System, apparatus and method for wireless device to initiate channel occupancy in unlicensed spectrum

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to techniques for initiating channel occupation in an unlicensed spectrum by a wireless device in a wireless communication system. The wireless device may establish a wireless link with a cellular base station. The wireless device may determine to perform an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on an unlicensed frequency channel. The wireless device may determine whether the cellular base station has channel occupation on the unlicensed frequency channel. The wireless device may determine whether to initiate channel occupation on the unlicensed frequency channel. The decision whether to initiate channel occupation may be based at least in part on whether the cellular base station has channel occupation on the unlicensed frequency channel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to systems, apparatuses, and methods for a wireless device to initiate channel occupancy in an unlicensed spectrum in a wireless communication system.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablets have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices (i.e., user equipment devices or UEs) now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using a global positioning system (GPS), and are capable of operating complex and sophisticated applications that utilize these functions. In addition, there are many different wireless communication technologies and wireless communication standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH TM wait.

[0004] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functions in wireless communication devices also requires continuous improvements in wireless communications and improvements in wireless communication devices. In particular, it is important to ensure the accuracy of signals transmitted and received by user equipment (UE) devices (e.g., by wireless devices such as cellular phones, base stations, and relay stations used in wireless cellular communications). In addition, increasing the functionality of UE devices may place a significant strain on the battery life of UE devices. Therefore, it is also very important to reduce the power requirements in UE device designs while allowing UE devices to maintain good transmission and reception capabilities to improve communications. Therefore, improvements are desired in this area. Summary of the invention

[0005] Embodiments of apparatus, systems, and methods for a wireless device to initiate channel occupancy in an unlicensed spectrum in a wireless communication system are presented herein.

[0006] According to the techniques described herein, a wireless device may determine whether to initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel to perform an uplink transmission based on any of a variety of possible considerations.

[0007] Among these possible considerations, may include whether a cellular base station (e.g., a serving cellular base station for a wireless device) has initiated channel occupation on an unlicensed frequency channel. For example, if a cellular base station has initiated channel occupation on an unlicensed frequency channel, the wireless device may be able to share the channel occupation to perform uplink transmissions. Also described herein are techniques for a wireless device to determine whether a cellular base station has initiated channel occupation on an unlicensed frequency channel, for example, to support the ability of the wireless device to determine whether to initiate channel occupation on an unlicensed frequency channel to perform uplink transmissions.

[0008] As an additional possible consideration, the wireless device may determine whether to initiate channel occupation on an unlicensed channel to perform an uplink transmission based on the length of the uplink transmission and / or based on the delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission. For example, in at least some instances, such as when the length of the uplink transmission will be longer than the remainder of the channel occupation and / or the fixed frame period of the cellular base station, and / or when the uplink transmission is deemed sufficiently sensitive to delay that it may be worthwhile for the wireless device to initiate channel occupation on an unlicensed channel to perform the uplink transmission to potentially reduce the delay of the uplink transmission, such considerations may cause the wireless device to initiate channel occupation on an unlicensed channel even if the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation on the unlicensed channel.

[0009] It should be noted that the techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to base stations, access points, mobile phones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable devices, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned flight controllers, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, and various other computing devices.

[0010] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown;

[0013] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary base station in communication with an exemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device in accordance with some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0015] Figure 4 shows an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating aspects of an exemplary possible method for a wireless device to initiate channel occupancy in an unlicensed spectrum in a wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 6 illustrates exemplary aspects of a possible frame-based equipment (FBE) framework for performing wireless communications in an unlicensed spectrum in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0018] Figures 7 to 11 Exemplary aspects of various possible scenarios that may occur when performing cellular communications in an unlicensed spectrum using the FBE framework are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0019] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, their purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Acronyms

[0021] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms used that may appear throughout this disclosure are as follows:

[0022] UE: User Equipment

[0023] RF: Radio Frequency

[0024] BS: Base Station

[0025] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0026] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0027] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0028] NR: New Radio

[0029] NR-U: NR unlicensed

[0030] TX: Transmit

[0031] RX: Receive

[0032] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0033] ●TRP: Transmission Reception Point

[0034] ●DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0035] CORESET: Control resource set

[0036] ●CSI: Channel State Information

[0037] ●CSI-RS: Channel State Information Reference Signal

[0038] LBT: Listen before you speak

[0039] ●CCA: Clear Channel Assessment

[0040] ●COT: Channel Occupancy Time

[0041] ●FBE: Frame-based Equipment

[0042] ●FFP: Fixed Frame Period

[0043] the term

[0044] The following is a glossary of terms that will appear in this disclosure:

[0045] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter example, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer system for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0046] Carrier Media—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0047] Computer system (or computer)—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined as any device (or combination of devices) that includes at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0048] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), tablet computers (e.g., iPad TM 、Samsung Galaxy TM ), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), laptops, PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunication device (or a combination of these devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0049] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0050] Communication device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0051] Base Station (BS)—The term "base station" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0052] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device (e.g., a user equipment device or a cellular network device). Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0053] Wi-Fi—The term "Wi-Fi" has the full scope of its usual meaning and includes at least wireless communication networks or RATs that are served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provide connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0054] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the need for the action or operation to be directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatic" is in contrast to a user manually performing or specifying an action, wherein the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," wherein the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, wherein the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without requiring any user input to specify the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0055] Configured to - Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, the component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0056] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended to not invoke the interpretation of the sixth paragraph of Section 112 of Title 35 of the United States Code on that component.

[0057] Figure 1 and Figure 2 -Exemplary Communication System

[0058] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is shown that can implement various aspects of the present disclosure according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of a possible system, and the embodiment may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0059] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102, which communicates with one or more (e.g., any number) user equipment 106A, 106B, etc., through 106N via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE) or a UE device. Therefore, the user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or a UE device.

[0060] The base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site, and may include hardware and / or software that implements wireless communications with UEs 106A to 106N. If the base station 102 is implemented in the context of LTE, it may be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". If the base station 102 is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB". The base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, and various possible networks). Therefore, the base station 102 may facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". Also as used herein, with respect to a UE, sometimes a base station may be considered to represent a network in consideration of the uplink and downlink communications of the UE. Therefore, a UE that communicates with one or more base stations in a network may also be understood as a UE that communicates with a network.

[0061] The base station 102 and the user equipment may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), LAA / LTE-U, 5G NR, NR-U, 3GPP2, CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, etc.

[0062] Base station 102 and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may thus be provided as one or more cell networks that may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106 and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0063] Note that UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using either or both of the 3GPP cellular communication standard or the 3GPP2 cellular communication standard. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to perform robust uplink data transmission techniques, such as according to the various methods described herein. UE 106 may also be configured or alternatively configured to use WLAN, BLUETOOTH, or other wireless communication standards. TM , one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0064] Figure 2 An exemplary user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, a computer or tablet, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an unmanned flight controller (UAC), a car, or almost any type of wireless device. UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may execute any of the method embodiments described in the present invention by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components configured to execute (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method embodiments described herein or any of the method embodiments described herein. UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a plurality of wireless communication protocols. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using two or more of CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0065] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols according to one or more RAT standards. In some embodiments, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication standards. The shared radio component may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO). Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains.

[0066] In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, the UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using any of LTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT (or LTE or NR, or LTE or GSM), and a shared radio component for communicating using Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH. TM Each of the radio components communicates with each other. Other configurations are also possible.

[0067] Figure 3 - Block diagram of an exemplary UE device

[0068] Figure 3 A block diagram of an exemplary UE 106 according to some embodiments is shown. As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 300, which may include parts for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that can execute program instructions for the UE 106, and a display circuit 304 that can perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The SOC 300 may also include a sensor circuit 370, which may include a component for sensing or measuring any of various possible characteristics or parameters of the UE 106. For example, the sensor circuit 370 may include a motion sensing circuit that is configured to detect the motion of the UE 106, for example, using a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of various other motion sensing components. As another possibility, the sensor circuit 370 may include one or more temperature sensing components, which are used, for example, to measure the temperature of each of one or more antenna panels and / or other components of the UE 106. As required, any of various other possible types of sensor circuits may also or alternatively be included in the UE 106. Processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or other circuits or devices, such as display circuit 304, radio 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360. MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of processor 302.

[0069] As shown, SOC 300 can be coupled to various other circuits of UE 106. For example, UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, BLUETOOTH TM , Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna (e.g., 335a), and may include multiple antennas (e.g., as shown by antennas 335a and 335b) for performing wireless communications with base stations and / or other devices. Antennas 335a and 335b are shown by way of example, and the UE device 106 may include fewer or more antennas. In general, one or more antennas are collectively referred to as antennas 335. For example, the UE device 106 may use antenna 335 to perform wireless communications with the aid of radio circuitry 330. As described above, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards.

[0070] The UE 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing a method for the UE 106 to initiate channel occupancy in an unlicensed spectrum, such as described further herein. The processor 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement a portion or all of the methods described herein, for example by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). In addition, according to various embodiments disclosed herein, the processor 302 may be configured as Figure 3 The processor 302 may also implement various other applications and / or end-user applications running on the UE 106.

[0071] In some embodiments, radio 330 may include a separate controller dedicated to controlling communications for each respective RAT standard. Figure 3 As shown, the radio component 330 may include a Wi-Fi controller 352, a cellular controller (eg, an LTE and / or LTE-A controller) 354, and a BLUETOOTH controller. TMController 356, and in at least some embodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implemented as respective integrated circuits (referred to as ICs or chips) that communicate with each other and with SOC 300 (more specifically, with processor 302). For example, Wi-Fi controller 352 may communicate with cellular controller 354 via a cell-ISM link or WCI interface, and / or BLUETOOTH TM The controller 356 may communicate with the cellular controller 354 via a cell-ISM link, etc. Although three separate controllers are shown within the radio 330, other embodiments may be implemented in the UE device 106 having fewer or more similar controllers for various different RATs.

[0072] Additionally, embodiments are contemplated in which the controller may implement functionality associated with multiple radio access technologies. For example, according to some embodiments, in addition to hardware and / or software components for performing cellular communications, the cellular controller 354 may also include hardware and / or software components for performing one or more activities associated with Wi-Fi, such as Wi-Fi preamble detection, and / or generation and transmission of Wi-Fi physical layer preamble signals.

[0073] Figure 4 - Block diagram of an exemplary base station

[0074] Figure 4 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0075] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106 of the telephone network described in the embodiment of the present invention. The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured or alternatively configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0076] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. One or more antennas 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receiving chain, a transmission chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be designed to communicate via various wireless telecommunication standards, including but not limited to NR, LTE, LTE-A WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement and / or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. In the case of certain RATs (e.g., Wi-Fi), the base station 102 may be designed as an access point (AP), in which case the network port 470 may be implemented to provide access to a wide area network and / or one or more local area networks, for example it may include at least one Ethernet port, and the radio component 430 may be designed to communicate according to the Wi-Fi standard.

[0077] Figure 5 -Channel occupancy initiated by wireless devices in unlicensed spectrum

[0078] Wireless communications are being used for an increasingly wide range of use cases. The use of unlicensed spectrum for cellular communications may be included in a variety of areas of increasing research to further support the range of possible wireless communications uses. For example, cellular communication technologies used in unlicensed spectrum such as License Assisted Access (LAA) for LTE and NR Unlicensed (NR-U) are generally considered to be areas of particular interest in the field of wireless communications.

[0079] Coexistence features may be used for cellular communications in unlicensed spectrum, for example, to improve the quality of service obtained by wireless devices performing cellular, Wi-Fi, and / or other forms of communications in the unlicensed spectrum and / or to help improve cell capacity for operators utilizing the unlicensed spectrum. For example, the use of listen before talk (LBT) and other such collision avoidance techniques may be used to attempt to reduce the likelihood of collisions occurring over the wireless medium.

[0080] At least some jurisdictions may regulate the use of unlicensed spectrum, for example by providing regulatory requirements that may require certain features or behaviors for devices configured to use the unlicensed spectrum, which may be intended to improve coexistence and fair use among devices attempting to use the unlicensed spectrum to perform wireless communications. Accordingly, part of the development of cellular communication technology for use in unlicensed spectrum may include developing technology that complies with regulatory requirements.

[0081] For example, according to a frame-based equipment framework for channel access of unlicensed spectrum, there may be situations where wireless devices are expected to operate using a fixed frame period (FFP), according to which transmissions by a given device may be constrained to begin aligned with the start of the FFP for that device. In addition, before the start of an FFP at which the device wishes to transmit, the device may be expected to perform a clear channel assessment (e.g., an LBT process) to determine whether the channel is available, and the device may be expected to refrain from transmitting during at least a certain portion of each FFP (which may be referred to as an idle period).

[0082] Currently, 3GPP 5G NR cellular communication technology does not include technology for user equipment devices to initiate their own channel access in unlicensed spectrum according to such FBE framework. Therefore, it may be beneficial to provide such technology, for example, to expand the range of possible cellular communications in unlicensed spectrum. Therefore, Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for a wireless device to initiate channel occupancy in an unlicensed spectrum in a wireless communication system according to at least some embodiments.

[0083] Figure 5 Aspects of the methods of can be implemented by a wireless device, for example, in conjunction with one or more cellular base stations (such as UE 106 and BS 102 shown and described with respect to various figures herein), or more generally, as desired, in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. shown in the above figures. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device can be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the method elements shown and / or other method elements.

[0084] It is noted that although the present invention is described in a manner involving the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with 3GPP and / or NR specification documents, Figure 5However, this description is not intended to limit the present disclosure and may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed. Figure 5 In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, Figure 5 The method can be operated as follows.

[0085] In 502, the wireless device may establish a wireless link with a cellular base station. According to some embodiments, the wireless link may include a cellular link according to 5G NR. For example, the wireless device may establish a session with an AMF entity of a cellular network through one or more gNBs that provide radio access to the cellular network. As another possibility, the wireless link may include a cellular link according to LTE. For example, the wireless device may establish a session with a mobility management entity of a cellular network through an eNB that provides radio access to the cellular network. According to various embodiments, other types of cellular links are also possible, and the cellular network may also or alternatively operate according to another cellular communication technology (e.g., UMTS, CDMA2000, GSM, etc.).

[0086] Establishing the wireless link may include establishing an RRC connection with a serving cellular base station according to at least some embodiments. Establishing the first RRC connection may include configuring various parameters for communication between the wireless device and the cellular base station, establishing environmental information for the wireless device, and / or any of a variety of other possible features, for example, involving establishing an air interface of the wireless device for cellular communication with a cellular network associated with the cellular base station. In at least some instances, establishing the wireless link may include the wireless device providing capability information of the wireless device. Such capability information may include information related to any of a plurality of types of wireless device capabilities.

[0087] After establishing the RRC connection, the wireless device may operate in the RRC connected state. In some instances, the RRC connection may also be released (e.g., after a certain period of inactivity relative to data communications), in which case the wireless device may operate in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. In some instances, the wireless device may perform a handover (e.g., when in the RRC connected mode) or a cell reselection (e.g., when in the RRC idle mode or the RRC inactive mode) to a new serving cell, e.g., due to wireless device mobility, changes in wireless medium conditions, and / or any of a variety of other possible reasons.

[0088] According to at least some embodiments, a wireless device may establish multiple wireless links according to a multi-TRP configuration, for example, with multiple TRPs of a cellular network. In this case, the wireless device may be configured (e.g., via RRC signaling) with one or more transmission control indicators (TCIs), for example, the one or more TCIs may correspond to various beams that may be used to communicate with the TRPs. In addition, there may be situations where one or more configured TCI states may be activated by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) of the wireless device at a particular time.

[0089] Additionally or alternatively, the wireless device may be configured to use multiple component carriers. There may be situations where at least one component carrier configured for the wireless device includes a component carrier deployed in an unlicensed spectrum (eg, an unlicensed frequency channel).

[0090] In 504, the wireless device may determine to perform an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on an unlicensed frequency channel. The uplink transmission may be scheduled by the cellular base station, for example, using a configured grant, a dynamic grant, or other mechanism for scheduling the wireless device to perform an uplink transmission on the unlicensed frequency channel. The wireless device may determine the expected length of the uplink transmission, for example, based on scheduling information from the cellular base station and / or based on an amount of data and / or control signaling to be included in the uplink transmission and / or any of a variety of other possible considerations.

[0091] At 506, the wireless device may determine whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel. Determining whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation may include determining whether the cellular base station is using a channel occupation time (COT) portion of its own FFP or whether it is sharing a COT portion of another wireless device's FFP (e.g., initiated by the wireless device).

[0092] This determination of whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel may be performed in any of a variety of ways. As one possibility, the wireless device may determine that the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel based at least in part on whether the wireless device detects a downlink transmission from the cellular base station on the unlicensed channel. For example, there may be situations where the cellular base station is configured to transmit broadcast or multicast signals and channels only during COTs that it has initiated in conjunction with its own FFP, rather than during shared COTs initiated by the wireless device, such that any broadcast or multicast signals and / or channels received by the wireless device on the unlicensed channel may be used as an indicator that the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel. Note that in such situations, the cellular base station may sometimes transmit unicast signals and / or channels during COTs that it has not initiated; for example, the cellular base station may transmit such unicast signals and / or channels to a wireless device that is sharing a COT with the cellular base station that was initiated by the wireless device during the wireless device's FFP. If the cellular base station has a broadcast or multicast signal and / or channel scheduled during such a COT shared by the wireless device, the cellular base station may drop or punch through the broadcast or multicast signal and / or channel. Alternatively, if the cellular base station has a broadcast or multicast signal and / or channel scheduled during such a COT shared by the wireless device, the cellular base station may choose to initiate its own COT based on its own FFP to be able to transmit the broadcast or multicast signal and / or channel, for example, instead of the shared wireless device's COT.

[0093] As another possibility for determining whether a cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel, the cellular base station may provide explicit and / or implicit signaling of whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel. For example, the cellular base station may provide an indication of whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel in downlink control information (DCI) provided by the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel. As one such possibility, the DCI may be transmitted at the beginning of the FFP of the cellular base station (or at another known / fixed time / location), and the DCI may include a field configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel. The wireless device may receive the DCI accordingly and determine from the appropriate field whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel.

[0094] As another example, the cellular base station may use a reference signal configuration provided by the cellular base station on the unlicensed channel to provide an indication of whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel. As one such possibility, a reference signal may be transmitted at the beginning of the FFP of the cellular base station (or at another known / fixed time / location), the reference signal being configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel. The wireless device may accordingly receive the reference signal and determine whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel according to the configuration.

[0095] In 508, the wireless device may determine whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, for example, to perform an uplink transmission. The wireless device may determine whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on whether the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel. For example, as one possibility, if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, the wireless device may determine to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, and if the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, the wireless device may determine not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel. In this case, if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, the wireless device may perform the uplink transmission using the channel occupation initiated by the wireless device, and if the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, the wireless device may perform the uplink transmission using the channel occupation shared by the cellular base station.

[0096] In some instances, the wireless device's determination of whether to initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel may additionally or alternatively be based at least in part on one or more other considerations. For example, in some instances, the determination may be based at least in part on the length of the uplink transmission, such as depending on how the length of the uplink transmission compares to the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station, and / or how the length of the uplink transmission compares to the remaining length of the current fixed frame period of the cellular base station.

[0097] For example, as one such possibility, if the length of the uplink transmission is greater than the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station (or if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel), the wireless device may determine to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel. In this case, in contrast, if the length of the uplink transmission is less than the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station, the wireless device may determine not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel. For example, if the length of the uplink transmission is less than the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station, there may be a situation where the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station provides sufficient time to complete the uplink transmission, while if the length of the uplink transmission is greater than the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station, there may be a situation where the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station provides insufficient time to complete the uplink transmission, and the wireless device may be able to obtain more channel access time to complete the uplink transmission by initiating its own channel occupation.

[0098] According to another alternative, the wireless device may determine to initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed channel if the length of the uplink transmission is greater than the remaining length of the current fixed frame period of the cellular base station (or if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel). In this case, by contrast, the wireless device may determine not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel if the length of the uplink transmission is less than the remaining length of the current fixed frame period of the cellular base station. This approach may avoid or at least reduce the likelihood of a situation where the wireless device and the cellular base station occupy a channel together such that the opportunity for other devices to utilize the channel is minimized, at least according to some embodiments.

[0099] As yet another possibility, the wireless device may autonomously determine whether to initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel, including when a cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel. In some such instances, the determination by the wireless device whether to initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel may be based at least in part on whether a CCA is required if it shares channel occupation initiated by a cellular base station. For example, if a CCA is not required when sharing channel occupation initiated by a cellular base station (e.g., as indicated by the cellular base station because the gap between downlink transmissions and uplink transmissions is sufficiently small), it may be considered advantageous for the wireless device to share channel occupation initiated by a cellular base station rather than initiating its own channel occupation.

[0100] As another possibility, a determination by the wireless device as to whether to initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed channel may be based at least in part on the delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission. For example, the wireless device may distinguish between certain uplink transmissions that are considered relatively delay sensitive (e.g., Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) transmissions, as one possibility) and uplink transmissions that are considered less delay sensitive (e.g., best effort transmissions, as one possibility). According to at least some embodiments, the wireless device may be more likely to determine to initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed channel rather than share channel occupation initiated by a cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission for transmissions that are more delay sensitive than for transmissions that are less delay sensitive. For example, the wireless device may utilize a different energy detection threshold (e.g., an energy detection threshold calculated based on the maximum transmission power of the wireless device) when initiating channel occupation of an unlicensed channel than the energy detection threshold utilized when sharing channel occupation initiated by a cellular base station (e.g., an energy detection threshold configured by a cellular base station, which may be based on the maximum transmission power of the cellular base station, which may be greater than the maximum transmission power of the wireless device) than when sharing channel occupation initiated by a cellular base station. This may increase the likelihood of a clear channel assessment being successful when initiating channel occupation on an unlicensed frequency channel, compared to when sharing channel occupation initiated by a cellular base station, which may in turn increase the likelihood that uplink transmissions may be performed with lower latency.

[0101] It is further noted that when attempting to initiate channel occupation on an unlicensed frequency channel, there may be situations where the wireless device may select an energy detection threshold used by the wireless device to perform a clear channel assessment from a plurality of possible energy detection thresholds. For example, the wireless device may be able to select from an energy detection threshold calculated based on the maximum transmit power of the wireless device and an energy detection threshold configured by the cellular base station. Thus, in some instances (e.g., for relatively delay-sensitive uplink transmissions, as described above), the wireless device may select an energy detection threshold calculated based on the maximum transmit power of the wireless device, even though it may be the case that the cellular base station will not be able to use a channel occupation initiated in this manner, or in some instances (e.g., for less delay-sensitive uplink transmissions), the wireless device may select an energy detection threshold configured by the cellular base station, which may reduce the likelihood that a clear channel assessment will succeed, but may result in the cellular base station being able to use the channel occupation if the clear channel assessment succeeds.

[0102] In at least some instances, if the wireless device determines to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel while the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, the wireless device may perform an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel in a manner such that, in some cases (e.g., when the uplink transmission overlaps with an idle period of the FFP of the cellular base station), the uplink transmission extends at least into an idle channel assessment period of the next fixed frame period of the cellular base station. The wireless device may operate at least in part based on initiating channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel while the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel (e.g., to ensure that the cellular base station does not initiate channel occupation again in the next fixed frame period of the cellular base station), which may result in the cellular base station and the wireless device potentially using the channel nearly continuously during multiple FFPs of the cellular base station and the wireless device.

[0103] Once the wireless device has determined whether to initiate channel occupancy to perform an uplink transmission (e.g., or share channel occupancy initiated by a cellular base station), the wireless device may perform a clear channel assessment if necessary (e.g., using an appropriate ED threshold) and (e.g., if the clear channel assessment is successful or no clear channel assessment is required) may perform an uplink transmission on an unlicensed channel.

[0104] therefore, Figure 5 The method can be used to provide a framework for wireless devices to determine whether and when to initiate channel occupancy in an unlicensed spectrum in a wireless communication system. According to at least some embodiments, such a framework is particularly useful for cellular communications performed between cellular base stations and wireless devices on unlicensed frequency channels in a relatively coordinated manner.

[0105] Figures 6 to 11 and additional information

[0106] Figures 6 to 11 Shown can be combined if necessary Figure 5 However, it should be noted that Figures 6 to 11 The exemplary details shown in and described with respect to these figures are not intended to limit the disclosure as a whole: many variations and alternatives to the details provided below are possible and are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure.

[0107] Access and use of unlicensed spectrum for wireless communications may be subject to certain regulatory requirements. For example, ETSI EN 301 893 (5 GHz RLAN; harmonized standard covering the essential requirements of clause 3.2 of Directive 2014 / 53 / EU) may provide regulatory requirements for channel access of unlicensed spectrum for load-based equipment (LBE) and frame-based equipment (FBE).

[0108] For FBE, there may be situations where each device has a fixed frame period (FFP). In order to access an unlicensed channel, the device may be expected to perform a clear channel assessment (e.g., for a specified amount of time, such as one time slot or 9μs) before starting each FFP to determine whether the channel is available for the device to transmit in that FFP. If this listen-before-talk process is successful (e.g., if the medium is determined to be available), the device may be able to transmit during a specific portion of the FFP, which may be referred to as the channel occupation time or COT. Additionally, there may be situations where an idle portion of each FFP is specified in which the device does not transmit (e.g., even if the CCA is successful and the device transmits during the COT), which may have a specific minimum duration, such as a maximum value (5% of the FFP, 100μs). Figure 6 Exemplary aspects of such a possible FBE framework for performing wireless communications over an unlicensed spectrum are shown.

[0109] In 3GPP Release 16 NR-U, techniques are provided for gNB to initiate COT according to such FBE framework, but techniques for UE-initiated COT for FBE have not been specified. Therefore, providing techniques capable of supporting UE-initiated COT for FBE may be beneficial, among various possible benefits, such as to extend the availability of unlicensed spectrum for NR cellular communications.

[0110] To provide such support, one consideration may include determining when a UE should (e.g., be allowed to) initiate its own COT. As part of such considerations, at least according to some embodiments, it may be worthwhile to specify behaviors that can avoid excessive resource usage by a group of cooperating devices (such as a gNB and UEs scheduled by the gNB). For example, Figure 7 An exemplary aspect of a case where the gNB may carefully schedule UE transmissions to leave significantly less idle periods than configured or specified for a single FFP device is shown. In this case, as shown, the gNB may schedule the UE so as to leave a 9 μs channel sensing period after the gNB's COT and before the start of the UE FFP, and similarly leave a 9 μs channel sensing period after the UE COT and before the start of the next gNB FFP. Thus, this scheme may potentially limit the opportunity for other devices to gain channel access.

[0111] Figures 8 to 10 Exemplary aspects of various other possible scenarios that may or may not be supported according to various possible frameworks for the UE to determine whether to initiate its own COT are shown. Specifically, Figure 8 shows aspects of the case where the UE shares the COT of the gNB, Fig. 9 shows aspects of the case where the UE initiates its own COT outside of the gNB’s COT, and Fig.10 Aspects of the case where the UE initiates its own COT during the gNB's COT are shown.

[0112] According to some embodiments, there may be situations where the UE may be configured to initiate its own COT when it has transmissions to perform outside of the gNB initiated COT, such as in Fig. 9 . In this case, the UE may be configured with an energy detection (ED) threshold for CCA that may be based on the gNB maximum transmit power, e.g., so that the UE may be able to share the COT with the gNB. As another possibility, the UE may be able to calculate the ED threshold for CCA based on its own maximum transmit power. In this case, the UE may not be able to share the COT with the gNB (e.g., because if the gNB has a higher maximum transmit power than the UE's maximum transmit power, the ED threshold used for CCA may not meet regulatory requirements for gNB transmissions, which may be common). In some instances, the UE may autonomously choose whether to use the ED threshold configured by the gNB (e.g., so as to potentially be able to share the COT with the gNB) or to use its own ED threshold (e.g., which may provide a greater chance of accessing the channel, but may prevent sharing the COT with the gNB).

[0113] If the UE has a transmission to perform within the gNB initiated COT, there may be several possible options for how the UE may determine whether to initiate its own COT. As one possibility, there may be a situation where if the start of a UE transmission falls within the gNB initiated COT, the UE always determines not to initiate its own COT, but instead always shares the gNB's COT. This framework may prevent Figure 7 This framework can also support Figures 8 to 9 But it may not support Fig.10 For example, if a UE transmission falls within a gNB-initiated COT, there may be situations where the transmission cannot overlap with an idle period of the gNB-FFP (or cross the boundary of the gNB-FFP), for example because the UE may be required to share the gNB's FFP according to such a framework. In addition, there may be situations where if the start of a UE transmission falls within a gNB-initiated COT, the UE may be subject to the use of the gNB's ED threshold, which may result in a lower probability of sensing the channel idle than if the ED threshold was determined for the UE itself.

[0114] As another possibility, there may be a situation where the UE is required or otherwise configured to determine not to initiate its own COT if the UE transmission falls entirely within the gNB-initiated COT, but may determine to initiate its own COT if the start of the UE transmission falls within the gNB-initiated COT and the transmission overlaps an idle period of the gNB-FFP. In some instances, according to such a framework, the gNB may configure whether and / or how the UE is allowed to initiate its own COT if the transmission overlaps an idle period of the gNB-FFP. Such a framework may not prevent, at least according to some embodiments, Figure 7 The probability that a channel usage pattern may occur. Figures 8 to 10 The case of may also be supported by such a framework. Such a framework may limit the UE to using the gNB's ED threshold if the UE transmission falls entirely within the gNB-initiated COT plus the idle period. As a variation of this framework, it may be the case that if the UE transmission falls entirely within the gNB-initiated COT plus the idle period, the UE is required or otherwise configured to determine not to initiate its own COT, but if the start of the UE transmission falls within the gNB-initiated COT and the transmission crosses the boundary of the gNB-FFP, the UE may determine to initiate its own COT. This variation may prevent, at least according to some embodiments, Figure 7 Channel usage patterns and Fig.10 The possibility that UE1 1002 transmission may occur while allowing Fig.10 transmission of UE21004.

[0115] As yet another possibility, if the start of a UE transmission falls within a COT initiated by a gNB, there may be a situation where the UE can autonomously choose whether to share the gNB’s COT or initiate its own COT. This framework may support Figures 7 to 10of all situations, and may allow the UE to flexibly select between sharing the gNB's COT (e.g., using the gNB's ED threshold) or initiating its own COT (e.g., using its own potentially higher ED threshold calculated based on its own maximum transmit power) for any of a number of possible reasons. For example, in some instances, the UE may determine whether to share the gNB's COT or initiate its own COT (and / or use the gNB's ED threshold or the UE's ED threshold) based on whether CCA is required in the case where it shares the gNB's COT and / or the latency requirements for the transmission. Thus, in the case where CCA is not required when sharing the gNB's COT, the UE may determine to share the gNB's COT. Otherwise (or alternatively), for URLLC transmissions or other transmissions with relatively stringent latency requirements, the UE may determine to initiate its own COT with its own ED threshold, for example to increase the likelihood that the transmission can be performed more quickly, while for transmissions with less stringent latency requirements, the UE may determine to share the gNB's COT and / or use the gNB's ED threshold, at least as a possibility. As a variation of this framework, it may be the case that if a UE transmission starts within a gNB-initiated COT, and if the transmission overlaps an idle period of the gNB-FFP, the UE is required or otherwise configured to determine that it initiates its own COT and, for that transmission, overlaps at least with the sensing timeslot for the next FFP of the gNB. Thus, at least according to some embodiments, this variation may prevent the idle period of the gNB-FFP from being used by the gNB / UE, or may prevent the gNB from acquiring the next FFP, thereby preventing Figure 7 This reduces the likelihood that different channel usage patterns may occur, while providing more opportunities for other devices sharing the spectrum to access the channel.

[0116] Please note that although Figures 7 to 10 In the exemplary case of FIG. 1 , the periodicity of the gNB and UE's FFP is the same, but it is also possible that the periodicity of the gNB and UE's FFP does not match. For example, the UE's FFP may be configured based on the periodicity of the configured granted PUSCH configuration, which may be determined by traffic characteristics, which may or may not be aligned in a consistent manner with the periodicity of the gNB's FFP. In this case, it may not always be possible to avoid overlap between UE transmissions and idle periods of the gNB-FFP, in which case, at least according to some embodiments, support similar to Fig.10 The transmission mode possibilities shown in may be particularly beneficial.

[0117] It should also be noted that, at least according to some embodiments, there may be situations where, when a gNB or UE initiates COT, the COT may extend for the entire FFP of the gNB or UE, excluding idle periods. In some instances, there may be situations where a UE is required or otherwise configured to attempt to initiate COT only when its transmission begins at the boundary of the UE's FFP (e.g., according to the FBE framework).

[0118] Because in at least some instances, the UE's determination whether to initiate its own COT may depend at least in part on whether the gNB's COT has occurred, another consideration for providing support for UE-initiated COT in an FBE framework for cellular communications in unlicensed spectrum may include how the UE may determine when the gNB's COT is occurring.

[0119] As one such possibility, if a UE detects any downlink transmission from a gNB during a given FFP of the gNB, the UE may determine that it is within the gNB's COT for the unlicensed channel for that FFP. Such downlink transmissions may include any unicast or broadcast transmissions, such as broadcast / unicast / group common physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions, broadcast / unicast physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions, channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmissions, synchronization signal block (SSB) transmissions, etc. Such techniques may be effective in communication frameworks where gNB-initiated COT is possible and UE-initiated COT is not possible or where the gNB cannot share the UE-initiated COT, and therefore may be used by at least some 3GPP Release 16 FBE UEs, at least according to some embodiments. However, if the gNB can share the UE-initiated COT, such techniques may not be effective in distinguishing between gNB transmissions using the gNB-initiated COT and gNB transmissions using the UE-initiated COT shared by another UE with the gNB. Therefore, a UE using such a technique may cause the UE to determine that a gNB-initiated COT is occurring when the gNB is actually using a COT initiated by another UE, and the UE proceeds to use a COT initiated by another UE, which may not be permitted by regulation. Fig.11 Exemplary aspects of this possibility are shown.

[0120] Thus, another possible option for a UE to determine whether it is within the COT of a gNB may include the use of downlink control information (e.g., 3GPP DCI format 2_0) by the gNB to indicate whether the downlink transmission is part of a gNB-initiated COT. Such downlink control information may be provided at the beginning of the gNB's FFP and / or in one or more other time slots. The downlink control information may provide such information using one bit, such as one value (e.g., "1") indicating that the gNB has initiated a COT for a component carrier (CC) and another value (e.g., "0") indicating that the gNB has not yet initiated a COT for the CC (e.g., the indication may be transmitted on a different CC, or the gNB may be using a UE-initiated COT). This technique may prevent a correspondingly configured UE (e.g., potentially including a 3GPP Release 17 UE) from occurring. Fig.11 situation, but may not prevent legacy UEs (e.g., potentially including 3GPP Release 16 UEs) that are configured to determine that COT of the gNB is occurring if the UE detects any downlink transmission from the gNB.

[0121] As another possibility, a reference signal configuration (CSI-RS / Tracking Reference Signal (TRS)) that is always present in the first time slot of the COT (or other predefined location) can be used to indicate whether a downlink transmission is part of a gNB-initiated COT. This approach can also allow the UE to use the configured reference signal to perform time / frequency tracking and / or other measurements at the beginning of the gNB COT, at least according to some embodiments. This technique can also prevent correspondingly configured UEs (e.g., potentially including 3GPP Release 17 UEs) from Fig.11 , but may not prevent legacy UEs (e.g., potentially including 3GPP Release 16 UEs) that are configured to determine that COT of the gNB is occurring if the UE detects any downlink transmission from the gNB. In some instances, if this approach is used, it may be beneficial for the gNB to avoid configuring reference signals in PDCCH resources allocated to such legacy UEs, for example because there may be situations where the legacy UE will not rate match around those resource elements. PDSCH rate matching may be addressed by configuring an appropriate rate matching mode for the legacy UEs.

[0122] As another possibility, the gNB may be required or otherwise configured to transmit unicast transmissions only to UEs whose shared COT the gNB is using. Unicast transmissions may include unicast PDSCH, unicast PDCCH carrying DL / UL grants, aperiodic CSI-RS, etc. If a gNB transmission overlaps with a broadcast / multicast signal / channel (e.g., SSB, broadcast PDCCH / PDSCH, periodic CSI-RS shared with multiple UEs, etc.), the gNB may silently drop the broadcast / multicast signal / channel (e.g., in the case of PDCCH / PDSCH, as one possibility), puncture the broadcast / multicast signal / channel (e.g., in the case of SSB and CSI-RS, as one possibility), or may initiate its own COT for transmission instead of using the UE-initiated COT (e.g., in the case of a broadcast / multicast transmission aligned with an FFP boundary). This approach may reduce UE opportunities for performing intra-cell / inter-cell measurements and / or beam measurements, but may prevent the occurrence of Fig.11 This is the case for both newer UEs and legacy UEs.

[0123] As yet another possibility, it may be left to the implementation of the gNB to ensure that other UEs will not detect any downlink transmissions in a UE-shared COT. For example, the gNB may transmit a dummy DCI at the start of the COT, or may choose not to transmit any broadcast / multicast signals in a UE-initiated COT (e.g., by dropping or puncturing the broadcast / multicast signals or initiating its own COT instead). As another example, for a CSI-RS-based approach to indicating whether a downlink transmission is part of a gNB-initiated COT, the gNB may provide different configurations for legacy (e.g., Release 16) and newer (e.g., Release 17) UEs so that there will be no sharing across different groups of UEs.

[0124] In the following, further exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0125] One set of embodiments may include a baseband processor configured to perform operations including: establishing a wireless link with a cellular base station; determining to perform an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on an unlicensed frequency channel; determining whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and determining whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

[0126] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including: determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel; and determining not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel if the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel.

[0127] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including determining a length of the uplink transmission, wherein whether to initiate channel occupancy of the unlicensed frequency channel is further determined based at least in part on the length of the uplink transmission.

[0128] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including: determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel if the length of the uplink transmission is greater than the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station, or if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel; and determining not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel if the length of the uplink transmission is less than the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station.

[0129] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including: determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel if the length of the uplink transmission is greater than the remaining length of the current fixed frame period of the cellular base station, or if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel; and determining not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel if the length of the uplink transmission is less than the remaining length of the current fixed frame period of the cellular base station.

[0130] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including: determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel while the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and performing an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein the uplink transmission is at least partially based on the channel occupation being initiated while the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel and extending to at least a clear channel assessment period of a next fixed frame period of the cellular base station.

[0131] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including: determining that the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and autonomously determining whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel or to share the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station.

[0132] According to some embodiments, autonomously determining whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel or to share the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station also includes: determining that the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station can be used to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station while performing a clear channel assessment; and determining to share the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station based at least in part on determining that the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station can be used to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station without performing a clear channel assessment.

[0133] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including: determining delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission, wherein whether to initiate channel occupancy of the unlicensed frequency channel or to share the channel occupancy initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station is determined at least in part based on the delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission.

[0134] According to some embodiments, the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations including: determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and determining an energy detection threshold to be used to perform clear channel assessment of the unlicensed frequency channel.

[0135] Another set of embodiments may include a wireless device comprising: an antenna; a radio component that is operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor that is operably coupled to the radio component; wherein the wireless device is configured to: establish a wireless link with a cellular base station; determine to perform an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on an unlicensed channel; determine whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel; and determine whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel.

[0136] According to some embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to determine whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupancy of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on whether the wireless device detects a downlink transmission from the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel.

[0137] According to some embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to: determine whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on one or more of the following: a field of downlink control information transmitted from the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein the field of the downlink control information is configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; or a reference signal configuration of a reference signal received from the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein the reference signal configuration is configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

[0138] According to some embodiments, whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel is based at least in part on one or more of: whether the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; whether the uplink transmission to the cellular base station can be performed using the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station without performing a clear channel assessment; the length of the uplink transmission; or the delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission.

[0139] According to some embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to select an energy detection threshold to be used for performing a clear channel assessment of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on a delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission, wherein the energy detection threshold is selected from at least a first energy detection threshold configured by the cellular base station and a second energy detection threshold calculated at least in part based on a maximum transmission power of the wireless device.

[0140] Yet another set of embodiments may include a cellular base station comprising: an antenna; a radio component operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor operably coupled to the radio component; wherein the cellular base station is configured to: establish a wireless link with a wireless device; initiate channel occupation of an unlicensed frequency channel; and provide an indication that the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

[0141] According to some embodiments, the indication is provided by the cellular base station using a field of downlink control information provided by the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel, the field of the downlink control information being configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

[0142] According to some embodiments, the indication is provided using a reference signal configuration configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

[0143] According to some embodiments, the cellular base station is further configured to: perform downlink transmissions to the wireless device using channel occupancy of the unlicensed frequency channel initiated by the wireless device; and discard or puncture any broadcast or multicast signal or channel for the downlink transmission performed using the channel occupancy of the unlicensed frequency channel initiated by the wireless device.

[0144] According to some embodiments, the cellular base station is further configured to: determine that the wireless device has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel; and determine that the cellular base station has one or more broadcast or multicast signals or channels to transmit; wherein the channel occupation of the unlicensed channel by the cellular base station is initiated at least in part based on the cellular base station having one or more broadcast or multicast signals or channels to transmit while the wireless device has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed channel.

[0145] Yet another exemplary embodiment may include a method comprising: performing, by a device, any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0146] Another example embodiment may include a device comprising: an antenna; a radio coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operably coupled to the radio, wherein the device is configured to implement any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0147] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium including program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0148] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0149] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include an apparatus including means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0150] Still another set of exemplary embodiments may include an apparatus comprising a processing element configured to cause the device to perform any or all of the elements described in any of the preceding examples.

[0151] Another set of exemplary embodiments may include a baseband processor configured to perform operations including any or all elements of any of the foregoing examples.

[0152] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0153] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X transmitted by the base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y transmitted by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any of the methods for operating a UE described herein may become the basis for the corresponding method for operating a base station.

[0154] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the subject matter may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs may be used to implement the subject matter. In other embodiments, one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs may be used to implement the subject matter.

[0155] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory storage element) may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0156] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium (or a memory element), wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations described herein or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0157] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A baseband processor, the baseband processor being configured to perform operations including: Establishing a wireless link with a cellular base station; determining to perform an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on an unlicensed frequency channel; determining whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; determining whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on whether the cellular base station has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; When the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; as well as performing said uplink transmission to said cellular base station on said unlicensed frequency channel, The uplink transmission extends at least into a clear channel assessment period of a next fixed frame period of the cellular base station based at least in part on initiating the channel occupation while the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

2. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: If the cellular base station has not initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, it is determined to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

3. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: determining a length of the uplink transmission, Wherein whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel is further determined based at least in part on the length of the uplink transmission.

4. The baseband processor of claim 3, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: If the length of the uplink transmission is greater than a remaining length of channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station, or if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and If the length of the uplink transmission is less than the remaining length of the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station, it is determined not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

5. The baseband processor of claim 3, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: If the length of the uplink transmission is greater than a remaining length of a current fixed frame period of the cellular base station, or if the cellular base station has not yet initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and If the length of the uplink transmission is less than the remaining length of the current fixed frame period by the cellular base station, it is determined not to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

6. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: determining that the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and Autonomously determine whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel or to share the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station.

7. The baseband processor of claim 6, wherein autonomously determining whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel or to share the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station further comprises: determining that the uplink transmission to the cellular base station can be performed using the channel occupancy initiated by the cellular base station without performing a clear channel assessment; as well as Determining to share the channel occupancy initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station is based at least in part on determining that the channel occupancy initiated by the cellular base station can be used to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station without performing a clear channel assessment.

8. The baseband processor of claim 6, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: determining a delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission, Whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel or to share the channel occupation initiated by the cellular base station to perform the uplink transmission to the cellular base station is determined at least in part based on the delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission.

9. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the baseband processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: Determining to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed channel; and An energy detection threshold to be used to perform clear channel assessment of the unlicensed frequency channel is determined.

10. A wireless device, comprising: antenna; a radio operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio; The wireless device is configured to: Establishing a wireless link with a cellular base station; determining to perform an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on an unlicensed frequency channel; determining whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; as well as Determining whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel is based at least in part on one or both of the following: whether the uplink transmission to the cellular base station can be performed using channel occupancy initiated by the cellular base station without performing a clear channel assessment; or The delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission.

11. The wireless device of claim 10, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: A determination is made as to whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on whether the wireless device detects a downlink transmission from the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel.

12. The wireless device of claim 10, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: Determining whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on one or more of: a field of downlink control information of a downlink transmission from the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein the field of the downlink control information is configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; or A reference signal configuration of a reference signal received from the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein the reference signal configuration is configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

13. The wireless device of claim 10, wherein whether to initiate channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel is further based at least in part on one or more of the following: Whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; or The length of the uplink transmission.

14. The wireless device of claim 10, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: selecting an energy detection threshold to be used for performing clear channel assessment of the unlicensed frequency channel based at least in part on a delay sensitivity of the uplink transmission, The energy detection threshold is selected from at least a first energy detection threshold configured by the cellular base station and a second energy detection threshold calculated at least in part based on a maximum transmission power of the wireless device.

15. A cellular base station, comprising: antenna; a radio operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio; The cellular base station is configured as follows: establishing a wireless link with a wireless device; Initiating channel seizure of an unlicensed channel; and providing an indication that the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation on the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein when the indication indicates that the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation on the unlicensed frequency channel, determining by the wireless device to initiate channel occupation on the unlicensed frequency channel and performing by the wireless device an uplink transmission to the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel, wherein the uplink transmission extends at least into a clear channel assessment period of a next fixed frame period of the cellular base station based at least in part on the wireless device initiating the channel occupation while the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation on the unlicensed frequency channel.

16. The cellular base station according to claim 15, The indication is provided in downlink control information provided by the cellular base station on the unlicensed frequency channel using a field of the downlink control information, the field of the downlink control information being configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

17. The cellular base station according to claim 15, The indication is provided using a reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration is configured to indicate whether the cellular base station has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

18. The cellular base station according to claim 15, wherein the cellular base station is further configured to: performing a downlink transmission to the wireless device using channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel initiated by the wireless device; and For the downlink transmissions performed using the channel occupancy of the unlicensed frequency channel initiated by the wireless device, any broadcast or multicast signals or channels are dropped or punctured.

19. The cellular base station according to claim 15, wherein the cellular base station is further configured to: determining that the wireless device has initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel; and determining that the cellular base station has one or more broadcast or multicast signals or channels to transmit; Wherein the channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel by the cellular base station is initiated at least in part based on the cellular base station having one or more broadcast or multicast signals or channels to transmit while the wireless device has already initiated channel occupation of the unlicensed frequency channel.

Images