Beamforming Fault Detection and Recovery in High Millimeter Wave Systems

Abstract

Beam determination refers to a set of processes by which an access node (AN) and a user equipment (UE) select from among downlink communication beams and / or uplink communication beams for downlink communication and / or uplink communication, respectively. Typically, these downlink communication beams may include one or more downlink control channels, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), to provide downlink reference signals such as channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) to the UE. The AN may perform various exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes to control the transmission of these downlink reference signals, such as these CSI-RS, through these downlink communication beams. In some embodiments, the UE may utilize these CSI-RS to perform beamforming failure detection (BFD) and beamforming failure recovery (BFR) in a wireless network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The described embodiments generally relate to a beam scheduling process in a wireless network, including utilizing the beam scheduling process to perform beamforming failure detection (BFD) and beamforming failure recovery (BFR) in a wireless network. Background Art

[0002] 5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology that standardizes the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) networks, particularly massive MIMO networks, for wireless networks. MIMO networks and massive MIMO networks use multiple communication beams to exploit multipath propagation to multiply the capacity of these beams. Communication devices within a MIMO network typically include two, four, or eight antennas, while communication devices within a massive MIMO network typically include a larger number of antennas, for example, dozens or even hundreds of antennas. In these MIMO networks and massive MIMO networks, access nodes (ANs) and user equipment (UEs) typically maintain multiple communication beams. Beam determination refers to a set of processes by which the AN and UE select from among these multiple communication beams for downlink and / or uplink communications, respectively. In some cases, one or more of these multiple communication beams may become unreliable and / or fail. The UE may perform a beamforming failure detection (BFD) process to detect which communication beam among these multiple communication beams has become unreliable and / or failed, and may also perform a beamforming failure recovery (BFR) process to determine a new communication beam among these multiple communication beams for the unreliable and / or failed communication beam. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Some embodiments of the present disclosure describe an access node (AN) for scheduling transmission of multiple reference signals over multiple downlink communication beams. The AN may include physical layer (PHY) circuitry and a processor. The PHY circuitry may wirelessly communicate with a user equipment (UE). The processor may: schedule multiple transmissions of the multiple reference signals over the multiple downlink communication beams; perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) process to monitor a portion of a spectrum, the LBT process identifying a first channel occupancy time (COT) and a second COT in which the portion of the spectrum is free of other transmissions, and generating an indication of an LBT failure in which the portion of the spectrum is occupied by one or more other transmissions; transmit, using the PHY circuitry, a first transmission among the multiple transmissions over the multiple downlink communication beams during the first COT; ignore a second transmission among the multiple transmissions that is scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure; and transmit, using the PHY circuitry, a third transmission among the multiple transmissions over the multiple downlink communication beams during the second COT.

[0004] In some embodiments, the plurality of reference signals may include a plurality of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS).

[0005] In some embodiments, the processor may: cause the PHY circuit to transmit a first transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs or transmit the first transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs simultaneously with multiple physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs), cause the PHY circuit to ignore a second transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs that is scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure, and cause the PHY circuit to transmit a third transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs or transmit the third transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs simultaneously with the multiple PDCCHs or the multiple PDSCHs.

[0006] In some embodiments, the spectrum may include unlicensed spectrum having a frequency range above 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

[0007] In some embodiments, the processor may: cause the PHY circuit to transmit the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of the first reference signal among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

[0008] In some embodiments, the processor may: cause the PHY circuit to transmit the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of the multiple reference signals among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

[0009] In some embodiments, the processor may cause the PHY circuit to transmit the third transmission of the plurality of reference signals through the plurality of downlink communication beams starting from a start point of the second COT.

[0010] Some embodiments of the present disclosure describe a method for scheduling transmissions. The method may include: scheduling multiple transmissions of multiple reference signals over multiple downlink communication beams; performing a listen-before-talk (LBT) process to monitor a portion of a spectrum, the LBT process identifying a first channel occupancy time (COT) and a second COT in which the portion of the spectrum is free of other transmissions, and generating an indication of an LBT failure in which the portion of the spectrum is occupied by one or more other transmissions; transmitting a first transmission among the multiple transmissions over the multiple downlink communication beams during the first COT; ignoring a second transmission among the multiple transmissions that is scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure; and transmitting a third transmission among the multiple transmissions over the multiple downlink communication beams during the second COT.

[0011] In some embodiments, the plurality of reference signals may include a plurality of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS).

[0012] In some embodiments, transmitting the first transmission, ignoring the second transmission, and transmitting the third transmission may include: transmitting the first transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs or transmitting the first transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs simultaneously with multiple physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs); ignoring the second transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs among the multiple transmissions of the multiple CSI-RSs that are scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure; and transmitting the third transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs or transmitting the third transmission of the multiple CSI-RSs simultaneously with the multiple PDCCHs or the multiple PDSCHs.

[0013] In some embodiments, the spectrum may include unlicensed spectrum having a frequency range above 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

[0014] In some embodiments, transmitting the third transmission may include transmitting the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of the first reference signal among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

[0015] In some embodiments, transmitting the third transmission may include transmitting the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of the multiple reference signals among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

[0016] In some embodiments, transmitting the third transmission may include transmitting the third transmission of the plurality of reference signals through the plurality of downlink communication beams starting from a start point of the second COT.

[0017] Some embodiments of the present disclosure describe a method for performing a beam failure detection (BFD) procedure. The method may include: monitoring a block error rate (BLER) of a reference signal within a downlink communication beam during a BFD window to determine whether the downlink communication beam meets a failure indication; incrementing a beam failure indication counter when the block error rate (BLER) meets a predetermined physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) BLER target; decrementing the beam failure indication counter in response to an access node (AN) not being scheduled to transmit the reference signal within the downlink communication beam; and identifying the downlink communication beam as having failed when the beam failure counter meets a predetermined number of beam failure indications during the BFD window.

[0018] In some embodiments, the reference signal may include a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0019] In some embodiments, the monitoring may include generating a beam failure indication (BFI) when the block error rate (BLER) meets a predetermined PDCCH BLER target.

[0020] In some embodiments, the predetermined PDCCH BLER target may comprise a predetermined percentage of the PDCCH BLER for a predetermined PDCCH transmission.

[0021] In some embodiments, the decrementing may include receiving, by the UE, one or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators from the AN, the one or more COT indicators indicating when the AN is scheduled to transmit the reference signal.

[0022] In some embodiments, the method may further include initiating, by the UE, a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure in response to identifying the downlink communication beam as failed.

[0023] This disclosure is provided solely for the purpose of illustrating some embodiments in order to provide an understanding of the subject matter described herein. Therefore, the above features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the subject matter of this disclosure. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the disclosure and enable one skilled in the relevant art to make and use the disclosure.

[0025] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless network according to various embodiments is graphically illustrated.

[0026] Figures 2A to 2E An exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for granted operation is graphically illustrated in accordance with various embodiments.

[0027] Figures 3A to 3C An exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation is graphically illustrated in accordance with various embodiments.

[0028] Figure 4 Another exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation in accordance with various embodiments is graphically illustrated.

[0029] Figure 5 Another exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation in accordance with various embodiments is graphically illustrated.

[0030] Figures 6A to 6C Another exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation in accordance with various embodiments is graphically illustrated.

[0031] Figure 7 A flow chart is shown of an example beam failure detection (BFD) process that may be utilized by an example wireless network in accordance with various embodiments.

[0032] Figure 8 A block diagram of an exemplary wireless system for electronic devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] The present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, generally, like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Also, generally, the leftmost digit of a reference numeral identifies the drawing in which the reference numeral first appears. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Overview

[0035] Beam determination refers to a set of processes by which an access node (AN) and a user equipment (UE) select from among downlink communication beams and / or uplink communication beams for downlink communication and / or uplink communication, respectively. A downlink communication beam may provide a downlink reference signal, such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), to the UE. In some embodiments, the downlink communication beam may include one or more downlink control channels, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) and / or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). In these embodiments, the downlink reference signal may be transmitted simultaneously with these downlink control channels or transmitted alone as an independent reference signal. The following detailed description describes various exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes to control the transmission of these downlink reference signals (such as CSI-RS, etc.) through the downlink communication beam. In some embodiments, the UE may utilize these CSI-RS to perform beamforming failure detection (BFD) and beamforming failure recovery (BFR) in a wireless network.

[0036] Exemplary Wireless Networks

[0037] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless network is graphically illustrated according to various embodiments. Figure 1The wireless network 100 is shown for illustration purposes only and is not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments. Figure 1 In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, wireless network 100 may include, but is not limited to, access nodes (ANs) 102 and user equipment (UEs) 104. UEs 104 may include, but are not limited to, wireless local area network (WLAN) stations, such as wireless communication devices, smartphones, laptops, desktops, tablets, monitors, televisions, wearable devices, and the like. As used herein, the terms "access node," "access point," and the like may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more UEs or stations. These access nodes 102 may be referred to as wireless routers, base stations (BSs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs), radio access network (RAN) nodes, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), NodeBs, roadside units (RSUs), transmit / receive points (TRxPs or TRPs), and may include terrestrial sites (such as terrestrial access points) or satellite sites that provide coverage within a geographic area (also referred to as a serving cell). As used herein, the term "downlink" refers to the direction from AN 102 to UE 104. The term “uplink” refers to the direction from the UE 104 to the AN 102 .

[0038] Beam determination refers to a set of processes by which the AN 102 and the UE 104 select from among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m and / or uplink communication beams 108.1 to 108.n for downlink and / or uplink communications. In some embodiments, the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m may provide downlink reference signals, such as channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), to the UE 104. In some embodiments, the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m may include one or more downlink control channels, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), and / or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). In these embodiments, the AN 102 may transmit the downlink reference signals simultaneously with these downlink control channels or transmit them separately as independent reference signals. In some embodiments, AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process to control the transmission of downlink reference signals (such as CSI-RS) via downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m. As part of the downlink beam scheduling process, AN 102 may selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m will be used to transmit one or more downlink reference signals to UE 104.

[0039] exist Figure 1 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the UE 104 may identify downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m to be used by the AN 102 to transmit downlink reference signals. Once the corresponding reference signal has been recovered by the UE 104 from a downlink communication beam among the downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m, the UE 104 may utilize the corresponding reference signal to estimate the radio link quality of the downlink communication beam as part of a beamforming failure detection (BFD) process. In some embodiments, the UE 104 may monitor the radio link quality of the downlink communication beam and thereafter provide an indication, referred to as a beam failure indication (BFI), when the radio link quality of the downlink communication beam indicates that the downlink communication beam has failed. In these embodiments, the UE 104 may detect a failure when the number of BFIs reaches a certain value or threshold (e.g., a maximum number of beam failure indications, M). BFI ), UE 104 determines that the downlink communication beam has failed.

[0040] Once the UE 104 has determined that the downlink communication beam has failed, the UE 104 undergoes a beamforming failure recovery (BFR) procedure. As part of the BFR procedure, the UE 104 identifies one or more new candidate downlink communication beams from the candidate beam list among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, and thereafter identifies the one or more new candidate downlink communication beams in a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ) provided to the AN 102 via one or more uplink channels (such as a physical random access channel (PRACH)) and / or one or more uplink control channels (such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), etc.). In some embodiments, the BFRQ identifies the UE 104 and an identifier of the one or more new candidate downlink communication beams. Thereafter, UE 104 monitors downlink control channels (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) corresponding to one or more new candidate downlink communication beams for a response to the BFRQ from AN 102, and may thereafter utilize one or more new candidate downlink communication beams upon receiving a response from AN 102.

[0041] Example Scheduling Process for Licensing Operations

[0042] As described above, AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process to selectively control which downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m will be used to transmit channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS). In some embodiments, AN 102 may utilize one or more time-frequency resources to transmit CSI-RS via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m. In some embodiments, one or more time-frequency resources may be structured using a downlink resource grid such as a time-frequency grid (also referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid), which is used for downlink transmissions between UE 104 and AN 102. Each column and each row of these resource grids corresponds to an orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. In some embodiments, the configuration of the waveform parameters of these OFDM symbols is defined by one or more parameter sets. These waveform parameters define the arrangement of the CSI-RS in the downlink resource grid and the structure used to map information symbols to these resources, such as pulse shape and / or filter. These parameter sets may include a predefined number of subcarriers, subcarrier spacing (SCS), slot duration, cyclic prefix (CP) duration, and / or maximum bandwidth (BW) allocation, etc. Release 15 and Release 16 provide parameter set sets for the frequency range between 4.1 GHz and 7.125 GHz (referred to as FR1), which is primarily used for traditional cellular mobile communication services, and for the frequency range between 24.25 GHz and 52.6 GHz (referred to as FR2), which is primarily used for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

[0043] The following discussion will describe an exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be utilized in the frequency range between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz and above. The frequency range between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz may include licensed spectrum and unlicensed spectrum. Generally speaking, licensed spectrum refers to portions of the radio spectrum that are designated by a regulatory agency (such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)) as reserved for one or more organizations that have been granted exclusive rights to utilize these portions of the radio spectrum. In some embodiments, as will be discussed below, Figures 2A to 2E The exemplary downlink beam scheduling process described in further detail in the accompanying drawings may be used to schedule transmissions in the licensed spectrum and / or as will be described below. Figures 3A to 3C 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6A 、 Figure 6B and Figure 6C The exemplary downlink beam scheduling process described in further detail in can be used to schedule transmissions in unlicensed spectrum. Figures 2A to 2E The discussion will be described in terms of licensing operations and the following Figures 3A to 3C 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6A 、 Figure 6B and Figure 6C The discussion will be described in terms of unlicensed operation, but those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the exemplary downlink beam scheduling process described in these figures can be utilized in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figures 2A to 2E An exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for licensed operation according to various embodiments is graphically illustrated. Figure 1 As described in , AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process to selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m will be used to transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to UE 104. Figures 2A to 2E In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may perform an exemplary downlink beam scheduling process, described in further detail below, to periodically and / or aperiodically transmit at least CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3. Figures 2A to 2E , CSI-RS1 is shown using dark shading, CSI-RS2 is shown using medium shading, and CSI-RS3 is shown using light shading. It should be noted that Figures 2A to 2E The various exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes shown are not limited to CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that these exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes can be used to schedule the transmission of any suitable number of CSI-RSs through any suitable number of downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figure 2A A first downlink beam scheduling process 200 is graphically illustrated to selectively control the transmission of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 through downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3. Figure 2A In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may perform a first downlink beam scheduling process 200 to selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3 will be used to transmit CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 to UE 104. Figure 2AIn the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may configure CSI-RS based on one or more waveform parameters defined according to a first exemplary set of parameter sets, such as the number of subcarriers, subcarrier spacing (SCS), slot duration, cyclic prefix (CP) duration, and / or maximum bandwidth (BW) allocation. For example, Figure 2A The illustrated CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 may be characterized as having an SCS of two hundred and forty (240) kHz.

[0046] like Figure 2A As shown, AN 102 may perform a first downlink beam scheduling process 200 to Figure 2A The representative is T CSI-RS The CSI-RS transmission duty cycle schedules the periodic transmission and / or aperiodic transmission of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS With a maximum periodicity of two (2) milliseconds (ms) without discontinuous reception (DRX), this provides thirty-two (32) slots per two (2) ms period and four hundred forty-eight (448) symbols per two (2) ms period for an SCS of two hundred forty (240) kHz. Figure 2A In the exemplary embodiment shown, the AN may periodically transmit at least two (2) instances or cycles of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 while maintaining a transmit duty cycle T CSI-RS In these exemplary embodiments, CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 occupy the first three (3) time slots out of sixteen (16) time slots for each of these periodic transmissions, and Figure 2A Other CSI-RS not shown in FIG may occupy the remaining time slots among the sixteen (16) time slots, so that when performing the above Figure 1 During beamforming failure recovery (BFR) as described in, the UE may utilize up to sixteen (16) candidate downlink communication beams.

[0047] Figures 2B to 2E The second downlink beam scheduling process 202 to the fifth downlink beam scheduling process 208 are graphically illustrated to selectively control the transmission of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 through the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figures 2B to 2EIn the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may perform second downlink beam scheduling process 202 through fifth downlink beam scheduling process 208 to selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3 will be used to transmit CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 to UE 104. Figures 2B to 2E In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may configure CSI-RS based on one or more waveform parameters defined according to a second exemplary parameter set, such as the number of subcarriers, subcarrier spacing (SCS), slot duration, cyclic prefix (CP) duration, and / or maximum bandwidth (BW) allocation. For example, Figures 2B to 2E The illustrated CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 may be characterized as having an SCS of four hundred and eighty (480) kHz.

[0048] like Figure 2B As shown, AN 102 may perform a second downlink beam scheduling process 202 to schedule the downlink beams according to the above Figure 2A The CSI-RS transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS Schedule CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figure 2B In the exemplary embodiment shown, when compared with Figure 2A Compared to the two hundred and forty (240) kHz SCS shown above, the second downlink beam scheduling process 202 may schedule CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 with a periodicity less than Figure 2A The periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 described in Figure 2A The same overhead in order to accommodate a larger number of time slots such as Figure 2B The increased SCS of four hundred and eighty (480) kHz is shown. Figure 2B In the exemplary embodiment shown, the second downlink beam scheduling process 202 may schedule at least four (4) instances or periods of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission over the downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3 while maintaining a transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS In these exemplary embodiments, the second downlink beam scheduling process 202 may schedule CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 to occupy the first three (3) time slots out of sixteen (16) time slots for each of these periodic transmissions, and Figure 2B Other CSI-RS not shown in FIG may occupy the remaining time slots among the sixteen (16) time slots, so that when performing the above Figure 1During beamforming failure recovery (BFR) as described in , the UE 104 may utilize up to sixteen (16) candidate downlink communication beams.

[0049] like Figure 2C As shown, AN 102 may perform a third downlink beam scheduling process 204 to schedule the downlink beams according to the above Figure 2A The CSI-RS transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS Schedule CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figure 2C In the exemplary embodiment shown, the third downlink beam scheduling process 204 may schedule the periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 as described above. Figure 2A The periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 described in is the same as that of Figure 2A Same overhead in Figure 2C In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the third downlink beam scheduling process 204 may schedule at least two (2) instances or periods of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission over the downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3 while maintaining a transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS In these exemplary embodiments, the third downlink beam scheduling process 204 may schedule CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 to occupy the first three (3) time slots out of thirty-two (32) time slots for each of these periodic transmissions, and Figure 2C Other CSI-RS not shown in FIG may occupy the remaining time slots among the thirty-two (32) such that when performing the above Figure 1 During beamforming failure recovery (BFR) as described in , the UE 104 may utilize up to thirty-two (32) candidate downlink communication beams.

[0050] like Figure 2D As shown, AN 102 may perform a fourth downlink beam scheduling process 206 to schedule the downlink beams according to the above Figure 2A The CSI-RS transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS Schedule CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figure 2D In the exemplary embodiment shown, the fourth downlink beam scheduling process 206 may schedule the periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 as described above. Figure 2AThe periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 is the same as described in , while additional overhead is added to account for the limitation of beam switching time (i.e., the time required for the UE to switch from one beam to another if the time exceeds the duration of the cyclic prefix of a symbol and cannot be performed transparently within the cyclic prefix) by providing additional symbols between CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 to the UE 104 to switch among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figure 2D In the exemplary embodiment shown, the fourth downlink beam scheduling process 206 may schedule at least two (2) instances or periods of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission over the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 while maintaining a transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS In these exemplary embodiments, the second downlink beam scheduling process 202 may schedule CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 to occupy the respective first, third, and fifth time slots among thirty-two (32) time slots for each of these periodic transmissions, and Figure 2D Other CSI-RS not shown in FIG may similarly occupy the remaining time slots among the thirty-two (32) time slots with similar overhead, so that when performing the above Figure 1 In the case of beamforming failure recovery (BFR) as described in the embodiment of the present invention, the UE may utilize up to sixteen (16) candidate downlink communication beams. In these exemplary embodiments, even-numbered time slots such as the second time slot, the fourth time slot, and the sixth time slot represent additional overhead introduced by the fourth downlink beam scheduling process 206 to account for the limitation of beam switching time.

[0051] like Figure 2E As shown, AN 102 may perform a fifth downlink beam scheduling process 208 to schedule the downlink beams according to the above Figure 2A The CSI-RS transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS Schedule CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figure 2E In the exemplary embodiment shown, the fifth downlink beam scheduling process 208 may schedule the periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 as described above. Figure 2A The periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 is the same as described in , while additional overhead is added to account for the limitation of beam switching time by providing additional symbols between CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 to the UE 104 to switch among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figure 2EIn the exemplary embodiment shown, the fifth downlink beam scheduling process 208 may schedule at least two (2) instances or periods of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission over the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 while maintaining a transmission duty cycle T CSI-RS In these exemplary embodiments, the second downlink beam scheduling process 202 may schedule CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 to occupy the respective first, third, and fifth time slots out of thirty-six (16) time slots for each of these periodic transmissions, and Figure 2E Other CSI-RS not shown in FIG may similarly occupy the remaining time slots among the sixteen (16) time slots with similar overhead, so that when performing the above Figure 1 In the case of beamforming failure recovery (BFR) as described in

[0046] , the UE may utilize up to eight (8) candidate downlink communication beams. In these exemplary embodiments, even-numbered time slots such as the second, fourth, and sixth time slots represent additional overhead introduced by the fifth downlink beam scheduling process 208 to account for limitations in beam switching time.

[0052] Although the first through fifth downlink beam scheduling processes 200 through 208 have been described as scheduling CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 for transmission via downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that these beam scheduling processes may alternatively or additionally schedule more than one of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 to be transmitted via a single downlink communication beam among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3 to increase coverage of AN 102. In some embodiments, AN 102 may signal a decimation and / or sampling factor to the UE that indicates which periodic instances of the single CSI-RS are to be used or not used by the UE.

[0053] Example Scheduling Process for Unlicensed Operations

[0054] As discussed above, the frequency range between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz may include licensed spectrum and unlicensed spectrum. Generally speaking, unlicensed spectrum refers to a portion of the radio spectrum that is available to the general public and for which a regulatory agency (such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the like) has promulgated rules for its use. Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may involve compliance with various regulatory rules that facilitate fair and equal use of the unlicensed spectrum for different devices and radio access technologies. In some embodiments, the AN 102 may perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) process to monitor one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum for a short period of time in order to sense whether the one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum are occupied by other transmissions from other devices. In these embodiments, when the AN 102 senses that there are no other transmissions in the one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum, the AN is allowed to use the one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum for transmission. Typically, these different regulatory rules specify a channel occupancy time (COT) within which the AN 102 is allowed to use the one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum for transmission. Otherwise, when AN 102 senses that the one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum are occupied by other transmissions, the AN prohibits transmission. Figures 3A to 3C 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6A 、 Figure 6B and Figure 6C Various exemplary downlink beam scheduling procedures for use in unlicensed spectrum are described in further detail in .

[0055] Figures 3A to 3C An exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation is graphically illustrated in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 1 As described in , AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process to selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m will be used to transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to UE 104. Figures 3A to 3C In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may perform an exemplary downlink beam scheduling process, described in further detail below, to periodically and / or aperiodically transmit at least CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3. Figures 3A to 3C , CSI-RS1 is shown using dark shading, CSI-RS2 is shown using medium shading, and CSI-RS3 is shown using light shading. It should be noted that Figures 3A to 3CThe various exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes shown are not limited to CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that these exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes can be used to schedule the transmission of any suitable number of CSI-RSs through any suitable number of downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0056] like Figure 3A As shown, AN 102 may perform a first downlink beam scheduling process 300 to schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. In some embodiments, the downlink beam scheduling process 300 may schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 substantially similar to the above. Figures 2A to 2E One or more beam scheduling processes in the beam scheduling process described in . Figure 3A In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may process and / or transmit the first instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 as scheduled during the first channel occupancy time (COT1) by the first downlink beam scheduling process 300. However, as Figure 3A As shown, when AN 102 is processing and / or transmitting the second instance of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3, the LBT process indicates that the spectrum carrying downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 (e.g., unlicensed spectrum as described above) is now occupied by other transmissions, which Figure 3A In the case of a LBT failure. Figures 3A to 3C In the exemplary embodiment shown, when the one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum are occupied by other transmissions from other devices, the LBT process may generate an indication of an LBT failure. In some embodiments, the AN 102 may ignore or skip those CSI-RSs among CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 that the first downlink beam scheduling process 300 has scheduled for processing and / or transmission during the LBT failure. For example, Figure 3A As shown, AN 102 may ignore or skip the Figure 3A The second instance of CSI-RS3 that occurs during an LBT failure is represented by "X". Figure 3A As shown, AN 102 may be ignored or skipped in Figure 3A1 and 2. In another example, AN 102 may process and / or transmit a third instance of CSI-RS1 and a third instance of CSI-RS2 that occur during a LBT failure, represented by "X." In this alternative example, AN 102 may process and / or transmit a third instance of CSI-RS3 that occurs during a second channel occupancy time (COT2) when the spectrum carrying downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3 is not occupied by other transmissions.

[0057] In some embodiments, such as operation in an unlicensed spectrum, the AN 102 may provide one or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators to the UE 104 to allow the UE 104 to indicate the scheduling of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 on the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. In some embodiments, the one or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators may be formatted according to the following structure:<Frequency Domain Structure> <duration><Specific Beam Schedule>, where the field<Frequency Domain Structure> Describes one or more time-frequency resources to be used to transmit CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3. <duration>Describes the duration of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3, and the field<Specific Beam Schedule> Describes which downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 will transmit CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3. In these embodiments, the AN 102 may provide one or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators on any suitable number of downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art. In some embodiments, such as non-periodic transmissions in an unlicensed spectrum, the one or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators may be formatted according to the following structure:<Frequency Domain Structure> <duration><SpecificBeam Schedule><CSI-RS schedule>, where the field<CSI-RS schedule> The timing of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 is described.

[0058] In some embodiments, such as operation in licensed spectrum, the AN 102 may utilize periodic or semi-persistent (SP) CSI-RS resources activated by a downlink control information (DCI) message and / or a group common physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH) to transmit one or more beam indicators to the UE 104 to indicate the scheduling of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 on downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. In some embodiments, the one or more beam indicators may be formatted according to the following structure:<FrequencyDomain Structure> <duration><Specific Beam Schedule>, where the field<Frequency DomainStructure> Describes one or more time-frequency resources to be used to transmit CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3. <duration>Describes the duration of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3, and the field<Specific Beam Schedule> Describes which downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 will transmit CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3. In these embodiments, the AN 102 may provide one or more beam indicators on any suitable number of downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art. In some embodiments, such as non-periodic transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, the one or more beam indicators may be formatted according to the following structure:<Frequency DomainStructure> <duration><Specific Beam Schedule><CSI-RS schedule>, where the field <csi-rsschedule>The timing of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 is described.

[0059] like Figure 3B and Figure 3C As shown, AN 102 may perform a second downlink beam scheduling process 302 and a third downlink beam scheduling process 304, respectively, to schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmission of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. Figure 3B and Figure 3C In the exemplary embodiment shown, Figure 3A Compared to the periodicity of the transmission of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 shown in FIG. 1 , the second downlink beam scheduling process 302 and the third downlink beam scheduling process 304 can respectively reduce the periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 through the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. In some embodiments, this reduction in the periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 can effectively increase the coverage of AN 102. In some embodiments, the second downlink beam scheduling process 302 and the third downlink beam scheduling process 304 can respectively reduce the periodicity of the transmission of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 through the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3. N and the actual period P A Schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmission of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3, such as Figure 3B and Figure 3C In these embodiments, the nominal period P N represents the time period of potential CSI-RS transmission, and the actual period P A For example, the second downlink beam scheduling process 302 and the third downlink beam scheduling process 304 may be performed in the nominal period P N In this example, AN 102 may schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmission of instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 within a nominal period. N The instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 are processed within the period P to extend the instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 into multiple instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3, and then the instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 can be processed within the period P A Multiple instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 are transmitted within.

[0060] like Figure 3B As shown, the AN 102 may ignore or skip those CSI-RSs among CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 that the second downlink beam scheduling process 302 has scheduled to process and / or transmit during the LBT failure. Figure 3B As shown, AN102 can be ignored or skipped in Figure 3B The third instance of CSI-RS3 that occurs during an LBT failure is represented by "X". Figure 3B As shown in FIG, , when the spectrum carrying downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 is not occupied by other transmissions, AN 102 may ignore or skip the transmissions also in Figure 3B The fourth instance of CSI-RS1 and the fourth instance of CSI-RS2 represented by "X" occur during the LBT failure, but the fourth instance of CSI-RS3 occurring during the second channel occupation time (COT2) is processed and / or transmitted.

[0061] like Figure 3C As shown, the AN 102 may ignore or skip multiple CSI-RSs among CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 that have been scheduled for processing and / or transmission by the third downlink beam scheduling process 304 during the LBT failure. Figure 3B As shown, AN102 can be completely ignored or skipped in Figure 3B The third instance of CSI-RS3 that occurs during an LBT failure is represented by "X". Figure 3B As shown, since the fourth instance of CSI-RS1 and the fourth instance of CSI-RS2 occur during the LBT failure, AN 102 may ignore or skip the fourth instance of CSI-RS1 and the fourth instance of CSI-RS2. Figure 3B In another example, AN 102 may process and / or transmit fifth instances of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 that occur during a second channel occupancy time (COT2) when the spectrum carrying downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3 is not occupied by other transmissions.

[0062] Figure 4 Another exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation is graphically illustrated in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 1 As described in , AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process to selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m will be used to transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to UE 104. Figure 4 In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may perform an exemplary downlink beam scheduling process, described in further detail below, to periodically and / or aperiodically transmit at least CSI-RS1 via one or more downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m. Figure 4 , CSI-RS1 is shown using medium shading. It should be noted that Figure 4 The various exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes shown are not limited to CSI-RS 1. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that these exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes can be used to schedule the transmission of any suitable number of CSI-RSs over any suitable number of downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0063] like Figure 4 As shown, AN 102 may perform downlink beam scheduling process 400 to schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmission of CSI-RS1 over downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m, as shown by CSI-RS scheduling 402. Thereafter, AN 102 may identify valid beam pairings between AN 102 and UE 104 for downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106m. Figure 4 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the AN 102 may store a list 404 of time slots associated with active beam pairings between the AN 102 and the UE 104. Figure 4 In the exemplary embodiment shown, those time slots that are shaded in the time slot list 404 (e.g., the first time slot, the fifth time slot, the ninth time slot) are associated with active beam pairings between the AN 102 and the UE 104. Thereafter, the AN 102 may identify, from the CSI-RS schedule 406, instances of CSI-RS1 that coincide with active beam pairings from the time slot list 404. In some embodiments, the AN 102 may process and / or transmit those instances of CSI-RS1 that coincide with active beam pairings between the AN 102 and the UE 104 as indicated by the shading in the CSI-RS schedule 406, and may ignore or skip instances of CSI-RS1 that do not coincide with active beam pairs, which are represented by an "X" in the CSI-RS schedule 406. In some embodiments, the AN 102 may process and / or transmit the CSI-RS1 as described above. Figure 3A The one or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators and / or one or more beam indicators described in provide the CSI-RS schedule 406 to the UE 104 to allow the UE 104 to determine which instances of CSI-RS1 the AN 102 has ignored or skipped.

[0064] Figure 5 Another exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation is graphically illustrated in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 1 As described in , AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process to selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m will be used to transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to UE 104. Figure 5 In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may perform an exemplary downlink beam scheduling process, described in further detail below, to periodically and / or aperiodically transmit at least CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3. Figure 5 , CSI-RS1 is shown using dark shading, CSI-RS2 is shown using medium shading, and CSI-RS3 is shown using light shading. It should be noted that Figure 5 The various exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes shown are not limited to CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that these exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes can be used to schedule the transmission of any suitable number of CSI-RSs through any suitable number of downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0065] like Figure 5 As shown, AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process 500 to schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 via downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.3. In some embodiments, the downlink beam scheduling process 300 may schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 substantially similar to the above. Figures 2A to 2E One or more beam scheduling processes in the beam scheduling process described in . Figure 5 In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may process and / or transmit the first instances of CSI-RS1 through CSI-RS3 as scheduled during the first channel occupancy time (COT1) by downlink beam scheduling process 500. Figure 5 As shown, when AN102 is processing and / or transmitting the second instance of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3, the LBT process indicates that the spectrum carrying downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 (e.g., unlicensed spectrum as described above) is now occupied by other transmissions, which Figure 5 In the case of a LBT failure. Figure 5 In the exemplary embodiment shown, when the one or more portions of the unlicensed spectrum are occupied by other transmissions from other devices, the LBT process may generate an indication of an LBT failure. In some embodiments, the AN 102 may ignore or skip those CSI-RSs among CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 that the downlink beam scheduling process 500 has scheduled for processing and / or transmission during the LBT failure. For example, Figure 5 As shown, AN 102 may ignore or skip the Figure 5 The second instance of CSI-RS3 represented by "X" occurs during the LBT failure. In some embodiments, when the spectrum carrying downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.3 is not occupied by other transmissions, AN 102 may process and / or transmit third instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 during the second channel occupancy time (COT2). Figure 5 As shown, AN 102 may begin processing and / or transmitting the third instance of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 during the start of the second channel occupancy time (COT2), wherein the periodicity of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 begins at the start of the second channel occupancy time (COT2). In some embodiments, AN 102 may provide the UE 104 with the above Figure 3A One or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators and / or one or more beam indicators described in to allow UE 104 to determine which instances of CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS3 and / or the start of a second channel occupancy time (COT2) have been ignored or skipped by AN 102.

[0066] Figures 6A to 6C Another exemplary downlink beam scheduling process that may be used by an exemplary wireless network for unlicensed operation is graphically illustrated in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 1 As described in , AN 102 may perform a downlink beam scheduling process to selectively control which downlink communication beams among downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m will be used to transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to UE 104. Figures 6A to 6C In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may perform an exemplary downlink beam scheduling process, described in further detail below, to periodically and / or aperiodically transmit at least CSI-RS1 via downlink communication beams 106.1 through 106.m. Figures 6A to 6C , CSI-RS is shown using medium shading. It should be noted that Figures 6A to 6C The various exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes shown are not limited to CSI-RS 1. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that these exemplary downlink beam scheduling processes can be used to schedule the transmission of any suitable number of CSI-RSs over any suitable number of downlink communication beams among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0067] like Figure 6A As shown, AN 102 may perform a first downlink beam scheduling process 600 to schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m. In some embodiments, the first downlink beam scheduling process 600 may schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 substantially similar to the above. Figures 2A to 2E One or more beam scheduling processes in the beam scheduling process described in . Figure 6A In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may process and / or transmit periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 as scheduled within the blind CSI-RS range by the first downlink beam scheduling process 600. Figure 6A In the exemplary embodiment shown, the blind CSI-RS range represents the tolerance range that UE 104 is expected to blindly search for CSI-RS 1. In some embodiments, the tolerance range may be based on the periodicity of CSI-RS 1.

[0068] like Figure 6B and Figure 6C As shown, AN 102 may perform a second downlink beam scheduling process 602 and a third downlink beam scheduling process 604, respectively, to schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 via downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m. In some embodiments, downlink beam scheduling process 600 may schedule periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 substantially similar to the above. Figures 2A to 2E One or more beam scheduling processes in the beam scheduling process described in . Figure 6B and Figure 6C In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may process and / or transmit periodic and / or aperiodic transmissions of CSI-RS1 as scheduled by the second downlink beam scheduling process 602 and / or the third downlink beam scheduling process 604 within the indicated CSI-RS range. Figure 6B and Figure 6C In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may provide one or more discoverability indicators, such as those shown above. Figure 3A One or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators and / or one or more beam indicators as described in order to signal that CSI-RS1 is present in a specific position within the CSI-RS range having the indication. Figure 6B In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may provide one or more discoverability indicators within a tolerance range (i.e., within the CSI-RS range with the indication). Figure 6B In the exemplary embodiment shown, AN 102 may provide one or more discoverability indicators before the tolerance range (i.e., before the CSI-RS range with the indication). In some embodiments, the one or more discoverability indicators may indicate parameters for a single CSI tolerance range or more than one CSI-RS tolerance range, such as semi-persistent signaling. In these embodiments, the parameters may include time and / or frequency location, such as an offset within a variable period, and / or the number of periods for which the indicator is valid. In some embodiments, the one or more discoverability indicators may be included in one or more downlink control information (DCI) messages, such as those described above. Figure 5 In some embodiments, one or more DCI messages may indicate that CSI-RS1 is frequency-division multiplexed with data and quasi-co-located with a specific synchronization signal block (SSB), that CSI-RS1 is quasi-co-located with a specific synchronization signal block (SSB) and can be used for beam failure recovery (BFR), and / or that CSI-RS1 is to be used for beam failure recovery (BFR).

[0069] Exemplary Beam Fault Detection (BFD) Procedure

[0070] As above Figure 1 As described above, UE 104 can use Figure 1 1 to 106.m described in . ... When a downlink communication beam is identified as failing, the UE 104 may generate a beam failure indication (BFI). When the number of BFIs reaches a certain value or threshold, such as a maximum number of beam failure indications M, the UE 104 may generate a beam failure indication (BFI). BFI , UE 104 may initiate a beam failure recovery (BFR) process as will be described in further detail.

[0071] Figure 7 A flow chart of an exemplary beam failure detection (BFD) process that may be utilized by an exemplary wireless network according to various embodiments is shown. The present disclosure is not limited to this operational description. Rather, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that other operational control flows are within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The following discussion describes an exemplary operational control flow 700 that performs an exemplary BFD process to identify a failed downlink communication beam within the exemplary wireless network. Figure 7 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the exemplary operational control flow 700 may be performed by a UE such as the one shown above. Figure 1 The UE 104 described in is executed to detect a downlink communication beam among the downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m that has failed.

[0072] At operation 702, the example operational control flow 700 initializes an example beam failure detection (BFD) process as will be described in further detail below in operations 704 through 716. As part of this initialization, the example operational control flow 700 sets a beam failure indication counter to an initial value (such as zero (0), etc.). As will be described in further detail below, the example operational control flow 700 accumulates a number of beam failure indications (BFIs) generated during a beam failure detection (BFD) window as indicated by a beam failure detection timer. In some embodiments, the example operational control flow 700 may additionally or alternatively start or restart a beam failure detection timer at operation 702. As will be described in further detail below, the example operational control flow 700 may accumulate beam failure indications (BFIs) prior to expiration of the beam failure detection timer to determine whether a downlink communication beam has failed.

[0073] At operation 704, the example operational control flow 700 determines whether the beam failure detection timer from operation 702 has expired. If the example operational control flow 700 determines that the beam failure detection timer from operation 702 has expired, the operational control flow 700 returns to operation 702 to again set the beam failure indication counter from operation 702 to the initial value and start or restart the beam failure detection timer from operation 702. Otherwise, when the beam failure detection timer from operation 702 has not expired, the operational control flow 700 proceeds to operation 706.

[0074] At operation 706, the exemplary operational control flow 700 monitors the radio link quality of the downlink communication beam and may thereafter generate an indication, referred to as a beam failure indication (BFI), when the radio link quality of the downlink communication beam indicates that the downlink communication beam has failed. In some embodiments, the exemplary operational control flow 700 may monitor the block error rate (BLER) of the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) within the downlink communication beam to determine whether the downlink communication beam has failed. In these embodiments, the exemplary operational control flow 700 may determine that the downlink communication beam has failed when the BLER of the CSI-RS meets or exceeds a predetermined PDCCH BLER target (also referred to as an out-of-sync (OOS) threshold, Qout,LR). In some embodiments, the predetermined PDCCH BLER target may represent a percentage of a predetermined PDCCH BLER for a predetermined PDCCH transmission.

[0075] In some embodiments, an access node (AN), such as AN 102, may configure a predetermined PDCCH BLER target for use by the example operation control flow 700 and may thereafter provide the predetermined PDCCH BLER target to the example operation control flow 700 in one or more downlink control information (DCI) messages. In some embodiments, the predetermined PDCCH BLER target may be based on characteristics of the CSI-RS, such as the periodicity of the CSI-RS, and / or based on the type of environment, such as licensed or unlicensed access. In some embodiments, based on the periodicity of the CSI-RS, such as described above, Figures 2A to 2E The predetermined PDCCH BLER target may be selected based on the periodicity of the CSI-RS shown. For example, the periodicity of the CSI-RS may be set to a value of one (1) in a licensed access environment or a Release 15 or Release 16 environment to generate a predetermined PDCCH BLER target of 10%, such as a 10% BLER for a PDCCH of DCI format 1_0 transmitted with a control channel element (CCE) aggregation length of eight (8)8 and a control resource set (CORESET) length of two (2). In another example, the periodicity of the CSI-RS may be set to a value of two (2) to generate: a predetermined PDCCH BLER target of less than 10% (e.g., 5%) to allow for greater sensitivity to beam failures, and / or a predetermined PDCCH BLER target of greater than 10% (e.g., 15%) to account for losses from listen-before-talk (LBT) skipping and / or from random beam scheduling. Alternatively or in addition, the predetermined PDCCH BLER target may be set to a single value for all periodicities of CSI-RS and may be dynamically adjusted to account for scenarios (such as LBT scenarios) in which the AN 102 does not transmit CSI-RS to the UE. In some embodiments, the exemplary operational control flow 700 may be responsive to an indication by the AN 102 of non-scheduling and / or non-transmission of CSI-RS, such as described above. Figure 3A The predetermined PDCCH BLER target is modified based on one or more channel occupancy time (COT) indicators and / or one or more beam indicators described in the UEFI protocol.

[0076] At operation 706, the exemplary operational control flow 700 returns to operation 704 to again determine whether the beam failure detection timer from operation 702 has expired if a beam failure indication (BFI) has not been generated. Otherwise, if a beam failure indication (BFI) has been generated, the exemplary operational control flow 700 proceeds to operation 708.

[0077] At operation 708 , the example operational control flow 700 increments the beam failure indication counter from operation 702 in response to generating a beam failure indication (BFI) at operation 708 .

[0078] At operation 710, the exemplary operational control flow 700 determines whether the AN 102 is scheduled to transmit CSI-RS in the downlink communication beam at a different time instance or whether it transmits CSI-RS in the downlink communication beam at a different time instance. In some embodiments, the exemplary operational control flow 700 evaluates the CSI-RS transmission indication such as Figure 3A , to determine whether AN 102 will transmit CSI-RS within the downlink communication beam. In some embodiments, AN 102 may provide a CSI-RS transmission indication to the exemplary operation control flow 700 in one or more downlink control information (DCI) messages. In some embodiments, the exemplary operation control flow 700 may generate a beam failure indication (BFI) at operation 706 even when AN 102 is not transmitting, e.g., not scheduled to transmit CSI-RS within the downlink communication beam. In these cases, the exemplary operation control flow 700 evaluates the CSI-RS transmission indication for each beam failure indication (BFI) generated by the exemplary operation control flow 700 at operation 708 to determine whether AN 102 will transmit CSI-RS within the downlink communication beam. However, in some embodiments, the example operational control flow 700 may perform operations 710 and 712 before operation 706, as will be described in further detail below.

[0079] At operation 710, when the CSI-RS transmission indication indicates that the AN 102 is not to transmit a CSI-RS within a downlink communication beam, the example operational control flow 700 proceeds to operation 712. Otherwise, when the CSI-RS transmission indication indicates that the AN 102 is to transmit a CSI-RS within a downlink communication beam, the example operational control flow 700 proceeds to operation 714.

[0080] At operation 712, in response to the CSI-RS transmission indication indicating that the AN 102 is to transmit a CSI-RS within the downlink communication beam, the example operational control flow 700 decrements the beam failure indication counter from operation 702.

[0081] At operation 714, the exemplary operational control flow 700 compares the beam failure indication counter from operation 702 with the maximum number of beam failure indications M. BFI For comparison, the beam failure indication counter has accumulated beam failure indications (BFIs) generated before the beam failure detection timer from operation 702 expires. When the beam failure indication counter from operation 702 is less than the maximum number M of beam failure indications BFI , the exemplary operational control flow 700 returns to operation 704 to again determine whether the beam failure detection timer from operation 702 has expired. Otherwise, when the beam failure indication counter from operation 702 is greater than or equal to the maximum number M of beam failure indications BFI , operational control flow 700 proceeds to operation 716.

[0082] At operation 716, the exemplary operational control flow 700 determines that the downlink communication beam has failed. In some embodiments, once the exemplary operational control flow 700 determines that the downlink communication beam has failed, the UE executing the exemplary operational control flow 700 may begin a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, as described in further detail below.

[0083] Exemplary Beam Failure Recovery Procedure

[0084] Once UE 104 has determined that a downlink communication beam has failed, as described above, UE 104 undergoes a beamforming failure recovery (BFR) process, as described in further detail below. As part of the BFR process, UE 104 identifies one or more new candidate downlink communication beams from a candidate beam list among downlink communication beams 106.1 to 106.m, and thereafter identifies the one or more new candidate downlink communication beams in a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ) provided to AN 102 via one or more non-contention uplink channels (such as a physical random access channel (PRACH)) and / or one or more contention uplink control channels (such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)). In some embodiments, PRACH, PUCCH, and / or PUSCH may represent uplink control channels associated with the downlink communication beam that has failed. In some embodiments, when there is a change to the periodic CSI-RS, UE 104 may identify the corresponding PRACH. In some embodiments, the AN 102 may configure an increased number of PRACH resources per possible CSI-RS resource, such that the UE 104 may identify the PRACH opportunity closest to one or more new candidate downlink communication beams. In some embodiments, when the CSI-RS is similarly offset relative to the start of the COT, these PRACH resources may be offset relative to the start of the COT. In some embodiments, one or more downlink control information (DCI) messages may include resources for the associated RACH, for example, may indicate one or more of k3 (relative time slot from the CSI-RS resource), frequency resources within the relative time slot, and / or time resources. In some embodiments, the BFRQ identifies the identifiers of the UE 104 and the one or more new candidate downlink communication beams. Thereafter, UE 104 monitors downlink control channels (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) corresponding to one or more new candidate downlink communication beams for a response to the BFRQ from AN 102, and may thereafter utilize one or more new candidate downlink communication beams upon receiving a response from AN 102.

[0085] Example Implementations for Access Nodes and / or User Equipment (UE) within an Example Wireless Network

[0086] Figure 8 FIG2 shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless system for an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 8 In the exemplary embodiment shown, a wireless system 800 for an electronic device may include a processor circuit 802, a physical layer (PHY) circuit 804, an antenna array 806, a communication infrastructure 808, and a memory subsystem 810. Figure 8 The illustrated wireless system 800 may be implemented as a standalone device or a discrete device and / or may be incorporated into or coupled to another electronic device or host device, such as a wireless communication device, a smartphone, a laptop computing device, a desktop computing device, a tablet computing device, a personal assistant, a monitor, a television, a wearable device, and / or any other suitable electronic device apparent to one skilled in the art. Figure 8 The wireless system 800 shown may represent the above Figure 1 The exemplary embodiments of the AN 102 and / or UE 104 described in the foregoing and / or may be combined in Figure 1 Within or coupled to the AN 102 and / or UE 104 described herein.

[0087] exist Figure 8 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the processor circuit 802 may include or may be any one of a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit or a digital signal processor and its electronic processing equivalents, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The processor circuit 802 represents one or more tangible data and information processing devices that typically use sequence transformations (also referred to as operation control flows) to physically convert data and information. Data and information can be physically represented by electrical signals, magnetic signals, optical signals or acoustic signals that can be stored, accessed, transmitted, combined, compared or otherwise manipulated by the processor circuit 802. The processor circuit 802 may represent a single processor and a multi-core system or a multi-processor array, including a graphics processing unit, a digital signal processor, a digital processor or a combination of these elements. In some embodiments, the processor circuit 802 may execute one or more elements of a protocol stack, such as one or more elements of a 5G protocol stack, which will be described in further detail below.

[0088] The PHY circuitry 804 includes circuitry and / or control logic for executing various radio / network protocols and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks. Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, and / or radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the PHY circuitry 804 may perform fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, and / or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the PHY circuitry 804 may perform convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and / or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoding / decoding. Figure 8 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the PHY circuit 804 can process baseband signals received from the communication infrastructure 808 and generate baseband signals for the communication infrastructure 808. In some embodiments, the PHY circuit 804 can connect to and communicate on a wired network and / or a wireless network. For example, the PHY circuit 804 can include a wireless subsystem having various wireless radio transceivers and wireless protocols, such as a cellular subsystem, a WLAN subsystem, and / or a Bluetooth subsystem. TM The wireless subsystem may include circuits and / or control logic components for connecting to and communicating on a wireless network, as will be understood by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The wireless subsystem may include circuits and / or control logic components for connecting to and communicating on a wireless network. The wireless network may include a cellular network, such as, but not limited to, a 3G / 4G / 5G wireless network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network, etc.

[0089] In some embodiments, the processor circuit 802 and / or the PHY circuit 804 may execute a 5G protocol stack having at least 5G layer-1, 5G layer-2, and 5G layer-3. 5G layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer. The PHY layer may transmit and / or receive physical layer signals over one or more physical channels, which may be received from and / or transmitted to the one or more radio networks. The PHY layer may also perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers such as the RRC layer. The PHY layer may also perform error detection on one or more transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the one or more transport channels, modulation / demodulation of the one or more physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the one or more physical channels, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna processing. In some embodiments, the PHY layer may process requests from the MAC layer over one or more transport channels and provide instructions to the MAC layer over one or more transport channels.

[0090] The 5G layer 2 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The MAC layer processes requests from the RLC layer through one or more logical channels and provides instructions to the RLC layer through one or more logical channels. The MAC layer may perform mapping between the one or more logical channels and the one or more transport channels, multiplex MAC service data units (SDUs) from the one or more logical channels onto transport blocks (TBs) for delivery to the PHY layer via the one or more transport channels, demultiplex MAC SDUs from TBs delivered from the PHY layer via the one or more transport channels to one or more logical channels, multiplex MAC SDUs onto TBs, schedule information reporting, perform error correction through HARQ, and prioritize logical channels. The RLC layer processes requests from the PDCP layer through one or more RLC channels and provides instructions to the PDCP layer through one or more RLC channels. The RLC 930 may operate in multiple operating modes, including transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). The RLC 930 may perform transmission of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission. The RLC 930 may also perform resegmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transmission, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transmission, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect protocol errors for AM data transmission, and perform RLC re-establishment.

[0091] The PDCP layer processes requests from the RRC layer over one or more radio bearers and provides instructions to the RRC layer over one or more radio bearers. The PDCP layer may, for example, perform header compression and decompression of Internet Protocol (IP) data, maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SNs), perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs when lower layers are reestablished, eliminate duplication of lower layer SDUs when lower layers are reestablished for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM, encrypt and decrypt control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification on control plane data, control timer-based data discard, and perform security operations such as encryption, decryption, integrity protection, and / or integrity verification.

[0092] 5G Layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer. The RRC layer configures various aspects of 5G Layer 1, 5G Layer 2, and / or 5G Layer 3. The RRC layer may include broadcasting of system information, broadcasting of system information related to the access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of an RRC connection between a UE and an access node (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting.

[0093] The antenna array 806 may include one or more antenna elements, each of which is capable of converting electrical signals into radio waves for propagation through the air via a communication beam, such as the one shown above. Figure 1 The communication beams 106.1 to 106.m and / or the communication beams 108.1 to 108.n described in

[0026] One or more antenna elements may be omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof.

[0094] The memory subsystem 810 includes a plurality of memories including: a main random access memory (RAM) or other volatile storage device for storing instructions and data during program execution, and / or a read-only memory (ROM) in which instructions are stored. The memory subsystem 810 can provide persistent storage for program and data files and may include a hard drive, a floppy disk drive and associated removable media, a CD-ROM drive, an optical drive, flash memory, or a removable media cartridge. Figure 8 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the memory subsystem 810 may optionally include an operating system 812 and applications 814. The operating system 812 may be Microsoft's Windows, Sun Microsystems' Solaris, Apple Computer's MacOs, Linux or UNIX, etc. The computer system may also typically include a basic input / output system (BIOS) and processor firmware. The processor circuit 802 may use the operating system, BIOS and / or firmware to control the PHY circuit 804, antenna array 806, communication infrastructure 808 and / or memory subsystem 810. In some embodiments, the operating system 812 maintains one or more network protocol stacks such as an Internet Protocol (IP) stack and / or a cellular protocol stack, which may include multiple logical layers. At the corresponding layer of the protocol stack, the operating system 812 includes control mechanisms and data structures to perform functions associated with the layer. The applications 814 may include, for example, applications used by the wireless system 800 and / or users of the wireless system 800. The applications in the applications 254 may include applications such as, but not limited to, Siri. TM , FaceTime TM , radio streaming, video streaming, remote control and / or other user applications that will be recognized by those skilled in the art.

[0095] Summarize

[0096] It should be understood that the Detailed Description section, and not the Summary and Abstract sections, is intended to be used to interpret the claims. The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more, but not all, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure as contemplated by the inventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit the present disclosure and the appended claims in any way.

[0097] The present disclosure has been described above with the aid of functional building blocks, which illustrate the implementation of specified functions and their relationships. For ease of description, the boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein. As long as the specified functions and their relationships are properly performed, alternative boundaries may be defined.

[0098] The above description of specific embodiments will fully demonstrate the general nature of the present disclosure, so that others can easily modify and / or adjust the various applications of such specific embodiments by applying knowledge within the technical scope of the art without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present disclosure. Therefore, based on the teachings and guidance presented herein, such adjustments and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the embodiments disclosed herein. It should be understood that the wording or terminology herein is for illustrative purposes only and not for limitation, so the terms or wording of this specification will be interpreted by the skilled person in accordance with the teachings and guidance.

[0099] The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

[0100] As described above, various aspects of the present technology may include collecting and using data available from various sources to, for example, improve or enhance functionality. The present disclosure contemplates that, in some instances, these collected data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data may include demographic data, location-based data, phone numbers, email addresses, Twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records related to the user's health or fitness level (e.g., vital sign measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying information or personal information. The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data in the present technology can be used to benefit users.

[0101] This disclosure contemplates that entities responsible for collecting, analyzing, disclosing, transmitting, storing, or otherwise using such personal information will adhere to established privacy policies and / or practices. Specifically, such entities should implement and adhere to privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information. Such policies should be easily accessible to users and updated as the collection and / or use of data changes. Personal information collected from users should be used for the entity's legitimate and reasonable purposes and not shared or sold beyond those legitimate uses. Furthermore, such collection / sharing should only be done with the user's informed consent. Furthermore, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to safeguard and secure access to such personal information and ensure that others with access to the personal information adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Furthermore, such entities may subject themselves to third-party assessments to demonstrate compliance with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. Furthermore, policies and practices should be tailored to the specific type of personal information collected and / or accessed, and to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdictional considerations. For example, in the United States, the collection or access of certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Therefore, different privacy practices should be maintained for different types of personal data in each country.

[0102] Regardless of the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates implementation schemes in which users selectively block the use or access of personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates providing hardware components and / or software components to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the present technology can be configured to allow users to selectively "opt in" or "opt out" of collecting personal information data at any time, for example, during or after registration for a service. In addition to providing "opt in" and "opt out" options, the present disclosure also contemplates providing notifications related to access or use of personal information. For example, users can be notified that their personal information data will be accessed when downloading an application, and then reminded again just before the personal information data is accessed by the application.

[0103] Furthermore, it is an object of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting data collection and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health-related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect the privacy of users. De-identification can be facilitated by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of stored data (e.g., collecting location data at the city level rather than the address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and / or other methods, where appropriate.

[0104] Thus, while the present disclosure broadly encompasses the use of personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that various embodiments may be implemented without requiring access to such personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present technology will not be unable to function properly due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. < / duration> < / duration> < / duration> < / duration> < / duration> < / duration>

Claims

1. An access node (AN) for scheduling transmission of multiple reference signals via multiple downlink communication beams, the AN comprising: physical layer (PHY) circuitry configured to communicate wirelessly with user equipment (UE); and A processor configured to: scheduling a plurality of transmissions of the plurality of reference signals over the plurality of downlink communication beams, performing a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to monitor a portion of a spectrum, the LBT procedure identifying a first channel occupancy time (COT) and a second COT wherein the portion of the spectrum is free of other transmissions, and generating an indication of an LBT failure wherein the portion of the spectrum is occupied by one or more other transmissions, transmitting, using the PHY circuitry, a first transmission among the plurality of transmissions over the plurality of downlink communication beams during the first COT, omitting a second transmission among the plurality of transmissions that is scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure, and A third transmission among the plurality of transmissions is transmitted over the plurality of downlink communication beams during the second COT using the PHY circuitry.

2. The AN according to claim 1, wherein the multiple reference signals include multiple channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS).

3. The AN according to claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to: causing the PHY circuit to transmit a first transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs or to transmit the first transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs simultaneously with a plurality of physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) or a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs), causing the PHY circuit to ignore a second transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure, and The PHY circuit is caused to transmit a third transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs or to transmit the third transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs simultaneously with the plurality of PDCCHs or the plurality of PDSCHs.

4. The AN of claim 1, wherein the spectrum comprises an unlicensed spectrum having a frequency range above 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

5. An AN according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: cause the PHY circuit to transmit the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of the first reference signal among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

6. An AN according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: cause the PHY circuit to transmit the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of the multiple reference signals among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

7. The AN according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: cause the PHY circuit to transmit the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from the starting point of the second COT.

8. A method for scheduling transmission, the method comprising: Scheduling, by an access node (AN), multiple transmissions of multiple reference signals via multiple downlink communication beams; performing, by the AN, a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to monitor a portion of a spectrum, the LBT procedure identifying a first channel occupancy time (COT) and a second COT wherein the portion of the spectrum is free of other transmissions, and generating an indication of an LBT failure wherein the portion of the spectrum is occupied by one or more other transmissions; transmitting, by the AN during the first COT, a first transmission among the plurality of transmissions via the plurality of downlink communication beams; omitting, by the AN, a second transmission among the plurality of transmissions that is scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure; and A third transmission among the plurality of transmissions is transmitted by the AN during the second COT through the plurality of downlink communication beams.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of reference signals comprises a plurality of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS).

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said transmitting the first transmission, said ignoring the second transmission, and said transmitting the third transmission comprises: transmitting a first transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs or transmitting the first transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs simultaneously with a plurality of physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) or a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs); ignoring a second transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs, among the plurality of transmissions of the plurality of CSI-RSs, that is scheduled to be transmitted during the LBT failure; and A third transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs is transmitted or the third transmission of the plurality of CSI-RSs is transmitted simultaneously with the plurality of PDCCHs or the plurality of PDSCHs.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the spectrum comprises an unlicensed spectrum having a frequency range above 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the third transmission comprises transmitting the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of a first reference signal among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the third transmission comprises transmitting the third transmission of the multiple reference signals through the multiple downlink communication beams starting from an instance of the multiple reference signals among the multiple reference signals that is scheduled to be transmitted during the second COT.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the third transmission comprises transmitting the third transmission of the plurality of reference signals through the plurality of downlink communication beams starting from a start point of the second COT.

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