Configurable uplink transmission in wireless communications

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) or other network component may be operable to configure different resource sets for an uplink (UL) physical channel for uplink (UL) to downlink (DL) channel occupancy time (COT) sharing to coexist with another radio access technology (RAT). An energy detection (ED) threshold may be selected from different resource configuration sets for UL transmissions based on one or more conditions. A gap may be configured between a physical random access control channel (PRACH) transmission and a PUSCH transmission based on at least one of a first value associated with a parameter set between the PRACH and the PUSCH and a second value greater than the first value. The UL transmission may be provided via the UL physical channel based on the ED threshold or the configured conditional gap.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless technologies, including configurable uplink (UL) transmissions in wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Mobile communications in the next generation wireless communication system 5G or New Radio (NR) networks will provide ubiquitous connectivity and access to information and the ability to share data around the world. 5G networks and network slices will be unified, service-based frameworks that will target common and sometimes conflicting performance standards and provide services to extremely diverse application domains ranging from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to massive machine type communications (mMTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) and other communications. In general, NR will evolve based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced technology and additional enhanced radio access technologies (RATs) to achieve seamless and faster wireless connectivity solutions.

[0003] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly complex integrated communications platforms. The next generation of wireless communication systems, 5G or New Radio (NR), will provide access to information and data sharing anytime, anywhere for a variety of users and applications. NR is expected to be a unified network / system designed to meet very different and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. Such different multi-dimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. In general, NR will evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced and additional potential new air access technologies (RATs), enriching people's lives with better simple and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR will enable everything to be connected wirelessly and provide fast, rich content and services.

[0004] Recently, the first version of the NR (5G) specification provides a set of baseline features and components for future cellular communication systems. Every year, the number of mobile devices connected to wireless networks increases significantly. In order to meet the demand for mobile data traffic, system requirements must be changed to be able to meet these demands. The three key areas that need to be enhanced to achieve this traffic increase are larger bandwidth, lower latency and higher data rates. One of the main limiting factors in wireless innovation is the availability of spectrum. To alleviate this situation, unlicensed spectrum has always been an area of ​​interest in extending the availability of long-term evolution (LTE). In this context, a major enhancement of LTE in the 13th release of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has been to enable it to operate in unlicensed spectrum via licensed assisted access (LAA), which expands the system bandwidth by utilizing the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework introduced by the advanced LTE system. Since the main building blocks of the new air interface (NR) framework have been established, natural enhancements will allow the framework to operate on unlicensed spectrum as NR-U, especially with respect to the flexibility of configuring authorization in the NR system, as well as enhancing UL transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a user equipment (UE) communicatively coupled to a network component as a peer device via a network that can be used in conjunction with various embodiments (aspects) described herein.

[0006] Figure 2 is an exemplary architecture of a network system according to various embodiments.

[0007] Figure 3 is an exemplary simplified block diagram of a user equipment (UE) wireless communication device or other network device / component (e.g., eNB, gNB) according to various described embodiments.

[0008] Figure 4 is an illustration of exemplary sequence selection based on one or more conditions according to various aspects described.

[0009] Figure 5 is a block diagram of channel occupancy time dependent UL transmission according to various embodiments herein.

[0010] Figure 6 is a block diagram of conditional gap determination for UL transmission according to various embodiments herein.

[0011] Figure 7 is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary process flow according to various embodiments described herein.

[0012] Figure 8is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary process flow according to various embodiments described herein.

[0013] Fig. 9 is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary process flow according to various embodiments described herein.

[0014] Fig.10 is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary process flow according to various embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] 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 the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0016] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein throughout the text, similar figure numerals are used to refer to similar elements, and the structures and devices shown therein need not be drawn to scale. As used herein, the terms "component", "system", "interface", etc. are intended to refer to entities, hardware, software (e.g., in execution) and / or firmware related to a computer. For example, a component may be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable file, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet computer, and / or a user equipment (e.g., a mobile phone, etc.) with a processing device. By way of example, an application program and a server running on a server may also be a component. One or more components may reside in a process, and a component may be located on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. This article may describe a set of elements or other component sets, wherein the term "set" may be interpreted as "one or more".

[0017] In addition, the components can execute from various computer-readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon, such as using modules, for example. The components can communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as according to signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or throughout a network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or a similar network with other systems via signals).

[0018] As another example, a component may be a device having a specific function provided by a mechanical component operated by electrical or electronic circuitry, wherein the electrical or electronic circuitry may be operated by a software application or firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors may be internal or external to the device and may execute at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As another example, a component may be a device that provides a specific function by an electronic component without the need for a mechanical component; the electronic component may include one or more processors therein to execute at least a portion of the software and / or firmware that imparts the function to the electronic component.

[0019] The use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a specific way. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied in any of the foregoing cases. In addition, the articles "one" and "an" used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted as meaning "one or more" unless otherwise specified or clear from the context to point to a singular form. In addition, to the extent that the terms "including", "comprising", "having", "having", "with" or variations thereof are used in the detailed description and claims, such terms are intended to be included in a manner similar to the term "comprising". In addition, where one or more numbered items (e.g., "first X", "second X", etc.) are discussed, generally, the one or more numbered items may be different or they may be the same, but in some cases, the context may indicate that they are different or that they are the same.

[0020] As used herein, the term "circuit" may refer to, may be a part of, or may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuit, processor (shared, dedicated, or group), or associated memory (shared, dedicated, or group) operably coupled to the circuit that executes one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuits, or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functionality associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, the circuit may include logic that is at least partially operable in hardware.

[0021] In view of various concerns about operating new air interface (NR) 5G communications in unlicensed access as NR-U and in licensed access to coexist fairly with different radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., Wifi or another RAT), many problems related to uplink (UL) mechanisms can be overcome to improve power efficiency and flexibility in UL transmission. The UE can process at least two resource configuration sets including different sequence lengths for uplink (UL) physical channels. The resources can be used for communications according to different RATs or to share resources between the two. The UE can dynamically select a first sequence length or a second sequence length longer than the first sequence length from different sequence lengths of at least two resource configuration sets based on one or more conditions. The condition may include at least one of the following: UE capability, occupied channel bandwidth (OCB), UL transmission, or UL physical channel. Different methods can be configured for different sequence lengths according to the conditions. The UL physical channel includes at least one of the following: a physical random access channel (PRACH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), including one or more of the following: for example, periodic transmission, semi-persistent transmission, or aperiodic transmission. In particular, the first sequence length of the UL transmission may include 139 indices or samples / symbols, and the second sequence length includes at least one of the following: 1151 indices or samples / symbols for 15kHz and 571 indices or samples / symbols for 30kHz, for example, for a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0022] In other aspects, a gNB may configure or a UE may receive different resource configuration sets for an uplink (UL) physical channel for uplink (UL) to downlink (DL) channel occupancy time (COT) sharing to coexist with another radio access technology (RAT). The UE may select an energy detection (ED) threshold from the different resource configuration sets for UL transmissions based on one or more conditions. The UL transmission may then be provided based on the ED threshold, such as by indicating the selected ED in an ED indication feedback or by deriving the COT based on the ED for a particular type of transmission (e.g., ultra-low latency transmission or other transmission). Other aspects and details of the present disclosure are further described below with respect to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] Figure 1An exemplary architecture of a system 100 of a network according to various embodiments (aspects) is shown. The following description is provided for an example system 100 operating in conjunction with LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this regard, and the embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), etc.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, system 100 includes UE 101a and UE 101b (collectively referred to as "UE 101"). In this example, UE 101 is shown as a smart phone (e.g., a handheld touch screen mobile computing device that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a consumer electronic device, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a feature phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computer device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a wireless handheld device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), an in-car entertainment (ICE) device, an instrument panel (IC), a head-up display (HUD) device, an on-board diagnostic (OBD) device, a dashtop mobile equipment (DME), a mobile data terminal (MDT), an electronic engine management system (EEMS), an electronic / engine control unit (ECU), an electronic / engine electronic control module (ECM), an embedded system, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system (EMS), a networked or "smart" appliance, a machine type communication (MTC) device, a machine to machine (M2M) device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.

[0025] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 may be an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), a short-range service (ProSe) or a device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0026] UE 101 may be configured to connect (e.g., be communicatively coupled) to a radio access network (RAN) 110. In an embodiment, RAN 110 may be a next generation (NG) RAN or 5G RAN, an evolved-UMTS terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN), or a traditional RAN such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN" or the like may refer to RAN 110 operating in an NR or 5G system 100, while the term "E-UTRAN" or the like may refer to RAN 110 operating in an LTE or 4G system 100. UE 101 utilizes connections (or channels) 102 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface / layer.

[0027] Alternatively or in addition, each UE in UE 101 may be configured with dual connectivity (DC) as multi-RAT or multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), where a UE with multi-Rx / Tx capability may be configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes (e.g., 111, 112 or other network nodes) that can be connected via non-ideal backhaul, for example, one of the nodes provides NR access and the other node provides E-UTRA for LTE or NR access for 5G. One node may act as a master node (MN) and the other node may act as a secondary node (SN). MN and SN may be connected via a network interface, and at least MN is connected to the core network 120. At least one of MN and / or SN may operate using shared spectrum channel access. All functions specified for the UE may be used for an integrated access and backhaul mobile terminal (IAB-MT). Similar to UE 101, the IAB-MT may access the network using one network node or using two different nodes having an EN-DC architecture, an NR-DC architecture, etc.

[0028] In this example, connection 102 and connection 104 are shown as air interfaces to achieve communication coupling, and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as a global mobile communication (GSM) protocol, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a push-to-talk (PTT) protocol, a cellular PTT (POC) protocol, a universal mobile telecommunications service (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and / or any of the other communication protocols discussed herein. In an embodiment, the UE 101 may directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a SL interface 105 and may include one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0029] UE 101b is shown configured to access AP 106 (also referred to as "WLAN node 106," "WLAN 106," "WLAN terminal 106," "WT 106," etc.) via connection 107. Connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 106 will include Wireless Fidelity. router. In this example, AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet without being connected to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, UE 101b, RAN 110, and AP 106 may be configured to utilize LTE-WLAN aggregation (LWA) operation and / or LTE / WLAN radio level operation integrated with IPsec tunnel (LWIP). LWA operation may involve UE 101b in a radio resource control RRC_CONNECTED state being configured by RAN nodes 111a-111b to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve UE 101b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 107) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent through connection 107. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0030] The RAN 110 includes one or more access nodes (ANs) or RAN nodes 111a and 111b (collectively referred to as "RAN nodes 111") that enable connections 102 and 104. As used herein, the terms "access node," "access point," and the like may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BSs, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, Node Bs, RSUs, transmit receive points (TRxPs), or TRPs, and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN nodes," and the like may refer to RAN nodes 111 (e.g., gNBs) operating in NR or 5G systems 100, while the terms "E-UTRAN nodes," and the like may refer to RAN nodes 111 (e.g., eNBs) operating in LTE or 4G systems 100. According to various embodiments, the RAN node 111 may be implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station and / or a low power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity or higher bandwidth than a macrocell.

[0031] In some embodiments, all or part of the plurality of RAN nodes 111 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a centralized RAN (CRAN) and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement RAN functional partitioning such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) partitioning, where the radio resource control (RRC) and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 111; a media access control (MAC) / physical (PHY) layer partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 111; or a "lower PHY" partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layer, and upper portions of the PHY layer are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the lower portions of the PHY layer are operated by individual RAN nodes 111. This virtualization framework allows idle processor cores of the plurality of RAN nodes 111 to execute other virtualized applications. In some implementations, the individual RAN nodes 111 may represent individual gNB distributed units (DUs) connected to a gNB central unit (CU) via respective F1 interfaces. In these implementations, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio heads or RF front end modules (RFEMs) (not shown), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server (not shown) located in the RAN 110 or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. In addition or alternatively, one or more of the multiple RAN nodes 111 may be a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), which is a RAN node that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminals to the UE 101 and is connected to the 5GC via an NG interface.

[0032] Any of the RAN nodes 111 may serve as a termination point for the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 101. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 111 may perform various logical functions of the RAN 110, including but not limited to the functions of a radio network controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0033] In an embodiment, UE 101 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN nodes 111 on a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, OFDMA communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments (aspects) is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0034] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 111 to the UE 101, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. For OFDM systems, such a time-frequency plane representation is common practice, which makes radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0035] According to various embodiments, the UE 101 and the RAN node 111 communicate data (e.g., transmit data and receive data) through a licensed medium (also referred to as a "licensed spectrum" and / or a "licensed frequency band") and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as an "unlicensed spectrum" and / or an "unlicensed frequency band"). The licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range of about 400 MHz to about 2.8 GHz, and the unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz frequency band.

[0036] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 101 and the RAN node 111 may operate using license assisted access (LAA), eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the UE 101 and the RAN node 111 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0037] LBT is a mechanism by which equipment (e.g., UE 101, RAN node 111, etc.) senses the medium (e.g., a channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a particular channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include a clear channel assessment (CCA) that utilizes at least energy detection (ED) to determine whether other signals are present on the channel in order to determine whether the channel is occupied or clear. The LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with existing systems in unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy over a period of time on an intended transmission band and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0038] Typically, existing systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLAN adopts a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 101, AP 106, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. In addition, in the case where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the same time, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid conflicts. The backoff mechanism can be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS, which increases exponentially when a conflict occurs and is reset to a minimum value when the transmission is successful. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to CSMA / CA for WLAN. In some implementations, the LBT process for a downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) transmission burst (including a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission) may have a variable length LAA contention window between X extended CCA (ECCA) slots and Y extended CCA (ECCA) slots, respectively, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the contention window size (CWS) for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmissions may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and the maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) (e.g., a transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0039] The LAA mechanism is built on the carrier aggregation (CA) technology of the LTE-Advanced system. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a component carrier (CC). In some cases, each CC may have a different bandwidth from other CCs. In a time division duplex (TDD) system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC may be the same for DL ​​and UL. CA also includes individual service cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the service cells may be different, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary service cell or PCell may provide a primary component carrier (PCC) for both UL and DL, and may handle radio resource control (RRC) and non-access layer (NAS) related activities. Other service cells are called SCells, and each SCell may provide a single secondary component carrier (SCC) for both UL and DL. SCCs may be added and removed as needed, and changing PCCs may require UE101 to undergo switching. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in an unlicensed spectrum (referred to as "LAA SCell"), and the LAA SCells are assisted by PCells operating in licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells, indicating different PUSCH starting positions within the same subframe.

[0040] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to multiple UEs 101. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UE 101 about the transport format, resource allocation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 101b within a cell) may be performed at any one of the RAN nodes 111 based on channel quality information fed back from any one of the UEs 101. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of the UEs 101.

[0041] PDCCH uses control channel elements (CCE) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, respectively, called REGs. Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the DCI and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0042] Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize an extended (E)-PDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more ECCEs may be used to transmit EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, referred to as EREG. In some cases, ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0043] The RAN nodes 111 may be configured to communicate with each other via an interface. In an embodiment where the system 100 is an LTE system, the interface may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 111 (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) or core network 120, and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC 120. In some specific implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U provides a flow control mechanism for user packets transmitted over the X2 interface, and may be used to transmit information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from a master eNB (MeNB) to a secondary eNB (SeNB); information about the successful delivery of PDCP packet data units (PDUs) from the SeNB to the UE 101 in sequence for user data; information about PDCP PDUs that are not delivered to the UE 101; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE; and the like. The X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functions, including context transfer from a source eNB to a target eNB, user plane transmission control, etc.; load management functions; and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0044] In an embodiment where the system 100 is a 5G or NR system, whether or not there is a coexisting RAT, the interface may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 111 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC 120, between a RAN node 111 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB connected to the 5GC 120, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC 120. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functions. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE 101 in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) includes functions for managing UE mobility in a connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 111. The mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 111 to the new (target) serving RAN node 111; and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving RAN node 111 and the new (target) serving RAN node 111. The protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on an Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer and a user plane GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP-U) layer on top of a user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or IP layer for carrying user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as the Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP). SCTP may be on top of the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transport is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other specific implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0045] RAN 110 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network—in this embodiment, communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120. CN 120 may include a plurality of network elements 122 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 101) connected to CN 120 via RAN 110. The components of CN 120 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the above-mentioned network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of CN 120 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of CN 120 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (alternatively performed by proprietary hardware). In other words, the NFV system may be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more Evolved Packet Core (EPC) components / functions.

[0046] In general, the application server 130 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Packet Service (UMTS PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). The application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services for the UE 101 via the EPC 120 (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.).

[0047] In an embodiment, CN 120 may be a 5GC (referred to as “5GC 120”, etc.), and RAN 110 may be connected to CN 120 via an NG interface 113. In an embodiment, NG interface 113 may be divided into two parts: a next generation (NG) user plane (NG-U) interface 114, which carries traffic data between RAN node 111 and user plane function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 111 and access and mobility management function (AMF). Core network CN 120 may also be 5GC 120.

[0048] In an embodiment, CN 120 may be a 5G CN (referred to as “5GC 120”, etc.), while in other embodiments, CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC). In the case where CN 120 is an EPC (referred to as “EPC 120”, etc.), RAN 110 may be connected to CN 120 via an S1 interface 113. In an embodiment, S1 interface 113 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 114, which carries traffic data between RAN node 111 and S-GW; and an S1-MME interface 115, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 111 and MME.

[0049] Figure 2 Exemplary components of a device 200 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include at least an application circuit 202, a baseband circuit 204, a radio frequency (RF) circuit 206, a front-end module (FEM) circuit 208, one or more antennas 210, and a power management circuit (PMC) 212 coupled together as shown. The components of the illustrated device 200 may be included in a UE or a RAN node, such as a UE 101 / 102 or an eNB / gNB 111 / 112. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node cannot utilize the application circuit 202, but includes a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, the device 200 may include additional elements, such as a memory / storage device, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuit may be included separately in more than one device for a cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0050] The application circuit 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 202 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 200. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuit 202 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0051] The baseband circuit 204 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 204 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 206. The baseband processing circuit 204 may interact with the application circuit 202 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processors 204D of other existing generations, generations under development or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuit 204 (e.g., one or more baseband processors 204A-D) may handle various radio control functions, which may communicate with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 206. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 204A-D may be included in a module stored in the memory 204G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The implementation of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions is not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0052] In addition, memory 204G (and other memory components discussed herein, such as memory, data storage device, etc.) may include one or more machine-readable media, including instructions, which when executed by the machine or component herein, cause the machine to perform the method or device or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to the embodiments and examples described herein. It should be understood that the aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the function can be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium (e.g., a memory or other storage device described herein) or transmitted by a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and the communication media include any media that helps to transfer a computer program from one place to another. Storage media or computer-readable storage devices can be any available media that can be accessed by a general or special-purpose computer. By way of example only and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices or other tangible and / or non-transient media, which can be used to carry or store required information or executable instructions. Moreover, any connection may also be referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.

[0053] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 204F. The audio DSP 204F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuit may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 204 and the application circuit 202 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0054] In some embodiments, baseband circuitry 204 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 204 may support communications with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which baseband circuitry 204 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0055] RF circuit 206 can communicate with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 206 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuit 206 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuits that down-convert RF signals received from FEM circuit 208 and provide baseband signals to baseband circuit 204. RF circuit 206 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuits that up-convert baseband signals provided by baseband circuit 204 and provide RF output signals to FEM circuit 208 for transmission.

[0056] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a mixer circuit 206a, an amplifier circuit 206b, and a filter circuit 206c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a filter circuit 206c and a mixer circuit 206a. The RF circuit 206 may also include a synthesizer circuit 206d for synthesizing the frequencies used by the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 206d. The amplifier circuit 206b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 206c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required.In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0057] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path can be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 206d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 208. The baseband signal can be provided by baseband circuit 204 and can be filtered by filter circuit 206c.

[0058] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for orthogonal down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0059] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, RF circuit 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuits, and baseband circuit 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with RF circuit 206.

[0060] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0061] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0062] Synthesizer circuit 206d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 206a of RF circuit 206. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0063] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 204 or application processor 202 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application processor 202.

[0064] The synthesizer circuit 206d of the RF circuit 206 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode frequency divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable, delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop set. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0065] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 206d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 206 can include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0066] The FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the one or more antennas 210, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission via one or more of the one or more antennas 210. In various embodiments, amplification by either the transmit or receive signal path may be accomplished only in the RF circuitry 206, only in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the FEM 208.

[0067] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 208 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit may include an LNA to amplify a received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 208 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 206), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

[0068] In some embodiments, PMC 212 can manage the power provided to baseband circuit 204. Specifically, PMC 212 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When device 200 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE, PMC 212 can generally be included. PMC 212 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing a desired implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0069] and Figure 2 PMC 212 is shown coupled only to baseband circuit 204. However, in other embodiments, PMC 212 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, application circuit 202, RF circuit 206, or FEM 208) and perform similar power management operations.

[0070] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the device 200. For example, if the device 200 is in the RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as expected to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, it may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the device 200 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power.

[0071] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 200 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 200 enters a very low power state, and it performs paging, in which it wakes up periodically again to listen to the network, and then powers down again. The device 200 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, it transitions back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0072] For low latency / low power operation, the device 200 can be configured to suspend / resume in 5GNR by utilizing the RRC_Inactive state, which can significantly reduce latency and minimize battery consumption. During the suspension process, both the UE and the RAN store information about the transition from connected to inactive UE along with the UE radio protocol configuration. The resume process optimizes the transition from inactive to connected by restoring the UE radio protocol configuration. RAN-based location management and RAN paging allow UEs in an inactive state to move around in an area without notifying the network.

[0073] The processor of the application circuit 202 and the processor of the baseband circuit 204 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 204 can be used alone or in combination to perform the functions of Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1, and the processor of the application circuit 204 can utilize the data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform the functions of Layer 4 (e.g., Transport Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, Layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, Layer 2 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, Layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0074] refer to Figure 3 , a block diagram of a user equipment wireless communication device (UE) or other network device / component (e.g., a gNB, eNB, or other participating network entity / component) is shown. The UE device 300 includes: one or more processors 310 (e.g., one or more baseband processors), the one or more processors including processing circuits and associated interfaces; transceiver circuits 320 (e.g., including RF circuits, the RF circuits may include transmitter circuits (e.g., associated with one or more transmit chains) and / or receiver circuits (e.g., associated with one or more receive chains), the transmitter circuits and receiver circuits may use common circuit elements, different circuit elements, or a combination thereof); and a memory 330 (which may include any of a variety of storage media and may store instructions and / or data associated with one or more of the processors 310 or the transceiver circuits 320).

[0075] In various embodiments (aspects) discussed herein, a signal or message may be generated and output for transmission, and / or a transmitted message may be received and processed. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, output for transmission (e.g., by processor 310, processor 310, etc.) may include one or more of the following operations: generating a set of associated bits encoding the content of the signal or message; encoding (e.g., may include adding a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and / or encoding via a turbo code, a low-density parity check (LDPC) code, a tail-biting convolutional code (TBCC), etc.); scrambling (e.g., based on a scrambling seed); modulation (e.g., via one of binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), or some form of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.); and / or resource mapping (e.g., mapping to a scheduled resource set, mapping to a time and frequency resource set authorized for uplink transmission, etc.). Depending on the type of signal or message received, processing (e.g., by processor 310) may include one or more of the following operations: identifying physical resources associated with the signal / message, detecting the signal / message, resource element group deinterleaving, demodulating, descrambling and / or decoding.

[0076] According to various embodiments, in order to achieve various objectives regarding peak data rates, in particular NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, and unlocking the increasingly important unlicensed spectrum (i.e., shared spectrum) as a supplemental source of spectrum for 5G NR system operation, various mechanisms may be disclosed to enhance UL transmissions with coexisting RATs (e.g., WiFi and 5G or legacy). For unlicensed operation of NR systems, some issues are detailed below that may result in performance loss from a system perspective.

[0077] For example, in the first problem, in order to coexist fairly with other RATs (e.g., Wifi), one of the requirements includes an occupied channel bandwidth (OCB) requirement, which defines the occupied channel bandwidth, i.e., the bandwidth containing 99% of the signal power, between 80% and 100% of the declared nominal channel bandwidth. In order to meet the above OCB requirement, two longer sequences are introduced for Rel-16 NR-U operation, i.e., for 15kHz SCS L_RA=1151 and for 30kHz SCS L_RA=571. However, how to choose between the longer sequence and the traditional shorter sequence remains to be decided. More specifically, always using a longer sequence length than a shorter sequence length may unnecessarily increase signaling overhead in some cases, such as in the case where the PRACH transmission is within a gNB-initiated COT, where the OCB is already guaranteed to be scheduled by gNB 111 through FDM with other channels in the coexisting RAT. Therefore, various aspects or specific implementation solutions in this document can improve UL resource efficiency by conditionally configuring the selection of different lengths for UL transmission.

[0078] In another example, as a second issue, NR-U may support UL-to-DL COT sharing to enhance system throughput performance when it coexists with non-scheduled autonomous systems such as Wi-Fi, as it may avoid dual LBT requirements on the gNB side (e.g., Cat 4 LBT). In the current NR-U design, when sharing a UE-initiated COT, the gNB 111 may configure a UL-to-DL COT sharing ED threshold if the DL signals / channels (PDSCH, PDCCH, reference signals) to any other UE are to be sent in the shared COT. However, forcing the UE 101 to use a specific ED threshold configured by the gNB 111 may greatly reduce the channel access probability of the UE 101. Here, the UE 101 may indicate the duration or total duration of the COT to the gNB 111, and utilize a shorter duration, e.g., for transmission together with downlink data to improve resource efficiency. If the UE wishes to set the COT, the UE senses the channel based on the indicated ED threshold. The sharing threshold may be a low value, which means that UE 101 loses the flexibility to indicate that it does not wish to stay in or on a COT with gNB 111, for example, especially for latency-sensitive traffic or for transmissions on channels that are easy to transmit for NR-U traffic. In this way, embodiments enable flexible configuration of UE 101 based on the characteristics of the transmission packets (e.g., latency, power, type, etc.) to determine whether to use a gNB-initiated COT.

[0079] In another example, as a third problem, Rel-16 may support a two-step RACH process to reduce the initial access process waiting time. More specifically, a gap may be defined between a PRACH transmission and an associated message transmission (e.g., Msg-A). This gap configuration design is feasible for licensed bands, but there is also a risk of Msg-A PUSCH transmission failure due to LBT operations requested by unlicensed bands. This problem can also be solved to improve the efficiency of the 2-step RACH process for NR-U. For the two-step RACH process, PRACH and PUSCH messages are not transmitted at the same time, which may be a problem in NR-U. In addition, for NR-LTE, if Wifi senses a channel in the middle or gap area, the gap between the two may result in an attempt to obtain a loophole in the channel, thereby losing the opportunity to transmit in the PRACH stage, and may lose resources. In this way, various embodiments enable the configuration of gaps to reduce complexity and improve the efficiency of the two-step RACH process.

[0080] According to various aspects, at least two resource sets with different sequence lengths: length X1 and length X2 (e.g., for sounding reference signals (SRS), PRACH, or PUCCH), which can be configured, for example, by higher layers for a UL channel and a given UE 101. The first length X1 and the second length X2 can be selected based on one or more conditions (e.g., subject to UE capabilities or other conditions, such as received indicators, packet parameters, etc.). In one embodiment, for example, in a symbol index or other unit / parameter set, the first sequence length X1 can be shorter than the second sequence length X2. In one example, for a PRACH transmission or other UL channel, the value of the first sequence length X1 can be approximately 139. The second sequence length X2 can include one of a plurality of second sequences X2 that the UE 101 can be configured to select from, including longer sequence lengths and shorter second sequence lengths. For example, a short value of the second sequence length X2 1 The second sequence length X2 may be a value of about 571 for 30 kilohertz (kHz), and for PRACH transmission or other UL transmission, a long value. 2 It can be a value of about 1151 for 15Khz.

[0081] In one aspect, for an initial access procedure, one of the two lengths may be signaled via system information block 1 (SIB1) depending on the presence or co-existence of another incumbent system on the same frequency (e.g., Wi-Fi) and conforming to / satisfying the configured / indicated requirements of occupied channel bandwidth (OCB). In other configured implementations, the UE 101 may be provided with a configuration of a given UL channel associated with sequence lengths X1 and X2 (X2 including one or more longer sequence lengths than X1). Different operations may be configured for the UE 101 to determine the sequence length for each UL transmission.

[0082] In one method or operation, for example, configurations of different lengths (i.e., X1 / X2) may be used for any particular one or any type of UL channel (e.g., SRS / PUCCH / PRACH) transmission, including any one or more of the following: periodic transmission, semi-persistent transmission, or aperiodic transmission. In one embodiment, different periods may be configured for length X1 and length X2. More specifically, the second sequence length X2, which is a longer sequence, may be configured to have a longer periodicity than the first sequence length X1 in order to share resources with the initial access process. This may be used to reduce signaling overhead and maximize spectral efficiency.

[0083] Additionally or alternatively, the UE 101 may be configured to verify that the corresponding UL transmission (e.g., PRACH / SRS / other UL channel) is within the gNB-initiated channel occupancy time (COT) to ensure OCB requirements for any transmission, where the shared transmission as a UL transmission for the coexisting RAT is within the OCB. Then, if the transmission (e.g., PRACH / SRS / other UL channel) is within the gNB-initiated COT, the UE 101 may opportunistically transmit the UL channel with the configured short sequence. If the gNB-initiated COT is not detected based on the presence of downlink control information (DCI) (e.g., DCI format 2_0 or other DCI formats) of the PDCCH or other DL channels or dynamically scheduled synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) / scheduled PDSCH / scheduled PUCCH transmissions, the UE 101 may be configured to skip short sequence length transmissions of length X1 or conditionally fall back to using a second length X2 sequence transmission for the UL transmission.

[0084] refer to Figure 4 , an example of sequence selection 400 depending on gNB-initiated COT according to various aspects is shown. The gNB-initiated COT 410 can be implemented with configurations of different lengths (e.g., X1 / X2) for any particular one UL channel (e.g., SRS / PUCCH / PRACH) transmission, including any one or more of the following: periodic transmissions, semi-persistent transmissions, or aperiodic transmissions.

[0085] As suggested above, a specific length may be configured to apply to both periodic and non-periodic transmissions, and there are no restrictions on the types or kinds of UL transmissions that may be configured with sequence lengths X1 / X2. If a transmission opportunity or COT has been detected prior to the UL transmission based on a DCI format (e.g., 2_0) or the presence of an SSB or scheduled PDSCH, the UE 101 may perform a confirmation, especially for the shorter sequence length X1 430, to always ensure that a predefined OCB is established for the UE side. If the UE 101 already knows that the transmission is within the gNB-initiated COT, the UE may use only the short sequence and then opportunistically transmit the UL transmission with the configured short sequence to achieve resource efficiency. If a gNB-initiated COT is not detected, for example based on DCI format 2_0 or other DL channels, such as dynamically scheduled synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) / scheduled PDSCH / scheduled PUCCH transmissions, the UE may skip the shorter X1 and use X2, as there is some uncertainty about being within or outside the gNB-initiated COT 410. From a UE perspective, this may be a frequency band that the UE 101 receiver may simply skip when transmitting.

[0086] On the other hand, UE 101 may conditionally fall back to sequence length X2 420, such as when there is no detection based on DCI format or other DL channels in the presence of SSB / scheduled PDSCH / scheduled PUCCH transmissions. gNB 111 may detect the length being used by assuming detection. Alternatively, gNB 111 may already be aware of the situation where UE 101 failed to receive the COT for that transmission opportunity, even if initially configured with X1 having a short sequence, and accordingly assume that UE 101 will fall back to the long sequence X2 420 without detection on the UE side.

[0087] In some cases, the UE may skip this length and may also conditionally back off, so there may be a mismatch between UE 101 and gNB 111, for example, regarding the COT duration. gNB 111 transmits rarely and may not be detected on the UE side, resulting in a mismatch between UE 101 and gNB 111 in the resources being used for a particular UL signal transmission. Thus, one goal is to try to align the sequence length between UE 101 and gNB 111.

[0088] In other aspects, for example, the hybrid sequence may be configured to have a first sequence length X1 as length 430 and a second, longer sequence length X2 as length 420. In one aspect, the first sequence length X1 as 430 may be configured to be used only for non-periodic UL transmissions, which include PRACH, and SRS channels for RRC_CONNECTED mode UEs. In particular, the longer sequence length X2 420 may not have any restrictions, but consumes more resources because the longer sequence length X2 420 may generally always meet the OCB requirements, whether inside or outside the COT. Due to the shorter length, the X1 length 430 may only be used in the COT and, therefore, is limited to non-periodic use and controlled by the DCI. In some embodiments, a sequence length indicator (SLI) field may be added to the legacy DCI as, for example, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 1_1, or DCI format 2_3 to select one length from three lengths for a given UL transmission.

[0089] In one example, the bit width of the SLI field may be 1 or 0. A value of "0" may indicate a length X1 430 sequence, and a value of "1" may indicate a length X2 420 sequence, whereas a length X1 430 is indicated by a "0" and a length X2 420 is indicated by a "1". Figure 4 An example of sequence length selection by utilizing a configurable SLI field in a DCI format 1_0 that triggers, for example, a non-periodic PRACH transmission is shown. DCI format 1_0 may be configured to select a sequence length between X1 and X2 (a plurality of different second sequence lengths) based on whether the PRACH transmission 450 opportunity is inside or outside the COT 410. As shown, for example, the value of the SLI field of the DCI 440 may be set to "0" to select a length X1 430 (i.e., a short sequence length) for the PRACH 450 transmission, which allows scheduling of frequency division multiplexed (FDM-enabled) PUSCH transmissions 470 to improve resource efficiency of the COT. For example, when a PRACH transmission of length 420 is outside the COT, the UE 101 may still use a long sequence X2 420 to meet the OCB requirement.

[0090] The gNB 111 may control the transmission with DCI based on whether it is periodic, where periodic transmissions may always use a sequence of length X2. Therefore, the UE 101 may configure the short and long sequence switching between different lengths only within aperiodic transmissions. For example, initially, the UE 101 may generate an UL transmission with a longer X2 420, and then within the COT, the UE 101 may use a short one for PUSCH transmission 470 (e.g., for channel state information (CSI) feedback). Here, the SLI field may be used to explicitly indicate the length of the short sequence 430.

[0091] refer to Figure 5 , shows an example of gap creation for a COT-dependent UL transmission 500 according to one or more aspects described. For NR-U transmissions, an LBT procedure may be performed prior to starting a RACH transmission to avoid collisions and interference with ongoing transmissions with a coexisting RAT. Back-to-back RACH opportunities (ROs) within a RACH slot 510 may result in PRACH transmission blocking. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a gap 520 may be created between two consecutive ROs within a PRACH slot 510 by shifting 1 symbol after the transmission. Additionally, a cyclic prefix (CP) extension may be applied to the symbol preceding the shifted RO to create a requested 16 microsecond (μs) or 20μs / 25μs gap. This may be applied to a PRACH within a COT, for example Figure 4 450 in the PRACH, or may also be applied to an external COT (e.g., Figure 4 PRACH 420).

[0092] For example, a symbol shift may be performed on the following symbols to obtain a first gap (e.g., 16 μs), and then if LBT operation is required, CP extension 530 is performed to generate a second gap (e.g., 20 μs or other) so that it is within the COT initiated by the gNB. In the manager, the gap may be tuned for PRACH transmission 540 by configuring CP extension. Thus, the UE 101 changes the gap based on the transmission conditions.

[0093] According to other aspects, the UE 101 may be configured to select between a signaled ED threshold (denoted ED1) and an ED threshold 2 (ED2) as calculated based on the transmission power of the scheduled PUSCH. In one embodiment, the selection may be utilized only when ED1 is less than ED2. The selection of ED may enable the UE 101 to configure a UE-initiated COT, for example, based on grouped parameters or the type of UL transmission or characteristics of the desired UL transmission (e.g., low latency, ultra-low latency transmission, transmission urgency, or other characteristics). The selected ED threshold may be signaled to the gNB 111 based on the PUSCH type, such as a configured grant (CG) PUSH or a dynamically (ground) granted PUSCH.

[0094] For example, if the PUSCH type is CG-PUSCH, the selected ED threshold for the UE-initiated COT based on the selected ED (i.e., ED1 or ED2) may be explicitly included / indicated in the CG-UCI payload using a 1-bit ED indicator field as ED feedback to the gNB 111. For example, a value of "0" may indicate ED1 and a value of "1" may indicate ED2, and vice versa. In other aspects, the COT sharing table may be utilized by adding an additional row index indicating "no COT sharing". The COT sharing table may be used with an index or position provided to the UE in the UL transmission to indicate whether COT sharing is enabled and to allow the UE to have a higher likelihood or probability of obtaining a channel specific to the transmission type or need at the time. For example, the UE 101 may indicate the corresponding row index by using an existing COT sharing information element (IE) in the CG-UCI.

[0095] Alternatively or in addition, the PUSCH type may be a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH. In the case of DG-PUSCH, in addition to HARQ-ACK and CSI-Part 1 / CSI-Part 2, the selected ED threshold (e.g., ED1 or ED2) may be indicated by a dedicated ED indicator (EDI) uplink control information (UCI) IE. In the event of a conflict with HARQ-ACK / CSI-Part 1 / Part 2, EDI may be jointly encoded with HARQ-ACK using the same channel coding scheme. Alternatively, an RRC parameter may be introduced to allow the gNB 111 to configure one of the following two schemes for EDI UCI feedback. Initially, if the total number of UCIs on the DG-PUSCH exceeds 3, the UE 101 may be operable to skip EDI feedback; otherwise, the UE 101 may configure joint coding of EDI with other UCI feedback. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 101 may be configured to, for example, jointly encode the EDI with the HARQ-ACK information bits and then piggyback or combine the coded bits on the DG-PUSCH.

[0096] refer to Figure 6 , illustrates an example of conditional gap 600 determination according to various aspects. Here, the examples illustrate different occasions for UL transmissions with PRACH or any other UL transmission channel or type, where different gaps 610 and 612 may be generated when resource channels are shared between the two. For example, for UL transmissions, the UE 101 may be configured to configure the gap as a conditional / variable gap between PRACH transmissions 602, 604 and PUSCH transmissions 606, 608 based on the configuration between these PRACH 602, 604 and PUSCH 606, 608 transmissions. If there is the same parameter set and there are overlapping resources between PRACH and PUSCH for sharing of COT, certain restrictions or configurations (e.g., the same parameter set, reception time, or other parameters) may be enabled for the gNB 111 to be able to utilize the bandwidth with a high probability so that both UL transmissions are successful.

[0097] For example, if the UE 101 performs LBT only to transmit two UL transmission resources (e.g., PRACH and PUSCH, or other paired UL transmissions), the UE 101 may generate a conditional gap N1 at 610, or a conditional gap 612 between the PRACH 602 and the PUSCH 606. For example, the gap N1 at 610 may include 0 or 1 symbol. If zero, there may not be a gap, and different conditional gap lengths may exist for one or more symbols. The conditional gap N1 at 610 is shorter than the conditional gap N2 at 612.

[0098] In one example, the UE 101 may configure the conditional gap N2 value by reusing the value agreed upon by the licensed band at 612. In particular, the gap N1 value may be used in case of the same parameter set and overlapping frequency resources between PRACH and PUSCH of Msg A. Subsequently, the CP extension may be configured to implement N1 symbol gap and the DCI format to switch between N1 and N2 symbol gaps, such as PRACH for PDCCH ordering.

[0099] When a smaller gap value 610 may not be reasonable or feasible, the UE 101 may have a certain reception time by adjusting the clock or some other baseband components. If the UE 101 configures a band that requires a gap N2 value in UL transmission or configures a different parameter set, the UE 101 may generate a CP extension that extends the gap to the N2 value so that it can have the entire packet to handle the problem. Therefore, the CP extension can basically support configurations with no gap or with a smaller gap N1 gap 610.

[0100] Although the method described in the present disclosure is shown and described as a series of actions or events in this article, it should be understood that the order of such actions or events shown should not be interpreted as having a limiting meaning. For example, some actions can occur in different orders and / or simultaneously with other actions or events other than those shown and / or described herein. In addition, it may not be necessary for all the actions shown to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of this specification. In addition, one or more actions in the actions depicted herein may be performed in one or more separate actions and / or stages. For ease of description, reference may be made to the above-mentioned accompanying drawings. However, the method is not limited to any specific embodiment / aspect or example provided in the present disclosure, and may be applied to any system in the system disclosed herein.

[0101] refer to Figure 7 , an exemplary process flow 700 for a network device or component (e.g., UE 101, base station 110, AP 106, or other network component) to perform UL transmissions with different sequence lengths is shown. At 702, the process flow includes processing at least two resource configuration sets corresponding to different sequence lengths for a UL physical channel. At 704, the process flow includes selecting a first sequence length or at least one of a plurality of different second sequence lengths longer than the first sequence length to configure the UL transmission based on one or more conditions. At 706, the process flow includes generating an UL transmission via a UL physical channel based on the first sequence length or the second sequence length of the at least two resource configuration sets.

[0102] In other aspects, the process flow 700 may include processing an indication of at least one of the first sequence length or different second sequence lengths. The plurality of second sequence lengths may include a shorter sequence length for a first frequency and a longer sequence length for a second frequency greater than the first frequency. The indication may include a system information block 1 (SIB1) based on an OCB requirement for an initial access procedure and coexistence with another RAT.

[0103] refer to Figure 8 , an exemplary process flow 800 for enabling dynamic selection of a sequence length for UL transmission by a network device or component (e.g., UE 101, base station 110, AP 106, or other network component) is shown. The process flow is initiated at 802, where at least two different resource configurations including different sequence lengths are provided for UL transmission via a UL physical channel. At 804, the process includes providing an indication to selectively configure a first sequence length or at least one of a plurality of sequence lengths longer than the first sequence length for uplink transmission based on one or more conditions.

[0104] In an aspect, the process flow may further include providing a system information block (SIB1) to indicate a first sequence length or at least one of a plurality of sequence lengths based on at least one of: a coexisting radio access technology (RAT) on the same frequency as the UL transmission, an occupied channel bandwidth (OCB), or an initial access procedure. A gNB-initiated channel occupancy time (COT) may be provided in a DL channel to initiate the first sequence length for the UL transmission. Alternatively or in addition, a sequence length indicator (SLI) field indicator may be provided to a DCI format selected from one of three lengths of the first sequence length, a shorter length of the plurality of sequence lengths, or a longer length of the plurality of sequence lengths.

[0105] refer to Fig. 9 , an exemplary process flow 900 for a network device or component (e.g., UE 101, base station 110, AP 106, or other network component) to perform UL transmission is shown. The process flow 900 is initiated at 902, where different resource configuration sets for UL physical channels are received for UL to DL COT sharing to coexist with different RATs. At 904, the process flow 900 includes selecting an energy detection (ED) threshold from different resource configuration sets for uplink transmission based on one or more conditions. At 906, the process flow 900 includes providing an uplink transmission based on the ed threshold via an uplink physical channel.

[0106] In one aspect, one or more conditions associated with selecting an ED threshold include a latency level for UL transmissions, a first ED threshold, and a second ED threshold greater than the first ED threshold. The selected ED threshold is derived from a transmission power of a scheduled physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for UL transmissions.

[0107] The process flow 900 may also include signaling the ED threshold as a selected ED threshold selected from a plurality of ED thresholds based on the PUSCH type. In response to the PUSCH type including a configuration grant (CG) PUSCH, the process flow 900 includes signaling a CG uplink control information (CG-UCI) based on a COT shared information element (IE) of the CG-UCI, or signaling an indicator of a channel occupancy time (COT) table set in a row index to indicate the selected ED threshold. In response to the PUSCH type including a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH, the process flow 900 includes signaling a dedicated ED indicator (EDI) uplink control information (EDI-UCI) information element (IE).

[0108] In other aspects, process flow 900 may include jointly encoding the EDI-UCI with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) with the same coding scheme to avoid collision with HARQ-ACK / channel state information (CSI)-part 1 / CSI-part 2. Alternatively or additionally, EDI feedback may be skipped in response to a total number of UCI on the DG-PUSCH exceeding a predefined threshold.

[0109] refer to Fig.10 , an exemplary process flow 1000 for a network device or component (e.g., UE 101, base station 110, AP 106, or other network component) to enable dynamic UL transmission at a UE is shown. The process flow 1000 is initiated at 1002, where at least one of the following is generated: an indication that enables selection of a COT based on an ED threshold, or a DCI of a PDCCH indicating one or more different gaps between a PRACH and a PUSCH. At 1004, the process flow 1000 includes transmitting at least one of the following: an indication that enables selection of a COT, or a DCI of a PDCCH.

[0110] In one aspect, the process flow may include processing selection of an ED threshold based on a PUSCH type, including a configured grant (CG) PUSCH or a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH. Alternatively or in addition, the process flow 1000 may include processing PRACH and PUSCH with gaps derived from a cyclic prefix (CP) extension.

[0111] As used in this specification, the term "processor" may refer to substantially any computing processing unit or device, including but not limited to single-core processors; single processors with software multi-threaded execution capabilities; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multi-threaded execution capabilities; multi-core processors with hardware multi-threading technology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. In addition, a processor may refer to an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic controller, a complex programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions and / or processes described herein. The processor may utilize nanoscale architectures, such as but not limited to molecular and quantum dot-based transistors, switches, and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance the performance of mobile devices. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0112] Embodiments (implementations) may include subject matter, such as methods, devices for performing actions or frames of the method, and at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform the actions of a method or device or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0113] A first embodiment is an apparatus employed in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a processing circuit configured to: receive at least two resource configuration sets including different sequence lengths for an uplink (UL) physical channel; select a first sequence length or a second sequence length longer than the first sequence length from the different sequence lengths of the at least two resource configuration sets based on one or more conditions; and generate an uplink (UL) transmission via the UL physical channel based on the selected first sequence length or the second sequence length of the at least two resource configuration sets. A radio frequency (RF) interface is configured to provide data for transmission of the UL transmission to the RF circuit.

[0114] A second embodiment may include the first embodiment, wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of the following: UE capability, occupied channel bandwidth OCB, the UL transmission or the UL physical channel, and wherein the UL physical channel includes at least one of the following: a physical random access channel (PRACH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0115] A third embodiment may include the first embodiment or the second embodiment, wherein the at least two resource configuration sets are associated with PRACH transmission, and the second sequence length includes one of at least two different subcarrier spacing (SCS) sequence lengths for the PRACH transmission, which are respectively associated with different frequency intervals greater than the first sequence length.

[0116] A fourth embodiment may include any one or more embodiments of the first to third embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to process a system information block (SIB) including an indication of one of the at least two different SCS sequence lengths in response to receiving the at least two resource configuration sets, and determine one of the two different subcarrier spacing (SCS) sequence lengths for generating the UL transmission based on the indication of the SIB.

[0117] A fifth embodiment may include any one or more of the first to fourth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate the UL transmission based on the second sequence length used for an initial access procedure based on a coexisting radio access technology (RAT) and an occupied channel bandwidth (OCB) configured for the UL transmission.

[0118] A sixth embodiment may include any one or more of the first to fifth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate different periods for the first sequence length and the second sequence length, wherein the periodicity of the second sequence length corresponds to an initial access procedure for sharing one or more resources with the UL transmission.

[0119] A seventh embodiment may include any one or more of the first to sixth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine that the UL transmission for PRACH or a sounding reference signal (SRS) is within a channel occupancy time (COT) initiated by a gNodeB (gNB), and in response to transmitting the UL transmission based on the first sequence length within the COT initiated by the gNB.

[0120] The eighth embodiment may include any one or more embodiments of the first embodiment to the seventh embodiment, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: in response to not detecting a COT initiated by the gNB at a downlink control information (DCI) format 2_0 or a downlink (DL) channel, skip the first sequence length used for the UL transmission, or fall back to generating the UL transmission based on the second sequence length.

[0121] The ninth embodiment may include any one or more embodiments of the first embodiment to the eighth embodiment, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: generate a mixed sequence based on the first sequence length and the second sequence length in a non-periodic UL transmission including the UL transmission; and determine the sequence length based on a sequence length indicator SLI field of the DCI.

[0122] A tenth embodiment may include any one or more of the first to ninth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate a gap between two consecutive RACH occasions (RO) by shifting at least one symbol later in the UL transmission.

[0123] The eleventh embodiment may include any one or more of the first to tenth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: in response to the UL transmission as PRACH within the COT initiated by the gNB, generate the gap as the first gap between the at least two consecutive ROs, and in response to the PRACH outside the COT initiated by the gNB, further generate a CP extension to increase the gap.

[0124] The twelfth embodiment may be a tangible computer-readable storage device storing executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of a network component including a user equipment (UE) to perform operations, the operations comprising: processing at least two resource configuration sets corresponding to different sequence lengths for an uplink (UL) physical channel; selecting a first sequence length or at least one of a plurality of different second sequence lengths longer than the first sequence length based on one or more conditions to configure UL transmission; and generating the UL transmission via the UL physical channel based on the first sequence length or the second sequence length of the at least two resource configuration sets.

[0125] The thirteenth embodiment may include the twelfth embodiment, and the operation also includes: processing the first sequence length or an indication of at least one second sequence length among the multiple different second sequence lengths, wherein the multiple second sequence lengths include a shorter sequence length having a first frequency and a longer sequence length having a second frequency greater than the first frequency.

[0126] The fourteenth embodiment may include any one or more of the twelfth to thirteenth embodiments, wherein the indication includes a system information block 1 (SIB1) based on an occupied channel bandwidth (OCB) requirement for an initial access procedure and coexisting with another radio access technology (RAT).

[0127] The fifteenth embodiment may include any one or more embodiments from the twelfth embodiment to the fourteenth embodiment, wherein the shorter sequence length among the multiple different second sequence lengths includes a first frequency, and the longer sequence length among the multiple different sequence lengths includes a second frequency greater than the first frequency.

[0128] The sixteenth embodiment may include any one or more embodiments of the twelfth to fifteenth embodiments, and the operation also includes: configuring different lengths of the UL transmission for at least one of the following: physical random access channel (PRACH), sounding reference signal (SRS), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), periodic transmission, semi-persistent transmission or non-periodic transmission.

[0129] The seventeenth embodiment may include any one or more embodiments from the twelfth embodiment to the sixteenth embodiment, and the operation also includes: skipping the first sequence length or using the second sequence length for transmission based on not detecting a channel occupancy time (COT) initiated by a gNodeB (gNB) in a downlink (DL) channel, and the DL channel includes at least one of the following: a dynamically scheduled synchronization signal block (SSB), a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or a scheduled physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0130] The eighteenth embodiment may be a tangible computer-readable storage device storing executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of a network device including an access point or a next-generation NodeB (gNB) to perform operations, the operations including: providing at least two different resource configurations including different sequence lengths for uplink (UL) transmission via a UL physical channel; and providing an indication to selectively configure a first sequence length or at least one of a plurality of sequence lengths longer than the first sequence length for the UL transmission based on one or more conditions.

[0131] A nineteenth embodiment may include the eighteenth embodiment, and the operation further includes: providing a system information block (SIB1) to indicate the first sequence length or the at least one sequence length among the multiple sequence lengths based on at least one of the following items: a co-existing radio access technology (RAT) on the same frequency as the UL transmission, an occupied channel bandwidth (OCB), or an initial access procedure.

[0132] The twentieth embodiment includes any one or more embodiments of the eighteenth embodiment to the nineteenth embodiment, and the operation also includes: providing a gNB-initiated channel occupancy time (COT) in a DL channel to initiate the first sequence length for the UL transmission; or providing a sequence length indicator (SLI) field indicator to a DCI format selected from one of the three lengths of the first sequence length, a shorter length of the multiple sequence lengths, or a longer length of the multiple sequence lengths.

[0133] The twenty-first embodiment may be an apparatus employed in a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processing circuit configured to: receive different resource configuration sets for an uplink (UL) physical channel for uplink (UL) to downlink (DL) channel occupancy time (COT) sharing to coexist with another radio access technology (RAT); select an energy detection (ED) threshold from the different resource configuration sets for UL transmission based on one or more conditions; and provide the UL transmission via the UL physical channel based on the ED threshold. A radio frequency (RF) interface is configured to provide data for the UL transmission to the RF circuit.

[0134] The twenty-second embodiment may include the twenty-first embodiment, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine an energy detection (ED) threshold based on at least one of: a transmission power of a scheduled PUSCH, or a PUSCH type.

[0135] The twenty-third embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-second embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: select the ED threshold based on the indicator field of the configuration grant (CG) uplink control information (CG-UCI) of the CG-PUSCH or the dedicated ED indicator (EDI) uplink control information (EDI-UCI) information element (IE) of the dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH.

[0136] The twenty-fourth embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-third embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: select an ED based PUSCH type energy detection (ED) threshold by signaling the ED threshold based on a dedicated ED indicator (EDI) uplink control information (EDI-UCI) information element (IE) of a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH.

[0137] The twenty-fifth embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-fourth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: in response to a conflict identified using HARQ-ACK / channel state information (CSI)-part 1 / CSI-part 2, jointly encode the EDI-UCI with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) using the same coding scheme.

[0138] The twenty-sixth embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-fifth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to process radio resource control (RRC) parameters, wherein the RRC parameters enable the gNodeB (gNB) to configure EDI UCI feedback in the following manner: skipping the EDI feedback in response to the total number of UCI on the DG-PUSCH exceeding a predefined threshold, or jointly encoding the EDI feedback with other UCI feedback including HARQ-ACK information on the DG-PUSCH.

[0139] The twenty-seventh embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-sixth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to configure the gap between PRACH transmission and PUSCH transmission based on a first number of symbols or a second number of symbols greater than the first number of symbols.

[0140] The twenty-eighth embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-seventh embodiments, wherein the first number of symbols is utilized in response to the same parameter set and overlapping frequency resources between message A (Msg_A) of the PRACH transmission and the PUSCH transmission.

[0141] The twenty-ninth embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-eighth embodiments, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to configure the gap between the PRACH transmission and the PUSCH transmission based on the DCI of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) by switching between a first number of symbols used for PRACH transmission and a second number of symbols greater than the first number of symbols.

[0142] A thirtieth embodiment may include any one of the twenty-first to twenty-ninth embodiments, wherein the gap is generated according to the first number of symbols extended based on a cyclic prefix (CP).

[0143] The thirty-first embodiment may be a tangible computer-readable storage device storing executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of a network component including a user equipment (UE) to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving different resource configuration sets for an uplink (UL) physical channel for uplink (UL) to downlink (DL) channel occupancy time (COT) sharing to coexist with different radio access technologies (RATs); selecting an energy detection (ED) threshold from the different resource configuration sets for UL transmission based on one or more conditions; and providing the UL transmission via the UL physical channel based on the ED threshold.

[0144] The thirty-second embodiment may include any one of the thirtieth to the thirty-first embodiments, wherein the one or more conditions associated with selecting the ED threshold include a waiting time level for the UL transmission, a first ED threshold, and a second ED threshold greater than the first ED threshold, and wherein the selected ED threshold is derived from the transmission power of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled for the UL transmission.

[0145] The thirty-third embodiment may include any one of the thirtieth to thirty-second embodiments, and the operation further includes: signaling the ED threshold as a selected ED threshold selected from a plurality of ED thresholds based on a PUSCH type.

[0146] The thirty-fourth embodiment may include any one embodiment from the thirtieth embodiment to the thirty-third embodiment, and the operation also includes: in response to the PUSCH type including a configuration grant (CG) PUSCH, signaling a CG uplink control information (CG-UCI) or signaling a setting indicator of a channel occupancy time (COT) table in a row index of a COT shared information element (IE) based on the CG-UCI to indicate the selected ED threshold.

[0147] The thirty-fifth embodiment may include any one embodiment of the thirtieth to the thirty-fourth embodiments, and the operation also includes: in response to the PUSCH type including a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH, signaling a dedicated ED indicator (EDI) uplink control information (EDI-UCI) information element (IE).

[0148] The thirty-sixth embodiment may include any one of the thirtieth to the thirty-fifth embodiments, and the operation also includes: jointly encoding the EDI-UCI with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) using the same coding scheme to avoid conflict with HARQ-ACK / channel state information (CSI)-part 1 / CSI-part 2; or skipping EDI feedback in response to the total number of UCI on the DG-PUSCH exceeding a predefined threshold.

[0149] The thirty-seventh embodiment may include any one of the thirtieth to thirty-sixth embodiments, and the operation also includes: configuring the gap between the physical random access control channel (PRACH) transmission and the PUSCH transmission based on at least a first value associated with a parameter set between the PRACH and the PUSCH and one of a second value greater than the first value, wherein the first value is utilized in response to the same parameter set and overlapping frequency resources between message A (Msg_A) of the PRACH transmission and the PUSCH transmission.

[0150] The thirty-eighth embodiment may include any one embodiment of the thirtieth embodiment to the thirty-seventh embodiment, and the operation also includes: generating a cyclic prefix (CP) extension based on downlink control information (DCI) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to derive the first value and switch between the first value and the second value used for the PRACH transmission.

[0151] The thirty-ninth embodiment may be a tangible computer-readable storage device storing executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of a network device including an access point or a next-generation NodeB (gNB) to perform operations, the operations including: generating at least one of the following: an indication allowing selection of a channel occupancy time (COT) based on an energy detection (ED) threshold, or downlink control information (DCI) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) indicating one or more different gaps between a physical random access channel (PRACH) and a physical uplink shared control channel (PUSCH); and transmitting at least one of the following: the indication enabling selection of the COT, or the DCI of the PDCCH.

[0152] A fortieth embodiment may include the thirty-ninth embodiment, and the operation further includes: processing the selection of the ED threshold based on a PUSCH type, the PUSCH type including a configured grant (CG) PUSCH or a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH; or processing the PRACH and the PUSCH having a gap derived from a cyclic prefix (CP) extension.

[0153] The forty-first embodiment may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any one of the first to twenty-first embodiments, or any other method or process described herein.

[0154] The forty-second embodiment may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of the first to twenty-first embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0155] The forty-third embodiment may include a device comprising logical components, modules or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any one of the first to twenty-first embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0156] The forty-fourth embodiment may include a method, technique or process, or a portion or component thereof, as described or related to any one of the first to twenty-first embodiments.

[0157] The forty-fifth embodiment may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, process, or portion thereof as described in or related to any one of the first to twenty-first embodiments.

[0158] In addition, various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as methods, devices or articles using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. As used herein, the term "article" is intended to cover a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier or medium. For example, a computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage device (e.g., a hard disk, a floppy disk, a magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), etc.), a smart card, and a flash memory device (e.g., an EPROM, a card, a stick, a key drive, etc.). In addition, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing and / or carrying instructions and / or data. In addition, a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having one or more instructions or codes that are operable to cause a computer to perform the functions described herein.

[0159] Communication media embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transmission medium. The term "modulated data signal" or signal refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in a manner that encodes information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as a wired network or direct wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

[0160] An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated with the processor. In addition, in some aspects, the processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components. In addition, in some aspects, the process and / or action of the method or algorithm may reside on a machine-readable medium and / or a computer-readable medium as one or any combination or set of codes and / or instructions, and may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0161] In this regard, although the subject matter disclosed in the present invention has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it should be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to perform the same, similar, alternative or alternative functions of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the described embodiments. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted according to the breadth and scope of the following claims.

[0162] In particular, with respect to the various functions performed by the above-described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), unless otherwise specified, the terms used to describe such components (including references to "means") are intended to correspond to any component or structure that performs the specified function of the component (e.g., functionally equivalent), even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs the function in the exemplary implementation of the disclosure shown herein. In addition, while particular features have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, for any given or specific application, such features may be combined with one or more other features of other implementations, which may be desirable and advantageous.

Claims

1. A device used in a user equipment (UE), the device include: A processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to: receiving a different set of resource configurations for an uplink (UL) physical channel for uplink (UL) to downlink (DL) channel occupation time (COT) sharing for coexistence with another radio access technology (RAT); selecting an energy detection (ED) threshold from the different sets of resource configurations for UL transmission based on one or more conditions; and providing the UL transmission via the UL physical channel based on the ED threshold; and a radio frequency (RF) interface configured to provide data for the UL transmission to the RF circuit, Wherein the processing circuit is further configured to configure a gap between a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission by switching between a first number of symbols used for a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission and a second number of symbols greater than the first number of symbols based on downlink control information (DCI) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine an energy detection (ED) threshold based on at least one of: a transmission power of a scheduled PUSCH, or a PUSCH type.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: The ED threshold is selected based on the indicator field of the Configuration Grant (CG) Uplink Control Information (CG-UCI) of the CG-PUSCH or the Dedicated ED Indicator (EDI) Uplink Control Information (EDI-UCI) Information Element (IE) of the Dynamic Grant (DG) PUSCH.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: An energy detection (ED) threshold based on the PUSCH type is selected by signaling the ED threshold based on a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH-dedicated ED indicator (EDI) uplink control information (EDI-UCI) information element (IE).

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: In response to identifying a collision with HARQ-ACK / channel state information (CSI)-part 1 / CSI-part 2, the EDI-UCI is jointly encoded with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) using the same coding scheme.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to process radio resource control (RRC) parameters that enable a gNodeB (gNB) to configure EDI UCI feedback by skipping the EDI feedback in response to a total number of UCI on DG-PUSCH exceeding a predefined threshold, or jointly encoding the EDI feedback with other UCI feedback including HARQ-ACK information on DG-PUSCH.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to configure a gap between PRACH transmissions and PUSCH transmissions based on a first number of symbols or a second number of symbols greater than the first number of symbols.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first number of symbols is utilized in response to a same parameter set and overlapping frequency resources between message A (Msg_A) of the PRACH transmission and the PUSCH transmission.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gap is generated from the first number of symbols based on a cyclic prefix (CP) extension.

10. A method for a user equipment (UE) to perform an operation via a processing circuit, the operation include: receiving different resource configuration sets for uplink (UL) physical channels for uplink (UL) to downlink (DL) channel occupation time (COT) sharing to coexist with different radio access technologies (RATs); selecting an energy detection (ED) threshold from the different sets of resource configurations for UL transmission based on one or more conditions; and The UL transmission is provided via the UL physical channel based on the ED threshold, wherein the operations further include configuring a gap between a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission by switching between a first number of symbols for a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission and a second number of symbols greater than the first number of symbols based on downlink control information (DCI) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more conditions associated with selecting the ED threshold include a waiting time level for the UL transmission, a first ED threshold, and a second ED threshold greater than the first ED threshold, and wherein the selected ED threshold is derived from a transmission power of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled for the UL transmission.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the operation further comprises: include: The ED threshold is signaled as a selected ED threshold selected from a plurality of ED thresholds based on a PUSCH type.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the operation further comprises: include: In response to the PUSCH type including a configuration grant (CG) PUSCH, a channel occupancy time (COT) shared information element (IE) based on the CG uplink control information (CG-UCI) signals an indicator of setting a COT table in a row index or signals the CG-UCI to indicate the selected ED threshold.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the operation further comprises: include: In response to the PUSCH type comprising a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH, a dedicated ED indicator (EDI) uplink control information (EDI-UCI) information element (IE) is signaled.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the operation further comprises: include: The EDI-UCI IE is jointly encoded with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) using the same coding scheme to avoid collision with HARQ-ACK / channel state information (CSI)-part 1 / CSI-part 2; or EDI feedback is skipped in response to the total number of UCI on DG-PUSCH exceeding a predefined threshold.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the operation further comprises: include: A gap between a physical random access control channel (PRACH) transmission and a PUSCH transmission is configured based on one of at least a first value associated with a parameter set between the PRACH and the PUSCH and a second value greater than the first value, wherein the first value is utilized in response to the same parameter set and overlapping frequency resources of a message A (Msg_A) between the PRACH transmission and the PUSCH transmission.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the operation further comprises: include: A cyclic prefix (CP) extension is generated to derive the first value and the first value and the second value are switched between the first value and the second value of the PRACH transmission based on downlink control information (DCI) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

18. A method for an access point or a next generation Node B (gNB) to perform operations via a processing circuit, the operations include: generating different resource configuration sets for an uplink (UL) physical channel for uplink (UL) to downlink (DL) channel occupation time (COT) sharing to coexist with different radio access technologies (RATs), the different resource configuration sets being configured to enable selection of the COT based on an energy detection (ED) threshold; as well as DL control information (DCI) of a physical downlink (DL) control channel (PDCCH) is generated to enable configuration of a gap between a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) by switching between a first number of symbols used for the PRACH transmission and a second number of symbols greater than the first number of symbols.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the operation further comprises: include: The selection of the ED threshold is provided based on a PUSCH type, the PUSCH type comprising a configured grant (CG) PUSCH or a dynamic grant (DG) PUSCH.

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