of frequencies that do not overlap with the first set of frequencies. Alternatively, the first portion may correspond to a first set of spatial layers, spatial streams, or spatial transport blocks, and the second portion may correspond to a second set of spatial layers, spatial streams, or spatial transport blocks that do not overlap with the first set of spatial layers, spatial streams, or spatial transport blocks. In this way, the remaining UE-initiated COT 408 may be partitioned for simultaneous unicast communications with UE 104 and UE 112. As shown, UE 104 may transmit during UE1 Tx 420, while UE 112 may transmit during UE2 Tx 424.

[0051] In some embodiments, base station 108 may transmit a control signal (in BS Tx / Rx 416 or in an earlier configuration) that configures the resources for the first and second portions. In other embodiments, the resources for the first and second portions may be specified, for example, in a 3GPP TS, and the control signal transmitted by base station 108 may simply activate these portions.

[0052] Channel access map 404 may include UE-initiated COT 426 resulting from UE 104 successfully performing a channel access procedure and acquiring a channel, as described above. UE 104 may provide information including an indication that UE 104 has acquired a channel for UE-initiated COT 426 to base station 108. Upon acquiring the channel, UE 104 may perform uplink transmissions during UE1 Tx 428, and base station 108 may perform downlink / uplink transmissions during BS Tx / Rx 432.

[0053] At some point during BS Tx / Rx 432, base station 108 may obtain a first portion of the channel from UE 104 for the benefit of UE 112, may thereafter limit unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 104 to the second portion of the channel, and may begin unicast transmission / reception in the first portion of the channel to / from UE 112. Base station 108 may transmit a control signal in BS Tx / Rx 432 to inform UE 104 or UE 112 to obtain the first portion of the channel for the benefit of UE 112.

[0054] Unlike channel access diagram 400, UE2 Tx 436 of channel access diagram 404 may not begin immediately after BS Tx / Rx 432. Instead, a gap may be provided so that UE 112 can perform LBT operations and then perform its uplink access at the time of UE2 Tx 436. LBT operations may be similar to the channel access procedure discussed above, with variables (e.g., the selected sensing time slot and ED threshold) adjusted to suit the specific goals of a particular implementation.

[0055] In some embodiments, UE1 Tx 440 may also begin after a gap from BS Tx / Rx 432 to accommodate LBT procedures performed by UE 104. However, in other embodiments, this gap (and the associated additional LBT procedures) may not be required before transmission from the initiating UE.

[0056] To maintain fair access to unlicensed spectrum across various technologies, various restrictions may be implemented according to some implementations. For example, it may be desirable to require the UE to have information to transmit before performing the channel access procedure to acquire the channel. This can prevent the UE from preemptively initiating a COT to acquire the channel without a compelling need.

[0057] In another example, a base station may limit transmissions to a non-originating UE (e.g., UE 112) to X symbols. The value of X may depend on the subcarrier spacing of the transmission. For example, when a transmission is performed using a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), X may be 2 symbols; when a transmission is performed using a 30 kHz SCS, X may be 4 symbols; or when a transmission is performed using a 60 kHz SCS, X may be 8 symbols. Other embodiments may include other numbers of symbols. In some embodiments, when the base station does not specifically provide an ED threshold for COT sharing, transmissions to non-originating UEs may be limited to X symbols.

[0058] In another example, categories of permissible transmissions of a non-originating UE (e.g., UE 112) in a UE-initiated COT may be defined. For example, a first permissible transmission category of non-originating UE transmissions may include uplink signals and downlink signals (both control and data); a second category may include only downlink signals (control and data); and a third category may include uplink control signals (e.g., scheduling requests) and downlink signals (control and data).

[0059] In some implementations, base station 108 may acquire channels from an initiating UE for use with non-initiating UEs, and a limit may be imposed on the number of such non-initiating UEs. For example, if base station 108 acquires a UE-initiated COT from UE 104, it may transmit to only X non-initiating UEs, where X is an integer of one or greater. The value of X may be selected based on the objectives of a particular implementation. This prevents base station 108 from acquiring a UE-initiated COT and transmitting to a large number of additional UEs. The value of X may depend on the dimension used to distinguish users. For example, if distinguishing in the spatial domain, X may be limited by the maximum number of spatial layers, spatial streams, or spatial transport blocks supported by the gNB.

[0060] In some embodiments, base station 108 may be restricted to transmitting / receiving information to / from UE 112 only when base station 108 is also transmitting / receiving information to / from UE 104. Figure 4 An example of this is shown in . In this case, the information in the unicast transmission to either / both UEs may include user plane data. Therefore, any transmission to / from the non-originating UE in the COT may be allowed simultaneously as long as there is a transmission to / from the initiating UE. Additional restrictions may be set to ensure that the initiating UE transmits at the same rate for the duration of the COT, for example, before and after COT sharing.

[0061] In some embodiments, restrictions may be placed on channel access for the purpose of sharing the UE-initiated COT with a non-initiating UE. For example, the base station 108 may obtain the UE-initiated COT from the initiating UE for the benefit of the non-initiating UE only if it is ensured (e.g., guaranteed) that there is no other technology (e.g., WLAN technology) sharing the channel. The absence of another technology sharing the channel may be ensured by regulations, private premise policies, etc.

[0062] In some embodiments, base station 108 may configure UE 104 or UE 112 with ED thresholds that can be used for the purpose of sharing UE-initiated COT with non-initiating UEs. For example, base station 108 may configure UE 104 with a first ED threshold. If UE 104 performs a channel access procedure and the sensed channel has an energy less than the first ED threshold, base station 108 may be able to share the acquired channel with one or more non-initiating UEs. In some embodiments, UE 104, when acquiring a channel, may provide an indication to base station 108 regarding whether the UE-initiated COT is available for sharing with non-initiating UEs based on a comparison of the channel energy sensed during the channel access procedure with the first ED threshold.

[0063] In another example, the base station 108 may configure the UE 112 with a second ED threshold that the UE 112 will use before accessing a channel or portion thereof acquired for its benefit by the base station 108. For example, the UE 112 may use the second ED threshold during the LBT process and thereafter Figure 3 UE2 Tx336 or Figure 4 UE2 Tx 436 performs transmission.

[0064] Figure 5 Channel access diagram 500 and channel access diagram 504 according to some embodiments are shown. Channel access diagrams 500 / 504 illustrate the option for base station 108 to cancel transmissions by initiating UE 104 in a UE-initiated COT to enable transmission / reception performed by non-initiating UE 112 according to a second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0065] Channel access map 500 may include a UE-initiated COT 508 resulting from UE 104 successfully performing a channel access procedure and acquiring a channel, as described above. UE 104 may provide information to base station 108 including an indication that UE 104 has acquired the channel for UE-initiated COT 508. Upon acquiring the channel, UE 104 may perform uplink transmissions during UE1 Tx 512, and base station 108 may perform downlink / uplink transmissions during BS Tx / Rx 516.

[0066] During UE1 Tx 512, the base station 108 may transmit one or more cancellation indicators (CIs) 518 (two CIs are shown, but other embodiments may include other numbers) to cancel uplink transmissions from the UE 104. The CI 518 may be transmitted in downlink control information (DCI) using a CI-radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). In some embodiments, the UE 104 may be configured with a COT Tx Cancellation Information Element (IE) that provides information about where, when, and how the CI 518 will be transmitted. For example, the COT Tx Cancellation IE may provide an indication of the DCI payload size, aggregation level, number of PDCCH candidates to monitor, monitoring periodicity (which may be at the slot level or symbol level), etc. This information may configure the UE 104 to monitor the PDCCH for the transmission of the CI 518. This may involve suspending uplink transmissions at the time of UE1 Tx 512 to check for the DCI. In some embodiments, the COT Tx Cancellation procedure may be similar to the Cancellation procedure described in 3GPP TS 38.213 v16.5.0 (2021-03), and the COT Tx Cancellation IE may be similar to the Uplink Cancellation IE described in 3GPP TS 38.331 v16.4.1 (2021-03).

[0067] After CI 518 interrupts UE1 Tx 512, base station 108 may transmit a control signal in BS Tx / Rx 516 to acquire a channel from UE 104 for the benefit of UE 112. After acquiring the channel for UE 112, unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 104 may be stopped, and unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 112 may be started. In this embodiment, UE 104 may not be allowed to continue transmitting after UE2 Tx 524.

[0068] The channel access map 504 may include a UE-initiated COT 528 resulting from the UE 104 successfully performing a channel access procedure and acquiring a channel, as described above. The UE 104 may provide information including an indication that the UE 104 has acquired the channel for the UE-initiated COT 528 to the base station 108. Upon acquiring the channel, the UE 104 may perform uplink transmissions during UE1 Tx 532, and the base station 108 may perform downlink / uplink transmissions during BS Tx / Rx 536.

[0069] During UE1 Tx 532, base station 108 may transmit one or more cancellation indicators (CIs) 534 (two CIs are shown, but other embodiments may include other numbers) to cancel uplink transmissions from UE 104. As described above, CI 534 may be configured and transmitted in a DCI.

[0070] After CI 534 interrupts UE1 Tx 532, base station 108 may transmit a control signal in BS Tx / Rx 536 to acquire a channel from UE 104 for the benefit of UE 112. After acquiring the channel for UE 112, unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 104 may be stopped, and unicast transmission / reception to / from UE 112 may be started. However, unlike channel access diagram 500, in channel access diagram 504, UE 104 may be allowed to resume transmission after transmission to / from UE 112. For example, UE 104 may perform a transmission in UE1 Tx 544 after UE2 Tx 540. UE1 Tx 544 may be scheduled by base station 108. Scheduling information may be provided in BS Tx / Rx 536 or elsewhere.

[0071] In some embodiments, the number of cancellations allowed per COT may be limited. For example, only X number of cancellations may be allowed per COT, where X is one or another integer. This may limit the number of times base station 108 may interrupt communications to / from an initiating UE for the benefit of a non-initiating UE.

[0072] In some embodiments, the duration of COT Tx cancellation may be limited. For example, CI can be considered an instruction to temporarily suspend uplink communications for a limited period of time in COT. Afterwards, if necessary, the UE can perform uplink transmission again.

[0073] In some embodiments, UE 104 may transmit to base station 108 for a duration (configured or specified, e.g., the first or second slot boundary) after acquiring the COT. After reaching the end of the duration that is less than the total COT length, UE 104 may check to determine whether base station 108 sent DCI to schedule UE 104 or another UE. In this way, base station 108 may not need to send a cancellation signal and may send a scheduling DCI at an appropriate time to obtain a portion of the COT for a non-originating UE.

[0074] In some implementations, base station 108 may provide the modified ED threshold to UE 112. Similar to the discussion above, UE 112 may use the modified ED threshold to perform an LBT procedure before accessing the channel.

[0075] To accommodate the embodiments of the present disclosure, various 3GPP TSs may be updated. For example, 3GPP TS 37.213 clause 4.1.3 may be updated by deleting strikethrough text and adding underlined text as follows:

[0076] If the gNB shares channel occupancy initiated by the UE on a channel using the channel access procedure described in clause 4.2.1.1, the gNB may transmit the following transmissions after a gap following an UL transmission by the UE on scheduled resources or after a PUSCH transmission on configured resources:

[0077] - The transmission may include transmission to the UE initiating the channel occupation and may include non-unicast and / or unicast transmissions.

[0078] - Alternative 1: wherein there are no restrictions on unicast transmission including user plane data;

[0079] - Alternative 2: Any unicast transmission including user plane data is limited to a maximum of X symbols if it does not include information transmitted to the UE initiating the channel occupation;

[0080] - Alternative 3: Any unicast transmission including user plane data must include information transmitted to the UE that initiated the channel occupation;

[0081] -If the higher layer parameter ul-toDL-COT-SharingED-Threshold-new is not provided, the transmission may not include any unicast transmission with user plane data or the transmission duration of unicast data not exceeding 2, 4 and 8 symbols for the corresponding channels with subcarrier spacing of 15, 30 and 60 kHz, respectively. ...

[0083] For the case where the gNB shares channel occupancy initiated by a UE with a configured granted PUSCH transmission, the gNB may transmit the following transmissions following the configured granted PUSCH transmission performed by the UE:

[0084] -If the higher layer parameter ul-toDL-COT-SharingED-Threshold-new is provided, the UE is configured via cg-COT-SharingList-new, where cg-COT-SharingList-

[0085] New provides a table configured by the upper layer. Each row in the table provides the parameters cg-COT-

[0086] Sharing-new gives the channel occupancy sharing information. A row in the table is configured to indicate that channel occupancy sharing is not available.

[0087] - Alternative 1: Some rows in the table are configured to indicate that channel occupancy sharing with another UE is allowed.

[0088] -Alternative 2: A new parameter may be used to indicate that UE COT sharing is allowed.

[0089] If the 'COT Sharing Information' in the CG-UCI detected in slot n indicates a row index corresponding to the CG-COT-Sharing-new providing channel occupancy sharing information, the gNB may start from slot n+0 (where O = offset-r 16 slots)

[0090] The duration of shared UE channel occupancy is D = duration - r16 time slots, assuming that the channel access priority p = channelAccessPriority - r16, where duration -

[0091] r16, offset-r16 and channelAccessPriority-r16 are generated by CG-COT-

[0092] High-level parameters provided by Sharing-r16.

[0093] - Alternative 1: If the row in the table is configured to allow UE channel occupancy sharing, then when x=UE_allowed (semi-static), then the UE can expect COT sharing

[0094] -Alternative 2: If the parameter indicates that new UE COT sharing is allowed, the CG-UCI may include a bit indicating whether UE COT sharing is enabled (dynamically).

[0095] The "alternatives" described above may not be mutually exclusive. For example, one alternative may be used in conjunction with another alternative. In the above modifications to the 3GPP TS 37.213 text, the following new parameter definitions may be used. The parameter ul-toDL-COT-SharingED-Threshold-new may be the maximum energy detection threshold that the UE should use to share channel occupancy with the gNB for DL ​​transmission. The parameter cg-COT-SharingList-new indicates a table of COT sharing combinations, one of which may be set to noCOT-Sharing to indicate that there is no channel occupancy sharing. The parameter CG-COT-Sharing-new may include a channel access priority to indicate the channel access priority level that the gNB may assume when sharing a UE-initiated COT; a duration to indicate the number of DL transmission slots within a UE-initiated COT; or an offset to indicate the number of DL transmission slots from the end of the slot in which the CG-UCI was detected (after which COT sharing may be used).

[0096] Alternative 1 "wherein there is no restriction on unicast transmission including user plane data" may correspond to Figure 2 various aspects and related discussions.

[0097] Alternative 2 "Any unicast transmission including user plane data is limited to a maximum of X symbols if it does not include information transmitted to the UE initiating channel occupation" may correspond to Figure 3 various aspects and related discussions.

[0098] Alternative 3 "Any unicast transmission including user plane data must include information transmitted to the UE that initiated the channel occupation" may correspond to Figure 4 various aspects and related discussions.

[0099] Alternative 1 "If the row in the table is configured to allow UE channel occupancy sharing, then when x = UE_allowed (semi-static), then the UE can expect COT sharing" may correspond to aspects of the above scenario, where the base station captures the UE-initiated COT during UE1 Tx, or the base station cancels the transmission of the initiating UE in the UE-initiated COT to enable the non-initiating UE to transmit / receive.

[0100] Figures 6 to 8 A plurality of operational flows / algorithm structures according to various aspects of the present disclosure are shown. These operational flows / algorithm structures describe a plurality of operations in a specific sequence. However, the sequences shown are not restrictive. That is, these operations may be performed in a sequence other than the specifically shown sequence.

[0101] Figure 6 An operational flow / algorithm structure 600 is shown according to some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may be performed or implemented by a base station, such as base station 108 or 1000; or a component thereof, such as baseband processor circuit 1004A.

[0102] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may include, at 604, receiving information from a first UE indicating that the first UE has acquired a channel for a COT. The first UE may correspond to an initiating UE as described herein (e.g., UE 104). In some embodiments, the information may be receiving an uplink transmission from the initiating UE.

[0103] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may further include obtaining a portion of the channel for transmitting / receiving signals having user plane data to / from the second UE during the COT, at 608. The base station may provide an indication of the obtained portion to the first or second UE.

[0104] While embodiments describe the benefits of obtaining a channel for a second UE, other embodiments include the benefits of obtaining a channel for multiple UEs in addition to the originating UE.In various embodiments, the number of UEs that can obtain a channel may be limited to a predetermined number.

[0105] In some embodiments, the base station may obtain the portion of the channel for the benefit of the second UE after the first UE completes one or more transmissions using the channel. In other embodiments, the base station may obtain the portion of the channel for the benefit of the second UE by proactively canceling the transmission from the first UE on the channel. For example, the base station may not wait until the first UE naturally ends its transmission and may instead transmit a cancellation indicator to instruct the first UE to cancel its uplink transmission. The cancellation indicator may be transmitted using DCI. In some embodiments, the number or duration of cancellations of uplink transmissions from the first UE may be limited.

[0106] The portion obtained for the benefit of the second UE may be a subset of the time, frequency, or spatial available resources of the channel. In some embodiments, the subset may include all resources of the COT that are retained after the base station obtains the portion. In other embodiments, the subset may include only some of the resources of the COT that are retained after the base station obtains the portion. The portion of the COT that is not obtained for the benefit of the second UE may be canceled or returned to the initiating UE. In some embodiments, to cancel the portion of the COT that is not obtained for the benefit of the second UE, the base station may broadcast a signal to indicate that the restrictions imposed by the effect of the COT can be removed, thereby making the corresponding resources available to any device.

[0107] The portion obtained for the benefit of the second UE may be used for multiple communication categories. For example, a first communication category may include transmitting any downlink signals (e.g., control or data) to the second UE. A second communication category may include receiving uplink control signaling from the second UE and transmitting any downlink signals (e.g., control or data) to the second UE. A third communication category may include receiving any uplink signals (e.g., control or data) from the second UE and transmitting any downlink signals (e.g., control or data) to the second UE.

[0108] In some embodiments, the base station may provide one or more ED thresholds to the first UE for use in the LBT process to acquire the channel to reach COT. Alternatively, the first UE may be pre-configured with the one or more ED thresholds.

[0109] Different ED thresholds can be associated with different sharing restrictions. For example, if a first UE acquires a channel based on a first ED threshold, the base station can determine that portion of the channel is freely available for the benefit of a second UE, with little or no restrictions. However, if the first UE acquires the channel based on a second ED threshold, the base station can determine that portion of the channel is not available for the benefit of the second UE, or that portion of the channel is available only for a limited period of time. The limited period of time can be up to X symbols, where X is two if the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 15 kHz, four if the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 30 kHz, or eight if the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 60 kHz.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first UE may provide the base station with an indication of an ED threshold for acquiring the channel. This may provide the base station with information that may be used to determine any limitations on the benefit of acquiring the channel for the second UE.

[0111] In some embodiments, the base station may provide one or more ED thresholds to the second UE for use in the LBT process to utilize the portion of the channel obtained for the benefit of the second UE. The LBT process may be Type 1 LBT or Type 2 LBT for uplink access.

[0112] Figure 7 An operational flow / algorithm structure 700 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may be performed or implemented by an originating UE, such as UE 104 or UE 900; or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 904A.

[0113] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may include performing an LBT process to acquire a channel to a COT at 704. In some embodiments, the LBT process may be based on an ED threshold provided by a base station for the purpose of acquiring a COT, which may be shared with one or more other UEs.

[0114] In some embodiments, the base station may provide additional / alternative configuration information to the UE to enable or otherwise facilitate sharing of a UE-initiated COT with a non-initiating UE. For example, the base station may provide a configured authorized COT sharing list parameter that provides a table having a row indicating channel occupancy sharing with another UE. The configured authorized COT sharing list parameter may be semi-statically configured at the start of the UE's operation. Alternatively, the configuration information may be dynamically provided / updated during the UE's operation via a separate parameter.

[0115] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include, at 708, transmitting an indication that the UE has acquired a channel that has reached COT. In some embodiments, the UE may also provide an indication of an ED threshold used to acquire a channel that has reached COT. This may be accomplished by setting a bit in the configured Grant Uplink Control Information (CG-UCI) indicating whether UE COT sharing is enabled.

[0116] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include receiving an indication from the base station to acquire a portion of a channel within the COT at 712. As described above, the portion acquired by the base station may include all or some of the remaining portion of the resources of the COT. If the base station acquires only some of the remaining portion of the resources and the base station has not otherwise canceled the unacquired portion, the UE may use the unacquired portion of the resources.

[0117] Figure 8 An operational flow / algorithm structure 800 is shown according to some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may be performed or implemented by a non-originating UE, such as UE 112 or UE 900; or a component thereof, such as baseband processor circuit 904A.

[0118] Operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may include, at 804, receiving an indication that a portion of a channel acquired by another UE for a COT is available to a non-originating UE. This indication may be an explicit indication using DCI, or it may be an implicit indication based on scheduling information received from a base station. For example, a non-originating UE may receive DCI that schedules uplink or downlink transmissions within a portion of the COT acquired by another UE. The non-originating UE may then determine that the base station has acquired the portion for the benefit of the non-originating UE.

[0119] The indication of the portion may identify time / frequency resources defining the portion available to non-originating UEs.

[0120] In some embodiments, the base station may also provide an indication to the non-originating UE whether to perform an LBT procedure before accessing the portion for communication. The base station may also provide a specific ED threshold for the LBT procedure.

[0121] The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may also include transmitting or receiving user plane data in the portion at 808. In some embodiments, this step may be performed after performing the LBT process using a specified ED threshold.

[0122] Figure 9 UE 900 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. UE 900 may be similar to UE 104 or UE 112 and may be substantially interchangeable therewith.

[0123] UE 900 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, or an actuator), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or an IoT device.

[0124] UE 900 may include a processor 904, RF interface circuitry 908, memory / storage 912, a user interface 916, sensors 920, driver circuitry 922, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 924, antenna structures 926, and a battery 928. The components of UE 900 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logical components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 9 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of certain of the components of the UE 900. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0125] Components of the UE 900 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 932, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0126] The processor 904 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 904A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 904B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 904C. The processor 904 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 912) to cause the UE 900 to perform operations as described herein.

[0127] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 904A can access the communication protocol stack 936 in the memory / storage device 912 to communicate over a 3GPP-compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 904A can access the communication protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some embodiments, PHY layer operations can additionally / alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 908.

[0128] The baseband processor circuit 904A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in 3GPP-compliant networks. In some embodiments, waveforms for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0129] The memory / storage 912 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 936) that are executable by one or more processors in the processor 904 to cause the UE 900 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 912 may also store COT sharing configuration information and ED thresholds, as described elsewhere.

[0130] The memory / storage 912 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 900. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 912 may be located on the processor 904 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 912 is external to the processor 904 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 912 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0131] The RF interface circuit 908 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 900 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 908 may include various components arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, and control circuits.

[0132] In the receive path, the RFEM receives the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 926 and further filters and amplifies the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). The signal can be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 904.

[0133] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 926.

[0134] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 908 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0135] Antenna 926 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 926 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 926 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, or a phased array antenna. Antenna 926 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band (including a frequency band in FR1 or FR2).

[0136] The user interface circuitry 916 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 900. The user interface circuitry 916 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. The input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, for example, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, or a headset. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise communicating information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, for example, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs, such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, or a projector), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 900.

[0137] Sensors 920 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in their environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope, or magnetometer; a fluid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; and a microphone.

[0138] The driver circuit 922 may include software and hardware components for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 900. The driver circuit 922 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 900. For example, the driver circuit 922 may include a display driver to control and allow access to a display device; a touch screen driver to control and allow access to a touch screen interface; a sensor driver to obtain sensor readings from the sensor circuit 920 and control and allow access to the sensor circuit 920; a driver to obtain actuator positions of electromechanical components or to control and allow access to these electromechanical components; a camera driver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device; and an audio driver to control and allow access to one or more audio devices.

[0139] The PMIC 924 may manage power provided to various components of the UE 900. Specifically, with respect to the processor 904, the PMIC 924 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0140] The battery 928 can power the UE 900, but in some examples, the UE 900 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 928 can be a lithium-ion battery or a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 928 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0141] Figure 10 Shown is a base station 1000 according to some embodiments. Base station 1000 may be similar to base station 108 and substantially interchangeable therewith.

[0142] Base station 1000 may include a processor 1004 , RF interface circuitry 1008 , core network (CN) interface circuitry 1012 , memory / storage circuitry 1016 , and antenna structures 1026 .

[0143] Components of base station 1000 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1028 .

[0144] The processor 1004, RF interface circuit 1008, memory / storage circuit 1016 (including communication protocol stack 1010), antenna structure 1026 and interconnect 1028 may be similar to those described with reference to FIG. Figure 9 Like-named elements are shown and described.

[0145] The CN interface circuit 1012 can provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5th Generation Core Network (5GC)-compatible network interface protocol (such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol) or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to / from the base station 1000 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 1012 can include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN controller circuit 1012 can include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0146] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0147] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the embodiments described below. For another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0148] Example

[0149] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0150] Embodiment 1 includes a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: receiving information from a first user equipment (UE) indicating that the first UE has acquired a channel for a channel occupancy time (COT); and obtaining a portion of the channel during the COT for transmitting or receiving a signal having user plane data to or from a second UE.

[0151] Embodiment 2 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, further comprising: obtaining the portion of the channel from the first UE after the first UE completes transmission using the channel.

[0152] Embodiment 3 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, further comprising: canceling the transmission from the first UE on the channel; and obtaining the portion of the channel from the first UE based on canceling the transmission from the first UE.

[0153] Embodiment 4 includes the method of embodiment 3 or some other embodiments, wherein canceling the transmission from the first UE comprises transmitting downlink control information (DCI) with a cancellation indicator.

[0154] Embodiment 5 includes a method according to embodiment 3 or some other embodiments, wherein canceling the transmission from the first UE includes: determining that the transmission from the first UE on the channel has not been canceled for more than a predetermined threshold during the COT; and canceling the transmission from the first UE based on the determination.

[0155] Embodiment 6 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, further comprising: providing an indication of the duration of the portion to the second UE.

[0156] Embodiment 7 includes a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiments, wherein providing the indication of the duration includes: transmitting downlink control information with an indicator to indicate the duration; or scheduling the transmission to or from the second UE to have a length corresponding to the duration.

[0157] Embodiment 8 includes the method of embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, wherein the portion is a subset of the channel's available resources in time, frequency, space, or some combination thereof.

[0158] Embodiment 9 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, further comprising: transmitting an indication of the portion to the second UE.

[0159] Embodiment 10 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, wherein the portion is the second portion, and the method further includes: transmitting or receiving a signal to or from the first UE using the first portion of the channel during the COT, wherein the first portion and the second portion overlap in the time domain.

[0160] Embodiment 11 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, wherein the portion is used to: transmit any downlink signal to the second UE; receive uplink control signaling from the second UE and transmit any downlink signal to the second UE; or receive any uplink signal from the second UE and transmit any downlink signal to the second UE.

[0161] Embodiment 12 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, wherein if the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 15kHz, the portion is two symbols, if the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 30kHz, the portion is four symbols; or if the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 60kHz, the portion is eight symbols.

[0162] Embodiment 13 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments, the method further comprising: configuring the first UE with an energy detection threshold; and obtaining the portion of the channel based on determining that the first UE has performed a successful listen-before-talk (LBT) operation using the energy detection threshold.

[0163] Embodiment 14 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: performing a listen-before-talk (LBT) process to acquire a channel for a channel occupancy time (COT); transmitting an indication to a base station that the UE has acquired the channel for the COT; and receiving an indication from the base station that a portion of the channel within the COT was obtained by the base station.

[0164] Embodiment 15 includes the method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiments, further comprising: receiving from the base station an indication of the time or frequency resources of the portion of the channel within the COT obtained by the base station.

[0165] Embodiment 16 includes a method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiments, wherein the portion is a first portion of the channel within the COT, and the method further comprises: receiving an indication from the base station that time or frequency resources of a second portion of the channel within the COT are available for transmission by the UE.

[0166] Embodiment 17 includes the method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiments, further comprising: receiving a cancellation indicator from the base station to cancel the UE's uplink transmission on the portion of the channel within the COT obtained by the base station.

[0167] Embodiment 18 includes the method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiments, further comprising: receiving an indication of an energy detection threshold from the base station; and performing the LBT process based on the energy detection threshold.

[0168] Embodiment 19 includes the method according to embodiment 18 or some other embodiments, further comprising: transmitting the energy detection threshold to the base station for obtaining an indication that the channel reaches the COT.

[0169] Embodiment 20 includes the method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiments, further comprising: receiving configuration information from the base station to indicate that channel occupancy sharing with another UE is allowed.

[0170] Embodiment 21 includes the method according to embodiment 20 or some other embodiments, wherein the configuration information is an authorized COT sharing list parameter for configuration of the configuration table or a parameter independent of the authorized COT sharing list parameter for the configuration.

[0171] Embodiment 22 includes the method according to embodiment 20 or some other embodiments, further comprising: transmitting to the base station grant uplink control information including a configuration of bits indicating whether UE COT sharing is enabled.

[0172] Embodiment 23 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an indication from a base station that a portion of a channel acquired by another UE for a channel occupancy time (COT) is available to the UE; and transmitting or receiving user plane data in the portion.

[0173] Embodiment 24 includes a method according to embodiment 23 or some other embodiments, wherein the indication is an explicit indication in downlink control information (DCI) or an implicit indication based on scheduling information received from the base station.

[0174] Embodiment 25 includes a method according to embodiment 23 or some other embodiments, the method further comprising: receiving an indication of an energy detection threshold from the base station; performing a listen-before-talk (LBT) process based on the energy detection threshold; and transmitting user plane data in the part based on the LBT process.

[0175] Example 26 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method according to or in connection with any of Examples 1 to 25, or any other method or process described herein.

[0176] Embodiment 27 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 25 or any other method or process described herein.

[0177] Embodiment 28 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method according to or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 25, or any other method or process described herein.

[0178] Example 29 may include methods, techniques, or processes as described or related to any one of Examples 1 to 25, or portions or components thereof.

[0179] Embodiment 30 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, as described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 25.

[0180] Embodiment 31 may include a signal as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 25, or a portion or component thereof.

[0181] Embodiment 32 may include a datagram, information, element, packet, frame, fragment, PDU or message as described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 25, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0182] Embodiment 33 may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 25, or a portion or component thereof, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0183] Embodiment 34 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message as described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 25, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0184] Embodiment 35 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, according to or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 25.

[0185] Embodiment 36 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, as described or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 25.

[0186] Embodiment 37 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0187] Embodiment 38 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0188] Embodiment 39 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0189] Embodiment 40 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0190] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the various embodiments.

[0191] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for operating a base station, the method comprising: receiving, from a first user equipment UE, information indicating that the first UE has acquired a channel for a channel occupation time COT; as well as After receiving the information indicating that the first UE has acquired the channel for the COT, transmitting a control signal to the first UE to notify the first UE that a portion of the channel is acquired by the base station during the COT for transmitting a signal with user plane data to a second UE or receiving a signal from the second UE; wherein the method further comprises: cancelling transmission from the first UE on the channel; and obtaining the portion of the channel from the first UE based on canceling the transmission from the first UE on the channel, The canceling of transmission from the first UE on the channel includes: determining that transmissions from the first UE on the channel have not been canceled for more than a predetermined threshold number of times during the COT; and canceling the transmissions from the first UE on the channel based on determining that transmissions from the first UE on the channel have not been canceled for more than the predetermined threshold number of times during the COT.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein canceling transmission from the first UE comprises: Downlink control information (DCI) with a cancellation indicator is transmitted.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An indication of the duration of the portion is provided to the second UE.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein providing the indication of the duration comprises: transmitting downlink control information having an indicator to indicate the duration; or Transmissions to or from the second UE are scheduled to have a length corresponding to the duration. The method of claim 1 , wherein the portion is a subset of time, frequency, or spatial available resources of the channel.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An indication of the portion is transmitted to the second UE.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the portion is the second portion, and further comprising: A first portion of the channel is used to transmit or receive a signal to or from the first UE during the COT, wherein the first portion and the second portion overlap in the time domain.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion is to be used for: transmitting any downlink signal to the second UE; receiving uplink control signaling from the second UE and transmitting any downlink signal to the second UE; or Any uplink signals are received from the second UE and any downlink signals are transmitted to the second UE.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The portion is two symbols, and the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 15 kHz; the portion is four symbols, and the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 30 kHz; or the portion is eight symbols, and the subcarrier spacing of the portion is 60 kHz.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: configuring the first UE with an energy detection threshold; as well as The portion of the channel is obtained based on determining that the first UE performed a successful listen-before-talk (LBT) operation using the energy detection threshold.

11. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to: Perform the listen-before-talk (LBT) process to obtain the channel's channel occupation time (COT). Transmitting to a base station an indication that the UE has acquired the channel up to the COT; After transmitting the indication that the UE has acquired the channel for the COT, receiving a cancellation indicator from the base station to cancel uplink transmission of the UE on the channel during the COT; as well as After canceling the uplink transmission of the UE on the channel during the COT based on the cancellation indicator, receiving an indication that a portion of the channel within the COT is acquired by the base station for transmitting a signal having user plane data to another UE or receiving a signal from another UE; The number of times that the UE cancels the uplink transmission on the channel during the COT is limited by a predetermined number threshold.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11 , wherein the portion is a first portion of the channel within the COT, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: An indication is received from the base station that time or frequency resources of a second portion of the channel within the COT are available for transmission by the UE.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11 or 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: receiving an indication of an energy detection threshold from the base station; performing the LBT process based on the energy detection threshold; as well as The energy detection threshold is transmitted to the base station for obtaining an indication that the channel reaches the COT.

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