Sidelink physical layer structure in unlicensed NR

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer readable media are disclosed for performing operations including: generating a communication for transmission on a sidelink channel operating in an unlicensed bandwidth; determining a configuration of a resource pool of the sidelink channel, wherein the configuration is based on one of: a frame-based equipment (FBE) mechanism or a load-based equipment (LBE) mechanism; determining, from the pool of resources, one or more resources on which to transmit the communication; and transmitting the communication on the sidelink channel using the one or more resources.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 333,332, filed on April 21, 2022, entitled “SIDELINK PHYSICAL LAYERSTRUCTURE IN NR UNLICENSED,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication networks provide integrated communication platforms and telecommunication services to wireless user devices. Example telecommunication services include telephone, data (e.g., voice, audio and / or video data), messaging, Internet access and / or other services. Wireless communication networks have wireless access nodes that exchange wireless signals with wireless user devices using wireless network protocols (such as protocols described in various telecommunication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). Example wireless communication networks include code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks, long term evolution (LTE) and fifth generation new radio (5G NR). Wireless communication networks use technologies such as OFDM, multiple input multiple output (MIMO), advanced channel coding, massive MIMO, beamforming and / or other features to facilitate mobile broadband services.

[0004] Recently, wireless communication networks have been extended to cover the network by using user equipment (UE) as a relay. Specifically, a relay UE establishes a direct connection with other UEs to extend the network coverage to these UEs. The connection established by the relay UE with other UEs is called a sidelink communication. Among other examples, the sidelink connection can be a UE-to-network relay, where the relay UE connects a remote UE to the network, or a UE-to-UE relay, where the relay UE connects a first remote UE to a second remote UE. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present disclosure describes methods and systems for providing a sidelink design that meets the guidelines for an unlicensed sidelink. In one embodiment, the UE is configured to operate according to a frame-based equipment (FBE) design. In this embodiment, the resource pool configuration is based on FBE, and the physical structure meets the FBE requirements. In another embodiment, the UE is configured to operate according to a load-based equipment (LBE) design. In this embodiment, the resource pool configuration is based on LBE, and the physical structure meets the LBE requirements.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) involves: generating a communication for transmission on a side link channel operating in an unlicensed bandwidth; determining a configuration of a resource pool for the side link channel, wherein the configuration is based on one of the following: a frame-based equipment (FBE) mechanism or a load-based equipment (LBE) mechanism; determining one or more resources on which to send the communication from the resource pool; and sending the communication on the side link channel using the one or more resources.

[0007] Other versions include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs for performing the actions of the method defined by the instructions encoded on a computer-readable storage device.These and other versions may optionally include one or more of the following features.

[0008] In some implementations, determining a configuration of a resource pool for a side link channel includes determining at least one of a frequency domain configuration and a time domain configuration.

[0009] In some specific implementations, the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and determining the frequency domain configuration includes: determining the number of frequency interlaces allocated to the sidelink communication of the UE; determining the number of physical resource blocks for each interlace based on the subcarrier spacing of the sidelink channel; and determining the physical resource block spacing in the sidelink channel.

[0010] In some specific implementations, configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and determining the time domain configuration includes: determining the number of time slots in the time domain based on at least one of the configured time domain resource granularity and the subcarrier spacing of the side link channel; and determining one or more time slots allocated to the side link communication of the UE based on the bitmap.

[0011] In some specific implementations, the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method also includes determining the physical layer structure of one or more resources.

[0012] In some specific implementations, where the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and where sending the communication on the sidelink channel using one or more resources includes: determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in a physical layer structure; and sending the PSCCH communication based on the interleaving design.

[0013] In some implementations, a first symbol of the physical layer structure is dedicated to automatic gain control (AGC).

[0014] In some implementations, determining a physical layer structure of one or more resources includes calculating a minimum gap in the physical layer structure.

[0015] In some specific implementations, configuration of the resource pool is based on an LBE mechanism, and determining the frequency domain configuration includes: determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication.

[0016] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that a portion of the bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining to start sending at a time slot boundary only after an additional single-transmit listen-before-talk (LBT).

[0017] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining to start transmitting before a time slot boundary.

[0018] In some specific implementations, configuration of the resource pool is based on an LBE mechanism, and determining the time domain configuration includes: determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication.

[0019] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that a portion of the bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining a starting point for a bitmap to be used to configure one or more resources on which communications are sent.

[0020] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining that sending communications on the sidelink channel can start at any time.

[0021] In some specific implementations, the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method also includes determining the physical layer structure of one or more resources.

[0022] In some specific implementations, where the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and where sending the communication on the sidelink channel using one or more resources includes: determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in a physical layer structure; and sending the PSCCH communication based on the interleaving design.

[0023] The details of one or more embodiments of these systems and methods are set forth in the following drawings and description. Other features, objects, and advantages of these systems and methods will be apparent from the specification, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1An example communication system according to some implementations is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 2 Example frequency-domain resource pool configurations for different subcarrier spacings according to some implementations are illustrated.

[0026] Figure 3 An example configuration of a time-domain resource pool for FBE according to some implementations is illustrated.

[0027] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C An example physical layer structure for FBE according to some implementations is illustrated.

[0028] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B An example physical layer structure for LBE according to some implementations is illustrated.

[0029] Figure 6 Flowcharts illustrating example methods according to some implementations are shown.

[0030] Figure 7 An example user equipment (UE) according to some implementations is illustrated.

[0031] Figure 8 Example access nodes according to some implementations are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Release 16 and Release 17 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards describe the New Radio (NR) sidelink interface (also referred to as NR sidelink). These standards specify that the resource pool configuration uses only a cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) waveform with a single carrier. These standards also specify that the sidelink bandwidth portion uses only one bandwidth portion (BWP) for transmission (Tx) and reception (Rx). The sidelink BWP may include one or more resource pools. In the frequency domain, these standards specify that the sidelink resource pool uses a continuous allocation of physical resource blocks (PRBs) and has a subchannel granularity. Therefore, each resource pool in the sidelink BWP may include one or more subchannels. In the time domain, these standards specify that the sidelink resource pool has a time slot granularity and may include non-continuous time resources.

[0033] These standards also describe a slot structure for time slots including a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). These standards specify that PSSCH / PSCCH has a slot granularity. In addition, the slot structure for PSCCH and PSCCH includes a first symbol for automatic gain control (AGC) training. For example, the first symbol may include a copy of the second symbol. In the time domain, the PSCCH starts from the second symbol and lasts for 1 or 2 additional symbols (i.e., 2 or 3 symbol lengths). In the frequency domain, the PSCCH is assigned to continuous PRBs. The slot structure also includes a gap symbol, which may be a single symbol for Tx / Rx switching.

[0034] Recently, sidelink interfaces are being developed for operation in unlicensed spectrum. The industry has agreed on guidelines for developing unlicensed sidelinks. These guidelines include regulatory guidelines that user equipment is expected to meet. One set of guidelines relates to transmit bandwidth and stipulates that the transmit bandwidth should meet 80% of the occupied channel bandwidth (OCB). This rule is called the "80% OCB requirement". More specifically, these guidelines stipulate that the OCB should be between 80% and 100% of the nominal channel bandwidth (NCB). For example, the nominal channel bandwidth can be 20 megahertz (MHz). These guidelines also stipulate exceptions to the 80% OCB requirement. This exception, referred to as the 2MHz temporary exception, allows transmission at 2MHz without meeting the 80% OCB requirement.

[0035] However, the aforementioned features of the NR sidelink do not meet the OCB requirements. For example, the existing sidelink design uses continuous PRBs in the frequency domain, which does not meet the OCB requirements. The existing sidelink design also does not describe the channel access process for communications in unlicensed spectrum. In addition, the time domain allocation based on time slots of the existing sidelink design cannot adapt well to the channel access process.

[0036] The present disclosure describes methods and systems for providing a sidelink design that meets the guidelines for an unlicensed sidelink. In one embodiment, the UE is configured to operate according to a frame-based equipment (FBE) design. In this embodiment, the resource pool configuration is based on FBE, and the physical structure meets the FBE requirements. In another embodiment, the UE is configured to operate according to a load-based equipment (LBE) design. In this embodiment, the resource pool configuration is based on LBE, and the physical structure meets the LBE requirements.

[0037] Figure 1 An example communication system 100 according to some specific implementations is illustrated. Note that Figure 1The system is just one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in other wireless communication systems.

[0038] The following description is provided for an example communication system 100 operating in conjunction with a fifth generation (5G) network provided by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS). However, the example implementation is not limited in this regard, and the described implementation may be applied to other networks that may benefit from the principles described herein, such as 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, Wi-Fi networks, etc. In addition, other types of communication standards are also possible, including future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G) systems), IEEE protocols, etc. Although various aspects may be described herein using terms typically associated with 5G NR, various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other systems, such as 3G, 4G, and / or systems after 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0039] As shown, the communication system 100 includes a plurality of user devices. As used herein, "user device" may generally refer to a device associated with a mobile participant or a traffic participant in the communication system 100, for example, a mobile (capable of moving) communication device such as a vehicle and a pedestrian user equipment (PUE) device. More specifically, the communication system 100 includes two UEs 105 (UE 105-1 and UE 105-2 are collectively referred to as "UE 105" or "plural UEs 105"), two base stations 110 (base station 110-1 and base station 110-2 are collectively referred to as "base station 110" or "plural base stations 110"), two cells 115 (cell 115-1 and cell 115-2 are collectively referred to as "cell 115" or "plural cells 115"), and one or more servers 135 in a core network (CN) 140 connected to the Internet 145.

[0040] In some implementations, UE 105 may communicate directly with base station 110 via links 120 (links 120-1 and 120-2 are collectively referred to as "a link 120" or "links 120"), which utilize a direct interface with the base station (referred to as a "Uu interface"). Each of links 120 may represent one or more channels. Links 120 are illustrated as air interfaces that implement communication coupling and may conform to cellular communication protocols, such as 3GPP LTE protocols, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) protocols, LTE-based unlicensed spectrum access (LTE-U), 5G NR protocols, NR-based unlicensed spectrum access (NR-U) protocols, and / or any other communication protocols discussed herein.

[0041] As shown, some user equipments may be able to communicate directly with each other, i.e., without intermediate infrastructure equipment (such as base station 110-1). As shown, UE 105-1 may communicate directly with UE 105-2 (e.g., V2X-related communications). Similarly, UE 105-2 may communicate directly with UE 105-1. This peer-to-peer communication may utilize a "side link" interface such as a PC5 interface. In some specific implementations, the PC5 interface supports direct cellular communication between user equipments (e.g., between UE 105), while the Uu interface supports cellular communication with infrastructure equipment (such as a base station). For example, UE 105 may use the PC5 interface for radio resource control (RRC) signaling exchange between UEs. The PC5 / Uu interface is used only as an example, and PC5 as used herein may represent various other possible wireless communication technologies that allow direct side link communication between user equipments, while Uu may represent cellular communication between user equipments and infrastructure equipment (such as a base station).

[0042] In some implementations, the UE 105 may be configured with parameters for communicating via the Uu interface and / or the sidelink interface. In some examples, the UE 105 may be "pre-configured with" some parameters. In these examples, the parameters may be hardwired into the UE 105 or coded into the specification. Additionally and / or alternatively, the UE 105 may be "configured" with parameters from one or more of the base stations in the base station 110. In the present disclosure, "(pre) configuration" means that both "pre-configuration" and "configuration" are possible.

[0043] In order to transmit / receive data to / from one or more base stations 110 or UE 105, UE 105 may include a transmitter / receiver (or alternatively, a transceiver), a memory, one or more processors, and / or other similar components that enable UE 105 to operate according to one or more wireless communication protocols and / or one or more cellular communication protocols. UE 105 may have multiple antenna elements that enable UE 105 to maintain multiple links 120 and / or side links 125 to transmit / receive data to / from multiple base stations 110 and / or multiple UEs 105. For example, as Figure 1 As shown, UE 105 - 1 may be connected to base station 110 - 1 via link 120 - 1 and simultaneously connected to UE 105 - 2 via side link 125 .

[0044] In some implementations, one or more sidelink radio bearers can be established on the sidelink 125. The sidelink radio bearers can include signaling radio bearers (SL-SRBs) and / or data radio bearers (SL-DRBs).

[0045] The PC5 interface may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), and / or any other similar communication channel. The PSFCH carries feedback related to the successful or failed reception of the sidelink transmission. The PSSCH may be scheduled by the sidelink control information (SCI) carried in the sidelink PSCCH. The SCI may be sent in two stages. The first stage SCI is carried on the PSCCH, while the second stage SCI is carried on the corresponding PSSCH. For example, the 2-stage SCI may be used in the following situations: by applying the first SCI for the purpose of sensing and broadcast communication, and applying the second SCI carrying the remaining information to data scheduling for unicast / multicast data transmission. In some examples, the sidelink interface may operate on an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., in the unlicensed 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands) or a (licensed) shared spectrum.

[0046] In some implementations, the UE 105 may be a physical hardware device capable of running one or more applications, capable of accessing network services with a corresponding base station 110 via one or more radio links 120, and capable of communicating with each other via side links 125. The links 120 may allow the UE 105 to send and receive data from the base station 110 providing the links 120. The side links 125 may allow the UE 105 to send and receive data with each other. The side links 125 between the UEs 105 may include a method for transmitting data from UE 105-1 to UE 105-2 (or vice versa) and / or between the UE 105 and the UE type RSU ( Figure 1 One or more channels for transmitting information between the two devices (not shown) (and vice versa).

[0047] In some implementations, base stations 110 can communicate with each other over a backhaul connection 130, and can communicate with one or more servers 135 within CN 140 over another backhaul connection 133. The backhaul connection can be a wired and / or wireless connection.

[0048] In some implementations, the side link 125 is established through an initial beam pairing process. In this process, the UE 105 identifies (e.g., using a beam selection process) one or more potential beam pairs that can be used for the side link 125. The beam pair includes a transmitter beam from a transmitter UE (e.g., UE 105-1) to a receiver UE (e.g., UE 105-2) and a receiver beam from a receiver UE to a transmitter UE. In some examples, the UE 105 ranks the one or more potential beam pairs. Then, the UE 105 may select one of the one or more potential beam pairs for the side link 125 based on the ranking.

[0049] As stated, between two or more UEs 105 or between a UE 105 and a UE type RSU ( Figure 1 The air interface between the base stations 110 and UE 105 (not shown) may be referred to as a PC5 interface. In order to send data to / receive data from one or more eNBs 110 or UE 105, the UE 105 may include a transmitter / receiver (or alternatively, a transceiver), a memory, one or more processors, and / or other similar components that enable the UE 105 to operate according to one or more wireless communication protocols and / or one or more cellular communication protocols. The UE 105 may have multiple antenna elements that enable the UE 105 to maintain multiple links 120 and / or side links 125 to send data to / receive data from multiple base stations and / or multiple UEs 105. For example, as Figure 1 As shown, UE 105 may be connected to base station 110 - 1 via link 120 and simultaneously connected to UE 105 - 2 via side link 125 .

[0050] In some implementations, the UE 105 is configured to use a resource pool for sidelink communications. The sidelink resource pool may be divided into a plurality of time slots, frequency channels, and frequency subchannels. In some examples, the UE 105 is synchronized and performs sidelink transmissions aligned with time slot boundaries. It may be desirable for the UE to select a number of time slots and subchannels for transmission of a transport block. In some aspects, the UE may use different subchannels to transmit a transport block across a plurality of time slots within its own resource selection window, which may be determined using packet delay budget information.

[0051] In some implementations, the communication system 100 supports different broadcast types, including unicast, broadcast, and groupcast (or multicast) communications. Unicast refers to direct communication between two UEs. Broadcast refers to communication broadcasted by a single UE to multiple other UEs. Groupcast refers to communication transmitted from a single UE to a set of UEs that meet a certain condition (e.g., as members of a specific group).

[0052] In some implementations, when communicating via an unlicensed side link, a UE (e.g., UE 105) is configured to operate according to a frame-based equipment (FBE) design described in Section 4.2.7.3.1 of ETSI EN 301 893. Among other things, this section specifies that a frame-based equipment is an equipment in which a transmit / receive structure has a periodic timing with a period equal to a fixed frame period. In addition, this section specifies that the FBE implements a listen-before-talk (LBT) based channel access mechanism to detect the presence of other transmissions on an operating channel. The fixed frame period supported by FBE is in the range of 1 millisecond (ms) to 10 ms, and transmissions may start only at the beginning of a fixed frame period. In addition, this section specifies that the channel occupancy time does not exceed 95% of the fixed frame period, and is followed by an idle period until the beginning of the next fixed frame period, such that the idle period (or gap) is at least 5% of the channel occupancy time, with a minimum of 100 microseconds (us).

[0053] In some implementations, in order to operate according to the FBE design, the UE is configured with a frequency domain resource pool configuration dedicated to FBE. In some examples, the frequency domain resource pool configuration uses an interleaved waveform. In some examples, the bandwidth part (BWP) used in the frequency domain resource pool configuration has a minimum sensing bandwidth (BW), such as 20 MHz. A sensing BW of at least 20 MHz allows the UE to perform a channel access procedure for FBE. In some examples, each UE is configured with multiple BWPs or carriers. Thus, the UE can transmit on a wider bandwidth (e.g., greater than 20 MHz). In these examples, multiple BWPs can be adjacent or non-adjacent, and channel access is performed per sensing BW.

[0054] In some implementations, the frequency domain allocation granularity within the BWP is one interlace, but other numbers of interlaces (e.g., two or more interlaces) are also possible. More specifically, the resource pool can be configured using at least one interlace within the BWP and at most all interlaces (e.g., all PRBs within the BWP are used for the resource pool of the UE). In some examples, for channels with 15KHz or 30KHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), the number of PRBs per interlace N is 10 or 11. In addition, for channels with 15KHz or 30KHz SCS, the interval between interlaces (PRB interval) M is 5 or 10. For channels with 60KHz SCS, the PRB interval M may be equal to 2, 3, or 2.5 (e.g., alternating between 2 and 3). Here, the number of PRBs per interlace N is derived from M.

[0055] Figure 2 Example frequency domain resource pool configurations for different subcarrier spacings according to some specific implementations are illustrated. More specifically, Figure 2A configuration 202 for a channel with a 15 KHz SCS, a configuration 204 for a channel with a 30 KHz SCS, a first configuration 206 for a channel with a 60 KHz SCS, a second configuration 208 for a channel with a 60 KHz SCS, and a third configuration 210 for a channel with a 60 KHz SCS are illustrated.

[0056] Starting from configuration 202, the channel has an SCS of 15KHz SCS and multiple PRB groups, each of which can be occupied by an interleaving. Configuration 202 includes a repeated interleaving across the channel frequency band. The PRB spacing M is equal to 10. In addition, the number of PRBs N per interleaving (or per PRB group) can be 10 or 11. In configuration 204, the channel has an SCS of 30KHz SCS and multiple PRB groups. Configuration 204 includes a repeated interleaving across the channel frequency band. The PRB spacing M is equal to 5. In addition, the number of PRBs N per interleaving (or per PRB group) can be 10 or 11. In configurations 206, 208, and 210, the channel has an SCS of 60KHz SCS and multiple PRB groups. Configurations 206, 208, and 210 include a repeated interleaving across the channel frequency band. However, configurations 206, 208, and 210 have different PRB spacings M. Configuration 206 has a PRB spacing of 2, configuration 208 has a PRB spacing of 3, and configuration 210 has a PRB spacing of 10.

[0057] In some implementations, the UE is configured with a time domain resource pool configuration for FBE. In one example, the granularity of the time domain resource pool is 1 ms. The number of time slots is determined based on the granularity and the SCS. For a granularity of 1 ms, the number of time slots is 1 for 15 KHz SCS, 2 for 30 KHz SCS, and 4 for 60 KHz SCS. In another example, the network may configure the granularity / periodicity to any value between 1 ms-10 ms. In these examples, the number of time slots is scaled based on the SCS.

[0058] In some implementations, the time resource allocation for each time slot is indicated by a bitmap. More specifically, the bitmap may indicate the resources available for SL-U transmission. In some examples, a value of "1" in the bitmap indicates that the corresponding periodicity / granularity (e.g., 1ms-10ms) is available for sidelink transmission. If the serving cell timing reference used starts from SFN0, the bitmap reference is time slot #0 of the radio frame corresponding to SFN 0 of the serving cell. In some examples, the periodicity with which the time resource pool occurs is 10240ms. In some examples, all resources within a time slot are dedicated to SL-U transmission.

[0059] Figure 3302, 304 are illustrated as example configurations of time domain resource pools for FBE according to some implementations. More specifically, Figure 3 Configurations 302, 304 are illustrated for one radio frame, which in this example has a length of 10 ms. Starting from configuration 302, the periodicity in configuration 302 is 1 ms. Therefore, configuration 302 includes 10 subframes within a 10 ms radio frame. The number of time slots within each subframe depends on the SCS. Figure 3 As shown, bitmap 306 can be used to identify time resources that can be used for SL-U transmission. For example, a value of "1" indicates that the time resource can be used for SL-U transmission, while a value of "0" indicates that the time resource cannot be used for SL-U transmission. Turning to configuration 304, the configuration has a periodicity of 2ms. Therefore, configuration 304 includes 5 subframes within a 10ms radio frame. The number of time slots within each subframe depends on the SCS. As shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the bitmap 308 may be used to identify time resources available for SL-U transmission.

[0060] In some embodiments, when operating in FBE mode, the UE is configured to use a physical layer structure including interleaved resources in the frequency domain. Specifically, the interleaved resources may include multiple resource blocks interleaved across the channel frequency band. And in the time domain, the physical layer structure includes multiple time slots in a radio frame. In some examples, some time domain resources are dedicated to idle periods (or gaps). As previously stated, the minimum gap for FBE is calculated as a maximum value (periodic 5%, 100us). In some examples, the UE is configured to use an LBT category for a channel access procedure. In one example, the UE uses CAT2 LBT for channel access before transmitting. CAT2 specifies LBT without random backoff, with a deterministic idle channel assessment (CCA) period (e.g., single-shot 25us LBT).

[0061] In some examples, the UE may multiplex PSCCH and PSSCH in a configured physical layer structure. For example, PSCCH may be time-division multiplexed and / or frequency-division multiplexed with PSSCH. In some examples, the UE is configured to select one of one or more options for PSCCH interleaving. In a first option (option 1), PSCCH occupies one or more interleavings in a subchannel (e.g., 10 or 11 resource blocks, 20 or 22 resource blocks, etc.). In a second option (option 2), PSCCH occupies a portion of the interleavings in a subchannel (e.g., 5 resource blocks).

[0062] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4CExample physical layer structures for FBE according to some specific implementations are illustrated. In these figures, the time domain resources have a periodicity of 1 ms. In addition, in these figures, the channel band is 20 MHz, but other frequencies are possible. As mentioned above, the 20 MHz BWP has a total of 10 interlaces for 15 KHz SCS and a total of 5 interlaces for 30 KHz SCS.

[0063] Figure 4A The structure 400 includes 10 PRBs across a channel band (e.g., a 20 MHz band) dedicated for SL-U transmission, where the SCS is 15 KHz. Here, the SL-U transmission uses one of the 10 interlaces of the 20 MHz BWP. In this example, the PSCCH is multiplexed using half an interlace and two symbols. Thus, Figure 4A As shown, PSCCH is multiplexed across two symbols in the five PRBs used for SL-U transmission. Figure 4A As shown, the PSSCH is also assigned one interlace.

[0064] Figure 4B A structure 410 including 20 PRBs across a channel band dedicated for SL-U transmission is illustrated, where the SCS is 15 KHz. Here, SL-U transmission uses two interlaces out of 10 interlaces with a 20 MHz BWP. In this example, the PSCCH is multiplexed using one interlace in frequency and across two symbols in time. Thus, Figure 4B As shown, PSCCH is multiplexed across two symbols in the 10 PRBs used for SL-U transmissions. In some examples, PSCCH / PSSCH transmissions in SL-U are sent in one interlace per subchannel. In other examples, PSCCH / PSSCH transmissions in SL-U are sent in more than one interlace per subchannel (e.g., two interlaces). Figure 4B As shown, the PSSCH is sent in two interlaces of the subchannel, while as stated, the PSCCH is sent in one interlace.

[0065] Figure 4C A structure 420 including 20 PRBs across a channel band dedicated for SL-U transmission is illustrated, where the SCS is 30 KHz. Because the SCS is 30 KHz, there are two slots in a 10 ms subframe, where each slot includes 14 symbols. In this example, the PSCCH is multiplexed using one interleave in frequency and two symbols across time. Thus, Figure 4CAs shown, PSCCH is multiplexed across two symbols in the 10 PRBs used for SL-U transmissions. In some examples, PSCCH / PSSCH transmissions in SL-U are sent in one interlace per subchannel. In other examples, PSCCH / PSSCH transmissions in SL-U are sent in more than one interlace per subchannel (e.g., two interlaces). Figure 4C As shown, PSSCH is sent in two interlaces of subchannels, while PSCCH is sent in one interlace as stated. In some examples where PSCCH uses one interlace / subchannel when PSSCH uses two interlaces / subchannels, PSCCH uses the lower subchannel / interlace.

[0066] In some implementations, when communicating via an unlicensed side link, a UE (e.g., UE 105) is configured to operate according to a load-based equipment (LBE) design. LBE devices may utilize a transmit / receive structure that is not fixed in time but driven by demand. LBE devices may perform CCA as needed. If a channel is not available, the LBE device may perform an extended CCA with an extended sensing duration.

[0067] In order to operate according to the LBE design, the UE is configured with a frequency domain resource pool configuration dedicated to LBE. In one example, the frequency domain pool is located within a partial bandwidth. In another example, the frequency domain pool is located within the full bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz). Whether partial bandwidth or full bandwidth is used affects the CCA method used for sensing. For partial bandwidth, type 1 LBT is used for CCA, and transmission starts only at the slot boundary after an additional single-shot LBT. For full bandwidth, type 1 LBT is also used for CCA. However, transmission starts immediately after the type 1 LBT is successful, which may be before the slot boundary. The CP extension will be sent before the start of the slot boundary. The transmitted signal may be a further extension of the AGC symbol. Doing so allows the UE to reserve the channel for its transmit opportunity.

[0068] The reason why different CCA methods are used for partial bandwidth instead of full bandwidth is that in partial bandwidth, the UE is assigned one or more interlaces and shares the bandwidth with other UEs. In order to avoid conflicts between different UEs, transmission starts only at the time slot boundary (after an additional single-shot LBT). For example, suppose there are two UEs sharing the bandwidth (each UE occupies part of the bandwidth), and each UE performs its independent LBT. Once the LBT period ends, each UE maintains and does not perform the channel access process. Instead, the two UEs perform another single-shot LBT (e.g., 16us sensing), and if successful, the two UEs start transmitting together at the time slot boundary. Therefore, one UE will not block the transmission of another UE.

[0069] In some implementations, the UE is configured with a time domain resource pool configuration dedicated to LBE. The characteristics of the time domain resource pool depend on whether the UE is allocated full bandwidth or partial bandwidth. When full bandwidth is used, the UE can start transmitting at any time in any time slot. Alternatively, a bitmap is used to configure potential start time points. Whether to use a bitmap depends on the network configuration. When partial bandwidth is used, a bitmap is used to configure potential start time points.

[0070] In some implementations, when operating in LBE mode, the UE is configured to use a physical layer structure including interleaved resources in the frequency domain. Specifically, the interleaved resources may include multiple resource blocks interleaved across channel frequency bands. And in the time domain, the physical layer structure includes multiple time slots in a radio frame.

[0071] In some examples, the UE may multiplex PSCCH and PSSCH in a configured physical layer structure. For example, PSCCH may be time-division multiplexed and / or frequency-division multiplexed with PSSCH. In some examples, the UE is configured to select one of one or more options for PSCCH interleaving. In a first option (option 1), PSCCH occupies one or more interleavings (e.g., 10 or 11 resource blocks, 20 or 22 resource blocks, etc.). In a second option (option 2), PSCCH occupies a partial interleaving (e.g., 5 resource blocks).

[0072] In some implementations, since each transmission can be multiple time slots once CCA is successful, the channel design can span multiple time slots (e.g., Figure 5A and Figure 5B 2 time slots as shown). In some implementations, a staggered time slot structure is used. In these implementations, the AGC symbol is included at the beginning time slot of each burst. The AGC symbol is a repetition of the second symbol. As another alternative, the AGC symbol may be sent at the beginning of every X time slots (e.g., X=2).

[0073] In some implementations, the UE is configured to select one of one or more options for PSCCH transmission. In the first option (option 1), the PSCCH is in the first slot in a multi-slot transmission. In the second option (option 2), a PSCCH replica is included in each slot. In the third option (option 3), a PSCCH replica is included in the first N slots (e.g., N=2). For options 1 and 3, the transport block size for the PSSCH can be determined based on the indicated modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the resource elements used for one PSSCH transmission opportunity (e.g., the first PSSCH transmission opportunity).

[0074] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B An example physical layer structure for LBE according to some implementations is illustrated. Figure 5A The structure 500 is illustrated including 20 PRBs across a channel band dedicated for SL-U transmission. In this example, the PSCCH is multiplexed using one interleave in frequency and across two symbols in time. Figure 5A As shown, PSCCH is multiplexed across two symbols in 10 PRBs used for SL-U transmission. Figure 5B A structure 510 including 20 PRBs across a channel band dedicated to SL-U transmission is illustrated. In this example, PSCCH is multiplexed using one interleave in frequency and across two symbols in time. In addition, PSCCH is multiplexed in each time slot. In both structures 500 and 510, there is only a gap of one symbol.

[0075] Figure 6 A flowchart of an example method 600 according to some specific implementations is illustrated. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes the method 700 in the context of other figures in this specification. For example, the method 600 may be performed by Figure 1 UE 105 of the present invention is executed. It should be understood that method 600 can be performed by any suitable system, environment, software, hardware or a combination of systems, environments, software and hardware as appropriate. In some specific implementations, the steps of method 600 can be executed in parallel, in combination, in a loop or in any order. In some specific implementations, method 600 is executed by UE.

[0076] At step 602, method 600 involves generating a communication for transmission on a sidelink channel operating in an unlicensed bandwidth.

[0077] At step 604, method 600 involves determining a configuration of a resource pool for a sidelink channel, wherein the configuration is based on one of: a frame-based equipment (FBE) mechanism or a load-based equipment (LBE) mechanism.

[0078] At step 606, method 600 involves determining one or more resources from the resource pool on which to send the communication.

[0079] At step 608, method 600 involves sending a communication on a sidelink channel using one or more resources.

[0080] In some implementations, determining a configuration of a resource pool for a side link channel includes determining at least one of a frequency domain configuration and a time domain configuration.

[0081] In some specific implementations, the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and determining the frequency domain configuration includes: determining the number of frequency interlaces allocated to the sidelink communication of the UE; determining the number of physical resource blocks for each interlace based on the subcarrier spacing of the sidelink channel; and determining the physical resource block spacing in the sidelink channel.

[0082] In some specific implementations, configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and determining the time domain configuration includes: determining the number of time slots in the time domain based on at least one of the configured time domain resource granularity and the subcarrier spacing of the side link channel; and determining one or more time slots allocated to the side link communication of the UE based on the bitmap.

[0083] In some specific implementations, the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method also includes determining the physical layer structure of one or more resources.

[0084] In some specific implementations, where the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and where sending the communication on the sidelink channel using one or more resources includes: determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in a physical layer structure; and sending the PSCCH communication based on the interleaving design.

[0085] In some implementations, a first symbol of the physical layer structure is dedicated to automatic gain control (AGC).

[0086] In some implementations, determining a physical layer structure of one or more resources includes calculating a minimum gap in the physical layer structure.

[0087] In some specific implementations, configuration of the resource pool is based on an LBE mechanism, and determining the frequency domain configuration includes determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication.

[0088] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that a portion of the bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining to start sending at a time slot boundary only after an additional single-transmit listen-before-talk (LBT).

[0089] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining to start transmitting before a time slot boundary.

[0090] In some specific implementations, configuration of the resource pool is based on an LBE mechanism, and determining the time domain configuration includes determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication.

[0091] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that a portion of the bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining a starting point for a bitmap to be used to configure one or more resources on which communications are sent.

[0092] In some specific implementations, determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication includes: determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining that sending communications on the sidelink channel can start at any time.

[0093] In some specific implementations, the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method also includes determining the physical layer structure of one or more resources.

[0094] In some specific implementations, where the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and where sending the communication on the sidelink channel using one or more resources includes: determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in a physical layer structure; and sending the PSCCH communication based on the interleaving design.

[0095] Figure 7 UE 700 according to some specific implementations is illustrated. UE 700 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 105 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0096] UE 700 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, an actuator, etc.), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera, a camcorder, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or a loose IoT device.

[0097] UE 700 may include a processor 702, an RF interface circuit 704, a memory / storage device 706, a user interface 708, a sensor 710, a driver circuit 712, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 714, one or more antennas 716, and a battery 718. The components of UE 700 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a portion of an integrated circuit, a discrete electronic device or other module, logical component, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Figure 7The block diagram of UE 700 is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of UE 700. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0098] Components of UE 700 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 720, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., which allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0099] The processor 702 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 722A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 722B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 722C. The processor 702 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program codes, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 706) to cause the UE 700 to perform operations as described herein.

[0100] In some implementations, the processor 702 is configured to generate a communication for transmission on a side link channel operating in an unlicensed bandwidth. In addition, the processor 702 is configured to determine a configuration of a resource pool for the side link channel, wherein the configuration is based on one of the following: a frame-based equipment (FBE) mechanism or a load-based equipment (LBE) mechanism. In addition, the processor 702 is configured to determine one or more resources from the resource pool on which to transmit the communication. Moreover, the processor 702 is configured to prepare the communication for transmission on the side link channel using the one or more resources.

[0101] In some implementations, the baseband processor circuit 722A may access a communication protocol stack 724 in the memory / storage device 706 to communicate over a 3GPP compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 722A may access the communication protocol stack to: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some implementations, the PHY layer operations may be additionally / alternatively performed by components of the RF interface circuit 704. The baseband processor circuit 722A may generate or process a baseband signal or waveform that carries information in a 3GPP compatible network. In some implementations, the waveform for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM "CP-OFDM" in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM "DFT-S-OFDM" in the uplink.

[0102] The memory / storage device 706 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions (e.g., communication protocol stack 724) that can be executed by one or more processors in the processor 702 to enable the UE 700 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage device 706 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout the UE 700. In some specific implementations, some of the memory / storage devices 706 may be located on the processor 702 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage devices 706 are located outside the processor 702, but can be accessed via a memory interface. The memory / storage device 706 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, 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, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0103] The RF interface circuit 704 may include a transceiver circuit and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 700 to communicate with other devices through a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 704 may include various elements arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0104] In the receive path, the RFEM may receive the radiated signal from the air interface via one or more antennas 716 and proceed to filter and amplify the signal (using a low noise amplifier). The signal may be provided to a transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal provided to a baseband processor of the processor 702.

[0105] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 716.

[0106] In various implementations, the RF interface circuit 704 may be configured to send / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0107] Antenna 716 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 716 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 716 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, a phased array antenna, etc. Antenna 716 may have one or more panels that are designed for a specific frequency band included in a band in FR1 or FR2.

[0108] The user interface 708 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 700. The user interface 708 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual components for accepting input, including in particular one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., reset button), physical keyboards, keypads, mice, touch pads, touch screens, microphones, scanners, headphones, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual components for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuit may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including in particular one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators, such as light emitting diodes "LEDs") and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays "LCDs", LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 700.

[0109] Sensor 710 may include a device, module, or subsystem that is intended to detect events or changes in its environment and to communicate information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope, or magnetometer; a level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; and the like.

[0110] The driver circuit 712 may include software elements and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in the UE 700, attached to the UE 700, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 700. The driver circuit 712 may include separate drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in the UE 700 or connected to the UE. For example, the driver circuit 712 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of a sensor 728 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor 728, a driver for obtaining an actuator position of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0111] The PMIC 714 may manage power provided to various components of the UE 700. Specifically, with respect to the processor 702, the PMIC 714 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0112] In some implementations, the PMIC 714 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 700, including DRX, as discussed herein. The battery 718 may power the UE 700, but in some examples, the UE 700 may be mounted in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the grid. The battery 718 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 718 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0113] Figure 8 An access node 800 (e.g., a base station or gNB) according to some implementations is illustrated. The access node 800 may be similar to the base station 110 and may be substantially interchangeable therewith. The access node 800 may include a processor 802, an RF interface circuit 804, a core network (CN) interface circuit 806, a memory / storage circuit 808, and one or more antennas 810.

[0114] The components of access node 800 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 812. Processor 802, RF interface circuitry 804, memory / storage circuitry 808 (including communication protocol stack 814), antenna 810, and interconnect 812 may be similar to those described with reference to FIG. Figure 7Like-named elements are shown and described.For example, processor 802 may include processor circuits such as baseband processor circuit (BB) 816A, central processor unit circuit (CPU) 816B, and graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 816C.

[0115] The CN interface circuit 806 may provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5th Generation Core Network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity may be provided to / from the access node 800 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 806 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 806 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0116] As used herein, the terms "access node", "access point", etc. may be described as equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP or 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). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node", etc. may refer to an access node 800 (e.g., a gNB) operating in an NR or 5G system, and the terms "E-UTRAN node", etc. may refer to an access node 800 (e.g., an eNB) operating in an LTE or 4G system. According to various specific implementations, the access node 800 may be implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station and / or a low power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity or higher bandwidth than a macrocell.

[0117] In some implementations, all or part of the access node 800 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these implementations, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement a RAN functional split, such as a PDCP split, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and other L2 protocol entities are operated by the access node 800; a MAC / PHY split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and the PHY layer is operated by the access node 800; or a "lower PHY" split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers, and upper portions of the PHY layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and the lower portions of the PHY layers are operated by the access node 800.

[0118] In the V2X scenario, the access node 800 may be an RSU or act as an RSU. The term "road side unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationed (or relatively stationed) UE, wherein an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on.

[0119] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Representing a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks expressly intends that the component does not invoke 35 USC § 112(f) for interpretation.

[0120] 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, or methods described in the following example section. For example, the baseband circuit 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 described below. For another example, the circuits 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 example section below.

[0121] Example

[0122] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0123] Embodiment 1 includes a method, the method involving: generating a communication for transmission on a side link channel operating in an unlicensed bandwidth; determining a configuration of a resource pool for the side link channel, wherein the configuration is based on one of: a frame-based equipment (FBE) mechanism or a load-based equipment (LBE) mechanism; determining one or more resources from the resource pool on which to transmit the communication; and transmitting the communication on the side link channel using the one or more resources.

[0124] Embodiment 2 includes the method of embodiment 1, wherein determining the configuration of the resource pool of the sidelink channel involves determining at least one of a frequency domain configuration and a time domain configuration.

[0125] Embodiment 3 includes a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and wherein determining the frequency domain configuration includes: determining the number of frequency interlaces allocated to the sidelink communication of the UE; determining the number of physical resource blocks for each interlace based on the subcarrier spacing of the sidelink channel; and determining the physical resource block spacing in the sidelink channel.

[0126] Embodiment 4 includes a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and wherein determining the time domain configuration involves: determining the number of time slots in the time domain based on the configured time domain resource granularity and at least one of the subcarrier spacing of the side link channel; and determining one or more time slots allocated to the side link communication of the UE based on a bitmap.

[0127] Embodiment 5 includes the method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method further involves determining a physical layer structure of the one or more resources.

[0128] Embodiment 6 includes a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and wherein sending the communication on the sidelink channel using the one or more resources involves: determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in the physical layer structure; and sending the PSCCH communication based on the interleaving design.

[0129] Embodiment 7 includes the method of embodiment 5, wherein a first symbol of the physical layer structure is dedicated to automatic gain control (AGC).

[0130] Embodiment 8 includes the method of embodiment 5, wherein determining a physical layer structure of the one or more resources involves calculating a minimum gap in the physical layer structure.

[0131] Embodiment 9 includes a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the LBE mechanism, and wherein determining the frequency domain configuration involves determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the side link channel is dedicated to the UE for side link communication.

[0132] Embodiment 10 includes a method according to embodiment 9, wherein determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication involves: determining that the portion of the bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining to start sending at a time slot boundary only after an additional single-transmit listen-before-talk (LBT).

[0133] Embodiment 11 comprises the method according to embodiment 9, wherein determining whether the full bandwidth or partial bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication involves: determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining to start sending before the time slot boundary.

[0134] Embodiment 12 includes a method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the LBE mechanism, and wherein determining the time domain configuration involves determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the side link channel is dedicated to the UE for side link communication.

[0135] Embodiment 13 includes a method according to embodiment 12, wherein determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication involves: determining that the portion of the bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining a starting point of the one or more resources on which the communication is sent using a bitmap.

[0136] Embodiment 14 includes a method according to embodiment 12, wherein determining whether the full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication involves: determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; and in response, determining that sending the communication on the sidelink channel can be started at any time.

[0137] Embodiment 15 includes the method according to embodiment 1, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method further involves determining a physical layer structure of the one or more resources.

[0138] Embodiment 16 includes a method according to embodiment 15, wherein the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and wherein sending the communication on the sidelink channel using the one or more resources involves: determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in the physical layer structure; and sending the PSCCH communication based on the interleaving design.

[0139] Embodiment 17 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16 or any other method or process described herein.

[0140] Embodiment 18 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of a method as described or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 16, or any other method or process described herein.

[0141] Embodiment 19 may include methods, techniques or processes described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, or parts or components thereof.

[0142] Embodiment 20 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, process, or portion thereof as described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16.

[0143] Embodiment 21 may include a signal as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, or a portion or component thereof.

[0144] Embodiment 22 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0145] Embodiment 23 may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0146] Embodiment 24 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 16, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0147] Embodiment 25 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16.

[0148] Embodiment 26 may include a computer program including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 16. The operations or actions performed by the instructions executed by the processing element may include a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 16.

[0149] Embodiment 27 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0150] Embodiment 28 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0151] Embodiment 29 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. The operations or actions performed by the system may include a method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16.

[0152] Embodiment 30 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. The operations or actions performed by the apparatus may include a method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16.

[0153] The previously described embodiments 1 to 16 can be implemented using a computer-implemented method; a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions to perform the computer-implemented method; and a computer system comprising a computer memory interoperably coupled to a hardware processor, the hardware processor being configured to execute the computer-implemented method or the instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0154] A system (e.g., a base station, a device including one or more baseband processors, etc.) may be configured to perform a specific operation or the action by having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof installed on the system that causes the system to perform the action in operation. The operation or action performed by the system may include a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 16.

[0155] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In view of the above teachings, modifications and variations are possible or can be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0156] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

[0157] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are deemed to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to the user.

Claims

1. One or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising: generating a communication for transmission on a sidelink channel operating in an unlicensed bandwidth; determining a configuration of a resource pool for the sidelink channel, wherein the configuration is based on one of: a frame-based equipment (FBE) mechanism or a load-based equipment (LBE) mechanism; determining from the resource pool one or more resources on which to send the communication; as well as The UE is caused to send the communication on the sidelink channel using the one or more resources.

2. The one or more processors of claim 1 , wherein determining the configuration of the resource pool for the sidelink channel comprises: At least one of a frequency domain configuration and a time domain configuration is determined.

3. The one or more processors according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and wherein determining the frequency domain configuration comprises: determining a number of frequency interlaces allocated for sidelink communications of the UE; determining a number of physical resource blocks per interlace based on a subcarrier spacing of the sidelink channel; as well as A physical resource block spacing in the sidelink channel is determined.

4. The one or more processors according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and wherein determining the time domain configuration comprises: determining a number of time slots in the time domain based on at least one of a configured time domain resource granularity and a subcarrier spacing of the sidelink channel; as well as One or more time slots allocated to sidelink communication of the UE are determined based on the bitmap.

5. One or more processors according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method further comprises: A physical layer structure of the one or more resources is determined.

6. The one or more processors of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and wherein sending the communication on the sidelink channel using the one or more resources comprises: Determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in the physical layer structure; as well as The PSCCH communication is sent based on the interleaving design.

7. The one or more processors of claim 5, wherein a first symbol of the physical layer structure is dedicated to automatic gain control (AGC).

8. The one or more processors of claim 5, wherein determining a physical layer structure of the one or more resources comprises: A minimum gap in the physical layer structure is calculated.

9. The one or more processors of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the LBE mechanism, and wherein determining the frequency domain configuration comprises: Determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication.

10. The one or more processors of claim 9, wherein determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication comprises: Determining that the portion of bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; as well as In response, it is determined to start transmitting at a time slot boundary only after one additional single-shot listen-before-talk (LBT).

11. The one or more processors of claim 9, wherein determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication comprises: Determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; as well as In response, a determination is made to begin transmission prior to a time slot boundary.

12. The one or more processors of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the LBE mechanism, and wherein determining the time domain configuration comprises: Determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication.

13. The one or more processors of claim 12, wherein determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication comprises: Determining that the portion of bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; as well as In response, a bitmap is determined to be used to configure a starting point for the one or more resources over which to send the communication.

14. The one or more processors of claim 12, wherein determining whether a full bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the sidelink channel is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication comprises: Determining that the full bandwidth is dedicated to the UE for sidelink communication; as well as In response, a determination is made that sending the communication on the sidelink channel can begin at any time.

15. The one or more processors of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and the method further comprises: A physical layer structure of the one or more resources is determined.

16. The one or more processors of claim 15, wherein the communication is a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) communication, and wherein sending the communication on the sidelink channel using the one or more resources comprises: Determining an interleaving design for the PSCCH communication in the physical layer structure; as well as The PSCCH communication is sent based on the interleaving design.

17. A method comprising: generating a communication for transmission on a sidelink channel operating in an unlicensed bandwidth; determining a configuration of a resource pool for the sidelink channel, wherein the configuration is based on one of: a frame-based equipment (FBE) mechanism or a load-based equipment (LBE) mechanism; determining from the resource pool one or more resources on which to send the communication; as well as The communication is sent over the sidelink channel using the one or more resources.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the configuration of the resource pool of the sidelink channel comprises: At least one of a frequency domain configuration and a time domain configuration is determined.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and wherein determining the frequency domain configuration comprises: determining a number of frequency interlaces allocated for sidelink communications of the UE; determining a number of physical resource blocks per interlace based on a subcarrier spacing of the sidelink channel; as well as A physical resource block spacing in the sidelink channel is determined.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the configuration of the resource pool is based on the FBE mechanism, and wherein determining the time domain configuration comprises: determining a number of time slots in the time domain based on at least one of a configured time domain resource granularity and a subcarrier spacing of the sidelink channel; as well as One or more time slots allocated to sidelink communication of the UE are determined based on the bitmap.

21. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising one or more storage devices, on which are stored operable instructions, which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to perform operations according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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