Uplink Control Information Transmission in Wireless Communication

Abstract

The techniques discussed herein facilitate generating uplink control information for enhanced physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) formats (EPFs). An exemplary implementation that can be employed in a user equipment (UE) is configured to: determine hybrid automatic repeat request - acknowledgement (HARQ - ACK) information; generate a PUCCH for a bandwidth part (BWP) at least in part based on the HARQ - ACK information, wherein the PUCCH has an EPF; determine a PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and a first physical resource block (PRB) index for the PUCCH, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least in part based on an index of a first control channel element (CCE) of an associated physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a number of CCEs in a control resource set (CORESET) of the associated PDCCH; and map the PUCCH to at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and the first PRB index.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Mobile communications in the next-generation wireless communication system 5G or New Radio (NR) network will provide ubiquitous connectivity and access to information and the ability to share data globally. The 5G network and network slicing will be a unified, service-based framework that will aim to meet common and sometimes conflicting performance criteria and serve a highly diverse range of application domains from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to massive machine type communication (mMTC), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and other communications. Generally speaking, 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 connection solutions. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0002] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a system including a core network (CN) such as a 5th Generation (5G) CN (5GC) according to various embodiments.

[0003] Figure 2 is an illustration showing exemplary components of a device that can be employed according to various aspects discussed herein.

[0004] Figure 3 is an illustration showing an exemplary interface of a baseband circuit that can be employed according to various aspects discussed herein.

[0005] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing a system that facilitates communication of uplink control information based on an enhanced physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format (EPF) according to various embodiments discussed herein.

[0006] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of an EPF0 or EPF1 interleaved cyclic shift (CS) mapping including 10 physical resource blocks (PRBs) according to various embodiments discussed herein.

[0007] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an exemplary cyclic shift (CS) mapping of different combinations of values of 1-bit hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) and 1-bit scheduling request (SR) according to various aspects discussed herein.

[0008] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an exemplary cyclic shift (CS) mapping of different combinations of values of 2-bit HARQ-ACK and 1-bit SR according to various aspects discussed herein.

[0009] Figure 8FIG. is an example showing PUCCH resource mapping according to various aspects discussed herein.

[0010] Figure 9 FIG. is an example showing PUCCH resource allocation of one or more of EPF2 or EPF3 according to various aspects discussed herein.

[0011] Figure 10 FIG. is a flowchart of an exemplary method or process that can be employed at a UE according to various embodiments discussed herein, the exemplary method or process facilitating UE transmission of PUCCH according to an enhanced PUCCH format.

[0012] Figure 11 FIG. is a flowchart of an exemplary method or process that can be employed at a base station (BS) according to various embodiments discussed herein, the exemplary method or process facilitating BS reception of PUCCH according to an enhanced PUCCH format. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals are used throughout to refer to like elements, and where the structures and devices shown are not necessarily drawn to scale. As used herein, the terms "component," "system," "interface," etc. are intended to refer to entities related to a computer, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and / or firmware. For example, a component can be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller, or other processing device), a process running on the processor, a controller, an object, an executable file, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet, and / or a user equipment with a processing device (e.g., a mobile phone or other device configured to communicate via a 3GPP RAN, etc.). By way of example, an application running on a server and the server can also be a component. One or more components can reside in a process, and components can be located on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. A group of elements or a group of other components can be described herein, where the term "group" can be interpreted as "one or more" unless the context indicates otherwise (e.g., "an empty group," "a group of two or more X," etc.).

[0014] In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon, such as using modules, for example. Components can communicate, for example, according to a signal having one or more data packets via local and / or remote processes (e.g., data from one component interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or the entire network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or a similar network of other systems via a signal).

[0015] For another example, a component can be a device with a specific function, and the specific function is provided by a mechanical component operated by an electrical or electronic circuit, where the electrical or electronic circuit can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors can be inside or outside the device, and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. For yet another example, a component can be a device that provides a specific function through electronic components without a mechanical component; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein to execute at least part of the software and / or firmware that endows the electronic components with functions.

[0016] The use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner. 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. Additionally, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or clearly indicated from the context to be in the singular form. Further, to the extent that the terms "comprising", "including", "having", "has", "with", or variants thereof are used in the detailed description and claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "containing". Additionally, in the case of discussing one or more numbered items (e.g., "first X", "second X", etc.), generally, the one or more numbered items can be different or they can be the same, but in some cases, the context may indicate that they are different or indicate that they are the same.

[0017] As used herein, the term "circuit" can refer to, can be part of, or can include the following: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuits, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functions. In some embodiments, the circuit can be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functions associated with the circuit can be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, the circuit can include logic that can be at least partially operated in hardware.

[0018] The various aspects discussed herein can relate to facilitating wireless communications, and the nature of these communications can vary.

[0019] As is known, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of accidental or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0020] The embodiments described herein can be implemented into a system using any appropriately configured hardware and / or software. Figure 1 The architecture of a system 100 including a core network (CN) 120 (e.g., a fifth-generation (5G) CN (5GC)) is shown according to various embodiments. System 100 is shown to include: a UE 101, which can be the same as or similar to one or more other UEs discussed herein; a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio access network (radio AN or RAN) or other (e.g., non-3GPP) AN, (R)AN 210, which can include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., evolved Node B (eNB)), next-generation Node B (gNB and / or other nodes) or other nodes or access points; and a data network (DN) 203, which can be, for example, a carrier service, Internet access, or a third-party service; and a fifth-generation core network (5GC) 120. 5GC 120 can include one or more of the following functions and network components: an authentication server function (AUSF) 122; an access and mobility management function (AMF) 121; a session management function (SMF) 124; a network exposure function (NEF) 123; a policy control function (PCF) 126; a network repository function (NRF) 125; a unified data management (UDM) 127; an application function (AF) 128; a user plane (UP) function (UPF) 102; and a network slice selection function (NSSF) 129.

[0021] The UPF 102 can act as an anchor point for mobility within and between RATs, an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnecting with the DN 103, and a branching point for supporting multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 102 can also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane part of policy rules, legally intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handling for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), perform transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 102 can include an uplink classifier for supporting routing traffic to the data network. The DN 103 can represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The DN 103 can include or be similar to an application server. The UPF 102 can interact with the SMF 124 via the N4 reference point between the SMF 124 and the UPF 102.

[0022] The AUSF 122 can store the data for authenticating the UE 101 and handle authentication-related functions. The AUSF 122 can facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 122 can communicate with the AMF 121 via the N12 reference point between the AMF 121 and the AUSF 122; and can communicate with the UDM 127 via the N13 reference point between the UDM 127 and the AUSF 122. Additionally, the AUSF 122 can expose an Nausf service-based interface.

[0023] The AMF 121 can be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering the UE 101, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and legal interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 121 can be the termination point of the N11 reference point between the AMF 121 and the SMF124. The AMF 121 can provide transport for SM messages between the UE 101 and the SMF 124, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 121 can also be for the UE 101 and the short message service (SMS) function (SMSF)( Figure 1Provide transmission of SMS messages between (not shown in the figure). The AMF 121 can act as a Security Anchor Function (SEAF), which may include interactions with the AUSF 122 and the UE 101 and / or receive intermediate keys established due to the UE 101 authentication process. In the case of using Global Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)-based authentication, the AMF 121 can retrieve security material from the AUSF 122. The AMF 121 can also include a Single Connectivity Mode (SCM) function that receives keys from the SEA for deriving access network-specific keys. Additionally, the AMF 121 can be a termination point of the Radio Access Network (RAN) control plane (CP) interface, which may include or be the N2 reference point between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121; and the AMF 121 can be a termination point of the non-access stratum (NAS) (N1) signaling and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0024] The AMF 121 can also support NAS signaling with the UE 101 through the non-3GPP (N3) Interworking Function (IWF) interface. The N3IWF can be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3IWF can be a termination point of the N2 interface between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121 in the control plane and can be a termination point of the N3 reference point between the (R)AN 110 and the UPF 102 in the user plane. Therefore, the AMF 121 can handle N2 signaling for PDU sessions and QoS from the SMF 124 and the AMF 121, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for Internet Protocol (IP) security (IPSec) and N3 tunneling, mark N3 user plane packets on the uplink, and enforce QoS requirements corresponding to the N3 packet marking, taking into account the QoS requirements associated with such markings received via N2. The N3IWF can also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 via the N1 reference point between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 101 and the UPF 102. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 101. The AMF 121 can present a Namf service-based interface and can be a termination point of the N14 reference point between two AMF 121s and the N17 reference point between the AMF 121 and the 5G Equipment Identity Register (5G-EIR) ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure).

[0025] UE 101 can register with the AMF 121 to receive network services. Registration Management (RM) is used to register the UE 101 with the network (e.g., AMF 121) or deregister the UE 101, and establish a UE context in the network (e.g., AMF 121). The UE 101 can operate in the RM-REGISTRED state or the RM-DEREGISTRED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, the UE 101 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in the AMF 121 does not hold the valid location or routing information of the UE 101, so the AMF 121 cannot reach the UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 101 is registered with the network, and the UE context in the AMF 121 can hold the valid location or routing information of the UE 101, so the AMF 121 can reach the UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 101 can perform a mobility registration update process, perform a periodic registration update process triggered by the expiration of a periodic update timer (e.g., notify the network that the UE 101 is still active), and perform a registration update process to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0026] The AMF 121 can store one or more RM contexts of the UE 101, where each RM context is associated with a specific access to the network. The RM context can be a data structure, a database object, etc., which especially indicates or stores the registration status and the periodic update timer for each access type. The AMF 121 can also store a 5GC Mobility Management (MM) context, which can be the same as or similar to the (Enhanced Packet System (EPS)) MM ((E)MM) context. In various embodiments, the AMF 121 can store the Coverage Enhancement (CE) mode B restriction parameters of the UE 101 in the associated MM context or RM context. The AMF 121 can also derive values from the usage setting parameters of the UE that have been stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context) when needed.

[0027] Connection Management (CM) can be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 via the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between the UE 101 and the CN 120, and includes a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., an RRC connection for non-3GPP access or a UE-N3IWF connection) and an N2 connection between the UE 101 between the AN (e.g., the RAN 110) and the AMF 121. The UE 101 can operate in one of two CM states (CM IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When the UE 101 operates in the CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 101 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 via the N1 interface, and there may be an (R)AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 101. When the UE 101 operates in the CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 101 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 via the N1 interface, and there may be an (R)AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 101. Establishing an N2 connection between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121 can cause the UE 101 to transition from the CM-IDLE mode to the CM-CONNECTED mode, and when the N2 signaling between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121 is released, the UE 101 can transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode.

[0028] The SMF 124 may be responsible for session management (SM) (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including the maintenance of tunnels between the UPF and the AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of the UPF function; configuration of the UPF traffic steering to route traffic to the correct destination; termination of the interface towards the policy control function; the policy enforcement and the control part of QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and the interface with the lawful interception (LI) system); termination of the SM part of the NAS message; downlink data notification; initiation of AN-specific SM information sent to the AN via the AMF over N2; and determination of the session and service continuity (SSC) mode of the session. SM may refer to the management of the PDU session, and the PDU session or "session" may refer to the PDU connection service that provides or enables the PDU exchange between the UE 101 and the data network (DN) 103 identified by the data network name (DNN). The PDU session may be established upon request by the UE 101 using the NAS SM signaling exchanged between the UE 101 and the SMF 124 over the N1 reference point, modified upon request by the UE 101 and the 5GC 120, and released upon request by the UE 101 and the 5GC 120. The 5GC 120 may trigger a specific application in the UE 101 upon request from the application server. In response to receiving the trigger message, the UE 101 may pass the trigger message (or the relevant part / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in the UE 101. The identified applications in the UE 101 may establish a PDU session with a specific DNN. The SMF 124 may check whether the UE 101 request complies with the user subscription information associated with the UE 101. In this regard, the SMF 124 may retrieve and / or request an update notification of the subscription data at the SMF 124 level received from the UDM 127.

[0029] The SMF 124 may include the following roaming functions: handling local execution to apply the QoS service level agreement (SLA) (visited public land mobile network (VPLMN)); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (for SM events and the interface with the LI system, in the VPLMN); and support for interaction with the external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication over the external DN. In a roaming scenario, the N16 reference point between two SMF 124s may be included in the system 100, which may be located between the SMF 124 in the visited network and another SMF 124 in the home network. Additionally, the SMF 124 may present an Nsmf service-based interface.

[0030] The NEF 123 can provide components for securely exposing the services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 128), edge computing, or fog computing systems, etc. In such an implementation, the NEF 123 can authenticate, authorize, and / or restrict the AF. The NEF 123 can also transform the information exchanged with the AF 128 and the information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 123 can transform between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 123 can also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on the exposure capabilities of other network functions. This information can be stored at the NEF 123 as structured data, or stored at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. Then, the stored information can be re-exposed by the NEF 123 to other NFs and AFs, and / or used for other purposes such as analysis. Additionally, the NEF123 can present an interface based on the Nnef service.

[0031] The NRF 125 can support a service discovery function, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information about the discovered NF instances to NF instances. The NRF 125 also maintains information about available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, terms such as "instantiation" can refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" can refer to a specific occurrence of an object, which can occur, for example, during the execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 125 can present an interface based on the Nnrf service.

[0032] The PCF 126 can provide components for control plane functions to execute their policy rules, and can also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. The PCF 126 can also implement an FE to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 127. The PCF 126 can communicate with the AMF 121 via the N15 reference point between the PCF 126 and the AMF 121, which can include the PCF 126 in the visited network and the AMF 121 in a roaming scenario. The PCF 126 can communicate with the AF 128 via the N5 reference point between the PCF 126 and the AF 128; and communicate with the SMF 124 via the N7 reference point between the PCF 126 and the SMF 124. The system 100 and / or the CN 120 can also include an N24 reference point between the PCF 126 (in the home network) and the PCF 126 (in the visited network). Additionally, the PCF 126 can present an interface based on the Npcf service.

[0033] The UDM 127 can process subscription-related information to support the handling of communication sessions by network entities and can store the subscription data of the UE 101. For example, subscription data can be transmitted between the UDM 127 and the AMF 121 via the N8 reference point between the UDM 127 and the AMF. The UDM 127 can include two parts: an Application Function Entity (FE) and a Unified Data Repository (UDR) (the FE and the UDR are not shown in Figure 1 . The UDR can store the subscription data and policy data of the UDM 127 and the PCF 126, and / or the structured data for exposure and application data of the NEF 123 (including Packet Flow Descriptions (PFDs) for application detection, application request information of multiple UEs 101). The Nudr service-based interface can be presented by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM 127, the PCF 126, and the NEF 123 to access a specific set of the stored data, and to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM can include a UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. In different transactions, several different FEs can serve the same user. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. The UDR can interact with the SMF 124 via the N10 reference point between the UDM 127 and the SMF 124. The UDM 127 can also support SMS management, where the SMS-FE implements similar application logic as discussed elsewhere in this document. Additionally, the UDM 127 can present a Nudm service-based interface.

[0034] The AF 128 can provide the impact of the application on traffic routing, provide access to the NEF 123, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. The 5GC 120 and the AF 128 can provide information to each other via the NEF 123, which can be used for edge computing implementations. In such implementations, network operators and third-party services can be hosted near the attachment UE101 access point to achieve efficient service delivery by reducing the end-to-end latency and the load on the transport network. For edge computing implementations, the 5GC can select a UPF 102 near the UE 101 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 102 to the DN 103 via the N6 interface. This can be based on the UE subscription data, the UE location, and the information provided by the AF 128. In this way, the AF 128 can affect the UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on the operator deployment, when the AF 128 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow the AF 128 to directly interact with the relevant NFs. Additionally, the AF 128 can present a Naf service-based interface.

[0035] The NSSF 129 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 101. The NSSF 129 may also appropriately determine the permitted Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and the mapping to the subscribed single NSSAI (S-NSSAI). The NSSF 129 may also determine, based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 125, the set of AMFs, or a list of candidate AMFs 121, that will be used to serve the UE 101. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 101 may be triggered by the AMF 121, where the UE 101 registers by interacting with the NSSF 129, which may cause a change in the AMF 121. The NSSF 129 may interact with the AMF 121 via the N22 reference point between the AMF 121 and the NSSF 129; and may communicate with another NSSF 129 in the visited network via the N31 reference point ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure). Additionally, the NSSF 129 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0036] As previously discussed, the CN 120 may include an SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages to / from the UE 101 to / from other entities such as the SMS-gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC) / Interworking MSC (IWMSC) / SMS Router. The SMSF may also interact with the AMF 121 and the UDM 127 for a notification procedure that the UE 101 may use for SMS transmission (e.g., setting the UE unreachable flag and notifying the UDM 127 when the UE 101 is available for SMS).

[0037] The CN 120 may also include Figure 1 other elements not shown, such as data storage systems / architectures, 5G-EIR, Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), etc. The data storage system may include a Structured Data Storage Function (SDSF), an Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF), etc. Any NF may store unstructured data into the UDSF (e.g., UE context) or retrieve it from the UDSF via the N18 reference point between any NF and the UDSF ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure). Each NF may share the UDSF for storing its corresponding unstructured data, or each NF may have its own UDSF located at or near each NF. Additionally, the UDSF may present an interface based on the Nudsf service ( Figure 1(not shown in the figure). The 5G-EIR can be an NF that checks the status of the Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI) to determine whether to blacklist a specific piece of equipment / entity from the network; and the SEPP can be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0038] In addition, there can be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in the NF; however, for clarity, Figure 1 these interfaces and reference points are omitted. In one example, the CN 120 can include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between the MME (e.g., a non-5G MME) and the AMF 121 to enable interoperability between the CN 120 and a non-5G CN. Other exemplary interfaces / reference points can include the N5g-EIR service-based interface presented by the 5G-EIR, the N27 reference point between the Network Repository Function (NRF) in the visited network and the NRF in the home network; and the N31 reference point between the NSSF in the visited network and the NSSF in the home network.

[0039] Figure 2 Exemplary components of the device 200 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the device 200 can include at least the application circuit 202, the baseband circuit 204, the Radio Frequency (RF) circuit 206, the Front-End Module (FEM) circuit 208, one or more antennas 210, and the Power Management Circuit (PMC) 212 coupled together as shown. The illustrated components of the device 200 can be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 200 can include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node cannot utilize the application circuit 202 but includes a processor / controller to process IP data received from a CN such as the 5GC 120 or the Evolved Packet Core (EPC)). In some embodiments, the device 200 can 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 can be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuits can be separately included in more than one device for a Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0040] The application circuit 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 202 may include circuitry 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 dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include memory / storage, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage 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.

[0041] The baseband circuit 204 may include circuitry 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 of the baseband processors 204A-D) may process various radio control functions that 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 modules 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 circuit of the baseband circuit 204 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 204 may include convolutional, tail-biting convolutional, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0042] 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 in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuit may be appropriately combined on a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent 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).

[0043] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may support communication with NG-RAN, evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN), or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless personal area networks (WPANs), etc. Embodiments in which the baseband circuit 204 is configured to support radio communication for more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0044] The RF circuit 206 may communicate with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 206 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuit 206 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for down-converting an RF signal received from the FEM circuit 208 and providing a baseband signal to the baseband circuit 204. The RF circuit 206 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for up-converting a baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 204 and providing an RF output signal to the FEM circuit 208 for transmission.

[0045] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 206 may include mixer circuit 206a, amplifier circuit 206b, and filter circuit 206c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 206 may include filter circuit 206c and mixer circuit 206a. RF circuit 206 may also include synthesizer circuit 206d for synthesizing the frequencies used by mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from FEM circuit 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 206d. Amplifier circuit 206b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and 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 baseband circuit 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, although not required, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0046] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert an input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 206d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 208. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuit 204 and may be filtered by filter circuit 206c.

[0047] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 206a may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0048] 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 regard. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 206 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 204 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuit 206.

[0049] 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 regard.

[0050] In some embodiments, the 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 regard since other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 206d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0051] The synthesizer circuit 206d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a frequency divider control input for use by the mixer circuit 206a of the RF circuit 206. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0052] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The frequency divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuit 204 or the application processor 202 based on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the frequency divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application processor 202.

[0053] 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-modulus divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide an input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a 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 set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal phase bins, 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 period.

[0054] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 206d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency), and is used in conjunction with the quadrature generator and divider circuits to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 206 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0055] The FEM circuit 208 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 210, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuit 206 for further processing. The FEM circuit 208 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuit 206 for transmission via one or more of the one or more antennas 210. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be accomplished only in the RF circuit 206, only in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuit 206 and the FEM 208.

[0056] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 208 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operations. 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 the received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals 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 the input RF signals (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 206), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., via one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

[0057] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 may manage the power provided to the baseband circuit 204. Specifically, the PMC 212 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When the device 200 is capable of being powered by a battery, e.g., when the device is included in a UE, the PMC 212 is typically included. The PMC 212 may improve power conversion efficiency while providing desired implementation size and thermal characteristics.

[0058] Although Figure 2PMC 212 is shown coupled only to the baseband circuitry 204. However, in other embodiments, PMC 212 may be additionally or alternatively coupled to other components such as, but not limited to, the application circuitry 202, the RF circuitry 206, or the FEM 208, and perform similar power management operations.

[0059] In some embodiments, 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, it may enter a state called discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 200 may power off for short intervals, thus saving power.

[0060] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, the device 200 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, where 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, where it wakes up periodically again to listen for the network and then powers off again. The device 200 may not receive data while in this state; to receive data, the device may transition back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0061] Additional power saving modes may cause the device to be unable to use the network for a time exceeding the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and may be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will incur a significant delay, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0062] The processors of the application circuitry 202 and the baseband circuitry 204 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuitry 204 may be used alone or in combination to execute functions of layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1, while the processor of the application circuitry 204 may utilize the data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute functions of layer 4 (e.g., the transport control protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the radio resource control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the media access control (MAC) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0063] Figure 3Illustrates an exemplary interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. As discussed above, Figure 2 the baseband circuit 204 of Figure 2 may include processors 204A - 204E and a memory 204G utilized by the processors. Each of the processors 204A - 204E may include a memory interface 304A - 304E respectively to send / receive data to / from the memory 204G.

[0064] The baseband circuit 204 may further include: one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 312 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 204); an application circuit interface 314 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from Figure 2 the application circuit 202 of Figure 2 ); an RF circuit interface 316 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from Figure 2 the RF circuit 206 of Figure 2 ); a wireless hardware connection interface 318 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a near - field communication (NFC) component, a component (e.g., Low Energy), a component, and other communication components); and a power management interface 320 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from the PMC 212).

[0065] As discussed in more detail herein, various embodiments that may be employed, for example, at a UE may facilitate a reduction in certain types of radio resource control (RRC) signaling messages. Three different sets of techniques are discussed herein that may reduce RRC signaling messages, and various embodiments may employ one or more of these sets of techniques. In various scenarios, a first set of techniques may be employed to reduce RRC message transmissions associated with an RNA (RAN (Radio Access Network) Notification Area) update procedure. A second set of techniques may be employed to reduce RACH (Random Access Channel) requests from a UE's RRC idle - mode SIM in DSDS (Dual SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) Dual Standby) mode. A third set of techniques may be employed to reduce the number of RACH attempts by a UE to obtain NotBroadcasted SI in response to a paging message indicating an SI (System Information) modification.

[0066] See Figure 4, which shows a block diagram of a system 400 that can be employed at a UE (User Equipment), a next-generation Node B (g Node B or gNB), or another BS (Base Station) / TRP (Transmit / Receive Point) or component of a 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) network (e.g., a 5GC (Fifth Generation Core Network) component or function, such as a UPF (User Plane Function)), which facilitates communication of uplink control information based on enhanced physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) formats (EPFs). The system 400 can include a processor 410, a communication circuit 420, and a memory 430. The processor 410 (e.g., which can include one or more of 202 and / or 204A - 204F, etc.) can include processing circuitry and associated interfaces (e.g., a communication interface for communicating with the communication circuit 420 (e.g., an RF circuit interface 316), a memory interface for communicating with the memory 430 (e.g., a memory interface 312), etc.). The communication circuit 420 can include, for example, circuitry for wired and / or wireless connections (e.g., 206 and / or 208), which can include a transmitter circuit (e.g., associated with one or more transmission chains) and / or a receiver circuit (e.g., associated with one or more reception chains), where the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit can employ common and / or different circuit elements, or a combination thereof. The memory 430 can include one or more memory devices (e.g., a memory 204G, local memory (e.g., including the CPU registers of the processor discussed herein), etc.), which can have various storage media (e.g., volatile and / or non-volatile according to any of various technologies / constructions, etc.), and can store instructions and / or data associated with one or more of the processor 410 or the transceiver circuit 420.

[0067] A particular type of implementation of the system 400 (e.g., a UE implementation) can be indicated via a subscript (e.g., the system 400 UE includes a processor 410 UE , a communication circuit 420 UE and a memory 430 UE ). In some implementations, such as a BS implementation (e.g., the system 400 gNB ) and a network component (e.g., a UPF (User Plane Function), etc.) implementation (e.g., the system 400 UPF ), the processor 410 gNB (etc.), the communication circuit (e.g., 420 gNB etc.) and the memory (e.g., 430 gNB etc.) can be in a single device or can be included in different devices, such as part of a distributed architecture. In an implementation, different implementations of the system 400 (e.g., 400 1 and 4002 ) The signaling or message transfer between can be generated by the processor 410 1 and transmitted by the communication circuit 420 1 through a suitable interface or reference point (e.g., 3GPP air interface N3, N4, etc.), received by the communication circuit 420 2 and processed by the processor 410 2 Depending on the type of interface, additional components (e.g., antennas, network ports, etc. associated with the system 400 1 and 400 2 ) may participate in this communication.

[0068] In various aspects discussed herein, signals and / or messages can be generated and output for transmission, and / or the transmitted messages can be received and processed. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, output for transmission (e.g., by the processor 410, etc.) can include one or more of the following operations: generating a set of associated bits indicating the content of the signal or message, encoding (e.g., can include adding a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and / or encoding via one or more of turbo codes, low density parity check (LDPC) codes, truncated convolutional codes (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 to one or more resource elements (REs) (e.g., a scheduled resource set, a set of time and frequency resources authorized for uplink transmission, etc.), where each RE can span one subcarrier in the frequency domain and one symbol in the time domain (e.g., where the symbol can be according to any of a variety of access schemes, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC - FDMA), etc.). Depending on the type of signal or message received, processing (e.g., by the processor 410, etc.) can include one or more of the following operations: identifying the physical resources associated with the signal / message, detecting the signal / message, de - interleaving the group of resource elements, demodulating, descrambling, and / or decoding.

[0069] In various aspects, one or more of information (e.g., system information, resources associated with signaling, etc.), features, parameters, etc. can be signaled (e.g., associated with one or more layers, such as L1 signaling or higher layer signaling (e.g., MAC, RRC, etc.)) from the gNB or other access points (e.g., via being generated by the processor 410 gNB and transmitted by the communication circuit 420 gNB and received by the communication circuit 420 UE and processed by the processor 410 UEThe processed signaling) is configured for the UE. Depending on the type, characteristics, parameters, etc. of the information, the type of signaling adopted and / or the exact details of the operations performed at the UE and / or gNB during processing (e.g., signaling structure, PDU / SDU processing, etc.) may vary. However, for convenience, such operations may be referred to herein as configuring information / characteristics / parameters / etc. for the UE, generating or processing configuration signaling, or via similar terms.

[0070] For transmissions on the unlicensed band, the occupied channel bandwidth (OCB) containing 99% of the signal power should be between 80% and 100% of the declared nominal channel bandwidth. To meet this OCB target, 3GPP agreed to support the interleaved mapping of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) formats (PF) 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 via what is called enhanced PUCCH format (EPF) 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 in the 97th meeting of RAN1 (RAN (Radio Access Network) WG1 (Working Group 1)).

[0071] According to the design of the enhanced PUCCH format, several design issues remain unresolved.

[0072] The first issue for EPF0 and EPF1 is how the cyclic shift values of each physical resource block (PRB) will be mapped within a complete interleaved PUCCH transmission to meet the following metrics: (1) minimize the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and cubic metric (CM) values to ensure optimal cell coverage, and (2) maximize the UE multiplexing ability and thereby minimize the UL signaling overhead.

[0073] The second issue is caused by the interleaved nature of EPF transmissions. In Rel-15, PF0 and PF1 occupy only 1 RB to carry at most 2 bits. However, one interleaving of EPF0 / 1 occupies 10 PRBs for 20 MHz. Designating the complete interleaving of EPF0 / 1 to still carry 1 bit or 2 bits is very inefficient and results in a large amount of signaling overhead that shrinks cell coverage. Additionally, it is desirable to support partial interleaved transmissions to ensure the transmission possibility of PUCCH when the bandwidth part (BWP) spans multiple LBT subbands and only a subset of the LBT subbands are available after the LBT operation. There are several design aspects to be resolved related to the second issue, including: (1) how to signal the partial interleaving position of EPF; and (2) how to determine the resource mapping of PUCCH transmissions in scenarios where the RBs between two LBT subbands of the bandwidth part (BWP) are reserved as guard bands.

[0074] Each aspect can adopt the techniques discussed herein to solve one or both of these problems. The first set of techniques discussed herein can be adopted to determine the cyclic shift (CS) of the resource blocks (RBs) of the PUCCH having EPF0 or EPF1. The second set of techniques discussed herein can be adopted to determine the resource mapping of the PUCCH transmission. Various embodiments can adopt the techniques of the first set, the second set, or both.

[0075] Cyclic Shift Determination for EPF0 / EPF1

[0076] The first set of techniques relates to determining the cyclic shift of the interleaved resource blocks (RBs) of a PUCCH transmission having an enhanced PUCCH format (EPF) 0 or EPF1 (e.g., a plurality of non - adjacent RBs with a fixed interval between the interleaved consecutive RBs). In various aspects, the UE can apply a cyclic shift to each of the interleaved RBs, and the cyclic shift can depend on one or more of the RB index of the RB, the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) - acknowledgement (ACK) feedback (e.g., associated with a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)), or the value of the scheduling request (SR) bit (e.g., indicating a positive SR or a negative SR). In various aspects, the cyclic shifts of the interleaved RBs can form a cyclic shift sequence, where the cyclic shift sequence can be uniquely associated with (and can thus indicate) a set of values of the HARQ - ACK feedback and / or the SR bit.

[0077] In a first set of aspects, when the UE transmits a PUCCH with HARQ - ACK information using EPF0 or EPF1, the UE can determine the cyclic shift value of the RB index i within an interleaving according to Equation (1):

[0078] m(i)=(m 0 +i*Δ Shift +6b 0 +3b 1 ) mod 12, i = 0,..., N - 1 (1)

[0079] where Δ Shift is a step - size parameter, which can be configured by a higher layer as part of the EPF0 and / or EPF1 configuration, or can be broadcast by a system information block (SIB) to all UEs in the cell, and is used before and after the completion of the radio resource control (RRC) connection setup (in Equation (1), as the only quantity multiplied by i, Δ Shift is the step - size). N represents the number of RBs in the interleaved PUCCH resources. For EPF1, m 0 (e.g., an initial cyclic shift parameter, etc.) can be configured by a higher layer, while for EPF0, m0 can be determined based at least on the HARQ-ACK information to be transmitted. The first bit of the HARQ-ACK feedback (or the only bit in a scenario involving 1-bit HARQ-ACK information) can be represented by b 0 and the second bit (if it exists) can be represented by b 1 . In a scenario with only 1-bit HARQ-ACK information, b 1 can be 0.

[0080] See Figure 5 , which shows FIG. 500 according to various aspects discussed herein, which shows an example of a cyclic shift (CS) mapping of one EPF0 or EPF1 interleaved including 10 PRBs (e.g., with a 30 KHz subcarrier spacing). In Figure 5 , the CS is mapped to the RB based on Equation (1), where m 0 = 0 and Δ Shift = 2. As can be seen in Figure 5 , some Δ Shift values (e.g., 2) can result in CS value repetitions across the RBs in the interleaving, a correspondingly larger PAPR / CM value, and coverage degradation. In various aspects, to minimize the PAPR / CM value and improve coverage, Δ Shift ∈ {1, 5, 7, 11} can be used to select the step size value from numbers relatively prime to 12.

[0081] In a second set of aspects, according to Equation (2), the CS selection for EPF0 can be determined based on the HARQ-ACK bit and the SR bit:

[0082] m(i) = (m 0 + i*(Δ Shift + 6*SR) + 6b 0 + 3b 1 ) mod 12, i = 0,..., N - 1 (2)

[0083] where for positive SR, SR = 1, and for negative SR, SR = 0. In Equation (2), the step size is Δ Shift + 6*SR (e.g., the step size is one of Δ Shift or Δ Shift + 6, depending on the value of SR).

[0084] See Figure 6 , which shows FIG. 600 according to various aspects discussed herein, which shows an exemplary cyclic shift (CS) mapping of different combinations of 1-bit HARQ-ACK and 1-bit SR values. In the example of Figure 6 , m 0 = 0 and Δ Shift= 1. As Figure 6 shown, the status of the SR information (e.g., negative SR (N-SR) or positive SR (P-SR)) is indicated in different step sizes for the N-SR scenario and the P-SR scenario. In the N-SR scenario, a step size Δ Shift (equal to 1 in the example of Figure 6 ) is used, while in the P-SR scenario, a step size Δ Shift + 6 (equal to 7 in the example of Figure 6 ) is used.

[0085] In the third aspect, according to Equation (3), the CS selection for EPF0 can be determined based on the HARQ-ACK bits and the SR bits:

[0086] m(i, b 0 ) = (m 0 + i * (Δ Shift + 6 * SR) + 6b0 0 ) mod 12, i = 0,..., N - 1 (3)

[0087] According to the values of the bits of the HARQ-ACK information and the bits of the SR information, the interleaved CS sequences can be according to Table 1 below:

[0088] Table 1: Exemplary cyclic shift sequences based on HARQ-ACK bits and SR bits

[0089]

[0090] See Figure 7 , which shows FIG. 700 according to various aspects discussed herein, which shows an exemplary cyclic shift (CS) mapping of different combinations of 2-bit HARQ-ACK and 1-bit SR values. In the example of Figure 7 and in Table 1, Figure 7 and the top two rows of Table 1 can be regarded as the base CS sequences, where the top row (ACK, ACK, N-SR) is indicated without shading, and the second row (NACK, NACK, N-SR) is indicated in shaded for reference. For each row in the other rows, the CS value of each RB can be selected to be based on the pattern shown in Figure 7 (where non-shaded indicates values corresponding to the values of the top row, and shaded indicates values corresponding to the values of the second row) and the detailed description in Table 1 to correspond to the CS value of one of the two base sequences.

[0091] Resource mapping of PUCCH format

[0092] In a scenario where a UE is configured with one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) covering one or more listen - before - talk (LBT) sub - bands, a second set of techniques can be used for resource mapping. In various aspects, a second set of aspects can be employed to determine PUCCH resources (r PUCCH ) and a first PRB index for PUCCH transmission In one example, r PUCCH and can be determined according to Equation (4):

[0093]

[0094] where n CCE,0 is the index of the first control channel element (CCE) for PDCCH reception, N CCE is the number of CCEs in the control resource set (CORESET) for PDCCH reception, Δ PRI can be a value indicated by the DCI format of the PDCCH, is the RB offset of LBT sub - band i, and N CS is the maximum number of cyclic shifts of the PUCCH. In some aspects, the sub - band index i can be indicated by the DCI format and can be based on the results of LBT operations on different sub - bands of the BWP. In other aspects, in a scenario where PUCCH is transmitted within a UE - initiated COT, the UE can select a default sub - band (e.g., the sub - band with the lowest PRB index and a successful LBT operation, etc.) for PUCCH resource determination.

[0095] In some aspects of the present invention, PUCCH interleaving can be indicated by a system information block (SIB) (e.g., SIB type 1 (SIB1)).

[0096] See Figure 8 , which shows FIG. 800 illustrating an example of PUCCH resource mapping according to various aspects discussed herein. In Figure 8 's example, for a given BWP 810 including three LBT sub - bands (820, 830, 840), the UE can transmit PUCCH resources on LBT sub - band #2 830 based on a sub - band value indicated in the DCI format (e.g., SBi = 2) or alternatively based on a default UE selection for the UE - initiated COT. Additionally, the UE can be configured with sub - band positions, such as starting PRB indices 850 and / or 860 for sub - band #2 820 and / or sub - band #3 830, respectively.

[0097] In some aspects and / or scenarios, the UE may be indicated unused PRBs in the guard band between two LBT sub-bands of a BWP for PUCCH resource mapping. In such aspects, the UE may determine that a set of RBs in the guard band is not available for one or more interleavings of PUCCH transmission. In various such aspects, PUCCH and / or PUSCH transmission may be one of the following: truncated by the UE or rate matched around these unused PRBs.

[0098] Additionally, in various aspects, for resource allocation of EPF2 and / or EPF3, one or more of the following may be configured for the UE in a resource configuration for one or more of EPF2 or EPF3: (a) one or more sub-band indices; (b) a starting interleaving index; or (c) the number of interleavings. See Figure 9 , which shows FIG. 900 illustrating an example of PUCCH resource allocation for one or more of EPF2 or EPF3 according to various aspects discussed herein. In Figure 9 the example, a starting interleaving index has been configured for the shown sub-band configuration, as well as three interleavings of PUCCH.

[0099] Additional embodiments

[0100] See Figure 10 , which shows a flowchart of an exemplary method or process 1000 that can be employed at the UE according to various implementations discussed herein, and the exemplary method or process facilitates UE transmission of PUCCH according to an enhanced PUCCH format. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with method 1000, which when executed may cause the UE (e.g., employing system 400 UE ) to perform the actions of method 1000.

[0101] At 1010, one or more of HARQ-ACK information (e.g., based on a related Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission) or SR information (e.g., requesting scheduling for a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission) can be determined. In various embodiments, the HARQ-ACK can include one or two bits (e.g., each of the bits can indicate a related ACK or NACK), and the SR can include one bit (e.g., when the UE requests scheduling for a PUSCH, it can indicate a positive SR, and when the UE does not request scheduling for a PUSCH, it can indicate a negative SR). Additionally, if the PUCCH is at 1020, the PUCCH can be generated based on the HARQ-ACK information and / or the SR information. According to aspects of the first set of techniques discussed herein, for EPF0 or EPF1, generating the PUCCH can include applying a cyclic shift to each RB of the PUCCH based at least in part on the RB index of the RB and one or more of the HARQ-ACK information or the SR information.

[0102] At 1030, a resource mapping can be determined for the PUCCH, where the resource mapping can be a set of one or more interleaved PRBs. According to aspects of the second set of techniques discussed herein, in various embodiments, the resource mapping can be based on the PUCCH resource for the PUCCH determined by the UE and the first PRB index. In a scenario where at least one of the indicated or determined PRBs includes a guard band between LBT subbands, the UE can apply truncation or rate matching around at least one of the guard band PRBs. For EPF2 and / or EPF3, the resource mapping can be at least in part based on one or more of the following that can be configured as part of the resource configuration for EPF2 and / or EPF3: one or more subband indices, one or more starting interleaving indices, or the number of interleavings.

[0103] At 1040, the PUCCH generated at 1020 can be transmitted via the resource set determined at 1030.

[0104] Additionally or alternatively, method 1000 can include one or more other actions described herein in connection with various embodiments of the UE and / or system 400 UE as described.

[0105] See Figure 11, which shows a flowchart of an exemplary method or process 1100 that can be employed at a base station (BS, e.g., a next-generation node B (gNB), etc.) according to various embodiments discussed herein. The exemplary method or process facilitates BS reception of PUCCH according to an enhanced PUCCH format (EPF). In other aspects, a machine-readable medium can store instructions associated with method 1100, which when executed can cause a UE (e.g., employing system 400 BS , such as 400 gNB etc.) to perform the actions of method 1100.

[0106] At 1110, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can be transmitted, which includes one or more downlink control information (DCI) messages that can schedule the transmission of at least one physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a UE. In various aspects, the PDCCH can explicitly (e.g., by a value Δ indicated by a DCI format PRI etc.) or implicitly (e.g., via the number of CCEs in the first CCE and / or CORESET for the PDCCH, etc.) indicate one or more parameters that can determine the resource mapping of the PUCCH associated with the PDSCH scheduled via the PDCCH.

[0107] At 1120, a PDSCH can be transmitted to the UE.

[0108] At 1130, a resource set can be determined for the PUCCH associated with the PDSCH. According to various aspects of the second set of techniques discussed herein, in various aspects, the resource set can include one or more interleaves, which can be based on the PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and a first PRB index, and the PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and the first PRB index can be determined by the BS (e.g., similar to the UE determination discussed above).

[0109] At 1140, the PUCCH can be received via the determined resource set.

[0110] At 1150, HARQ-ACK information and / or scheduling request information can be determined based on the PUCCH. According to various aspects of the first set of techniques discussed herein, for EPF0 or EPF1, determining the HARQ-ACK information and / or SR information can include determining a set of values of the HARQ-ACK information and / or SR information that is uniquely associated with the cyclic shift pattern of the RBs of at least one interleave of the PUCCH.

[0111] Additionally or alternatively, method 1100 can include one or more other actions described herein in connection with various embodiments of the BS and / or system 400 BS etc.

[0112] Examples of the present disclosure may include a subject matter, such as a method, components for performing actions or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions, which when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor having a memory, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.) cause the machine to perform actions of a method or an apparatus or a system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to the described embodiments and examples.

[0113] Example 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus including: one or more processors configured to: determine hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information; generate a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for a bandwidth part (BWP) at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information, where the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format (EPF); determine a PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and a first physical resource block (PRB) index for the PUCCH, where the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on an index of a first control channel element (CCE) of an associated physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a number of CCEs in a control resource set (CORESET) of the associated PDCCH; and map the PUCCH to at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH.

[0114] Example 2 includes the subject matter according to any variation of any one of Example 1, where the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on a value indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the associated PDCCH.

[0115] Example 3 includes the subject matter according to any variation of any one of Examples 1-2, where the first PRB index for the PUCCH is determined at least partially based on the PUCCH resource and a resource block (RB) offset of a listen-before-talk (LBT) subband of the BWP.

[0116] Example 4 includes the subject matter according to any variation of any one of Example 3, where the LBT subband is indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the associated PDCCH.

[0117] Example 5 includes the subject matter according to any variation of any one of Example 3, where the PUCCH is associated with a channel occupancy time (COT) initiated by the UE, and where the LBT subband has a lowest RB index of one or more LBT subbands of the BWP for which the LBT operation is successful.

[0118] Example 6 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleaveings indicated by System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1) of the BWP.

[0119] Example 7 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more RBs associated with a guard band between two Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) subbands, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to do one of the following: puncture the at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band or perform rate matching around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

[0120] Example 8 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 1-7, wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein the resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more subband indices for the at least one interleaving, a starting interleaving index of a first interleaving among the at least one interleaving, or a number of interleavings among the at least one interleaving.

[0121] Example 9 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 1-7, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to generate the PUCCH including: the one or more processors are configured to apply an associated cyclic shift to each of a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) of the at least one interleaving, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

[0122] Example 10 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Example 9, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, and the initial cyclic shift parameter is one of the following: configured via higher layer signaling or determined at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

[0123] Example 11 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 9-10, wherein the associated cyclic shift of a first RB among the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB among the plurality of RBs based on a step size, and wherein the step size is at least partially based on a step size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

[0124] Embodiment 12 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 11, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

[0125] Embodiment 13 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 11-12, wherein the step size is at least partially based on the scheduling request (SR) information of the PUCCH.

[0126] Embodiment 14 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 9-13, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and wherein each cyclic shift sequence among the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the HARQ-ACK information and the scheduling request (SR) information.

[0127] Embodiment 15 is a UE including the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 1-14.

[0128] Embodiment 16 is a device configured to be employed in a base station (BS), the device including: one or more processors configured to: generate a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a bandwidth part (BWP); generate the PDSCH; determine a PUCCH resource and a first PRB index for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) associated with the PDSCH, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on the index of the first control channel element (CCE) of the PDCCH and the number of CCEs in the control resource set (CORESET) of the PDCCH; process the PUCCH via a resource set determined at least partially based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH; and determine hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information at least partially based on the processed PUCCH.

[0129] Embodiment 17 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 16, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on a value indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

[0130] Embodiment 18 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 16-17, wherein the first PRB index for the PUCCH is at least partially based on the PUCCH resource and the resource block (RB) offset of the listen-before-talk (LBT) subband of the BWP.

[0131] Example 19 includes the subject matter of any variant according to any one of Examples 18, wherein the LBT sub-band is indicated via the downlink control information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

[0132] Example 20 includes the subject matter of any variant according to any one of Examples 16 - 19, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleaveings indicated via the system information block type 1 (SIB1) of the BWP.

[0133] Example 21 includes the subject matter of any variant according to any one of Examples 16 - 20, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more RBs associated with a guard band between two listen - before - talk (LBT) sub - bands, and wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is one of the following: punctured based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band, or rate - matched around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

[0134] Example 22 includes the subject matter of any variant according to any one of Examples 16 - 21, wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein the resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more sub - band indices for the at least one interleaving, the starting interleaving index of the first interleaving in the at least one interleaving, or the number of interleaveings in the at least one interleaving.

[0135] Example 23 includes the subject matter of any variant according to any one of Examples 16 - 21, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein an associated cyclic shift is applied to each RB among a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) of at least one interleaving, and wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB among the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information.

[0136] Example 24 includes the subject matter of any variant according to any one of Examples 23, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB among the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, and the initial cyclic shift parameter is one of the following: configured via higher layer signaling, or determined at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information.

[0137] Example 25 includes the subject matter of any variant according to any one of Examples 23 - 24, wherein the associated cyclic shift of the first RB among the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB among the plurality of RBs based on a step - size, and wherein the step - size is at least partially based on a step - size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

[0138] Example 26 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 25, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

[0139] Example 27 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 25 - 26, wherein the step size is at least partially based on the scheduling request (SR) information of the PUCCH.

[0140] Example 28 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 23 - 27, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and wherein each cyclic shift sequence among the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the HARQ - ACK information and the scheduling request (SR) information.

[0141] Example 29 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 16 - 28, wherein the BS is a next - generation node B (gNB).

[0142] Example 30 is a machine - readable medium including instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment (UE) to: determine hybrid automatic repeat request - acknowledgement (HARQ - ACK) information; generate a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for a bandwidth part (BWP) at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information, wherein the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format (EPF); determine a PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and a first PRB index for the PUCCH, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on the index of a first control channel element (CCE) of an associated physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the number of CCEs in a control resource set (CORESET) of the associated PDCCH; and map the PUCCH to at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH.

[0143] Example 31 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Example 30, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on a value indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the associated PDCCH.

[0144] Example 32 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Examples 30 - 31, wherein the first PRB index for the PUCCH is at least partially based on the PUCCH resource and a resource block (RB) offset of a listen - before - talk (LBT) sub - band of the BWP.

[0145] Embodiment 33 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 32, wherein the LBT sub-band is indicated by the downlink control information (DCI) format of the associated PDCCH.

[0146] Embodiment 34 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 32, wherein the PUCCH is associated with a channel occupancy time (COT) initiated by the UE, and wherein the LBT sub-band has the lowest RB index of one or more LBT sub-bands of the BWP for which the LBT operation is successful.

[0147] Embodiment 35 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 30 - 34, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleavings indicated by the system information block type 1 (SIB1) of the BWP.

[0148] Embodiment 36 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 30 - 35, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more RBs associated with a guard band between two listen - before - talk (LBT) sub - bands, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to perform one of the following: truncate the at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band, or perform rate matching around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

[0149] Embodiment 37 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 30 - 36, wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein the resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more sub - band indices for the at least one interleaving, the starting interleaving index of the first interleaving in the at least one interleaving, or the number of interleavings in the at least one interleaving.

[0150] Embodiment 38 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 30 - 36, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein generating the PUCCH includes: applying an associated cyclic shift to each of a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) of the at least one interleaving, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information.

[0151] Embodiment 39 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 38, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB among the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, and the initial cyclic shift parameter is one of the following: configured via higher layer signaling, or determined at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

[0152] Embodiment 40 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 38 - 39, wherein the associated cyclic shift of the first RB among the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB among the plurality of RBs based on a step size, and the step size is at least partially based on a step size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

[0153] Embodiment 41 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 40, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

[0154] Embodiment 42 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 40 - 41, wherein the step size is at least partially based on the scheduling request (SR) information of the PUCCH.

[0155] Embodiment 43 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Embodiments 40 - 42, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and each cyclic shift sequence among the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the HARQ-ACK information and the scheduling request (SR) information.

[0156] Embodiment 44 is a machine-readable medium including instructions that, when executed, cause a base station (BS) to: transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a bandwidth part (BWP); transmit the PDSCH; determine a PUCCH resource and a first PRB index for the PUCCH for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) associated with the PDSCH, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on an index of a first control channel element (CCE) of the PDCCH and a number of CCEs in a control resource set (CORESET) of the PDCCH; receive the PUCCH via a resource set determined at least partially based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH; and determine hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information at least partially based on the processed PUCCH.

[0157] Embodiment 45 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiment 44, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least in part based on a value indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

[0158] Embodiment 46 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 44-45, wherein the first PRB index for the PUCCH is determined at least in part based on a resource block (RB) offset of the PUCCH resource and a listen-before-talk (LBT) subband of the BWP.

[0159] Embodiment 47 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiment 46, wherein the LBT subband is indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

[0160] Embodiment 48 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 44-47, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleaveings indicated by a system information block type 1 (SIB1) of the BWP.

[0161] Embodiment 49 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 44-48, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more RBs associated with a guard band between two listen-before-talk (LBT) subbands, and wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is one of the following: punctured based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band, or rate matched around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

[0162] Embodiment 50 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 44-49, wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein a resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more subband indices for the at least one interleaving, a starting interleaving index of a first interleaving in the at least one interleaving, or a number of interleaveings in the at least one interleaving.

[0163] Embodiment 51 includes the subject matter of any variation according to any one of Embodiments 44-49, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein an associated cyclic shift is applied to each of a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) of the at least one interleaving, and wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least in part based on the HARQ-ACK information.

[0164] Example 52 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Examples 51, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB among the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, and the initial cyclic shift parameter is one of the following: configured via higher layer signaling, or determined at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

[0165] Example 53 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Examples 51-52, wherein the associated cyclic shift of the first RB among the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB among the plurality of RBs based on a step size, and the step size is at least partially based on a step size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

[0166] Example 54 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Examples 53, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

[0167] Example 55 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Examples 53-54, wherein the step size is at least partially based on the scheduling request (SR) information of the PUCCH.

[0168] Example 56 includes the subject matter according to any variant of any one of Examples 51-55, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and each cyclic shift sequence among the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the HARQ-ACK information and the scheduling request (SR) information.

[0169] Example 57 includes an apparatus, the apparatus including means for performing any one of the operations described in Examples 1-56.

[0170] Example 58 includes a machine-readable medium storing instructions for execution by a processor to perform any one of the operations described in Examples 1-56.

[0171] Example 59 includes an apparatus, the apparatus including: a memory interface; and a processing circuit configured to perform any one of the operations described in Examples 1-56.

[0172] Example 60 includes a user equipment (UE) configured to perform any one of the operations described in Examples 1-15 or 30-43.

[0173] Example 61 includes a base station (BS) configured to perform any one of the operations described in Examples 16-29 or 44-56.

[0174] The foregoing description of illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, which includes what is set forth in the Abstract of the Disclosure, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications can be contemplated within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

[0175] In this regard, while the subject matter of the present disclosure has been described in connection with various embodiments and the 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 substitute functions of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the spirit and scope of such embodiments. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in accordance with the breadth and scope of the following appended claims.

[0176] Particularly with respect to the various functions performed by the above-described components or structures (components, 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 described component (e.g., functionally equivalent), even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs the functions in the exemplary specific embodiments shown herein. Additionally, while a particular feature has been disclosed with respect to only one of several specific embodiments, for any given or particular application, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of one or more other specific embodiments, as may be desired and advantageous.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: determine hybrid automatic repeat request - acknowledgement (HARQ - ACK) information; generate a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for a bandwidth part (BWP) at least in part based on the HARQ - ACK information, wherein the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format (EPF); determine a PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and a first physical resource block (PRB) index for the PUCCH, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least in part based on an index of a first control channel element (CCE) of an associated physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the number of CCEs in a control resource set (CORESET) of the associated PDCCH; and map the PUCCH to at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH; wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least in part based on a value indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the associated PDCCH.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first PRB index for the PUCCH is determined at least in part based on the PUCCH resource and a resource block (RB) offset of a listen - before - talk (LBT) sub - band of the BWP.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the LBT sub - band is indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the associated PDCCH.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the PUCCH is associated with a channel occupancy time (COT) initiated by the UE, and wherein the LBT sub - band has the lowest RB index of one or more LBT sub - bands of the BWP for which the LBT operation is successful.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 - 4, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleavings indicated by a system information block type 1 (SIB1) of the BWP.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 - 4, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more resource blocks (RBs) associated with a guard band between two listen - before - talk (LBT) sub - bands, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to do one of the following: puncture the at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band or perform rate matching around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 - 4, wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein the resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more sub - band indices for the at least one PUCCH interleaving, the starting interleaving index of the first interleaving in the at least one PUCCH interleaving, or the number of interleaveings in the at least one PUCCH interleaving.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 - 4, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to generate the PUCCH comprising: the one or more processors are configured to apply an associated cyclic shift to each resource block RB of the plurality of resource blocks RB of the at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, the initial cyclic shift parameter being one of the following: configured via higher layer signaling, or determined at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the associated cyclic shift of the first RB of the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB of the plurality of RBs based on a step - size, wherein the step - size is at least partially based on a step - size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the step - size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the step - size is at least partially based on the scheduling request SR information of the PUCCH.

13. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and wherein each cyclic shift sequence of the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the HARQ - ACK information and the scheduling request SR information.

14. A user equipment UE, the UE comprising the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 - 4.

15. An apparatus configured to be employed in a base station BS, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to: generate a physical downlink control channel PDCCH that schedules a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH to a bandwidth part BWP; generate the PDSCH; Determine a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource and a first Physical Resource Block (PRB) index for the PUCCH associated with the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), where the PUCCH resource is determined at least in part based on an index of a first Control Channel Element (CCE) of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and a number of CCEs in a Control Resource Set (CORESET) of the PDCCH; Process the PUCCH via a resource set determined at least in part based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH; And Determine Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest - ACKnowledgment (HARQ - ACK) information at least in part based on the processed PUCCH; Where the PUCCH resource is determined at least in part based on a value indicated by a Downlink Control Information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first PRB index for the PUCCH is determined at least in part based on the PUCCH resource and a Resource Block (RB) offset of a Listen - Before - Talk (LBT) sub - band of the Bandwidth Part (BWP).

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the LBT sub - band is indicated by a Downlink Control Information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15 - 17, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, and wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleavings indicated by a System Information Block type 1 (SIB1) of the BWP.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15 - 17, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more Resource Blocks (RBs) associated with a guard band between two Listen - Before - Talk (LBT) sub - bands, and wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is performed in one of the following: punctured based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band, or rate - matched around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15 - 17, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the PUCCH has an Enhanced PUCCH Format (EPF), wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein a resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more sub - band indices for the at least one PUCCH interleaving, a starting interleaving index of a first interleaving in the at least one PUCCH interleaving, or a number of interleavings in the at least one PUCCH interleaving.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15 - 17, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format EPF, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein an associated cyclic shift is applied to each resource block RB of the plurality of resource blocks RB of the at least one PUCCH interleaving, and wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each RB of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, and the initial cyclic shift parameter is one of the following: configured via higher layer signaling, or determined at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information.

23. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the associated cyclic shift of a first RB of the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB of the plurality of RBs based on a step size, and wherein the step size is at least partially based on a step size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the step size is at least partially based on the scheduling request SR information of the PUCCH.

26. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and wherein each cyclic shift sequence of the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the HARQ - ACK information and the scheduling request SR information.

27. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15 - 17, wherein the BS is a next generation node B gNB.

28. A machine - readable medium including instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment UE: Determine hybrid automatic repeat request - acknowledgement HARQ - ACK information; Generate a physical uplink control channel PUCCH for a bandwidth part BWP at least partially based on the HARQ - ACK information, wherein the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format EPF; Determine a PUCCH resource for the PUCCH and a first physical resource block PRB index for the PUCCH, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on an index of a first control channel element CCE of an associated physical downlink control channel PDCCH and the number of CCEs in a control resource set CORESET of the associated PDCCH; and Map the PUCCH to at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH. The PUCCH resource is at least partially determined based on a value indicated by the downlink control information DCI format of the associated PDCCH.

29. The machine-readable medium according to claim 28, wherein the first PRB index for the PUCCH is at least partially based on a resource block RB offset of the PUCCH resource and the listen-before-talk LBT subbands of the BWP.

30. The machine-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the LBT subbands are indicated by the downlink control information DCI format of the associated PDCCH.

31. The machine-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the PUCCH is associated with a channel occupancy time COT initiated by the UE, and wherein the LBT subband has the lowest RB index of one or more LBT subbands of the BWP for which the LBT operation is successful.

32. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 28 - 31, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleaveings indicated by the system information block type 1 SIB1 of the BWP.

33. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 28 - 31, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more resource blocks RB associated with a guard band between two listen-before-talk LBT subbands, and wherein the instruction, when executed, further causes the UE to perform one of the following: puncture the at least one PUCCH interleaving based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band, or perform rate matching around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

34. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 28 - 31, wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein the resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more subband indices for the at least one PUCCH interleaving, a starting interleaving index of a first interleaving in the at least one PUCCH interleaving, or the number of interleaveings in the at least one PUCCH interleaving.

35. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 28 - 31, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein generating the PUCCH comprises: applying an associated cyclic shift to each of a plurality of resource blocks RB of the at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

36. The machine-readable medium according to claim 35, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, the initial cyclic shift parameter being one of the following: configured by higher layer signaling, or determined at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

37. The machine-readable medium according to claim 35, wherein the associated cyclic shift of the first resource block (RB) among the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB among the plurality of RBs based on a step size, and wherein the step size is at least partially based on a step size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

38. The machine-readable medium according to claim 37, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

39. The machine-readable medium according to claim 37, wherein the step size is at least partially based on the scheduling request (SR) information of the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

40. The machine-readable medium according to claim 37, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and wherein each cyclic shift sequence among the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the hybrid automatic repeat request - acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information and the scheduling request (SR) information.

41. A machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a base station (BS) to: Transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a bandwidth part (BWP); Transmit the PDSCH; Determine a PUCCH resource and a first physical resource block (PRB) index for the PUCCH for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) associated with the PDSCH, wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on an index of a first control channel element (CCE) of the PDCCH and the number of CCEs in a control resource set (CORESET) of the PDCCH; Receive the PUCCH via a resource set determined at least partially based on the PUCCH resource and the first PRB index for the PUCCH; And Determine hybrid automatic repeat request - acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information at least partially based on the processed PUCCH; wherein the PUCCH resource is determined at least partially based on a value indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

42. The machine-readable medium according to claim 41, wherein the first PRB index for the PUCCH is at least partially based on the PUCCH resource and a resource block (RB) offset of a listen-before-talk (LBT) subband of the BWP.

43. The machine-readable medium according to claim 42, wherein the LBT subband is indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) format of the PDCCH.

44. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 41 - 43, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, and wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is at least one PUCCH interleaving among a plurality of PUCCH interleaveings indicated by a system information block type 1 (SIB1) of the BWP.

45. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 41 - 43, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving includes one or more resource blocks RB associated with a guard band between two listen-before-talk LBT subbands, and wherein the at least one PUCCH interleaving is performed as one of the following: puncturing based on the one or more RBs associated with the guard band, or rate matching around the one or more RBs associated with the guard band.

46. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 41 - 43, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format EPF, wherein the EPF is one of EPF2 or EPF3, and wherein the resource configuration of the EPF indicates one or more of the following: one or more subband indices for the at least one PUCCH interleaving, the starting interleaving index of the first interleaving in the at least one PUCCH interleaving, or the number of interleaveings in the at least one PUCCH interleaving.

47. The machine-readable medium according to any one of claims 41 - 43, wherein the resource set includes at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format EPF, wherein the EPF is one of EPF0 or EPF1, and wherein an associated cyclic shift is applied to each of a plurality of resource blocks RB of the at least one PUCCH interleaving, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

48. The machine-readable medium according to claim 47, wherein the associated cyclic shift of each of the plurality of RBs is at least partially based on an initial cyclic shift parameter, the initial cyclic shift parameter being one of the following: configured via higher layer signaling, or determined at least partially based on the HARQ-ACK information.

49. The machine-readable medium according to claim 47, wherein the associated cyclic shift of the first RB of the plurality of RBs is different from the associated cyclic shift of a successive second RB of the plurality of RBs based on a step size, wherein the step size is at least partially based on a step size parameter configured via higher layer signaling.

50. The machine-readable medium according to claim 49, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

51. The machine-readable medium according to claim 49, wherein the step size is at least partially based on the scheduling request SR information of the PUCCH.

52. The machine-readable medium according to claim 47, wherein the associated cyclic shifts of the plurality of RBs form a selected cyclic shift sequence among a plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences, and wherein each cyclic shift sequence among the plurality of distinct cyclic shift sequences is associated with a distinct set of values of the HARQ-ACK information and the scheduling request SR information.

53. An apparatus for a user equipment UE, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: transmit a physical uplink control channel PUCCH having hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment HARQ-ACK information, wherein the PUCCH has an enhanced PUCCH format EPF; and determine a cyclic shift value of an RB among a plurality of RBs within an interleaver based on an RB index of the resource block RB.

54. The apparatus according to claim 53, wherein a first cyclic shift value of a first RB among the plurality of RBs is different from a second cyclic shift value of a successive second RB among the plurality of RBs based on a step size parameter.

55. The apparatus according to claim 54, wherein the step size parameter is one of 1, 5, 7, or 11.

56. The apparatus according to claim 53, wherein the cyclic shift value depends in part on a first bit b0 of the HARQ-ACK information and a second bit b1 of the HARQ-ACK information.

57. The apparatus according to claim 56, wherein the EPF is EPF0, and wherein the cyclic shift value depends in part on 6b0 plus 3b1.

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