Method of CCA for frequencies between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for using clear channel assessment (CCA) on a transmission channel prior to transmission on the channel. A wireless transmission system can perform an omnidirectional CCA using a CCA power threshold calculated based on a number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) transmitted by the wireless transmission system using a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst or synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window or based on a number of transmit (Tx) antennas used. The wireless transmission system can perform a directional CCA on one or more receive (Rx) beams corresponding to one or more intended Tx beams to determine directional availability of the channel using a CCA power threshold calculated based on an equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the one or more intended Tx beams. The wireless transmission system can determine a CCA power threshold based on a scaling between an actual CCA bandwidth and a nominal CCA bandwidth.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates in general to wireless communication systems, including the use of the free channel assessment (CCA) method with such wireless communication systems. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G) or New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, commonly referred to by the industry organization as WiMAX; and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), commonly referred to by the industry organization as Wi-Fi. In the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) of an LTE system, a base station may include RAN nodes such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as Evolved Node B, Enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with wireless communication equipment called User Equipment (UE). In the fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, RAN nodes may include 5G nodes and NR nodes (also known as next-generation node B or g NodeB (gNB)).

[0003] The RAN uses Radio Access Technology (RAT) to communicate between RAN nodes and UEs. The RAN can include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rate GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and / or E-UTRAN, which provides access to communication services through the core network. Each RAN operates according to a specific 3GPP RAT. For example, GERAN implements the GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements the Universal System for Mobile Communications (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RATs, E-UTRAN implements the LTE RAT, and NG-RAN implements the 5G RAT. In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement the 5G RAT.

[0004] 5G NR frequency bands can be divided into two distinct frequency ranges. Frequency range 1 (FR1) may include bands operating below 6 GHz, some of which are available for previous standards and can potentially be extended to cover new spectrum offerings from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. Frequency range 2 (FR2) may include bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 may have a smaller range than those in FR1 but potentially higher available bandwidth. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these frequency ranges, presented by way of example, may vary over time or in different regions. Attached Figure Description

[0005] To facilitate identification of any particular element or action being discussed, one or more of the most significant digits in the reference numerals refer to the drawing number in which the element was first introduced.

[0006] Figure 1 The operation of the free channel assessment (CCA) of the channel access mechanism according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0007] Figure 2 A base station capable of performing omnidirectional CCA according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0008] Figure 3 A method for a base station according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0009] Figure 4 A method for a base station according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0010] Figure 5 A UE capable of performing omnidirectional CCA is shown according to the implementation scheme.

[0011] Figure 6 A method for a UE according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0012] Figure 7 A base station capable of performing directional CCA according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0013] Figure 8 A method for a base station according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0014] Figure 9 A base station capable of performing directional CCA in multiple directions is shown according to an implementation scheme.

[0015] Figure 10A and Figure 10B Together, a method for a base station according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0016] Figure 11 A UE that can perform directed CCA according to the implementation scheme is shown.

[0017] Figure 12 A method for a UE according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0018] Figure 13 A method for a wireless transmission system according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0019] Figure 14 A UE according to one implementation is shown.

[0020] Figure 15 A network node according to one implementation scheme is shown.

[0021] Figure 16 An exemplary service-based architecture according to certain implementation schemes is shown.

[0022] Figure 17 The components according to one implementation are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0023] Frequency outside the traditional new NR frequencies (e.g., outside FR1 and FR2) may be of interest to implementers of NR devices. For example, frequencies between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz may be of particular interest due to the proximity of frequencies to 52.6 GHz (the upper limit of FR2) and / or the unlicensed nature of at least some of that spectrum (e.g., between 57 GHz and 71 GHz). These (or other) frequencies can be used to establish / carry one or more channels, depending on the transmission capacity of the wireless transmission system (e.g., bandwidth that can be used for signaling notifications between devices).

[0024] Therefore, a channel access mechanism can be defined for accessing / establishing channels in this (or another) frequency range outside of FR1 and FR2, allowing NR equipment implementers to configure their NR equipment to use channels in that (or another) frequency range. For example, the channel access mechanism can be used to control access to channels, for example, in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz range (or another range). This channel access mechanism can be configured to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to any unlicensed spectrum within that frequency range.

[0025] Furthermore, it is anticipated that in NR systems, transmission may utilize multiple transmit (Tx) antennas in many cases. Such multi-antenna use can impose alterations on signal power (e.g., signal gain may exist compared to the nominal transmit power used at the wireless transmission system) and / or on the spatial characteristics of the signal (e.g., beamforming direction may be imposed on the transmission within the channel due to the use of multiple antennas). Therefore, embodiments of this paper discuss systems and methods for channel access mechanisms that take into account these altered characteristics in order to utilize the channel more efficiently. In other words, channel access mechanisms in the context of multiple Tx antennas can be improved by considering systems and methods for the use of multiple Tx antennas.

[0026] Figure 1 The operation of a free channel assessment (CCA) 100 for a channel access mechanism according to some embodiments is illustrated. The channel access mechanism can be, for example, a listen-before-tell (LBT) mechanism used by a wireless transmission system that wants to acquire a channel (e.g., to transmit on the channel and / or to instruct / allow other devices to transmit on the channel). The channel access mechanism can use CCA 100 on the channel to determine whether to allow the wireless transmission system to access the channel. As used herein, “wireless transmission system” means any device or system capable of transmitting on a channel and can include any device that can use a channel access mechanism having CCA as a prerequisite for such transmission. Examples of such “wireless transmission systems” include base stations, UEs, etc.

[0027] A wireless transmission system performing CCA senses the channel to determine if it is occupied. First, the device performing CCA senses the energy level in the channel and compares it to a CCA power threshold. If the energy level in the channel is higher than the CCA power threshold, the channel is considered occupied. If the energy level in the channel is lower than the CCA power threshold, CCA continues sensing the channel for multiple time slots. For example, CCA may first sense the channel for an initial duration, which may be 8 μs. If the energy level in the channel remains below this initial duration, the CCA process may continue to postpone its transmission in the channel for a random number of time slots below the CCA power threshold (which may be time slot durations different from the initial duration, e.g., 5 μs time slot durations). The time period corresponding to the initial duration plus the duration of one or more time slots used after the initial duration is referred to herein as the CCA time. When energy detected during any of these time slots during CCA is higher than the CCA power threshold, CCA does not count that time slot as part of the CCA time, but instead continues sensing the channel and counting any subsequent time slots during CCA that do not have energy higher than the CCA power threshold. Once a random number of additional time slots have been sensed to have energy below the CCA power threshold (e.g., once the channel has been sensed to have energy below the CCA power threshold for a total amount of time equal to the CCA time), the CCA time is considered to have elapsed. It should be noted that in some implementations (e.g., as described below), a single CCA may use multiple CCA times. Once the CCA time corresponding to the CCA (or multiple CCA times in implementations where the CCA uses multiple CCA times) has elapsed, the channel is considered unoccupied. Therefore, the wireless transmission system then acquires the channel for up to a maximum Channel Occupancy Time (COT) (e.g., to transmit on the channel and / or allow other devices to transmit on the channel). In some cases, the maximum COT may be, for example, 5 ms.

[0028] For example, a wireless transmission system implementing a channel access mechanism using CCA 100 can determine that the channel is unoccupied for an initial duration (e.g., 8 μs) by comparing the energy detected in the channel with a CCA power threshold. The device can then begin counting a random number of time slots (N time slots 102) and can transmit after N time slots 102 have elapsed (after time slots 0-104 of the N time slots 102). As shown, CCA 100 postpones its counting of N time slots 102 by extending the duration of the used time slot 106. This is because the energy in the channel is higher than the CCA power threshold during the used time slot 106.

[0029] Devices can use one or more formulas to determine the CCA power thresholds that should be used during CCA. These formulas can be combined and / or use predetermined values. For example, these formulas can use values ​​set by interoperability standards. This helps ensure compatibility / appropriate thresholding within the environment defined by that standard. For example, according to NR, some CCA power threshold formulas used in NR can utilize transmit power limits applicable to one or more wireless transmission systems.

[0030] One or more formulas can be used to consider one or more aspects of a wireless transmission system performing CCA. Such formulas can be adjusted to allow for fair channel sharing between wireless transmission systems with weaker transmission power and those with stronger transmission power. For example, generally speaking, by using this formula, a wireless transmission system with relatively stronger transmission power (e.g., a base station) can calculate a lower CCA power threshold than a wireless transmission system with relatively weaker transmission power (e.g., a UE) using the same formula. Therefore, all other equivalent wireless transmission systems with relatively weaker transmission power have a relatively higher probability of passing CCA, and thus, the channel is not always occupied by wireless transmission systems with greater transmission power (which would otherwise displace wireless transmission systems with lower transmission power over time due to the greater spatial effect of the greater transmission power of the wireless transmission system). A higher CCA power threshold may also be appropriate for wireless transmission systems with weaker transmission power, because these systems spatially do not require as many channels when transmitting as wireless transmission systems with stronger transmission power; therefore, the relatively more frequent transmissions from these systems will not have the same spatial cost as similar transmission rates from more powerful systems.

[0031] For example, the equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of a transmission that a wireless transmission system wishes to perform in a channel can be known or estimated before performing CCA. Formulas can account for EIRP by providing wireless transmission systems using higher EIRPs with lower CCA power thresholds, making them relatively less likely to pass CCA.

[0032] As discussed above, it is anticipated that in many cases within NR systems, wireless transmission systems may utilize multiple Tx antennas to transmit signals. Such multiple Tx antennas can impose changes on the EIRP of the transmitted signal (e.g., signal gain may exist compared to the nominal transmit power used at the wireless transmission system) and / or on the spatial characteristics of the signal (e.g., beamforming direction). Therefore, embodiments of this paper discuss systems and methods (including formulas) for channel access mechanisms that take into account these altered EIRPs and / or altered spatial characteristics, in order to utilize the channel more effectively via CCA mechanisms.

[0033] For the purposes of this disclosure, "omnidirectional CCA" means that the sensing during CCA corresponds to an area sensed by a single antenna of the wireless transmission system, and therefore, this sensed area does not correspond to any form of explicit beamforming. It should be noted that in some cases, the wireless transmission system as a base station can be sector-based. For the purposes of this disclosure, the use of a sensed area corresponding to an area sensed by a single antenna of the base station (sector-associated) is considered "omnidirectional CCA".

[0034] Below are various examples of wireless transmission systems that use the calculated CCA power threshold to perform omnidirectional CCA.

[0035] Figure 2 A base station 202 capable of performing omnidirectional CCA according to an embodiment is shown. Omnidirectional CCA can be performed over an omnidirectional sensing area 204. Base station 202 is an example of a wireless transmission system performing omnidirectional CCA.

[0036] In corresponding Figure 2 In one implementation, the maximum EIRP of base station 202 can be calculated based on the number of SSBs transmitted by base station 202 per synchronization signal block (SSB) burst or per synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window. This EIRP can be calculated using the following formula:

[0037] PTrans+10*log10(SNum)dBm, where

[0038] PTrans is the transmit power that the base station can use; and

[0039] SNum is the number of SSBs transmitted by the base station per SSB burst or per SMTC window.

[0040] The transmit power available to the base station can be, for example, the nominal transmit power to be used by base station 202 for transmission. Furthermore, the number of SSBs transmitted by the base station per SSB burst or per SMTC window in the above formula takes into account the signal gain associated with the beamforming configuration accompanying a given number of SSBs in the SSB burst or SMTC window. In other words, when performing sensing for omnidirectional CCA, a beamforming configuration corresponding to the number of SSBs is expected to be available for transmission by base station 202 (and the number of SSBs per SSB burst or per SMTC window in the above formula can be designed to appropriately adjust the CCA power threshold in response to this possibility). Therefore, it can be said that the above formula describes a way of understanding the conceptual maximum EIRP of transmission with omnidirectional CCA as a prerequisite.

[0041] Once the maximum EIRP has been calculated, the corresponding CCA power threshold can be calculated. For some systems, this threshold can be calculated using the following formula:

[0042] -47dBm+PMax-EIRP, where

[0043] PMax is the upper limit of the base station's transmit power, and

[0044] EIRP is the EIRP of the base station.

[0045] -47dBm can be used to set an initial level consistent with widely accepted / common power levels for use with the CCA approach in a given context. It is anticipated that other numbers can be used instead of -47dBm in various situations, and these different power levels should be appropriate for different contexts. For example, -47dBm is generally suitable for cellular network environments and particularly suitable for NR network environments (e.g., as specified in ETSI EN 302 567v2.1.1).

[0046] The transmit power limit can be a known global limit that sets an upper limit on the transmit power of one or more wireless transmission systems (e.g., base station 202). For example, typically in cellular network environments, and particularly in NR network environments, this limit can be set to 40 dBm (e.g., as specified in section 4.2.2 of ETSI EN 302 567v2.1.1).

[0047] As an example, in an NR network, it's possible that base station 202 is configured to use 30 dBm transmit power per SSB burst or 16 SSBs per SMTC window, with a transmit power cap of 40 dBm as defined in the standard. The maximum EIRP is then calculated as:

[0048] 30dBm + 10 * log10(16)dBm ≈ 42dBm

[0049] Furthermore, using this maximum EIRP, the CCA power threshold can be calculated as follows:

[0050] -47dBm + 40dBm - 42dBm = -49dBm

[0051] Therefore, in this example, base station 202 will perform omnidirectional CCA of the channel access mechanism, which uses a CCA power threshold of -49dBm to acquire a channel within the COT.

[0052] In corresponding Figure 2 In other implementations, the maximum EIRP of base station 202 that can be used to determine the CCA power threshold can be calculated based on the number of Tx antennas used at base station 202. This EIRP can be calculated using the following formula:

[0053] PTrans+10*log10(ANum)dBm, where

[0054] PTrans is the transmit power that the base station can use; and

[0055] ANum is the number of Tx antennas used in a wireless transmission system.

[0056] The calculated EIRP value, using the transmit power available to the base station and the number of Tx antennas used by the wireless transmission system, takes into account 1) the nominal transmit power used by base station 202 for transmission and 2) the signal gain associated with the use of multiple antennas. Although sensing for omnidirectional CCA is performed omnidirectionally, it is anticipated that an antenna usage configuration corresponding to the number of antennas used by base station 202 can be used for transmissions performed by base station 202 (and the use of the number of Tx antennas used by base station 202 in the above formula can be designed to appropriately adjust the CCA power threshold in response to this possibility). Therefore, it can be said that the above formula describes a way of understanding the conceptual maximum EIRP of transmission with omnidirectional CCA as a prerequisite.

[0057] Once the maximum EIRP has been calculated, the corresponding CCA power threshold can be calculated. For some systems, this threshold can be calculated again using the following formula:

[0058] -47dBm+PMax-EIRP, where

[0059] PMax is the upper limit of the base station's transmit power, and

[0060] EIRP is the EIRP of the base station.

[0061] The discussion of the correlation of the base station's -47dBm and the nature of the transmit power limit is similar to that described above.

[0062] As an example, in an NR network, base station 202 might be configured to use 64 antennas with a transmit power of 30 dBm, while the relevant transmit power cap defined in the standard is 40 dBm. The maximum EIRP would then be calculated as follows:

[0063] 30dBm + 10*log10(64)dBm ≈ 48dBm

[0064] Furthermore, using this maximum EIRP, the CCA power threshold can be calculated as follows:

[0065] -47dBm + 40dBm - 48dBm = -55dBm

[0066] Therefore, in this example, base station 202 will perform omnidirectional CCA of the channel access mechanism, which uses a CCA power threshold of -55dBm to acquire a channel within the COT.

[0067] Compared to the above, targeting Figure 2 The implementation scheme discussed for base station 202 (e.g., using the number of SSBs per SSB burst or per SMTC window, or the number of Tx antennas) is expected to be further determined (adjusted) to account for sector-based base stations. For example, if the base station is sector-based, the CCA power threshold can be lowered by -5dBm. For example, the CCA power threshold calculated as, for example, -55dBm as described above can be further adjusted to -60dBm.

[0068] In any of the above cases, after base station 202 uses omnidirectional CCA to acquire a channel within COT, base station 202 can use COT to perform one or more transmissions with a power that conforms to (e.g., does not exceed) the maximum EIRP used to calculate the CCA power threshold for acquiring a channel within COT.

[0069] These transmissions may include, for example, scheduling messages sent to one or more UEs during COT, which schedule one or more transmissions to one or more UEs on the Physical Downlink Shared Control Channel (PDSCH) during COT. For example, base station 202 may transmit a scheduling message to a first UE 206 during COT, which schedules one or more transmissions to the first UE 206 on the PDSCH during COT. Additionally (or alternatively), base station 202 may send (the same or different) scheduling messages to a second UE 208 during COT, which schedule one or more transmissions to the second UE 208 on the PDSCH during COT.

[0070] Furthermore, these transmissions may include, for example, scheduling messages sent to one or more UEs during COT, which schedule one or more transmissions performed by one or more UEs on the Physical Uplink Shared Control Channel (PUSCH) during COT. For example, base station 202 may transmit a scheduling message to a first UE 206 during COT, which schedules one or more transmissions performed by the first UE 206 on the PUSCH during COT. Additionally (or alternatively), base station 202 may send the same (or different) scheduling message to a second UE 208 during COT, which schedules one or more transmissions performed by the second UE 208 on the PUSCH during COT. In some embodiments, before scheduling one or more transmissions performed by either or both of the first UE 206 and / or the second UE 208, base station 202 may first determine that the sum of the corresponding EIRPs of each of the first UE 206 and the second UE 208 to be transmitted is less than (or less than or equal to) the maximum EIRP of the base station used to determine the CCA power threshold. This check prevents UEs (in total) that are instructed by the base station to transmit during COT from using more power than considered relative to the determined CCA power threshold.

[0071] Figure 3 A method 300 for a base station according to an embodiment is shown. Method 300 includes determining a 302CCA power threshold using the base station's maximum EIRP calculated based on the number of SSBs transmitted by the base station per SSB burst. This is intended to correspond to... Figure 3 In some implementations, the base station's EIRP can be calculated alternatively based on the number of SSBs transmitted by the base station per SMTC window.

[0072] Method 300 also includes performing a 304 omnidirectional CCA in the channel using a CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied.

[0073] Method 300 also includes acquiring channel 306 to COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

[0074] Method 300 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 308 during COT, which schedules transmission to the user equipment (UE) on the physical downlink shared control channel (PDSCH) during COT.

[0075] Method 300 may also optionally include determining 310 that the sum of the corresponding EIRPs of each of one or more UEs is less than the maximum EIRP of the base station.

[0076] Method 300 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 312 during COT, which schedules transmissions from each of one or more UEs on the Physical Uplink Shared Control Channel (PUSCH) during COT.

[0077] Figure 4 A method for a base station 400 according to an embodiment is shown. Method 400 includes determining a 402CCA power threshold using the maximum EIRP of the base station based on the number of Tx antennas used by the base station.

[0078] Method 400 also includes performing a 404 omnidirectional CCA in the channel using a CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied.

[0079] Method 400 also includes acquiring channel 406 to COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

[0080] Method 400 may also optionally include transmitting a 408 scheduling message during COT, which schedules transmissions to the UE on the PDSCH during COT.

[0081] Method 400 may also optionally include determining that the sum of the respective EIRPs of each of one or more UEs in 410 is less than the maximum EIRP.

[0082] Method 400 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 412 during COT, which schedules transmissions from each of one or more UEs during COT.

[0083] Figure 5 A UE 502 capable of performing omnidirectional CCA is illustrated according to an implementation scheme. Omnidirectional CCA can be performed on the omnidirectional sensing area 504. UE 502 is an example of a wireless transmission system performing omnidirectional CCA.

[0084] In corresponding Figure 5 In the implementation scheme, the maximum EIRP of UE 502 that can be used to determine the CCA power threshold can be calculated based on the number of Tx antennas used at UE 502. This EIRP can be calculated using the following formula:

[0085] PTrans+10*log10(ANum)dBm, where

[0086] PTrans is the transmit power that UE 502 can use; and

[0087] ANum is the number of Tx antennas used by UE 502.

[0088] The calculated EIRP value, using the transmit power available to UE 502 and the number of Tx antennas used by UE 502, takes into account 1) the nominal transmit power available for transmission by base station UE 502 and 2) the signal gain associated with multiple antenna usage. While sensing for omnidirectional CCA is performed omnidirectionally, it is anticipated that an antenna usage configuration corresponding to the number of antennas used by UE 502 can be used for transmissions performed by UE 502 (and the use of the number of Tx antennas used by UE 502 in the above formula can be designed to appropriately adjust the CCA power threshold in response to this possibility). Therefore, the above formula can be said to describe a way of understanding the conceptual maximum EIRP of transmission with omnidirectional CCA as a prerequisite.

[0089] Once the maximum EIRP has been calculated, the corresponding CCA power threshold can be calculated. For some systems, this threshold can be calculated again using the following formula:

[0090] -47dBm+PMax-EIRP, where

[0091] PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of UE 502, and

[0092] The EIRP is the EIRP of UE 502.

[0093] The discussion of the correlation of -47dBm and the nature of the transmit power limit for UE 502, for example, is similar to that described above.

[0094] As an example, in an NR network, it's possible that UE 502 is configured to use 16 antennas with a transmit power of 23dBm, while the relevant transmit power cap defined in the standard is 40dBm. The maximum EIRP would then be calculated as follows:

[0095] 23dBm + 10 * log10(16)dBm ≈ 35dBm

[0096] Furthermore, using this maximum EIRP, the CCA power threshold can be calculated as follows:

[0097] -47dBm + 40dBm - 35dBm = -42dBm

[0098] Therefore, in this example, UE 502 will perform omnidirectional CCA of the channel access mechanism, which uses a CCA power threshold of -42dBm to acquire a channel within the COT.

[0099] As can be seen, because UE 502 has a lower transmit power (23dBm) compared to, for example, the example given above regarding base station 202 (both using 30dBm as the available transmit power for base station 202), the CCA power threshold of UE 502 (as a general case) is higher than the CCA power threshold that will be calculated for base station 202, all other things being equal. In other words, a device with higher transmit power will have a lower CCA power threshold, which helps to achieve fair channel sharing for the reasons given above.

[0100] After UE 502 uses omnidirectional CCA to acquire a channel within COT, UE 502 can use COT to perform one or more transmissions that conform to (e.g., not exceeding) the maximum EIRP used to calculate the CCA power threshold for acquiring a channel within COT.

[0101] These transmissions may include, for example, transmitting a maximum EIRP to a base station. Furthermore, in some embodiments, it is possible that the base station can then use COT to transmit an EIRP up to the EIRP received in the communication to one or more devices within its cell area on that channel. For example, UE 502 may transmit a maximum EIRP to base station 506 during COT for calculating a CCA power threshold used to acquire the channel within COT. Base station 506 may then transmit one or more messages to a second UE 508 in cell area 510 of base station 506, provided that base station 506 uses an EIRP less than (or less than or equal to) the transmitted maximum EIRP.

[0102] Figure 6 A method for a UE according to an implementation scheme is shown. Method 600 includes determining a 602CCA power threshold using the UE's maximum EIRP based on the number of Tx antennas used by the UE.

[0103] Method 600 also includes performing a 604 omnidirectional CCA in the channel using a CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied.

[0104] Method 600 also includes acquiring channel 606 to COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

[0105] Method 600 may also optionally include transmitting 608 maximum EIRP to the base station.

[0106] For the purposes of this disclosure, "directional CCA" means CCA performed by multiple antennas of a wireless transmission system based on beamforming used by the system. Below are various examples of wireless transmission systems that perform directional CCA using a calculated CCA power threshold based on EIRP.

[0107] Furthermore, for the purposes of this disclosure, "corresponding beam" means a Tx beam and a receive (Rx) beam that correspond to the same (or at least similar) beams formed at the device. For example, a base station using a first plurality of antennas to form a Tx beam can form a corresponding Rx beam by using those same antennas.

[0108] Below are various examples of wireless transmission systems that perform directional CCA using calculated CCA power thresholds. Unlike omnidirectional CCA, once the wireless transmission system acquires the channel, directional CCA can include the execution of CCA corresponding to the beam that the wireless transmission system will use for transmission. For example, the wireless transmission system can use an Rx beam corresponding to the expected Tx beam to perform CCA in the direction of the expected Tx beam (rather than omnidirectionally). Furthermore, when the channel is finally acquired, the transmissions allowed during the corresponding COT can be limited to transmissions (by or to the wireless transmission system) with a spatial use of the channel similar to the expected Tx beam, as will be described in more detail below. This objective of using directional CCA in a specific spatial direction / area within the channel allows for more efficient channel use than in the omnidirectional case.

[0109] Figure 7 A base station 702 capable of performing directional CCA is shown according to an embodiment. Base station 702 is an example of a wireless transmission system performing directional CCA.

[0110] According to Figure 7 In some implementations, base station 702 performs directional CCA related to transmission to UE 704 on the intended Tx beam 706. To this end, UE 704 may perform CCA on the corresponding Rx beam 708 (so named because it corresponds to the intended Tx beam 706), which informs the energy level in the spatial portion of the channel to be used by the intended Tx beam 706. In this way, UE 704 performs CCA based on the spatial characteristics of the intended Tx beam 706.

[0111] Using directional CCA allows for more efficient channel utilization. For example, although the spatial characteristics of transmission 714 in the channel, for example, between the second base station 702 and the second UE 712, will cause a delay of one or more time slots during the CCA time of omnidirectional CCA at base station 710, transmission 714 may not cause a delay in the time slots during the CCA time of omnidirectional CCA. Figure 7 The delay in the CCA time period of the directional CCA shown is because the corresponding Rx beam 708 on which the CCA is performed can be spatially positioned such that the energy from the transmission 714 is not detected as being above the CCA power threshold in that region.

[0112] Since the expected Tx beam 706 is known at base station 702, the base station can know the actual EIRP transmitted on the expected Tx beam 706. Therefore, in some implementations, the applicable CCA power threshold can then be calculated again by using the following formula:

[0113] -47dBm+PMax-EIRP, where

[0114] PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of base station 702, and

[0115] EIRP is the actual EIRP of the expected Tx beam 706.

[0116] The discussion of the correlation of -47dBm and the nature of the transmit power limit for, for example, the expected Tx beam 706 is similar to that described above.

[0117] Once the directional CCA procedure is performed in this way, base station 702 acquires the channel in the direction of the intended Tx beam 706 within the COT. In other words, base station 702 can restrict its use of the channel accompanying this acquisition to the intended Tx beam 706 during the COT.

[0118] After base station 702 uses directional CCA to acquire a channel in the direction of the intended Tx beam 706 within the COT, base station 202 can use the COT to perform one or more transmissions to UE 704 on the intended Tx beam 706 that conform to (e.g., do not exceed) the EIRP used to calculate the CCA power threshold for acquiring the channel within the COT.

[0119] These transmissions may include, for example, a scheduling message to UE 704 during COT, which schedules one or more transmissions to UE 704 on the PDSCH during COT. These (additional) one or more transmissions may also be restricted to using the intended Tx beam 706.

[0120] Furthermore, these transmissions may include, for example, a scheduling message to UE 704 during COT, which schedules one or more transmissions performed by UE 704 on the PUSCH during COT. In some embodiments, any transmissions performed by the UE will be limited to a UE Tx beam 716 having a similar spatial usage of the channel as the intended Tx beam 706. For example, the UE Tx beam 716 may be pointed substantially in the opposite direction to the intended Tx beam 706 toward base station 702. Furthermore, the length and width of the UE Tx beam 716 may correspond to the length and width of the intended Tx beam 706.

[0121] Figure 8A method for a base station according to an implementation scheme is shown. Method 800 includes determining an 802CCA power threshold based on the EIRP of the expected TX beam to be used by the base station.

[0122] Method 800 also includes using a CCA power threshold to perform 804 directional CCA in a channel on an Rx beam corresponding to the intended Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in the direction of the intended Tx beam.

[0123] Method 800 further includes obtaining 806 the channel in the direction of the expected Tx beam to COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied in the direction of the expected Tx beam.

[0124] Method 800 may also optionally include transmitting an 808 scheduling message during COT, which schedules transmissions to the UE on the PDSCH during COT.

[0125] Method 800 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 810 during COT, which schedules transmissions performed by the UE on the PUSCH during COT.

[0126] Figure 9 A base station 902, which can perform directional CCA in multiple directions according to an embodiment, is shown. Base station 902 is an example of a wireless transmission system performing directional CCA.

[0127] In some implementations, the base station performs directional CCA related to transmission to multiple UEs on multiple (corresponding) intended Tx beams. As will be described below, in this case, multiple corresponding RX beams are used.

[0128] According to Figure 9 In one implementation, base station 902 performs directional CCA related to both transmissions to first UE 904 on a first expected Tx beam 906 and transmissions to second UE 912 on a second expected Tx beam 914. For this purpose, UE 904 can perform directional CCA in both directions of the first corresponding Rx beam 908 and the second corresponding Rx beam 916 by using the first corresponding Rx beam 908 and the second corresponding Rx beam 916, respectively. Using the corresponding Rx beams in this manner allows base station 902 to sense the energy levels in the spatial portions of the channels that the first expected Tx beam 906 and the second expected Tx beam 914 will use, respectively.

[0129] Although the power from transmission 924 in the channel, for example, between the second base station 902 and the third UE 922, will cause a delay of one or more time slots during the CCA time of the omnidirectional CCA at base station 920, transmission 924 may not cause Figure 9The delay in the CCA time period of the directional CCA shown is because each of the first corresponding Rx beam 908 and the second corresponding Rx beam 916 on which the CCA is performed can be spatially positioned such that the energy from the transmission 924 is not detected as being above the applicable CCA power threshold at its respective location.

[0130] Since the first expected Tx beam 906 and the second expected Tx beam 914 are each known at the base station 902, the base station can know the actual EIRP transmitted on each of the first expected Tx beam 906 and the second expected Tx beam 914. Therefore, in some embodiments, the unique CCA power threshold used in conjunction with the CCA on each corresponding Rx beam can then be calculated by using the following formula again:

[0131] -47dBm+PMax-EIRP, where

[0132] PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of base station 702, and

[0133] When applicable, the EIRP is the actual EIRP of either the first expected Tx beam 906 or the second expected Tx beam 914 (which may be different).

[0134] The discussion of the correlation of -47dBm and the nature of the transmit power upper limit for, for example, the first expected Tx beam 906 and the second expected Tx beam 914 is similar to that described above.

[0135] The CCA performed by base station 902 can use separate CCA times to perform directional CCA using multiple corresponding Rx beams. For example, a first CCA time is used to sense the channel using a first corresponding Rx beam 908, and a second CCA time is used to sense the channel using a second corresponding Rx beam 916. These CCA times can run simultaneously, or one CCA time may need to run before the second CCA time runs. If, for example, the first CCA time for sensing the channel using the first corresponding Rx beam 908 ends first, the wireless transmission system can further add time slots to the first CCA time (e.g., sense the duration of the additional time slot up to the first CCA time) until the second CCA time for sensing the channel using the second corresponding Rx beam 916 also expires. Once both CCA times have expired, the wireless transmission system can acquire the channel in the direction of the first expected Tx beam 906 and the second expected Tx beam 914, and can transmit using either the first expected Tx beam 906 and / or the second expected Tx beam 914 during the associated COT period.

[0136] In some cases, if the first corresponding Rx beam 908 is more idle than the second corresponding Rx beam 916, such that the CCA time corresponding to the first corresponding Rx beam 908 expires before the CCA time of the second corresponding Rx beam 916, then the wireless transmission system utilizing CCA can instead acquire the channel (only) in the direction of the first expected Tx beam 906 and can transmit only in the direction of the first expected Tx beam 906 during the associated COT period. Then, in this case, the wireless transmission system can, as described above... Figure 7 The discussion was conducted effectively.

[0137] In other implementations, the single CCA time performed by base station 902 can be divided between sensing the channel using the first corresponding Rx beam 908 and sensing the channel using the second corresponding Rx beam 916. The wireless transmission system can sense the channel using the first corresponding Rx beam 908 during one or more time slots of the CCA time, and can sense the channel using the second corresponding Rx beam 916 during one or more other time slots of the CCA time. The pattern of which time slot of the CCA time is used for which corresponding Rx beam can be assigned to the wireless transmission system, pre-configured in the wireless transmission system, or selected by the wireless transmission system.

[0138] In either of the above cases (using a separate CCA time for each corresponding Rx beam or using a shared CCA time between each corresponding Rx beam), it is possible that the detection is performed omnidirectionally in the final time slot of the CCA time (e.g., the final time slot of the directional CCA) just before acquiring the channel in the direction of either and / or both of the first expected Tx beam 906 and the second expected Tx beam 914, or simultaneously with acquiring the channel in the direction of both the first corresponding Rx beam 908 and the second corresponding Rx beam 916. This can serve as a more generalized check of the energy level in the channel in (more or less) each of the directions of the first corresponding Rx beam 908 and the second corresponding Rx beam 916 just before such acquisition.

[0139] After base station 902 uses directional CCA to acquire a channel in the direction of the first expected Tx beam 906 and the second expected Tx beam 914 within the COT, base station 202 may use the COT to perform one or more transmissions of the corresponding EIRP to the first UE 904 on the first expected Tx beam 906 and / or to the second UE 912 on the second expected Tx beam 914, which conform to (e.g., not exceeding) the CCA power threshold used to calculate the CCA power threshold for acquiring a channel in the COT in that respective direction (where such CCA power threshold may be different for different directions, as described above).

[0140] These transmissions may include, for example, one or more scheduling messages to one or both of the first UE 904 and the second UE 912 during COT, which schedule one or more transmissions to one or both of the first UE 904 and the second UE 912 on the PDSCH during COT. These (additional) one or more transmissions may also be limited to using the first expected Tx beam 906 and / or the second expected Tx beam 914, respectively.

[0141] Furthermore, these transmissions may include, for example, one or more scheduling messages to either the first UE 904 or the second UE 912 during COT, which schedule one or more transmissions performed by the respective UE on the PUSCH during COT. These (additional) one or more transmissions may also be restricted to using the first expected Tx beam 906 and / or the second expected Tx beam 914, respectively. In some embodiments, any transmission performed by the first UE 904 will be restricted to a first UE Tx beam 910 having a similar spatial usage of the channel as the first expected Tx beam 906, and any transmission performed by the second UE 912 will be restricted to a second UE Tx beam 918 having a similar spatial usage of the channel as the second expected Tx beam 914. For example, the first UE Tx beam 910 may be pointed substantially in the opposite direction to the first expected Tx beam 906 toward the base station 902. Furthermore, the length and width of the first UE Tx beam 910 may correspond to the length and width of the first expected Tx beam 906. As shown in the figure, similar considerations will be applied to the second UE Tx beam 918 and the second expected Tx beam 914.

[0142] Although Figure 9 The diagram illustrates the use of directional CCA to grant transmission time on the PUSCH to multiple UEs during COT (along with other possibilities), but it is anticipated that there may be situations where using directional CCA to acquire COT is less efficient than using omnidirectional COT or otherwise undesirable. Therefore, if base station 902 wants to acquire COT for the purpose of granting PUSCH transmission time to first UE 904 and / or second UE 912, base station 902 may optionally switch to the omnidirectional CCA method described above to do so.

[0143] Figure 10A and Figure 10B A method 1000 for a base station according to an embodiment is illustrated. Method 1000 includes determining a 1002CCA power threshold based on the EIRP of the intended TX beam to be used by the wireless transmission system.

[0144] Method 1000 also includes using a CCA power threshold to perform 1004 directional CCA in a channel using an Rx beam corresponding to the intended Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in the direction of the intended Tx beam.

[0145] Method 1000 further includes obtaining 1006 the channel in the direction of the expected Tx beam to COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied in the direction of the expected Tx beam.

[0146] Method 1000 also includes determining a second CCA power threshold 1008 based on the EIRP of a second intended Tx beam to be used by the wireless transmission system.

[0147] Method 1000 further includes using a second CCA power threshold to perform 1010 directional CCA in a channel on a second Rx beam corresponding to a second intended Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in the direction of the second Tx beam.

[0148] Method 1000 further includes acquiring 1012 the channel in the direction of the second expected Tx beam to reach COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied in the direction of the second expected Tx beam.

[0149] Method 1000 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 1014 to a first UE during COT using a predetermined Tx beam, the scheduling message scheduling a first transmission to the first UE during COT using the predetermined Tx beam on the PDSCH.

[0150] Method 1000 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 1016 to the second UE during COT using a second expected Tx beam, the scheduling message scheduling a second transmission to the second UE during COT using the second expected Tx beam on the PDSCH.

[0151] Method 1000 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 1018 to the first UE during COT using a planned Tx beam, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions performed by the first UE on the PUSCH during COT.

[0152] Method 1000 may also optionally include transmitting a scheduling message 1020 to a second UE during COT using a second intended Tx beam, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions performed by the second UE on the PUSCH during COT.

[0153] Figure 11 A UE 1102 is shown that can perform directional CCA according to an implementation scheme. UE 1102 is an example of a wireless transmission system that performs directional CCA.

[0154] According to Figure 11In some implementations, UE 1102 performs directional CCA related to transmission to base station 1104 on the intended Tx beam 1106. For this purpose, UE 1102 may perform CCA on the corresponding Rx beam 1108.

[0155] Although transmission 1114 in the channel, for example, between the second base station 1110 and the second UE 1112, will cause a delay of one or more time slots during the CCA time of the omnidirectional CCA at UE 1102, transmission 1114 may not cause a delay in the time slot of the omnidirectional CCA at UE 1102. Figure 11 The delay during the CCA time period of the directional CCA shown is because the corresponding Rx beam 1108 on which the CCA is performed can be spatially positioned such that the energy from the transmission 1114 is not detected as being above the CCA power threshold at that location.

[0156] Since the expected Tx beam 1106 is known at UE 1102, UE 1102 can know the actual EIRP using transmissions on the expected Tx beam 1106. Therefore, in some implementations, the CCA power threshold can then be calculated again using the following formula:

[0157] -47dBm+PMax-EIRP, where

[0158] PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of UE 1102, and

[0159] EIRP is the actual EIRP of the expected Tx beam 1106.

[0160] The discussion of the correlation of -47dBm and the nature of the transmit power upper limit for, for example, the expected Tx beam 1106 is similar to that described above.

[0161] Once the directional CCA procedure is performed in this way, the base station UE 1102 acquires the channel in the direction of the intended Tx beam 1106 within the COT. In other words, the UE 1102 can restrict its use of the channel accompanying this channel acquisition to the intended Tx beam 1106 during the COT.

[0162] After UE 1102 uses directional CCA to acquire a channel in the direction of the expected Tx beam 1106 within the COT, UE 1102 can use the COT to perform one or more transmissions to base station 1104 that conform to (e.g., not exceeding) the EIRP used to calculate the CCA power threshold for acquiring a channel in the direction of the expected Tx beam 1106 within the COT.

[0163] These transmissions may include, for example, transmitting the EIRP of the intended Tx beam 1106 to the base station. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the base station may then use COT to transmit to UE 1102 using up to the EIRP received in communications from UE 1102. In some embodiments, any transmissions performed by base station 1104 will be limited to base station Tx beam 1116 having a similar spatial usage of the channel as the intended Tx beam 1106. For example, base station Tx beam 1116 may be pointed substantially in the opposite direction to the intended Tx beam 1106 towards UE 1102. Furthermore, the length and width of base station Tx beam 1116 may correspond to the length and width of the intended Tx beam 1106. This limitation may restrict base station 1104 from transmitting to another UE within its cell (unless that UE can also communicate using base station Tx beam 1116).

[0164] While the use of omnidirectional CCA and directional CCA has been discussed separately in the embodiments described herein, it is anticipated that the wireless transmission system may switch between using each, as specified by the environment. For example, a base station that needs to send traditional broadcast type messages (such as SSB, System Information Block (SIB), paging messages, etc.) may use omnidirectional CCA to facilitate the broadcast transmission of such messages (without any directional restrictions associated with the use of directional CCA). Recognizing the fact that such unicast messages are accompanied by the use of directional CCA, the same base station may use directional CCA associated with unicast type messages (e.g., certain scheduling messages, certain transmissions sent to and / or received from one or more UEs on PUSCH and / or PDSCH) at different times.

[0165] Figure 12 A method for a UE according to an implementation scheme is shown. Method 1200 includes determining a 1202CCA power threshold based on the EIRP of the expected TX beam to be used by the UE.

[0166] Method 1200 also includes using a CCA power threshold to perform 1204 directional CCA in a channel on an Rx beam corresponding to the intended Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in the direction of the intended Tx beam.

[0167] Method 1200 further includes acquiring 1206 the channel in the direction of the expected Tx beam to COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied in the direction of the expected Tx beam.

[0168] Method 1200 may also optionally include transmitting the EIRP of the expected Tx beam to the base station 1208 using the expected Tx beam.

[0169] In some cases, a particular RAT operating in a frequency where CCA is being used at a wireless transmission system can be understood by some devices operating under those particular RATs as having a different channel allocation bandwidth than is typically used at the wireless transmission system (e.g., different from the system bandwidth (and therefore CCA bandwidth) used by the wireless transmission system). For example, IEEE 802.15.3c, WirelessHD, IEEE 802.11ad, and IEEE 802.11ay might expect to see channel bandwidths of around 2.16 GHz in the 60 GHz range, while a wireless transmission system based on NR would understand that the available channels in the 60 GHz range would be smaller. When the CCA bandwidth used by a wireless transmission system in this range is narrower than the channel allocation bandwidth used by other RATs in the same range, CCA performed with that narrower CCA bandwidth may need its CCA power threshold further adjusted to account for the fact that the wireless transmission system only detects a portion of the (larger) channel used by these other RATs. This offset promotes fairness because the wireless transmission system does not over-acquire its narrower channel and does not unfairly squeeze out devices using the larger channelization corresponding to one of these other RATs. For the purposes of this disclosure, “actual CCA bandwidth” is the channel bandwidth used for the CCA process in the wireless transmission system, and “nominal CCA bandwidth” is a larger channel conceived by the device according to these other specific RAT operations.

[0170] Therefore, it is anticipated that in some implementations, the wireless transmission system can determine the CCA power threshold based on scaling between the actual CCA bandwidth (BWact) and the nominal CCA bandwidth (BWnom). This can be accomplished by calculating the scaling amount using the following formula:

[0171] 10*log10(BWact / BWnom)

[0172] This scaling factor can then be used in the calculation of the CCA power threshold. For example, if the formula used to calculate the CCA power threshold is:

[0173] -47dBm+10*log10(Pmax / Pout), where

[0174] PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of a wireless transmission system; and

[0175] Pout is the transmit power that a wireless transmission system can use;

[0176] The CCA power threshold, based on scaling between the actual CCA bandwidth and the nominal CCA bandwidth, can be:

[0177] -47dBm+10*log10(Pmax / Pout)+10*log10(BWact / BWnom)dBm.

[0178] By setting BWnom (nominal CCA bandwidth) to 2.16 GHz, Pmax (the upper limit of transmit power on the wireless transmission system) equal to Pout (the transmit power usable by the wireless transmission system), and by changing BWact (actual CCA bandwidth), the effects of various actual CCA bandwidths (various BWact values) can be shown. For example, an actual CCA bandwidth of 1.08 GHz is given:

[0179] -47dBm+10*log10(1)+10*log10(1.08 / 2.16)dBm≈-50dBm.

[0180] And the actual CCA bandwidth of 400MHz is given:

[0181] -47dBm+10*log10(1)+10*log10(.400 / 2.16)dBm≈-54.3dBm.

[0182] Therefore, using this scaling amount in the formula for calculating the CCA power threshold may result in a lower CCA power threshold by using a narrower actual CCA bandwidth, thereby promoting fairness to any device using a wider channel.

[0183] This scaling is expected to be performed (e.g., incorporated) by any formula used to calculate the CCA power threshold, including any formula used to determine the CCA power threshold described herein. Furthermore, this scaling is expected to be performed by a wireless transmission system acting as a UE or a base station. Additionally, this scaling is expected to be performed with respect to a CCA that is either omnidirectional or directional, as described herein.

[0184] Figure 13 A method 1300 for a wireless transmission system according to an embodiment is shown. The wireless transmission system may be, for example, a base station or a UE.

[0185] Method 1300 includes determining a 1302 CCA power threshold based on scaling between the actual CCA bandwidth and the nominal CCA bandwidth.

[0186] Method 1300 also includes using a CCA power threshold to perform CCA in the channel to determine 1304 whether the channel is occupied.

[0187] Method 1300 also includes acquiring channel 1306 to COT in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

[0188] Return to Figure 7 : Figure 7The use of a single expected Tx beam 706 has already been shown; it is envisioned that base station 702 may use multiple expected Tx beams to communicate with UE 704. In this case, each expected Tx beam may have a corresponding Rx beam for sensing the channel during CCA as described above, and UE 704 may use multiple UE Tx beams that are respectively reverse-matched to each expected Tx beam to transmit to base station 702. In this case, transmissions described above as limited to expected Tx beam 706 may be transmitted on any of the multiple expected Tx beams, and transmissions described above as limited to UE Tx beam 716 may be transmitted on any of the multiple UE Tx beams.

[0189] Furthermore, when using multiple expected Tx beams, it is possible that each expected Tx beam has a unique EIRP. It is also possible that multiple corresponding Rx beams use individually applicable CCA power thresholds calculated separately in the manner described above. Alternatively, the expected Tx beam with the highest EIRP among all expected Tx beams can be used to calculate a single CCA power threshold for all corresponding Rx beams.

[0190] In any case, in the corresponding Figure 7 However, in implementations using multiple expected Tx beams, one or more CCA times can be shared among all corresponding Rx beams to obtain the COT that allows transmission on all relevant expected Tx beams, similar to the above regarding... Figure 9 The discussion focuses on the two corresponding Rx beams (in different directions) in the manner described (where the number of CCA times or the number of divisions within a single CCA time corresponds to the number of corresponding Rx beams).

[0191] Return to Figure 9 :Although Figure 9The use of a single expected Tx beam 906, 914 in each direction has already been shown, but it is envisioned that base station 902 may use multiple expected Tx beams for either and / or both of the first UE 904 and / or the second UE 912 to communicate with each separately. In this case, each expected Tx beam (in any case) may have a corresponding Rx beam for sensing the channel during CCA as described above. Furthermore, each of the first UE 904 and the second UE 912 may use multiple UE Tx beams that are respectively matched in reverse to each expected Tx beam to transmit to base station 902. In this case, a transmission described above as limited to the first expected Tx beam 906 may be transmitted to the first UE 904 on any of the multiple expected Tx beams, and / or any transmission described above as limited to the second expected Tx beam 914 may be transmitted to the second UE 912 on any of the multiple expected Tx beams. Furthermore, any transmission described above as limited to the first UE Tx beam 910 may be transmitted from the first UE 904 to the base station 902 on any of the multiple UE Tx beams, and / or any transmission described above as limited to the second UE Tx beam 918 may be transmitted from the second UE 912 to the base station 902 on any of the multiple UE Tx beams.

[0192] Furthermore, when using more than one expected Tx beam for each of the first UE 904 and / or the second UE 912, it is possible that each expected Tx beam may have a unique EIRP. It is also possible that the corresponding Rx beam will use a separately applicable CCA power threshold calculated individually as described above. Alternatively, the expected Tx beam with the highest EIRP among all expected Tx beams can be used to calculate a single CCA power threshold used for all corresponding Rx beams. Alternatively, the expected Tx beam with a higher EIRP among all expected Tx beams of either the first UE 904 or the second UE 912 can be used to calculate a single CCA power threshold for all corresponding Rx beams of the respective UE.

[0193] In any case, in the corresponding Figure 9 However, in implementations using more than two intended Tx beams, one or more CCA times can be shared among all corresponding Rx beams to obtain the COT that allows transmission on all relevant intended Tx beams, similar to the above regarding... Figure 9 The discussion focuses on the two corresponding Rx beams (in different directions) in the manner described (where the number of CCA times or the number of divisions within a single CCA time corresponds to the number of corresponding Rx beams).

[0194] Return to Figure 11 :Although Figure 11 The diagram illustrates the use of a single expected Tx beam 1106, but it is envisioned that UE 1102 could use multiple expected Tx beams to communicate with base station 1104. In this case, each expected Tx beam could have a corresponding Rx beam for sensing the channel during the CCA as described above, and base station 1104 could use multiple base station Tx beams that are respectively reverse-matched to each expected Tx beam to transmit to UE 1102. In this case, transmissions described above as limited to expected Tx beam 1106 can be transmitted on any of the multiple expected Tx beams, and transmissions described above as limited to base station Tx beam 1116 can be transmitted on any of the multiple base station Tx beams.

[0195] Furthermore, when using multiple expected Tx beams, it is possible that each expected Tx beam has a unique EIRP. It is also possible that the corresponding Rx beam uses a separately applicable CCA power threshold calculated individually as described above. Alternatively, the expected Tx beam with the highest EIRP among all expected Tx beams can be used to calculate a single CCA power threshold for all corresponding Rx beams.

[0196] In any case, in the corresponding Figure 11 However, in implementations using multiple expected Tx beams, one or more CCA times can be shared among all corresponding Rx beams to obtain the COT that allows transmission on all relevant expected Tx beams, similar to the above regarding... Figure 9 The discussion focuses on the two corresponding Rx beams (in different directions) in the manner described (where the number of CCA times or the number of divisions within a single CCA time corresponds to the number of corresponding Rx beams).

[0197] Figure 14 This is a block diagram of a configurable exemplary UE 1400 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, including instructions executed on a computer-readable medium corresponding to any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein. UE 1400 includes one or more processors 1402, transceiver 1404, memory 1406, user interface 1408, and control interface 1410.

[0198] The one or more processors 1402 may include, for example, an application processor, an audio digital signal processor, a central processing unit, and / or one or more baseband processors. Each of the one or more processors 1402 may include internal memory and / or may include an interface for communicating with external memory (including memory 1406). The internal or external memory may store software code, programs, and / or instructions executable by the one or more processors 1402 to configure and / or facilitate the UE 1400 to perform various operations, including those described herein. For example, the execution of instructions may configure the UE 1400 to communicate using one or more wired or wireless communication protocols (including one or more wireless communication protocols standardized by 3GPP, such as those commonly referred to as 5G / NR, LTE, LTE-A, UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, etc.) or any other current or future protocols that can be used in conjunction with one or more transceivers 1404, user interface 1408, and / or control interface 1410. As another example, one or more processors 1402 may execute program code stored in memory 1406 or other memory corresponding to the MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP (e.g., for NR and / or LTE). As yet another example, processor 1402 may execute program code stored in memory 1406 or other memory that, together with the one or more transceivers 1404, implements corresponding PHY layer protocols such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA).

[0199] Memory 1406 may include memory regions for one or more processors 1402 to store variables used in the protocols, configurations, controls, and other functions of UE 1400 (including operations corresponding to or including any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein). Furthermore, memory 1406 may include non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), or combinations thereof. Additionally, memory 1406 may interact with memory time slots through which one or more removable memory cards of various formats (e.g., SD cards, Memory Sticks, Compact Flash, etc.) can be inserted and removed.

[0200] One or more transceivers 1404 may include radio frequency transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that facilitates communication between the UE 1400 and other equipment supporting similar wireless communication standards and / or protocols. For example, one or more transceivers 1404 may include switches, mixer circuitry, amplifier circuitry, filter circuitry, and synthesizer circuitry. Such RF circuitry may include a receive signal path having circuitry for down-converting RF signals received from a front-end module (FEM) and providing baseband signals to one or more processors 1402. The RF circuitry may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for up-converting the baseband signals provided by the baseband processor and providing an RF output signal for transmission to the FEM. The FEM may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry for further processing. The FEM may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuitry for transmission by one or more antennas. In various implementations, amplification along the transmit or receive signal path can be performed only in the RF circuitry, only in the FEM, or in both the RF and FEM circuitries. In some implementations, the FEM circuitry may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit and receive mode operation.

[0201] In some exemplary embodiments, the one or more transceivers 1404 include transmitters and receivers that enable the device 1400 to communicate with various 5G / NR networks according to various protocols and / or methods proposed for standardization by 3GPP and / or other standards bodies. For example, such functionality may operate cooperatively with one or more processors 1402 to implement a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technologies, as described in other figures referenced herein.

[0202] User interface 1408 may take various forms depending on the specific implementation, or may not be present in UE 1400. In some implementations, user interface 1408 includes a microphone, speaker, slide button, pressable button, display, touchscreen display, mechanical or virtual keypad, mechanical or virtual keyboard, and / or any other user interface features typically present on a mobile phone. In other implementations, UE 1400 may include a tablet computing device with a large touchscreen display. In such implementations, one or more of the mechanical features of user interface 1408 may be replaced by equivalent or functionally equivalent virtual user interface features (e.g., virtual keypad, virtual buttons, etc.) implemented using a touchscreen display, as is well known to those skilled in the art. In other implementations, UE 1400 may be a digital computing device, such as a laptop computer, desktop computer, workstation, etc., which includes a mechanical keyboard that can be integrated, detached, or removable according to a particular exemplary implementation. Such digital computing devices may also include a touchscreen display. Many exemplary embodiments of the UE 1400 with a touchscreen display are capable of receiving user input, such as input relating to exemplary methods and / or processes described herein or known to those skilled in the art.

[0203] In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, UE 1400 includes an orientation sensor that can be used in various ways by features and functions of UE 1400. For example, UE 1400 can use the output of the orientation sensor to determine when a user has changed the physical orientation of the touchscreen display of UE 1400. An indication signal from the orientation sensor can be used by any application executing on UE 1400 to automatically change the orientation of the screen display (e.g., from portrait to landscape) when the indication signal indicates a change of approximately 90 degrees in the physical orientation of the device. Thus, the application is able to maintain the screen display in a user-readable manner regardless of the physical orientation of the device. Additionally, the output of the orientation sensor can be used in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0204] The control interface 1410 may take various forms depending on the specific implementation. For example, the control interface 1410 may include an RS-232 interface, an RS-485 interface, a USB interface, an HDMI interface, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE (“FireWire”) interface, and an I / O interface. 2 Interfaces include Type-C and PCMCIA interfaces. In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, the control interface 1410 may include an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interface, as described above. In some embodiments of this disclosure, the control interface 1410 may include analog interface circuitry, including, for example, one or more digital-to-analog (D / A) converters and / or analog-to-digital (A / D) converters.

[0205] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above list of features, interfaces, and radio frequency communication standards is merely exemplary and not limited to the scope of this disclosure. In other words, UE 1400 may include more than Figure 14 Further functionalities are shown, including, for example, a video and / or still image camera, microphone, media player, and / or recorder. Additionally, the one or more transceivers 1404 may include circuitry for communicating using additional radio frequency communication standards, including Bluetooth, GPS, and / or others. Furthermore, one or more processors 1402 may execute software code stored in memory 1406 to control such additional functionalities. For example, directional velocity and / or position estimates output from a GPS receiver can be used by any application executing on the UE 1400, including various exemplary methods and / or computer-readable media according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0206] Figure 15 This is a block diagram of a configurable exemplary network node 1500 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, including instructions executed on a computer-readable medium corresponding to any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein.

[0207] Network node 1500 includes one or more processors 1502, a radio network interface 1504, a memory 1506, a core network interface 1508, and other interfaces 1510. Network node 1500 may include components such as base stations, eNBs, gNBs, access nodes, or network nodes.

[0208] One or more processors 1502 may include any type of processor or processing circuitry and may be configured to perform one of the methods or processes disclosed herein. Memory 1506 may store software code, programs, and / or instructions executable by one or more processors 1502 to configure network node 1500 to perform various operations, including those described herein. For example, execution of such stored instructions may configure network node 1500 to communicate with one or more other devices using protocols according to various embodiments of this disclosure, including one or more methods and / or processes discussed above. Furthermore, execution of such stored instructions may configure and / or facilitate network node 1500 to communicate with one or more other devices using other protocols or protocol layers, such as one or more of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for LTE, LTE-A, and / or NR, or any other higher-level protocol used in conjunction with radio network interface 1504 and core network interface 1508. By way of example, and not limitation, the core network interface 1508 includes an S1 interface, and the radio network interface 1504 may include a Uu interface, such as those standardized by 3GPP. Memory 1506 may also store variables used in the protocols, configurations, control, and other functions of the network node 1500. Therefore, memory 1506 may include non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, hard disk, etc.), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), network-based (e.g., “cloud”) storage devices, or combinations thereof.

[0209] The radio network interface 1504 may include a transmitter, receiver, signal processor, ASIC, antenna, beamforming unit, and other circuitry enabling the network node 1500 to communicate with other equipment (in some embodiments, such as multiple compatible user equipment (UEs)). In some embodiments, the network node 1500 may include various protocols or protocol layers, such as the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for LTE, LTE-A, and / or 5G / NR. According to further embodiments of this disclosure, the radio network interface 1504 may include a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technologies. In some embodiments, the functionality of this PHY layer may be provided collaboratively by the radio network interface 1504 and one or more processors 1502.

[0210] The core network interface 1508 may include transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry enabling network node 1500 to communicate with other equipment in the core network (in some embodiments, such as circuit-switched (CS) and / or packet-switched (PS) networks). In some embodiments, the core network interface 1508 may include an S1 interface standardized by 3GPP. In some embodiments, the core network interface 1508 may include one or more interfaces to one or more SGW, MME, SGSN, GGSN, and other physical devices, including functions known to those skilled in the art in GERAN, UTRAN, E-UTRAN, and CDMA2000 core networks. In some embodiments, these one or more interfaces may be multiplexed together on a single physical interface. In some embodiments, the lower layers of the core network interface 1508 may include one or more of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Internet Protocol over Ethernet (IP), SDH over fiber, T1 / E1 / PDH over copper, microwave radio, or other wired or wireless transmission technologies known to those skilled in the art.

[0211] Other interfaces 1510 may include transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry that enables network node 1500 to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for the operation, management, and maintenance of network node 1500 or other network equipment operatively connected thereto.

[0212] Exemplary System Architecture

[0213] In some implementations, the 5G system architecture supports data connectivity and services, enabling deployment using technologies such as network function virtualization and software-defined networking. The 5G system architecture can leverage service-based interactions between control plane network functions. Separating user plane functions from control plane functions allows for independent scalability, evolution, and flexible deployment (e.g., centralized or distributed (remote) locations). Modular function design allows for function reuse and enables flexible and efficient network slicing. Network functions and their network function services can interact directly or indirectly with another NF and its network function services via a service communication broker. Another intermediate function helps route control plane messages. This architecture minimizes dependencies between the AN and CN. The architecture may include an aggregated core network with a common AN-CN interface integrating different access types (e.g., 3GPP access and non-3GPP access). The architecture also supports a unified authentication framework, stateless NFs that decouple compute and storage resources, capability exposure, concurrent access to local and centralized services (to support low-latency services and access to local data networks, with user plane functions deployed near the AN), and / or roaming in the visited PLMN using both home-routed traffic and local breakout traffic.

[0214] A 5G architecture can be defined as service-based, and interactions between network functions can include service-based representations, where a network function within the control plane (e.g., an AMF) enables other authorized network functions to access its services. Service-based representations can also include point-to-point reference points. Reference point representations can also be used to illustrate interactions between NF services within network functions described by point-to-point reference points (e.g., N11) between any two network functions (e.g., AMF and SMF).

[0215] Figure 16 A service-based architecture 1600 in 5GS according to one implementation is shown. As described in 3GPP TS23.501, the service-based architecture 1600 includes NFs such as NSSF 1608, NEF 1610, NRF 1614, PCF 1612, UDM 1626, AUSF 1618, AMF 1620, and SMF 1622 to communicate with UE 1616, (R)NA 1606, UPF 1602, and DN1604. NFs and NF services can communicate directly (referred to as direct communication) or indirectly via SCP 1624 (referred to as indirect communication). Figure 16 It also shows the corresponding service-based interfaces including Nutm, Naf, Nudm, Npcf, Nsmf, Nnrf, Namf, Nnef, Nnssf, and Nausf, as well as reference points N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6. The following describes the... Figure 16 Some exemplary functions provided by NF are shown in the figure.

[0216] NSSF 1608 supports functions such as: selecting the set of network slice instances serving the UE; determining the allowed NSSAIs and, if necessary, the mapping to subscribed S-NSSAIs; determining the configured NSSAIs and, if necessary, the mapping to subscribed S-NSSAIs; and / or determining the set of AMFs to be used to serve the UE, or, based on the configuration, possibly by querying the NRF to determine a list of candidate AMFs.

[0217] The NEF 1610 supports the exposure of capabilities and events. NF capabilities and events can be securely exposed by the NEF 1610 (e.g., for third parties, application functions, and / or edge computing). The NEF 1610 can use a standardized interface (Nudr) to the Unified Data Storehouse (UDR) to store / retrieve information as structured data. The NEF 1610 can also securely provide information from external applications to the 3GPP network and can provide application functions to securely provide information to the 3GPP network (e.g., anticipated UE behavior, 5GLAN group information, and service-specific information), where the NEF 1610 can authenticate and authorize and help restrict application functions. The NEF 1610 provides internal-external information translation by translating information exchanged with the AF and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 1610 translates between the AF service identifier and internal 5G core information (such as DNN and S-NSSAI). The NEF 1610 can handle the masking of network and user-sensitive information to external AFs according to network policies. The NEF 1610 can receive information from other network functions (based on the exposure capabilities of those functions) and store the received information as structured data using a standardized interface to the UDR. The stored information can then be accessed by the NEF 1610 and re-exposed to other network and application functions for purposes such as analysis. For external exposure of services related to a specific UE, the NEF 1610 can reside in the HPLMN. Depending on the operator agreement, the NEF 1610 in the HPLMN can have an interface with the NF in the VPLMN. When the UE is able to switch between EPC and 5GC, SCEF+NEF can be used for service exposure.

[0218] NRF 1614 supports service discovery by receiving NF discovery requests from NF instances or SCPs and providing information about discovered NF instances to the NF instances or SCPs. NRF 1614 also supports P-CSCF discovery (a special case of SMF discovery of AFs), maintaining NF profiles of available NF instances and their supported services, and / or notifying subscribed NF service consumers or SCPs of newly registered / updated / deregistered NF instances along with their NF services. In the context of network slicing, multiple NRFs can be deployed at different levels depending on the network implementation, such as PLMN level (NRFs configured with information about the entire PLMN), shared slice level (NRFs configured with information about a set of network slices), and / or slice-specific level (NRFs configured with information about S-NSSAI). In the context of roaming, multiple NRFs can be deployed in different networks, where the NRF in the visited PLMN (referred to as vNRF) is configured with information about the visited PLMN, and the NRF in the home PLMN (referred to as hNRF) is configured with information about the home PLMN, referenced by the vNRF via the N27 interface.

[0219] PCF 1612 supports a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. PCF 1612 provides policy rules for control plane functions to enforce them. PCF 1612 accesses subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR. PCF 1612 can access the UDR located in the same PLMN as PCF 1612.

[0220] UDM 1626 supports the generation of 3GPP AKA authentication credentials, user identity processing (e.g., storage and management of SUPI for each user in a 5G system), de-hiding of privacy-preserving subscription identifiers (SUCI), access authorization based on subscription data (e.g., roaming restrictions), UE service NF registration management (e.g., storing AMF for UE storage services, storing SMF for UE PDU sessions), service / session continuity (e.g., maintaining SMF / DNN allocation for ongoing sessions), MT-SMS delivery, lawful interception functionality (especially in outbound roaming scenarios where the UDM is the only contact point of the LI), subscription management, SMS management, 5GLAN group management processing, and / or external parameter configuration (expected UE behavior parameters or network configuration parameters). To provide these functions, UDM 1626 uses subscription data (including authentication data) that can be stored in a UDR. In this case, the UDM implements application logic and may not require internal user data storage, and several different UDMs can provide services to the same user in different transactions. UDM 1626 may reside in the HPLMN of its subscribers and can access information of UDRs located in the same PLMN.

[0221] AUSF 1618 supports authentication for 3GPP access and untrusted non-3GPP access. AUSF 1618 also provides support for network slicing-specific authentication and authorization.

[0222] The AMF 1620 supports the termination of the RAN CP interface (N2), the termination of the NAS (N1) for NAS encryption and integrity protection, registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception (for AMF events and interfaces to the LI system), transmission of SM messages between the UE and SMF, transparent proxy for routing SM messages, access authentication, access authorization, transmission of SMS messages between the UE and SMSF, SEAF, location service management for regulated services, transmission of location service messages between the UE and LMF and between the RAN and LMF, EPS bearer ID allocation for interoperability with EPS, UE mobility event notification, control plane CIoT 5GS optimization, user plane CIoT 5GS optimization, configuration of external parameters (expected UE behavior parameters or network configuration parameters), and / or network slice-specific authentication and authorization. Some or all of the AMF functions can be supported in a single instance of the AMF 1620. Regardless of the number of network functions, in some implementations, only one NAS interface instance per access network between the UE and the CN terminates with one of the network functions that implements at least NAS security and mobility management. AMF 1620 may also include policy-related functions.

[0223] In addition to the functions described above, the AMF 1620 may also include the following functions supporting non-3GPP access networks: support for the N2 interface with N3IWF / TNGF, on which some information (e.g., 3GPP cell identifier) ​​and procedures (e.g., handover-related) defined on 3GPP access may not be applicable, and non-3GPP access-specific information not applicable to 3GPP access can be applied; support for NAS signaling by UE via N3IWF / TNGF, where some procedures supported by NAS signaling on 3GPP access may not be applicable to untrusted non-3GPP (e.g., paging) access; support for authentication of UEs connected via N3IWF / TNGF; management of mobility, authentication, and separate security context states for UEs connected via non-3GPP access or simultaneously via 3GPP access or non-3GPP access; support for effective coordination of RM management contexts on both 3GPP and non-3GPP access; and / or support for dedicated CM management contexts for UEs connecting via non-3GPP access. Support for all of the above functions may not be required in network slicing instances.

[0224] The SMF 1622 supports session management (e.g., session establishment, modification, and publication, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes), UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization) (where UE IP addresses can be received from the UPF or from an external data network), DHCPv4 (server and client) and DHCPv6 (server and client) functions, functions for responding to Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests and / or IPv6 neighbor request requests based on Ethernet PDU local cache information (e.g., the SMF responds to ARP and / or IPv6 neighbor request requests by providing the MAC address corresponding to the IP address transmitted in the request), selection and control of user plane functions (including controlling the UPF to proxy ARP or IPv6 neighbor discovery or forwarding all ARP / IPv6 neighbor request traffic to the SMF for Ethernet PDU sessions), traffic steering configuration at the UPF to route traffic to the appropriate destination, and 5G VN group management (e.g., maintaining the topology of the involved PSA UPF, in the PSA...). Establish and publish N19 tunnels between UPFs, configure traffic forwarding at the UPF to apply local handover, and / or N6-based or N19-based forwarding, terminate the interface for policy control functions, lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces to the LI system), charge for data collection and support the billing interface, control and coordinate billing data collection at the UPF, terminate the SM portion of NAS messages, downlink data notification, initiator of AN-specific SM information transmitted via AMF to AN through N2, determination of the SSC mode of the session, control plane CIoT 5GS optimization, header compression, act as I-SMF in the deployment of insertable / removable / relocatable I-SMFs, configure external parameters (expected UE behavior parameters or network configuration parameters), P-CSCF discovery for IMS services, roaming functions (e.g., handling local implementation to apply QoS). SLA (VPLMN), charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN) and / or lawful interception (in the VPLMN for SM events and interfaces to LI systems), interaction with external DNs to transmit signaling for PDU session authentication / authorization for external DNs and / or issuing instructions to UPF and NG-RAN to perform redundant transmissions on N3 / N9 interfaces. Some or all of the SMF functions may be supported in a single instance of the SMF. However, in some implementations, not all functions need to be supported in instances of network slices. In addition to functionality, SMF 1622 may include policy-related functions.

[0225] SCP 1624 includes one or more of the following functions: indirect communication; delegated discovery; message forwarding and routing to the destination NF / NF service; communication security (e.g., authorization for NF service consumers to access NF service manufacturer APIs), load balancing, monitoring, overload control, etc.; and / or optionally, interaction with a UDR to resolve UDM group ID / UDR group ID / AUSF group ID / PCF group ID / CHF group ID / HSS group ID based on UE identity (e.g., SUPI or IMPI / IMPU). Some or all of the SCP functions may be supported in a single instance of the SCP. In some implementations, SCP 1624 may be deployed in a distributed manner and / or more than one SCP may exist in the communication path between NF services. SCPs may be deployed at the PLMN level, shared slice level, and slice-specific level. Carrier deployments may be left to ensure that the SCP can communicate with the relevant NRF.

[0226] UE 1616 may include devices with radio communication capabilities. For example, UE 1616 may include a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touchscreen mobile computing device that can connect to one or more cellular networks). UE 1616 may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), pager, laptop computer, desktop computer, wireless handheld device, or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface. UE is also referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, or reconfigurable mobile device. UE 1616 may include an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed to utilize low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may exchange data with an MTC server or device via a PLMN, other UEs using ProSe or D2D communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks using technologies such as M2M, MTC, or mMTC. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated data exchange. An IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure). IoT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keeping track of activity messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0227] UE 1616 can be configured to connect or communicatively couple with (R)NA 1606 via radio interface 1630. This radio interface can be a physical communication interface or layer configured to operate using cellular communication protocols such as GSM, CDMA network protocols, keyless to talk (PTT), cellular PTT (POC), UMTS, 3GPP LTE, 5G, NR, etc. For example, UE 1616 and (R)NA 1606 can use a Uu interface (e.g., LTE-Uu interface) to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack including PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layers. DL transmissions can be made from (R)NA 1606 to UE 1616, and UL transmissions can be made from UE 1616 to (R)NA 1606. UE 1616 can also use a sidelink to communicate directly with another UE (not shown) for D2D, P2P, and / or ProSe communication. For example, the ProSe interface may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to the Physical Side Link Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Side Link Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Side Link Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and Physical Side Link Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0228] (R)NA 1606 may include one or more access nodes, which may be referred to as a base station (BS), node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), RAN node, controller, transport receiver point (TRP), etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). (R)NA 1606 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing coverage of macrocells, picocells, femtocells, or other types of cells. Macrocells may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and may allow UEs to have unrestricted access with a service subscription. Picocells may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow UEs to have unrestricted access with a service subscription. Femtocells may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access for UEs associated with a femtocell (e.g., a UE in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE of a user in a home, etc.).

[0229] Although not shown, multiple RAN nodes (such as (R)NA 1606) may be used, with Xn interfaces defined between two or more nodes. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. Xn-U provides non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and supports / provides data forwarding and flow control functions. Xn-C provides management and error handling functions for managing the functionality of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE 1616 in connected modes (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) includes functions for managing UE mobility in connected modes between one or more (R)NA nodes. This mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving (R)AN node to the new (target) serving (R)AN node; and control of user plane tunnels between the old (source) serving (R)AN node and the new (target) serving (R)AN node.

[0230] The UPF 1602 can serve as an anchor point for mobility within and between RATs, an external PDU session point interconnected with the DN 1604, and a branch point supporting multi-donor PDU sessions. The UPF 1602 can also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane portion enforcement of policy rules, lawful packet interception (UP collection), traffic usage reporting, QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), uplink traffic authentication (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 1602 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to the data network. The DN 1604 can represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The DN 1604 may include, for example, an application server.

[0231] Figure 17 This is a block diagram illustrating component 1700, according to some exemplary embodiments, capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any or more methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 17 A schematic diagram of hardware resource 1702 is shown, including one or more processors 1706 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1714, and one or more communication resources 1724, each of which can be communicatively coupled via bus 1716. For implementations utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), an executable hypervisor 1722 provides an execution environment for one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resource 1702.

[0232] Processor 1706 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1708 and processor 1710.

[0233] Memory / storage device 1714 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. Memory / storage device 1714 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, etc.

[0234] Communication resource 1724 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1704 or one or more databases 1720 via network 1718. For example, communication resource 1724 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via Universal Serial Bus (USB), cellular communication components, NFC components, etc. Components (e.g.) (low power consumption) Components and other communication components.

[0235] Instruction 1712 may include software, programs, applications, applets, or other executable code for causing at least one processor in processor 1706 to perform any or more of the methods discussed herein. Instruction 1712 may reside wholly or partially in processor 1706 (e.g., within the processor's cache), memory / storage device 1714, or at least one of any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of instruction 1712 may be transferred to hardware resource 1702 from any combination of peripheral device 1704 or database 1720. Therefore, the memory of processor 1706, memory / storage device 1714, peripheral device 1704, and database 1720 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0236] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods described in the Embodiments section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0237] Example Section

[0238] The following examples relate to other implementation schemes.

[0239] Example 1 is a method for a base station, comprising: determining a free channel assessment (CCA) power threshold using the maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of the base station calculated based on the number of SSBs transmitted by the base station per synchronization signal block (SSB) burst; performing omnidirectional CCA in a channel using the CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied; and acquiring the channel occupancy time (COT) in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

[0240] Example 2 is based on the method described in Example 1, wherein the maximum EIRP of the base station is calculated by the following formula: PTrans + 10 * log10(SNum) dBm, where: PTrans is the transmit power available to the base station; and SNum is the number of SSBs transmitted by the base station per SSB burst; and wherein the CCA power threshold is calculated by the following formula: -47 dBm + PMax - EIRP, where: PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of the base station, and EIRP is the maximum EIRP of the base station.

[0241] Example 3 is a method according to any one of Examples 1 to 2, further comprising transmitting a scheduling message during the COT period, the scheduling message scheduling the transmission to the User Equipment (UE) on the Physical Downlink Shared Control Channel (PDSCH) during the COT period.

[0242] Example 4 is a method according to any one of Examples 1 to 3, further comprising transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions performed by the User Equipment (UE) on the Physical Uplink Shared Control Channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

[0243] Example 5 is a method according to any one of Examples 1 to 3, further comprising: determining that the sum of the corresponding EIRPs of each of the one or more User Equipments (UEs) is less than the maximum EIRP of the base station; and transmitting a scheduling message during the COT that schedules transmissions from each of the one or more UEs on the Physical Uplink Shared Control Channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

[0244] Example 6 is a method according to any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the base station is sector-based, and wherein sector antenna gain is also used to determine the CCA power threshold.

[0245] Example 7 is a method for a wireless transmission system, comprising: determining a free channel assessment (CCA) power threshold using the maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of the wireless transmission system based on the number of transmit (Tx) antennas used by the wireless transmission system; performing an omnidirectional CCA in a channel using the CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied; and acquiring the channel occupancy time (COT) in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

[0246] Example 8 is based on the method described in Example 7, wherein the maximum EIRP of the wireless transmission system is calculated using the following formula: PTrans + 10 * log10(ANum) dBm, where: PTrans is the transmit power available to the wireless transmission system; and ANum is the number of Tx antennas used by the wireless transmission system; and wherein the CCA power threshold is calculated using the following formula: -47 dBm + PMax - EIRP, where: PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of the wireless transmission system; and wherein EIRP is the maximum EIRP of the wireless transmission system.

[0247] Example 9 is a method according to any one of Examples 7 to 8, wherein the wireless transmission system is a user equipment (UE), and the method further includes transmitting the maximum EIRP to the base station.

[0248] Example 10 is a method according to any one of Examples 7 to 8, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station, and the method further includes transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling the transmission to the user equipment (UE) on the physical downlink shared control channel (PDSCH) during the COT.

[0249] Example 11 is a method according to any one of Examples 7 to 8 or 10, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station, and the method further includes transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions performed by the user equipment (UE) on the Physical Uplink Shared Control Channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

[0250] Example 12 is a method according to any one of Examples 7 to 8 or 10, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station, and the method further includes: determining that the sum of the corresponding EIRPs of each of the one or more User Equipments (UEs) is less than the maximum EIRP; and transmitting a scheduling message during the COT that schedules transmissions from each of the one or more UEs during the COT.

[0251] Example 13 is a method according to any one of Examples 7 to 9 or 10 to 12, wherein the wireless transmission system is a sector-based base station, and wherein sector antenna gain is also used to determine the CCA power threshold.

[0252] Example 14 is a method for a wireless transmission system, comprising: determining a free channel assessment (CCA) power threshold based on an equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of a prospective transmit (Tx) beam to be used by the wireless transmission system; using the CCA power threshold to perform directional CCA in a channel on a receive (Rx) beam corresponding to the prospective Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in the direction of the prospective Tx beam; and in response to determining that the channel is not occupied in the direction of the prospective Tx beam, acquiring the channel occupancy time (COT) of the channel in that direction of the prospective Tx beam.

[0253] Example 15 is the method according to Example 14, wherein the wireless transmission system is a user equipment (UE), and the method further includes using the intended Tx beam to transmit the EIRP of the intended Tx beam to a base station.

[0254] Example 16 is the method according to Example 14, further comprising: determining a second CCA power threshold based on the EIRP of a second expected Tx beam to be used by the wireless transmission system; using the second CCA power threshold to perform the directional CCA in the channel on a second Rx beam corresponding to the second expected Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in the direction of the second Tx beam; and in response to determining that the channel is not occupied in the direction of the second expected Tx beam, acquiring the channel in the direction of the second expected Tx beam to reach the COT.

[0255] Example 17 is the method according to Example 16, further comprising transmitting a first scheduling message to a first user equipment (UE) using the intended Tx beam during the COT, the first scheduling message scheduling a first transmission to the first UE using the intended Tx beam on the Physical Downlink Shared Control Channel (PDSCH) during the COT.

[0256] Example 18 is the method according to Example 17, further comprising transmitting a second scheduling message to a second UE using the second expected Tx beam during the COT, the second scheduling message scheduling a second transmission to the second UE using the second expected Tx beam on the PDSCH during the COT.

[0257] Example 19 is the method according to Example 16, further comprising transmitting a first scheduling message to a first user equipment (UE) using the intended Tx beam during the COT, the first scheduling message scheduling transmissions performed by the first UE on the Physical Uplink Shared Control Channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

[0258] Example 20 is the method according to Example 17, further comprising transmitting a second scheduling message to a second UE using the second expected Tx beam during the COT, the second scheduling message scheduling transmissions performed by the second UE on the PUSCH during the COT.

[0259] Example 21 is the method according to any one of Examples 16 to 20, wherein the directional CCA is performed on the Rx beam and the second Rx beam during a single CCA time.

[0260] Example 22 is the method according to any one of Examples 16 to 20, wherein the directional CCA is performed on the Rx beam during the first CCA time and on the second Rx beam during the second CCA time.

[0261] Example 23 is the method according to any one of Examples 16 to 20, wherein the wireless transmission system senses the channel in an omnidirectional manner in the final time slot of the directional CCA.

[0262] Example 24 is the method according to any one of Examples 16 to 20, wherein in the final time slot of the directional CCA, the wireless transmission system uses both the Rx beam and the second Rx beam to sense the channel.

[0263] Example 25 is the method according to Example 14, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station.

[0264] Example 26 is a method for a wireless transmission system, comprising: determining a CCA power threshold based on scaling between the actual free channel estimation (CCA) bandwidth (BWact) and the nominal CCA bandwidth (BWnom); using the CCA power threshold to perform CCA in a channel to determine whether the channel is occupied; and acquiring the channel occupied time (COT) in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

[0265] Example 27 is the method according to Example 26, wherein the CCA power threshold is calculated by the following formula: -47dBm+10*log10(Pmax / Pout)+10*log10(BWact / BWnom)dBm, where: PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of the wireless transmission system; and Pout is the transmit power that the wireless transmission system can use.

[0266] Example 28 is a method according to any one of Examples 26 to 27, wherein the CCA is one of omnidirectional CCA and directional CCA.

[0267] Example 29 is a method according to any one of Examples 26 to 28, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station.

[0268] Example 30 is the method according to any one of Examples 26 to 28, wherein the wireless transmission system is a user equipment (UE).

[0269] Example 31 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method or any other method or process described herein, as described in any of the above embodiments or in connection with them.

[0270] Example 32 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of any of the methods or processes described in or related to the above embodiments or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0271] Example 33 may include an apparatus comprising one or more elements of a logic component, module, or circuit for performing any of the methods described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0272] Example 34 may include any of the methods, techniques, or processes described or related to any of the above examples, or any part or component thereof.

[0273] Example 35 may include an apparatus comprising one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform any of the methods, techniques or processes described in or related to the above embodiments, or a portion thereof.

[0274] Example 36 may include any of the signals or parts or components described or associated with any of the above examples.

[0275] Example 37 may include any datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU) or message, or any part or component thereof, as described in any of the above examples or in connection with them, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0276] Embodiment 38 may include a data-encoded signal or part or component thereof described or associated with any of the above embodiments, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0277] Embodiment 39 may include any of the above embodiments or related signals or portions thereof encoded as datagrams, packets, frames, segments, PDUs or messages, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0278] Example 40 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein one or more processors execute the computer-readable instructions to cause the one or more processors to perform any of the methods, techniques or processes, or portions thereof, described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0279] Example 41 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein the program is executed by a processing element to cause the processing element to perform any of the methods, techniques, or processes described in or related to the above embodiments, or a portion thereof.

[0280] Example 42 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0281] Example 43 may include methods for communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0282] Example 44 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0283] Example 45 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0284] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0285] Implementations and specific embodiments of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. The computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computer system may include hardware components, including specific logical components for performing the operations, or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0286] It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific implementations. These implementations may be combined into a single system, partially integrated into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise partitioned or combined. Furthermore, it is conceivable to use parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., of one implementation in another implementation. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., are described only in one or more implementations, and it should be recognized that unless specifically stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., of another implementation.

[0287] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting 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 authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0288] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that many alternative ways exist to implement both the processes and apparatus described herein. Therefore, embodiments of the invention should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and this specification is not limited to the details given herein, but can be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a base station, comprising: determining a clear channel assessment (CCA) power threshold using a maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the base station calculated based on a number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) transmitted by the base station per SSB burst; performing an omnidirectional CCA in a channel using the CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied; and acquiring the channel for a channel occupancy time (COT) in response to determining that the channel is not occupied.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the maximum EIRP of the base station is calculated by: PTrans + 10*log10(SNum) dBm, where: PTrans is a transmit power available to the base station; and SNum is the number of SSBs transmitted by the base station per SSB burst; and where the CCA power threshold is calculated by: -47 dBm + PMax - EIRP, where: PMax is a transmit power cap of the base station, and EIRP is the maximum EIRP of the base station.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions to user equipment (UEs) on a physical downlink shared control channel (PDSCH) during the COT.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions by user equipment (UEs) on a physical uplink shared control channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that a sum of respective EIRPs of one or more user equipment (UEs) is less than the maximum EIRP of the base station; and transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions from each of the one or more UEs on a physical uplink shared control channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station is sector-based, and wherein the CCA power threshold is further determined using a sector antenna gain.

7. A method performed by a wireless transmission system, comprising: determining a clear channel assessment (CCA) power threshold using a maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the wireless transmission system based on a number of transmit (Tx) antennas used by the wireless transmission system; performing an omnidirectional CCA in a channel using the CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied; and acquiring the channel for a channel occupancy time (COT) in response to determining that the channel is not occupied, where the maximum EIRP of the wireless transmission system is calculated by: PTrans + 10*log10(ANum) dBm, where: PTrans is a transmit power available to the wireless transmission system; and ANum is the number of Tx antennas used by the wireless transmission system; and where the CCA power threshold is calculated by: ​ ​ - 47 dBm + PMax - EIRP, where: PMax is a transmit power ceiling of the wireless transmission system; and where EIRP is the maximum EIRP of the wireless transmission system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless transmission system is a user equipment (UE), and the method further comprises communicating the maximum EIRP to a base station.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station, and the method further comprises transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions to user equipment (UEs) on a physical downlink shared control channel (PDSCH) during the COT.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station, and the method further comprises transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions by user equipment (UEs) on a physical uplink shared control channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station, and the method further comprises: determining that a sum of respective EIRPs of one or more user equipment (UEs) is less than the maximum EIRP; and transmitting a scheduling message during the COT, the scheduling message scheduling transmissions from each of the one or more UEs during the COT.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless transmission system is a sector-based base station, and wherein a sector antenna gain is also used to determine the CCA power threshold.

13. A method performed by a wireless transmission system, comprising: determining a clear channel assessment (CCA) power threshold based on an equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of an intended transmit (Tx) beam to be used by the wireless transmission system; using the CCA power threshold to perform a directional CCA in a channel on a receive (Rx) beam corresponding to the intended Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in a direction of the intended Tx beam; and acquiring the channel in the direction of the intended Tx beam for a channel occupancy time (COT) in response to determining that the channel is not occupied in the direction of the intended Tx beam.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the wireless transmission system is a user equipment (UE), and the method further comprises using the intended Tx beam to communicate the EIRP of the intended Tx beam to a base station.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining a second CCA power threshold based on an EIRP of a second intended Tx beam to be used by the wireless transmission system; using the second CCA power threshold to perform the directional CCA in the channel on a second Rx beam corresponding to the second intended Tx beam to determine whether the channel is occupied in a direction of the second intended Tx beam; and and acquiring the channel in the direction of the second intended Tx beam for the COT in response to determining that the channel is unoccupied in the direction of the second intended Tx beam.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting a first scheduling message to a first user equipment (UE) during the COT using the intended Tx beam, the first scheduling message scheduling a first transmission to the first UE on a physical downlink shared control channel (PDSCH) during the COT using the intended Tx beam.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting a second scheduling message to a second UE during the COT using the second intended Tx beam, the second scheduling message scheduling a second transmission to the second UE on the PDSCH during the COT using the second intended Tx beam.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting a first scheduling message to a first user equipment (UE) during the COT using the intended Tx beam, the first scheduling message scheduling a transmission by the first UE on a physical uplink shared control channel (PUSCH) during the COT.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising transmitting a second scheduling message to a second UE during the COT using the second intended Tx beam, the second scheduling message scheduling a transmission by the second UE on the PUSCH during the COT.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the directional CCA is performed on the Rx beam and the second Rx beam during a single CCA time.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the directional CCA is performed on the Rx beam during a first CCA time and on the second Rx beam during a second CCA time.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein in a final slot of the directional CCA, the wireless transmission system senses the channel in an omnidirectional manner.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein in a final slot of the directional CCA, the wireless transmission system senses the channel using both the Rx beam and the second Rx beam.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station.

25. A method performed by a wireless transmission system, comprising: determining a CCA power threshold based on a scaling between an actual clear channel assessment (CCA) bandwidth (BWact) and a nominal CCA bandwidth (BWnom); performing a CCA in a channel using the CCA power threshold to determine whether the channel is occupied; and acquiring the channel for a channel occupancy time (COT) in response to determining that the channel is unoccupied.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the CCA power threshold is computed by: -47 dBm + 10*log10(Pmax / Pout) + 10*log10(BWact / BWnom) dBm, where: Pmax = 23 dBm Pout = 20 dBm BWact = 80 MHz BWnom = 100 MHz. ​ PMax is the upper limit of the transmit power of the wireless transmission system; and Pout is the transmit power that the wireless transmission system can use.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the CCA is one of omnidirectional CCA and directional CCA.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the wireless transmission system is a base station.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the wireless transmission system is a user equipment (UE).

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