Timing advance adjustment

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for adjusting timing advance (TA). The method includes determining a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and setting a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device based on the channel occupancy time structure. In this way, dynamic adjustment of TA is allowed at the UE to ensure the desired duration of the channel occupancy gap in different transmission scenarios.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for adjusting timing advance (TA). Background Art

[0002] In New Radio (NR), a period of time has been defined during which an uplink frame transmission occurs before the first detected path of the corresponding downlink frame is received from a reference cell. The reference point for the timing control requirement at the user equipment (UE) for initiating the first transmission shall be the downlink timing of the reference cell minus this period of time.

[0003] Different schemes are also defined for Listen Before Talk (LBT) for sensing channel activity. Once a channel is declared idle, nodes can access the channel for a maximum time called Maximum Channel Occupancy Time (MCOT). During this time, the initiating node can share its COT with the responding node for data transmission.

[0004] Both gNB initiated COT sharing and UE initiated COT sharing are supported in NR. In the COT sharing case, gNB / UE can access the channel by performing Type 2 LBT within the COT obtained by the UE or gNB. Summary of the invention

[0005] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for regulating TA.

[0006] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: determine a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between the first device and the second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and set a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device based on the channel occupancy time structure.

[0007] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: determine a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and transmit the channel occupancy time structure to the first device to cause the first device to determine a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device.

[0008] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes determining a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and setting a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device based on the channel occupancy time structure.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes determining a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and transmitting the channel occupancy time structure to the first device to cause the first device to determine a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a component for determining a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and a component for setting a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device based on the channel occupancy time structure.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising a component for determining a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and a component for transmitting the channel occupancy time structure to the first device to cause the first device to determine a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device.

[0012] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program, which when executed by at least one processor of a device causes the device to perform the method according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0013] Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will also be apparent from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The embodiments of the present disclosure are presented in the form of examples and their advantages are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0015] Figure 1 An example environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0016] Figure 2 An example of a gap in the Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) procedure of the gNB is shown;

[0017] Figure 3 A flowchart showing an example method of adjusting a TA according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 A flowchart showing an example method for determining a TA on demand according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 5 A flowchart showing an example method of adjusting a TA according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0021] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways except the way described below.

[0024] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0025] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an example embodiment, those skilled in the art believe that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0026] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the functions of the various elements. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0027] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one, more, or all of the following:

[0029] (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0030] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0031] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0032] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)), software and memory(s) with software that work together to cause a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0033] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0034] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0035] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE (LTE-a), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to the communication protocol of any suitable generation, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0036] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR next generation NodeB (gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node (such as a femto, a micro), etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. The RAN split architecture includes a gNB-CU (centralized unit, which hosts RRC, SDAP, and PDCP), which controls multiple gNB-DUs (distributed units, which host RLC, MAC, and PHY). A relay node may correspond to the DU portion of an IAB node.

[0037] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (also known as a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0038] Although the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes in various example embodiments, in other example embodiments, the functions may be performed in a user equipment device (such as a mobile phone or tablet or laptop or desktop computer or mobile IoT device or fixed IoT device). For example, the user equipment device may be equipped with corresponding capabilities described in conjunction with (multiple) fixed and / or wireless network nodes (as the case may be). The user equipment device may be a user device and / or a control device (such as a chipset or processor) that is configured to control the user device when installed in the user device. Examples of such functions include boot server functions and / or home subscriber servers, which may be implemented in the user equipment device by providing software to the user equipment device, which is configured to cause the user equipment device to perform operations from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0039] Figure 1 1 shows an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1As shown, the communication network 100 includes a terminal device 110 (hereinafter also referred to as a first device 110 or UE 110) and a network device 120 (hereinafter also referred to as a second device 120 or gNB 120). The terminal device 110 can communicate with the network device 120. It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of network devices and terminal devices shown is given for ease of explanation and is not intended to be limiting. Communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0040] Depending on the communication technology, network 100 can be a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, etc. The communication discussed in network 100 can meet any suitable standard, including but not limited to new radio access (NR), long term evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, LTE advanced (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), cdma2000 and global system for mobile communications (GSM), etc. In addition, the communication can be performed according to any generation communication protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include but are not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols. The technology described herein can be used for the above-mentioned wireless networks and radio technologies as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, certain aspects of the techniques are described below for LTE, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description below.

[0041] In New Radio (NR), a period of time has been defined during which an uplink frame transmission occurs before the first detection path of the corresponding downlink frame is received from a reference cell. This period of time can be expressed as (N TA +N TA offset )×T c . N TA It can be called the time period used to compensate for the propagation delay, N TAoffset It can be used to provide sufficient gaps for the gNB in ​​a time division duplex (TDD) system to perform receive (Rx) to transmit (Tx) radio frequency (RF) switching (from uplink (UL) to downlink (DL)). For the physical random access channel (PRACH), N TA The reference point for the timing control requirements at the user equipment (UE) initiating the transmission shall be the downlink timing of the reference cell minus (N TA +N TA offset )×T cThe downlink timing is defined as the time when the first detected path of the corresponding downlink frame is received from the reference cell.

[0042] Other channels (N TA +N TA offset )×T c is the difference between the UE transmission timing and the downlink timing immediately after the last timing advance is applied. N TA Will not change. TAoffset The value of N depends on the duplex mode and frequency range (FR) of the cell in which the uplink transmission occurs. TAoffset It can be defined as follows.

[0043] Table 1: N TAoffset Value

[0044]

[0045] FR1 TDD frequency band number (ie, N TAoffset 25600 and 39936Tc) correspond to approximately 13 and 20 microseconds respectively.

[0046] In addition, different schemes of "Listen Before Talk" (LBT) for sensing channel activity are defined, such as Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 LBT (also known as Category 4 LBT (Cat. 4 LBT)) is defined as continuous sensing of channel activity within at least N Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) intervals (N is a random number taken from a uniform distribution). Once a channel is declared idle, a node can access the channel for a maximum time called the Maximum Channel Occupancy Time (MCOT). During this period, the initiating node can share its COT with the responding node for data transmission.

[0047] Both gNB initiated COT sharing and UE initiated COT sharing are supported in New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U). In the COT sharing case, the gNB / UE can access the channel by performing Type 2 LBT within the COT acquired by the UE or gNB respectively. In addition, within the COT acquired by the gNB, the gNB may re-access the channel after a pause in a DL burst or after a UL burst using Cat.2 LBT.

[0048] Category 2 LBT (Cat.2 LBT) is defined as a CCA check performed within a specific limited time interval. The LBT types supported in 3GPP are summarized as follows:

[0049] Table 2: LBT types

[0050]

[0051] As mentioned above, there are two factors that affect the advanced UL transmission timing, namely, N TA and N TAoffset Unlike operations in licensed bands, when the transmission direction switches from UL to DL, the gNB requires not only RF switching but also LBT operation in NR-U. Based on the TA definition in the current 3GPP specification, the gNB may not have enough gaps to perform CCA before the expected DL transmission.

[0052] Figure 2 An example of the gaps for the CCA procedure of the gNB is shown. The UE performs a type 1 channel access to initiate an UL burst with 3 slots. The gNB aims to transmit in the last slot by enjoying the COT acquired by the UE. Figure 2 As shown, the COT structure 210 indicates a group of UL transmissions 211-213 and a DL transmission 214, and the DL 214 transmission follows the group of UL transmissions 211-213.

[0053] For UL transmission 213, Figure 2 UE timing 230 for transmission and gNB timing 220 for receiving data from the UE are shown. At the UE timing, transport blocks 231-233 are transmitted. These transmitted transport blocks 231-233 are received by the gNB as shown by received symbols 221-223. Figure 2 It can be seen that there is a gap between the transmitted transport block and the received symbol 221-1223, which is Figure 2 It can be expressed as T A From the gNB timing 220, it can be seen that there is an offset between the last received symbol 223 and the start of the transmission initiated by the gNB, which is Figure 2 It can be expressed as T A offset . This offset can be equal to N TAoffset ×T c ≈13 or 20μs, depending on whether a given band is considered for coexistence with LTE. According to the channel access mechanism defined in NR-U, the gNB can perform Type 2 channel access before the DL burst. However, this offset is not sufficient for Type 2 access radio channels and does not exactly match Type 2B channel access. This means that DL transmissions cannot start at the expected slot or symbol boundary, at least for Type 2 access radio channels. The additional delay in starting transmissions complicates the scheduling operations of the gNB and also makes it more likely that other devices (e.g., NR-U, LTE LAA, or Wi-Fi) will simultaneously seize the channel for their own transmissions.

[0054] It has been considered to allocate a larger TA to the UE to create sufficient gaps. However, in the COT initiated by the gNB, a larger N TAoffset The guard period between DL and UL is increased. For example, in the case of 30kHz and 60kHz SCS, one symbol guard period may be sufficient to cover the current TA and UE Rx-Tx switching time. When the TA is larger, two symbol guard periods may be required, which will reduce the efficiency of the entire network. In addition, in some cases (for example, in low traffic load cases), the DL transmission will not be directly after the UL transmission. In these cases, increasing N TAoffset It won't bring any benefits.

[0055] In addition, it is also considered to adjust TA via the medium access control element (MAC CE). However, this slow approach cannot respond quickly to the rapidly changing COT structure in NR-U.

[0056] Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a new TA adjustment mechanism is proposed to improve the COT sharing efficiency in the unlicensed spectrum. In this solution, the UE can determine the COT structure. Based on the COT structure, the TA can be adjusted as needed.

[0057] The following will refer to Figure 3 The principles and implementations of the present disclosure are described in detail. Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example method 300 for adjusting TA according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 300 may be performed in a manner such as Figure 1 For ease of discussion, reference will be made to the terminal device 110. Figure 1 Method 300 is described.

[0058] In order to adjust the TA, the terminal device 110 may first try to determine whether the COT structure can be determined, for example, based on control information such as DCI. Figure 3 As shown, at 310, the terminal device 110 determines a COT structure for accessing a radio channel between the terminal device 110 and the network device 120. The channel occupancy time structure may indicate a set of time domain resources for accessing the channel. The set of time domain resources may refer to a COT.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the COT structure may indicate multiple subsets of time domain resources used for at least one transmission occurring in the COT. The COT may be initiated by the terminal device 110 for UL transmissions and may also be initiated by the network device 120 for DL ​​transmissions.

[0060] The terminal device 110 may receive DCI from the network device 120. The COT structure may be indicated in downlink control information (DCI). For example, the terminal device 110 may obtain at least one of a slot format indicator and a duration indicator associated with the COT structure from the DCI. Based on the at least one indicator, the COT structure may be determined.

[0061] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may also be unable to determine whether there is a COT structure associated with the UL transmission because the terminal device 110 cannot obtain such an indication from the DCI when the UL transmission occurs during the initial access process or in the radio resource configuration idle (RRC_idle) mode.

[0062] At 320, the terminal device 110 sets a timing advance for UL transmission based on the COT structure.

[0063] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an example method for determining TA on demand according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4 , the process for determining TA is further described as follows.

[0064] At 410 , if the terminal device 110 determines that a COT structure exists and UL transmission is to be performed in the COT, then at 420 , the terminal device 110 may determine whether to initiate DL transmission after the UL transmission.

[0065] In some example embodiments, COT may be initiated by network device 120. In this case, DL transmission is performed before UL transmission in COT. Terminal device 110 may determine whether there is another DL transmission after UL transmission.

[0066] In some example embodiments, if the terminal device 110 initiates a COT for a UL transmission, the terminal device 110 may determine whether to initiate a DL transmission following the UL transmission.

[0067] If the terminal device 110 determines to initiate DL transmission after UL transmission, as an option, at 430, the terminal device 110 may determine whether there is a second reference value for TA in this case. For one type of LBT process, the second reference value may be related to the compensation period N. TA Related to the sensing time period, for example, 25 [μs] or 16 [μs]. For example, TA can be set to N TA ×T c +25[μs] or N TA ×T c +16[μs].

[0068] If the terminal device 110 determines at 440 that there is a second reference value of the TA, the terminal device 110 may set the TA to the second reference value.

[0069] If the terminal device 110 determines that the second reference value of the TA cannot be acquired, then at 460 , the terminal device 110 may set the TA to the first reference value.

[0070] For example, the first reference value may be related to the compensation period N TA and switching period N TA offset As mentioned above, N TA It can be referred to as a time period used to compensate for the propagation delay from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120, N TAoffset It can be used to provide enough gap for the network device 120 to switch from Rx mode to Tx mode.

[0071] In this case, the first reference value may be equal to (N TA +N TA offset )×T c , which can be regarded as a default TA value obtained from higher layer signaling (such as MAC CE).

[0072] In some example embodiments, if the terminal device 110 determines that there is no need to initiate a DL transmission after the UL transmission, the terminal device 110 may also set the TA to the first reference value at 460 .

[0073] For the case where DL transmission does not need to be initiated after UL transmission, if the terminal device 110 initiates COT for UL transmission, the COT structure may refer to UL transmission only. If the network device 120 initiates COT for DL ​​transmission, the UL transmission may occur after DL transmission.

[0074] If the terminal device 110 cannot determine the existence of the COT structure at 410, the terminal device 110 may set the TA to a third reference value at 450. The third reference value may be related to the sensing time period of the LBT period, which may be predefined by the network device. In this case, the sensing time period may be set to 16 [μs] or 25 [μs].

[0075] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may receive an indication of at least one of the first reference value, the second reference value, and the third reference value of the TA from network device 120. In some example embodiments, the indication may be obtained via at least one of broadcast system information, DCI, RRC signaling, or MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the first reference value, the second reference value, and the third reference value of the TA may be predefined.

[0076] In this way, the TA is allowed to be dynamically adjusted at the UE to ensure the desired duration of the channel occupancy gap under different transmission scenarios.

[0077] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example method 500 of adjusting TA according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 The network device 120 shown is implemented. For ease of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 500 is described.

[0078] At 510, the network device determines a COT structure for accessing a radio channel between a terminal device and the network device. The COT may indicate a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the network device may transmit the COT structure via DCI.In some example embodiments, the COT structure is indicated in an indication of the DCI, the indication comprising at least one of a slot format indicator, and a duration indicator associated with the COT.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the network device may transmit an indication of at least one of: a first reference value of a timing advance associated with a compensation period for a delay in transmission and a switching period for the network device to switch from a receive mode to a transmit mode; a second reference value of a timing advance associated with the compensation period and a sensing time period of the LBT process; and a third reference value of a timing advance associated with the sensing time period.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the network device may transmit the indication via at least one of broadcast system information, DCI, RRC signaling, or MAC CE.

[0082] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing methods 300 and 400 (for example, implemented at terminal device 110) may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of methods 300 and 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented by a circuit system or a software module.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes a component for determining a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and a component for setting a timing advance for a transmission from the first device to the second device based on the channel occupancy time structure.

[0084] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 500 (e.g., implemented at network device 120) may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented by a circuit system or a software module.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes components for determining a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; and components for transmitting the channel occupancy time structure to the first device to cause the first device to determine a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device.

[0086] Figure 6 600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 110 or the network device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 640 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more transmitters and / or receivers (TX / RX) 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0087] TX / RX 640 is used for bidirectional communication. TX / RX 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements.

[0088] Processor 610 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0089] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0090] Computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions executed by associated processor 610. Program 630 may be stored in ROM 620. Processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 630 into RAM 620.

[0091] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 630, so that the device 600 may execute the reference Figure 3-Figure 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0092] In some embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0093] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0094] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figure 3-Figure 5 The method 300 described. Typically, a program module includes a routine, program, library, object, class, component, data structure, etc. that performs a specific task or implements a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of the program modules can be executed in a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0095] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code causes the function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be realized when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0096] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0097] The computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A more specific example of a computer readable storage medium will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0098] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in order or performing all the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0099] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: Determine a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between the first device and the second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; as well as setting a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device based on the channel occupancy time structure, wherein the first device is also caused by: Receive the following indication from the second device: a first reference value of the timing advance associated with a compensation period for a delay of the transmission and a switching period for the second device to switch from a reception mode to a transmission mode; a second reference value of the timing advance associated with the compensation period and a sensing time period of the LBT process; as well as a third reference value of the timing advance associated with the sensing period, wherein the first device is caused to set the timing advance by: setting the timing advance to the first reference value based on determining not to initiate further transmissions after the transmission in the set of time domain resources; Based on the channel occupancy time structure, determining whether the second device is to initiate the additional transmission after the transmission in the time domain resource set; and setting the timing advance to the second reference value based on determining that the further transmission is to be initiated after the transmission in the channel occupancy time structure; as well as In response to determining that the channel occupancy time structure is undeterminable, the timing advance is set to the third reference value.

2. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to determine the channel occupancy time structure by: receiving downlink control information for the transmission from the second device; and The channel occupancy time structure is determined based on the control information.

3. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the first device is caused to determine the channel occupancy time structure based on the downlink control information in the following manner: Obtain an indication from the downlink control information, the indication comprising at least one of the following: a slot format indicator; and a duration indicator associated with the channel occupancy time structure; and determining the channel occupancy time structure based on the indicator.

4. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the first device is caused to receive the indication via at least one of: Broadcast system information, Downlink control information, Radio resource configuration signaling, and Media Access Control control element.

5. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to: determining an initial time point for the transmission based on the timing advance and the set of time domain resources; and The transmission is caused to be initiated at the initial time point. 6 . The first device according to claim 1 , wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

7. A second device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: Determine a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between the first device and the second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; as well as transmitting the channel occupancy time structure to the first device to cause the first device to determine a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device, wherein the second device is also caused by: Transmit the following instructions: a first reference value of the timing advance associated with a compensation period for a delay of the transmission and a switching period for the second device to switch from a reception mode to a transmission mode; a second reference value of the timing advance associated with the compensation period and a sensing time period of the LBT process; as well as a third reference value of the timing advance associated with the sensing period, wherein the first device is caused to set the timing advance by: setting the timing advance to the first reference value based on determining not to initiate further transmissions after the transmission in the set of time domain resources; Based on the channel occupancy time structure, determining whether the second device is to initiate the additional transmission after the transmission in the time domain resource set; and setting the timing advance to the second reference value based on determining that the further transmission is to be initiated after the transmission in the channel occupancy time structure; as well as In response to determining that the channel occupancy time structure is undeterminable, the timing advance is set to the third reference value.

8. The second device according to claim 7, wherein the second device is caused to transmit the channel occupancy time structure by: The channel occupancy time structure is transmitted via downlink control information.

9. The second device according to claim 8, wherein the channel occupancy time structure is indicated in an indication of the downlink control information, and the indication includes at least one of the following: a slot format indicator; and A duration indicator is associated with the channel occupancy time structure.

10. The second device of claim 7, wherein the second device is caused to transmit the indication by: The indication is transmitted via at least one of: Broadcast system information, Downlink control information, and Radio resource configuration signaling, and Media Access Control control element.

11. The second device according to claim 7, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

12. A method comprising: Determine a channel occupancy time structure for accessing a radio channel between a first device and a second device, the channel occupancy time structure indicating a set of time domain resources for accessing the radio channel; setting a timing advance for transmission from the first device to the second device based on the channel occupancy time structure; as well as Receive the following indication from the second device: a first reference value of the timing advance associated with a compensation period for a delay of the transmission and a switching period for the second device to switch from a reception mode to a transmission mode; a second reference value of the timing advance associated with the compensation period and a sensing time period of the LBT process; as well as a third reference value of the timing advance associated with the sensing time period, The first device being caused to set the timing advance comprises: setting the timing advance to the first reference value based on determining not to initiate further transmissions after the transmission in the set of time domain resources; determining, based on the channel occupancy time structure, whether the additional transmission is to be initiated by the second device after the transmission in the set of time domain resources; and setting the timing advance to the second reference value in accordance with determining that the additional transmission is to be initiated after the transmission in the channel occupancy time structure; and In response to determining that the channel occupancy time structure is undeterminable, the timing advance is set to the third reference value.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the channel occupancy time structure comprises: receiving downlink control information for the transmission from the second device; as well as The channel occupancy time structure is determined based on the control information.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein determining the channel occupancy time structure based on the downlink control information comprises: Obtain an indication from the downlink control information, the indication comprising at least one of the following: slot format indicator; as well as a duration indicator associated with the channel occupancy time structure; The channel occupancy time structure is determined based on the indicator.

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