NR time domain resource allocation for configuration grant transmissions in new air interface (NR) system operating on unlicensed spectrum

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to NR time domain resource allocation for configuration grant transmissions in a new air interface (NR) system operating on an unlicensed spectrum. Techniques discussed herein may facilitate determining uplink (UL) resources for a new air interface (NR) operation in an unlicensed spectrum (NR-U). One exemplary embodiment is an apparatus employable by a UE, the apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to: process at least one bitmap via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, where each of the at least one bitmap comprises X bits, where X is an integer greater than 1; and determining, for each time resource of at least one configuration grant (CG) cycle, whether the time resource is configured for uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier based at least on the at least one bitmap, where each of the at least one CG cycle includes P time resources, where P is an integer greater than 1.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the application with international application number PCT / US2020 / 031327, international application date May 4, 2020, entry into the Chinese national phase date November 1, 2021, national application number 202080032863.0, and invention name “NR time domain resource allocation for configuring authorized transmission in a new radio (NR) system operating on unlicensed spectrum”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 842,977, filed on May 3, 2019, entitled “NR TIME-DOMAIN RESOURCEALLOCATION FOR CONFIGURED GRANT TRANSMISSIONS IN NR SYSTEMS OPERATING ON UNLICENSED SPECTRUM,” which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Background Art

[0004] Every year, the number of mobile devices connected to wireless networks increases significantly. In order to keep up with the demand for mobile data traffic, changes are being made to system requirements and capabilities to be able to meet these demands. The three areas targeted for enhancement to achieve this traffic increase are greater bandwidth, lower latency, and higher data rates.

[0005] One of the major limiting factors in wireless communications is the availability of spectrum. To mitigate this, unlicensed spectrum has been an area of ​​great interest in extending the availability of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE). In this context, one of the major enhancements to LTE in 3GPP Release 13 (Rel-13) is to enable it to operate in unlicensed spectrum via Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), which extends the system bandwidth by leveraging the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework introduced by the Advanced LTE system (LTE-A). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the architecture of a system including a core network (CN), such as a fifth generation (5G) CN (5GC), according to various embodiments.

[0007] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of infrastructure equipment devices, such as a base station (BS), that may be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

[0008] Figure 3FIG. is an illustration showing exemplary components of a user equipment (UE) device that can be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

[0009] Figure 4 FIG. is a block diagram of a system that facilitates NR-U operation based on time resources for UL transmission according to one or more configurations in accordance with various techniques discussed herein.

[0010] Figure 5A FIG. is a pair of diagrams showing an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various embodiments discussed herein, which can repeat over time independently of Configured Grant (CG) periodicity (e.g., 16 (top diagram) or 64 (bottom diagram)).

[0011] Figure 5B FIG. is an illustration showing an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various embodiments discussed herein, where for CG periodicity P < X, P time domain resource elements for each CG period can be configured based on the first P elements of the bitmap of length X.

[0012] Fig. 6A FIG. is an illustration showing an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various embodiments discussed herein, where for each set of n CG periods of length P, resource allocation follows the bitmap, and if the resource units of the last period of each set are not covered by the bitmap, the first nP - X time resource units of the bitmap are used.

[0013] Figure 6B FIG. is an illustration showing an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various aspects discussed herein, where resource allocation is based on the bitmap, and any remaining time domain units are configured by repeating the bitmap in time until the end of the period.

[0014] Figure 7 FIG. is a pair of diagrams showing an exemplary representation of a bitmap that has been cyclically shifted by an offset (in the example, L = 5) according to various embodiments discussed herein.

[0015] Fig. 8A FIG. is an illustration showing an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various aspects discussed herein, where resource allocation is based on the bitmap, and any remaining time domain units are configured by repeating a cyclically shifted version of the bitmap in time until the end of the period.

[0016] Figure 8B FIG. is an illustration showing an example of multiple slot offsets configured within a periodicity according to various embodiments discussed herein, each slot offset having a slot duration during which the UE can perform its transmission continuously in time.

[0017] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method that may be employed at a UE to facilitate NR-U operation based on one or more configured time resources for UL transmissions in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein throughout the text, similar figure numerals are used to refer to similar elements, and the structures and devices shown therein need not be drawn to scale. As used herein, the terms "component", "system", "interface", etc. are intended to refer to entities, hardware, software (e.g., in execution) and / or firmware related to computers. For example, a component may be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable file, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet computer, and / or a user equipment with a processing device (e.g., a mobile phone or other devices configured to communicate via a 3GPP RAN, etc.). By way of example, an application program and a server running on a server may also be a component. One or more components may reside in a process, and a component may be located on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. A group of elements or a group of other components may be described herein, wherein the term "group" may be interpreted as "one or more", unless the context otherwise indicates (e.g., "empty group", "a group of two or more Xs", etc.).

[0019] In addition, the components can execute from various computer-readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon, such as using modules, for example. The components can communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as according to signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or throughout a network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or a similar network with other systems via signals).

[0020] As another example, a component may be a device having a specific function provided by a mechanical component operated by electrical or electronic circuitry, wherein the electrical or electronic circuitry may be operated by a software application or firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors may be internal or external to the device and may execute at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As another example, a component may be a device that provides a specific function by an electronic component without the need for a mechanical component; the electronic component may include one or more processors therein to execute at least a portion of the software and / or firmware that imparts the function to the electronic component.

[0021] The use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a specific way. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied in any of the foregoing cases. In addition, the articles "one" and "an" used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted as meaning "one or more" unless otherwise specified or clear from the context to point to a singular form. In addition, to the extent that the terms "including", "comprising", "having", "having", "with" or variations thereof are used in the detailed description and claims, such terms are intended to be included in a manner similar to the term "comprising". In addition, in the case of discussing one or more numbered items (e.g., "first X", "second X", etc.), generally, one or more numbered items may be different or they may be the same, but in some cases, the context may indicate that they are different or that they are the same.

[0022] As used herein, the term "circuit" may refer to, may be part of, or may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuit, processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and / or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuits, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, a circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functionality associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, a circuit may include logic that is at least partially operable in hardware.

[0023]

[0013] Various aspects discussed herein may be directed to facilitating wireless communications, and the nature of these communications may vary.

[0024] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0025] The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and / or software. Figure 1The architecture of a system 100 including a core network (CN) 120 (first to twenty-fourth additional embodiments, such as a fifth generation (5G) CN (5GC)) according to various embodiments is shown. The system 100 is shown to include: a UE 101, which may be the same or similar to one or more other UEs discussed herein; a third generation partnership project (3GPP) radio access network (radio AN or RAN) or other (e.g., non-3GPP) AN, (R) AN 210, which may include one or more RAN nodes (such as base stations (e.g., evolved Node B (eNB))), next generation Node B (gNB, and / or other nodes) or other nodes or access points; and a data network (DN) 203, which may be, for example, an operator service, Internet access, or a third party service; and a fifth generation core network (5GC) 120. 5GC 120 may include one or more of the following functions and network components: authentication server function (AUSF) 122; access and mobility management function (AMF) 121; session management function (SMF) 124; network exposure function (NEF) 123; policy control function (PCF) 126; network repository function (NRF) 125; unified data management (UDM) 127; application function (AF) 128; user plane (UP) function (UPF) 102; and network slice selection function (NSSF) 129.

[0026] The UPF 102 may serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point interconnected with the DN 103, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 102 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 102 may include an uplink classifier for supporting routing of traffic to a data network. The DN 103 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The DN 103 may include or be similar to an application server. UPF 102 may interact with SMF 124 via an N4 reference point between SMF 124 and UPF 102 .

[0027] AUSF 122 may store data for authentication of UE 101 and handle authentication-related functions. AUSF 122 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. AUSF 122 may communicate with AMF 121 via an N12 reference point between AMF 121 and AUSF 122; and may communicate with UDM 127 via an N13 reference point between UDM 127 and AUSF 122. In addition, AUSF 122 may present an interface based on Nausf services.

[0028] AMF 121 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering UE 101, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 121 may be the termination point of the N11 reference point between AMF 121 and SMF 124. AMF 121 may provide transport for SM messages between UE 101 and SMF 124, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 121 may also provide communication between UE 101 and Short Message Service (SMS) Function (SMSF) ( Figure 1 101). The AMF 121 may provide transport for SMS messages between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121. The AMF 121 may act as a security anchor function (SEAF), which may include interaction with the AUSF 122 and the UE 101 and / or receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 101 authentication process. In the case of using authentication based on the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 121 may retrieve security material from the AUSF 122. The AMF 121 may also include a single connection mode (SCM) function that receives keys from the SEA for deriving access network-specific keys. In addition, the AMF 121 may be a termination point for a RAN control plane (CP) interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121; and the AMF 121 may be a termination point for non-access stratum (NAS) (N1) signaling, and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0029] The AMF 121 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 101 over a non-3GPP (N3) interworking function (IWF) interface. The N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3IWF may be the termination point for the N2 interface between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121 for the control plane, and may be the termination point for the N3 reference point between the (R)AN 110 and the UPF 102 for the user plane. Thus, the AMF 121 may process N2 signaling for PDU sessions and QoS from the SMF 124 and the AMF 121, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for Internet Protocol (IP) Security (IPSec) and N3 tunnels, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and enforce QoS requirements corresponding to N3 packet markings, thereby taking into account QoS requirements associated with such markings received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 via the N1 reference point between the UE 101 and the AMF 121, and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 101 and the UPF 102. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 101. The AMF 121 may present an interface based on the Namf service, and may be an N14 reference point between the two AMFs 121 and an N14 reference point between the AMF 121 and the 5G Equipment Identity Register (5G-EIR) ( Figure 1 The termination point of the N17 reference point between (not shown).

[0030] UE 101 may register with AMF 121 in order to receive network services. Registration Management (RM) is used to register UE 101 with the network (e.g., AMF 121) or deregister UE 101, and to establish a UE context in the network (e.g., AMF 121). UE 101 may operate in an RM-REGISTRED state or an RM-DEREGISTRED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, UE 101 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 121 does not maintain valid location or routing information of UE 101, so AMF 121 cannot reach UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 101 is registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 121 may maintain valid location or routing information of UE 101, so AMF 121 can reach UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 101 may perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by expiration of a periodic update timer (e.g., to notify the network that UE 101 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0031] AMF 121 may store one or more RM contexts for UE 101, each RM context being associated with a specific access to the network. An RM context may be a data structure, a database object, or the like, which in particular indicates or stores a registration status and a periodic update timer for each access type. AMF 121 may also store a 5GC Mobility Management (MM) context, which may be the same or similar to an (Enhanced Packet System (EPS)) MM ((E)MM) context. In various embodiments, AMF 121 may store coverage enhancement (CE) mode B restriction parameters for UE 101 in an associated MM context or RM context. AMF 121 may also derive values ​​from usage setting parameters of the UE already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context) when necessary.

[0032] Connection Management (CM) may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 through the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to implement NAS signaling exchanges between the UE 101 and the CN 120, and includes a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., an RRC connection or a UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and an N2 connection between the UE 101 in the AN (e.g., the RAN 110) and the AMF 121. The UE 101 may operate in one of two CM states (CM IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When the UE 101 operates in the CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 101 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 101. When the UE 101 operates in the CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 101 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 101. Establishing an N2 connection between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121 may cause the UE 101 to transition from the CM-IDLE mode to the CM-CONNECTED mode, and when the N2 signaling between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121 is released, the UE 101 may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode.

[0033] SMF 124 may be responsible for session management (SM) (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring traffic steering of the UPF to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface toward the policy control function; control portion of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interface with the lawful interception (LI) system); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to the AN via the AMF over N2; and determining the session and service continuity (SSC) mode for the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or implements the exchange of PDUs between a UE 101 and a data network (DN) 103 identified by a data network name (DNN). The PDU session may be established upon request by UE 101, modified upon request by UE 101 and 5GC 120, and released upon request by UE 101 and 5GC 120 using NAS SM signaling exchanged between UE 101 and SMF 124 over the N1 reference point. Upon request from an application server, 5GC 120 may trigger a specific application in UE 101. In response to receiving a trigger message, UE 101 may deliver the trigger message (or relevant parts / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE 101. The identified applications in UE 101 may establish a PDU session with a specific DNN. SMF 124 may check whether the UE 101 request complies with user subscription information associated with UE 101. In this regard, SMF 124 may retrieve and / or request to receive update notifications about SMF 124 level subscription data from UDM 127.

[0034] SMF 124 may include the following roaming functions: handling local execution to apply QoS service level agreements (SLAs) (visited public land mobile network (VPLMN)); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system, in VPLMN); and support interaction with external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication through external DN. In a roaming scenario, an N16 reference point between two SMFs 124 may be included in the system 100, which may be located between an SMF 124 in a visited network and another SMF 124 in a home network. In addition, SMF 124 may present an interface based on Nsmf services.

[0035] NEF 123 may provide components for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 128), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, NEF 123 may authenticate, authorize and / or restrict AF. NEF 123 may also convert information exchanged with AF 128 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 123 may convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 123 may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on the exposure capabilities of other network functions. The information may be stored at NEF 123 as structured data, or stored at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed to other NFs and AFs by NEF 123, and / or used for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF 123 may present an interface based on Nnef services.

[0036] NRF 125 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 125 also maintains information of available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the term "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of a program code. In addition, NRF 125 may present an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0037] The PCF 126 may provide for control plane functions to enforce their policy rules, and may also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. The PCF 126 may also implement FEs to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 127. The PCF 126 may communicate with the AMF 121 via the N15 reference point between the PCF 126 and the AMF 121, which may include the PCF 126 in the visited network and the AMF 121 in the case of a roaming scenario. The PCF 126 may communicate with the AF 128 via the N5 reference point between the PCF 126 and the AF 128; and communicate with the SMF 124 via the N7 reference point between the PCF 126 and the SMF 124. The system 100 and / or the CN 120 may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF 126 (in the home network) and the PCF 126 in the visited network. In addition, the PCF 126 may present an interface based on Npcf services.

[0038] The UDM 127 may process subscription-related information to support the handling of communication sessions by network entities, and may store subscription data of the UE 101. For example, subscription data may be transferred between the UDM 127 and the AMF 121 via an N8 reference point between the UDM 127 and the AMF. The UDM 127 may include two parts: an application function entity (FE) and a unified data repository (UDR) (the FE and the UDR are in Figure 1 126). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data of the UDM 127 and PCF 126, and / or structured data for exposure of the NEF 123 and application data (including packet flow descriptions (PFDs) for application detection, application request information of multiple UEs 101). The Nudr service-based interface may be presented by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM 127, PCF 126, and NEF 123 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of related data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. In different transactions, several different FEs may serve the same user. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR, and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. The UDR may interact with the SMF 124 via the N10 reference point between the UDM 127 and the SMF 124. UDM 127 may also support SMS management, where SMS-FE implements similar application logic as discussed elsewhere herein.In addition, UDM 127 may present an interface based on Nudm services.

[0039] AF 128 can provide application influence on traffic routing, provide access to NEF 123, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. 5GC 120 and AF 128 can provide information to each other via NEF 123, which can be used for edge computing implementation. In such implementation, network operators and third-party services can be hosted near the UE101 access point of the attachment to achieve effective service delivery through reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transmission network. For edge computing implementation, 5GC can select UPF 102 near UE 101 and perform traffic steering from UPF 102 to DN 103 via N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by AF 128. In this way, AF 128 can affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 128 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 128 to interact directly with the relevant NF. In addition, AF 128 can present an interface based on Naf services.

[0040] NSSF 129 may select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 101. NSSF 129 may also appropriately determine the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) and the mapping to the subscribed single NSSAI (S-NSSAI). NSSF 129 may also determine the set of AMFs to be used to serve UE 101, or a list of candidate AMFs 121, based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying NRF 125. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 101 may be triggered by AMF 121, where UE 101 registers by interacting with NSSF 129, which may result in changes to AMF 121. NSSF 129 may interact with AMF 121 via the N22 reference point between AMF 121 and NSSF 129; and may communicate via the N31 reference point ( Figure 1 129 in the visited network. In addition, the NSSF 129 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0041] As discussed previously, CN 120 may include an SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages from / to other entities, such as an SMS-Gateway Mobile Services Switching Center (GMSC) / Interworking MSC (IWMSC) / SMS router, to / from UE 101. The SMSF may also interact with AMF 121 and UDM 127 for notification procedures that UE 101 is available for SMS transmission (e.g., setting a UE unreachable flag and notifying UDM 127 when UE 101 is available for SMS).

[0042] CN 120 may also include Figure 1 Other elements not shown, such as data storage system / architecture, 5G-EIR, security edge protection proxy (SEPP), etc. The data storage system may include structured data storage function (SDSF), unstructured data storage function (UDSF), etc. Any NF can communicate with any NF and UDSF ( Figure 1 The N18 reference point between the NFs (not shown) stores or retrieves unstructured data in or from the UDSF (e.g., UE context). Each NF may share a UDSF for storing its corresponding unstructured data, or each NF may each have its own UDSF located at or near each NF. In addition, the UDSF may present an interface based on the Nudsf service ( Figure 15G-EIR may be a NF that checks the status of a Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI) to determine whether to blacklist a specific equipment / entity from the network; and SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0043] Additionally, there may be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in a NF; however, for clarity, Figure 1 These interfaces and reference points are omitted. In one example, CN 120 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., a non-5G MME) and AMF 121, to enable interworking between CN 120 and a non-5G CN. Other exemplary interfaces / reference points may include an interface based on N5g-EIR services presented by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between a network repository function (NRF) in a visited network and an NRF in a home network; and an N31 reference point between an NSSF in a visited network and an NSSF in a home network.

[0044] Reference Figure 2 , illustrates exemplary components of an infrastructure equipment device 200 according to some embodiments. Infrastructure equipment 200 (or "system 200") may be implemented as a base station (e.g., eNB, gNB, etc.), a radio head, a RAN node (such as a node of RAN 110 shown and described previously), another access point (AP) or base station (BS), an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, system 200 may be implemented in or by a UE.

[0045] System 200 includes: application circuit 205, baseband circuit 210, one or more radio front end modules (RFEM) 215, memory circuit 220, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 225, power tee circuit 230, network controller circuit 235, network interface connector 240, satellite positioning circuit 245 and user interface 250. In some embodiments, device 200 may include additional elements such as memory / storage, display, camera, sensor or input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuit may be included separately in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU or other similar implementations.

[0046] The application circuit 205 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: a low dropout regulator (LDO), an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, I2C or a general programmable serial interface module, a real-time clock (RTC), a timer (including an interval timer and a watchdog timer), a general input / output (I / O or IO), a memory card controller such as a secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar products, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface, and a joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 205 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 200. In some implementations, the memory / storage element can be an on-chip memory circuit that can include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0047] The processor of the application circuit 205 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 205 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating in accordance with various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of the application circuit 205 may include one or more processor, Processor: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or processors; ARM-based processors licensed by ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors provided by Cavium(TM), Inc. and MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior P-class processor; etc. In some embodiments, system 200 may not utilize application circuit 205, and instead may include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from an EPC or 5GC.

[0048] The user interface circuit 250 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the system 200 or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral components to interact with the system 200. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0049] Figure 2 The components shown can communicate with each other using interface circuits that can include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as industry standard architecture (ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX can be a proprietary bus, for example, a proprietary bus used in a SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems can be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus, etc.

[0050] Reference Figure 3 , shows an example of a platform 300 (or "device 300") according to various embodiments. In an embodiment, computer platform 1400 may be suitable for use as UE 101 and / or any other element / device discussed herein. Platform 300 may include any combination of components shown in the example. The components of platform 300 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of ICs, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof adapted in computer platform 300, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. Figure 3 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 300. 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.

[0051] The application circuit 305 includes circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of an LDO, an interrupt controller, a serial interface (such as SPI), I2C or a general programmable serial interface module, an RTC, a timer (including an interval timer and a watchdog timer), a general I / O, a memory card controller (such as an SD MMC or similar controller), a USB interface, a MIPI interface, and a JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 305 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 300. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0052] As an example, the one or more processors of application circuit 305 may include a general purpose or special purpose processor, such as a processor available from Inc., Cupertino, CA A series processor (e.g., A13 Bionic) or any other such processor. The processor of application circuit 305 may also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Inc.'s core processors, Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM Processor, Texas Instruments, Open MultimediaApplications Platform(OMAP) TM processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some implementations, the application circuit 305 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 305 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package.

[0053] Baseband circuit 310 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

[0054] The platform 300 may further include an interface circuit (not shown) for connecting external devices to the platform 300. External devices connected to the platform 300 via the interface circuit include a sensor circuit 321 and an electromechanical component (EMC) 322, and a removable memory device coupled to a removable memory circuit 323.

[0055] The battery 330 can power the platform 300, but in some examples, the platform 300 can be installed and deployed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 330 can 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 specific implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 330 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0056] Reference Figure 4 , a block diagram of a system 400 that can be employed at a UE (user equipment), a next generation Node B (g-Node B or gNB) or other BS (base station) / TRP (transmit / receive point), or another component of a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) network (e.g., a 5GC (fifth generation core network) component or function, such as a UPF (user plane function)) in various embodiments according to various techniques discussed herein, the system facilitates NR-U operation based on one or more configured time resources for UL transmissions. The system 400 may include a processor 410, a communication circuit 420, and a memory 430. The processor 410 (e.g., which may include Figure 2 or Figure 3One or more processors, etc.) may include processing circuits and associated interfaces. The communication circuit 420 may include, for example, circuits for wired and / or wireless connections (e.g., radio front-end module 215 or 315, etc.), which may include transmitter circuits (e.g., associated with one or more transmission chains) and / or receiver circuits (e.g., associated with one or more reception chains), wherein the transmitter circuits and the receiver circuits may use common and / or different circuit elements, or a combination thereof. The memory 430 may include one or more memory devices (e.g., memory circuits 220 or 320, removable memory 323, local memory (e.g., including CPU registers of the processor discussed herein), etc.), which may have any of a variety of storage media (e.g., volatile and / or non-volatile according to any of a variety of technologies / constructions, etc.), and may store instructions and / or data associated with one or more of the processor 410 or the transceiver circuit 420.

[0057] A particular type of implementation of system 400 (eg, UE implementation) may be indicated via a subscript (eg, system 400 UE Including processor 410 UE , communication circuit 420 UE and memory 430 UE In some embodiments, such as BS embodiments (eg, system 400 gNB ) and network components (eg, UPF (User Plane Function), etc.) implementation scheme (eg, system 400 UPF ), processor 410 gNB (etc.), communication circuits (eg, 420 gNB etc.) and memory (e.g., 430 gNB The signaling or messaging between different embodiments of system 400 (e.g., 4001 and 4002) may be generated by processor 4101, transmitted by communication circuit 4201 over a suitable interface or reference point (e.g., 3GPP air interface N3, N4, etc.), received by communication circuit 4202, and processed by processor 4102. Depending on the type of interface, additional components (e.g., antennas, network ports, etc. associated with systems 4001 and 4002) may participate in the communication.

[0058] In various aspects discussed herein, signals and / or messages may be generated and output for transmission, and / or transmitted messages may be received and processed. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, outputting for transmission (e.g., by processor 410, etc.) may include one or more of generating a set of associated bits indicating the content of the signal or message, encoding (e.g., which may include adding a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and / or encoding via one or more of a turbo code, a low-density parity check (LDPC) code, a tail-biting convolutional code (TBCC), etc.), scrambling (e.g., based on a scrambling seed), modulation (e.g., via one of binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), or some form of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.), and / or resource mapping to one or more resource elements (REs) (e.g., a scheduled resource set, a set of time and frequency resources authorized for uplink transmission, etc.), where each RE may span one subcarrier in the frequency domain and one symbol in the time domain (e.g., where a symbol may be according to any of a variety of access schemes, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc.). Depending on the type of signal or message received, processing (e.g., by processor 410, etc.) may include one or more of the following operations: identifying physical resources associated with the signal / message, detecting the signal / message, resource element group deinterleaving, demodulating, descrambling and / or decoding.

[0059] In various aspects, one or more of information (e.g., system information, resources associated with signaling, etc.), features, parameters, etc., may be received from a gNB or other access point (e.g., via a processor 410) via signaling (e.g., associated with one or more layers, such as L1 signaling or higher layer signaling (e.g., MAC, RRC, etc.)). gNB Generate, by the communication circuit 420 gNB Transmission, by communication circuit 420 UE received and processed by processor 410 UE The type of signaling employed and / or the exact details of the operations performed at the UE and / or gNB in ​​the process (e.g., signaling structure, processing of PDUs / SDUs, etc.) may vary depending on the type of information, features, parameters, etc. However, for convenience, such operations may be referred to herein as configuring information / features / parameters / etc. to the UE, generating or processing configuration signaling, or by similar terminology.

[0060] Since the main building blocks of the framework for NR have been established, one potential enhancement is to allow NR to operate on unlicensed spectrum as well. Studies on extending 5G NR to shared / unlicensed spectrum have already begun, and a new work item (WI) on "NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum" was approved in the Technical Specification Group (TSG) Radio Access Network (RAN) meeting #82.

[0061] The purpose of this new WI includes physical layer aspects, including [with RAN1 (RAN WG1 (Working Group 1) related]: (a) frame structure including single and multiple DL (downlink) to UL (uplink) and UL to DL switching points within a shared continuity (COT) with associated identified LBT (Listen Before Talk) behavior and / or requirements (3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.889 Section 7.2.1.3.1), and (b) UL data channels including extension of the PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) to support PRB (Physical Resource Block) based frequency block interleaved transmissions, supporting multiple PUSCH starting positions in one or more time slots based on LBT results (e.g., whether spectrum associated with an unlicensed carrier is clear), with the understanding that the end position is indicated by the UL grant, the design does not require the UE to change the granted TBS (transport block size) of the PUSCH transmission based on the LBT results, wherein PUSCH enhancement is based on CP (Cyclic Prefix)-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), and wherein the applicability of sub-PRB frequency block interleaved transmissions of 60 kHz is determined by RAN1.

[0062] Additional objectives of this WI include physical layer procedures, including [RAN1, RAN2]: (a) for LBT, a channel access mechanism consistent with the protocol from the NR-U (NR Unlicensed Spectrum) study item (TR 38.889, Section 7.2.1.3.1), where RAN1 performs the specification work; (b) HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) operation, where the NR HARQ feedback mechanism is a baseline NR-U operation with extensions consistent with the protocol during the study phase (NR-U TR Section 7.2.1.3.3), including immediate transmission of HARQ A / N (ACK / NACK) for corresponding data in the same shared COT and transmission of HARQ A / N in subsequent COTs, and potentially supporting mechanisms to provide multiple and / or complementary time and / or frequency domain transmission opportunities (RAN1); (c) scheduling of PUSCH consistent with the protocol during the study phase (TR 38.889, section 7.2.1.3.3) (RAN1); (d) configuration grant operation, where the NR Type 1 and Type 2 configuration grant mechanism is a baseline for NR-U operation with modifications in line with the protocol during the study phase (NR-U TR section 7.2.1.3.4) (RAN1); and (e) data multiplexing aspects (for both UL and DL) taking into account LBT and channel access priority (RAN1 / RAN2).

[0063] While the aforementioned WI is in its initial stages, aspects of the design that can be enhanced for NR when operating in unlicensed spectrum can be identified. One consideration in this context is that an NR system operating in an unlicensed spectrum should maintain fair coexistence with other existing technologies, and to this end (depending on the specific frequency band in which it may operate), some limitations may be considered when designing the system. For example, if operating in the 5 GHz band, a listen-before-talk (LBT) process is performed in some parts of the world to acquire the medium before transmission can occur.

[0064] One of the configurations of the configuration grant in NR-U is the configuration of the time domain resources allowed for the feature. If this type of configuration is performed through RRC signaling, since the configuration grant can assume a periodic value, the RRC can have a variable length that depends on the value of the periodicity, or it can be an integer that is a multiple of the periodicity itself. In addition, the Rel-15 (3GPP Release 15) time domain allocation, which is the baseline for the time domain allocation for CG (configuration grant) operation in NR-U, provides only one uplink PUSCH transmission during each periodicity. Taking into account the LBT process in NR-U, the Rel-15 allocation method will not allow the UE to access the channel very efficiently because it may not be able to access the channel in its single time slot opportunity during the periodicity. Therefore, a method that allows multiple channel access opportunities within a periodicity can be beneficial to the efficient use of the channel. Various embodiments may adopt one or more of the various techniques discussed herein that provide multiple channel access opportunities within a periodicity.

[0065] In order to enable configuration grant transmission in NR operating on unlicensed spectrum, the time domain resources allowed for the configuration should be appropriately configured. If the configuration is performed through RRC signaling, since the configuration grant can assume a periodic value, the RRC can have a variable length that can depend on the value of the periodicity or can be an integer multiple of the periodicity itself. Various embodiments can adopt one or more of the various techniques discussed herein to solve this problem.

[0066] In Rel.15 FeLAA (Further Enhanced License Assisted Access) AUL (Autonomous Uplink), the X=40-bit RRC (Radio Resource Control) configured bitmap is used to indicate the time domain resources allowed for subframe-level AUL transmission. In various implementations, a similar method can be used for NR-U to configure time domain resources for configuration grant (CG) operation. However, the baseline design of CG in NR-U is the NR Rel-15 configuration grant design, which includes the following parameters for time domain allocation: {periodicity, slot offset, start symbol and length indicator value (SLIV), and repK [number of transmissions (K) of TBs within the bundle of the configured uplink grant]}. Therefore, the time domain allocation of CG in NR-U can enhance or replace the Rel-15 time domain allocation.

[0067] Enhancements to the Rel-15 CG design may include techniques such as reinterpreting Rel-15 parameters so that they are more useful for unlicensed operation, adding new parameters on top of Rel-15 parameters, and / or replacing / disabling some current parameters. One option for enhancing or replacing the Rel-15 time domain allocation is to use a bitmap. In embodiments employing a bitmap, the various techniques discussed herein can clarify how the bitmap will preserve the functionality of the Rel-15 time domain allocation while improving the efficiency of the UE's ability to use time resources. Thus, when the PUSCH repetition is greater than or equal to the length of the bitmap, the techniques discussed herein can define how to interpret the bitmap. Another issue is that if a fixed-length bitmap is defined for any desired CG periodicity for P cells, the bitmap length for X cells should be an integer multiple of P (or vice versa), e.g., where when X > P, X satisfies the formula X mod P = 0 (or vice versa when X < P). This can mean that the selection of the fixed-length bitmap of length X can be further enhanced to support the allocation of periodic time domain resources for the supported Rel-15 values of P.

[0068] Based on Rel.15 NR, the allowed configured grant periodicity is: (a) for 15 kHz, P can be 2, 7, or n * 14 symbols, where n ∈ {1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 128, 160, 320, 640}; (b) for 30 kHz, P can be 2, 7, or n * 14 symbols, where n ∈ {1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 128, 160, 256, 320, 640, 1280}; and (c) for 60 kHz with normal CP: P can be 2, 7, or n * 14 symbols, where n ∈ {1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 128, 160, 256, 320, 512, 640, 1280, 2560}.

[0069] Bitmap used to replace Rel-15 allocation

[0070] Various embodiments may employ the techniques discussed herein related to the design of the bitmap approach to replace the Rel-15 time domain allocation of CG in NR-U.

[0071] In various embodiments, time domain resources may be configured via a bitmap through RRC signaling. The bitmap may include X bits, where each bit corresponds to a time resource (e.g., symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, etc.) and may indicate whether the time resource is associated with a configured grant for UL transmission (e.g., in an unlicensed band or otherwise). As an illustrative example, X may be 40 and each bit may correspond to a time slot. In some embodiments, the value of X may be the same regardless of the subcarrier spacing (SCS) used, while in other embodiments, the value of X may be scaled based on the subcarrier spacing (e.g., for 15 KHz SCS, X = 40 bits, for 30 KHz SCS, X = 80 bits, for 60 KHz SCS, X = 160 bits, etc.).

[0072] In other embodiments, X may be constant and independent of the SCS, and the granularity of the time resources for signal transmission may be indicated by a parameter G, where G may take several granularities to accommodate different service / traffic types. For example, G ∈ {2 OFDM symbols (OS), 7 OS, 1 time slot, 2 time slots, 4 time slots}. In still other embodiments, X may be variable, X and G may be independent of each other and independent of the SCS, and may be configured in CG activation.

[0073] In various embodiments, one or more of the following options may be employed to map the bitmap to the CG period.

[0074] In a first option, in some embodiments, regardless of the CG periodicity (P) used, the bitmap (of length X) may be repeated and its values may be interpreted accordingly. Referring to Figure 5A , a pair of schematic diagrams are shown according to various embodiments discussed herein, which show examples of a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) that may be repeated over time independently of the configured grant (CG) periodicity (e.g., 16 (top figure) or 64 (bottom figure)).

[0075] In a second option, in some embodiments, if the length of the time resource unit for each periodicity value (P) is less than the corresponding length of the bitmap X using the same time resource unit, then for each period, the first P time unit resources of the bitmap may be used. See Figure 5B , a diagram is shown that illustrates an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various embodiments discussed herein, where for CG periodicity P < X, the P time domain resource elements for each CG period may be configured based on the first P elements of the bitmap of length X.

[0076] In a third option, in some embodiments, if for each set of time domain resources covered by n cycles (each set of n×P time domain resources), the length of the time resource unit for each periodic value (P) is less than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, where n is such that n×P = X or (n×P>X and (n - 1)×P<X) (e.g., N is the smallest integer such that n×P≥X), then bitmap X is used, and the first (nP - X) time domain configurations of the bitmap are used to configure the spare resources (if any) not covered by the length of the bitmap in the last cycle. See Fig. 6A , which shows an illustration of an example showing a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various embodiments discussed herein, where for each set of n CG cycles of length P, resource allocation follows the bitmap, and if the resource units of the last cycle of each set are not covered by the bitmap, the first nP - X time resource units of the bitmap are used.

[0077] In various embodiments, when P<X and X mod P≠0, generally, the bitmap of length X can be designed with resource allocation such that the allocation pattern repeats every P time resources, regardless of the bitmap length. However, if the periodic allocation will occur a total of N times such that NP>X, then let n be the largest integer such that X–nP>0, and M be the smallest integer such that NP<MX (where the bitmap is applied continuously M times). In various embodiments, after the first X bits, the second application of the bitmap can then be applied with a left circular shift of L bits (e.g., where the bits represent symbols, time slots, sub - frames, etc.), where L = X–nP. Similarly, for m = 1,…,M, the m - th bitmap can be circularly shifted by (m - 1)×L mod P bits.

[0078] In some embodiments employing circular shift, the greatest common factor between P and X can be used to reduce the indication information of the circular shift. Let the greatest common factor between P and X be Q. Then, the circular shift can be indicated in multiples of Q time intervals (e.g., symbols, time slots, sub - frames, etc.). The second X bits will cause the bitmap to be applied with a left circular shift of L times Q time slots, where LQ = X–nP. Then, for the m - th bitmap application, for m = 1,…,M, the bitmap can be circularly shifted by (m - 1)×L mod P / Q bits.

[0079] In a fourth option, in some embodiments, if the length of the time resource unit for each cycle value (P) is greater than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, then for each cycle, the first X time domain resources can be configured according to the bitmap, and the remaining time resource units can be configured by repeating the bitmap (or a part thereof if the full bitmap does not fit) in time until the end of the cycle. Refer to Figure 6B, a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (example length X=40) according to various aspects discussed herein, wherein resource allocation is based on the bitmap, wherein any remaining time domain units are configured by repeating the bitmap in time until the end of the period.

[0080] In a fifth option, in some embodiments, if the length of the time resource unit of each period value is greater than the corresponding length of the bitmap X using the same time resource unit, the first X resource units in the period are configured after the bitmap, and the remaining resources in the period are not used for configuration grant transmission. In some such embodiments, bitmap X and repetition Y can be configured, where X resource units are repeated Y times for allocation of configuration grant resources at the beginning of the period, and the remaining resources in the period are not used for configuration grant transmission.

[0081] In a sixth option, in some embodiments, to increase the flexibility of the way time domain resources can be configured when using a bitmap, the bitmap can be repeated using an offset cyclic shift when the period is greater than X. Figure 7 , shows a pair of diagrams showing exemplary representations of bitmaps that have been cyclically shifted offsets (in the example, L=5) according to various embodiments discussed herein. Figure 7 In the top figure, the bitmap is represented as a circular array showing offsets 0 and 5, and in Figure 7 In the bottom figure of , another bitmap is represented as a linear array with offsets 0 and 5. For each repetition, a new bitmap can be defined as the original X bits cyclically shifted by a value equal to the offset L. This operation is similar to cyclically shifting the array B as Y = circshift(B, L), where B is the original bitmap, L is the offset, and Y is the cyclically shifted version of B. Figure 7 In the top figure, the circularly shifted bitmap is a bitmap of the same length as the original bitmap, where the starting point L (offset) bits are clockwise from the starting point of the original (unshifted) bitmap. In the bottom figure, the circularly shifted bitmap is a bitmap of the same length as the original bitmap, where the starting point L (offset) bits are to the right of the starting point of the original (unshifted) bitmap, where the first bit of the original bitmap is after the last bit of the original bitmap, similar to the circular representation of the top figure.

[0082] refer to Fig. 8A, which shows an illustration of an example showing a bitmap (exemplary length X = 40) according to various aspects discussed herein, where resource allocation is based on the bitmap, and any remaining time domain units are configured by cyclically shifting a version of the bitmap in time until the end of the period. In some embodiments employing a cyclically shifted bitmap, the offset can be the same for all repetitions, while in other embodiments, the offset can be different between repetitions (although some values may be optionally repeated in such embodiments). In some embodiments, for the first bitmap, L can be 0, and then a common offset or different offsets can be used for other bitmaps.

[0083] In some embodiments, the offset value can be carried in an RRC parameter different from the bitmap, while in other embodiments, the offset value can be carried together with the bit Figure 1 An exemplary way to indicate the offset value with the bitmap is to extend the bitmap from X to X + M bits, where M is one of the MSB or LSB bits of the bitmap, and where the MSB / LSB is used to signal the offset. In some such embodiments, 2 or 3 bits are used to signal the common offset or each offset.

[0084] In some embodiments, the UE can be configured with a table such that each entry in the table contains a bitmap allocation configuration that includes a bitmap, a cyclic shift, a granularity, and optionally one or more other parameters associated with the allocation. An index of the allocation entry can be assigned to the UE, where the index is indicated in the RRC for CG type 1, or in the active downlink control information (DCI) in CG type 2. In one embodiment, multiple bitmaps are configured for each UE based on traffic / services, and the UE decides to select one of them. In one embodiment, once the UE has selected a bitmap among the available bitmaps, the UE signals the used bitmap to the gNB by indicating the bitmap allocation index within the CG-UCI.

[0085] The options and techniques provided above are not mutually exclusive of each other, such that various embodiments can employ one or more of the above options to map a bitmap or a portion thereof to a CG period, and some embodiments can employ multiple options discussed above (e.g., the first option applied when X > P combined with the second option to be employed when X < P, etc.).

[0086] Enhancements to Rel-15 Allocations

[0087] In various embodiments, instead of using a bitmap, the Rel-15 time-domain allocation method (which is based on the parameters {periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, repK}) can be enhanced by reinterpreting some of these parameters and / or enabling new parameters to perform more efficient time-domain allocation for CG in NR-U operation. Due to the lack of continuous time-domain allocation within a periodicity when using Rel-15 allocation, and multiple enabled channel access opportunities within a periodicity, various embodiments can adopt enhancements to ensure that the UE can access the channel in multiple time resources (e.g., with multiple slot offsets, etc.), and for each offset, the configuration can enable multiple consecutive slots according to the available resources and periodicity.

[0088] In one embodiment, the UE can be configured with multiple slot offsets in the same manner as Rel-15 allocation. In some such embodiments, there can be a maximum number of slot offsets N, and the UE can be configured with n slot offsets (K 2,1 ,…,K 2,n ), n = 1,…,N, where K 2,i ∈{0,…,5119}, i = 1,…,n. The value of K 2,i can be less than or equal to the periodicity P (P in units of slots). The duration of the consecutive slots / micro-slots for each offset configuration can be given by the parameter z, where z < Z, and Z is the maximum allowed slot / micro-slot transmission duration (e.g., in the presence of a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT)); for example, Z ≤ 8 to allow for the maximum configurable TB repetition or to allow 8 TB transmissions. In some embodiments, if the configured offset in the periodicity is n and each offset has a slot / micro-slot duration z, then nz < P, such that there is always a slot / micro-slot gap between transmissions within the periodicity. In some embodiments, n and z are defined as new parameters, while in other embodiments, they can be adapted by reinterpreting existing fields. In some embodiments, when the system operates on an unlicensed band, n and / or z can be signaled by reinterpreting one or more of the following parameters: periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, and repK, while when the system operates on a licensed band, these parameters are interpreted as in Rel.15 allocation.

[0089] In some embodiments, the UE can be configured by using two sequences of the same length n (or equivalent sequences of pairs): one of these sequences can indicate n slot offsets (K 2,1 ,…,K 2,n ), n = 1,…,N, where K 2,i∈{0,…,5119}, i=1,…,n, and other sequences may indicate a contiguous number of resources allocated for the configuration grant after the corresponding offset. In some embodiments, the number of resources may have a fixed granularity, or the granularity may be configurable, for example, the granularity may be G∈{2 symbols, 7 symbols, 1 slot, 2 slots, 4 slots}. In some embodiments, the indication of the offset and the indication of the contiguous resources may be jointly indicated by providing a direct indication of the set of resources configured for the configuration grant operation, without decoupling the information into the offset and the set of contiguous resources.

[0090] In one embodiment, the offset (K 2,1 ,…,K 2,n ), K 2,i ≠K 2,j (if i≠j) can be configured so that they can indicate any slot offset within the periodicity and indicate the slot offset relative to the system frame number (SFN) when CG type 1 is used and relative to the activation DCI when CG type 2 is used. If the reference slot is slot m, the UE can 2,i ,i=1,…,n, which will occur in the first cycle of CG activation. This allocation can be repeated in each period thereafter until the CG is deactivated, so the UE can perform LBT to 2,i +lPl=1,…,L access channel, where L is the number of periodicities until the CG is deactivated.

[0091] In one embodiment, given a parameter z that may have a value and / or granularity that may be fixed or configurable via RRC signaling (which indicates the number of contiguous resources allocated for CG operation (e.g., the time slot duration for CG operation)), a set of 5120-Z+1 resources (e.g., symbols, time slots, etc.) may be formed. In some embodiments, 13 bits may be used to indicate one of these resource sets via DCI. In some embodiments, multiple resource sets may be used and may be configured via a bitmap (where the bitmap may be configured via RRC) that may indicate the N elements in the resource set. In some embodiments, given a bitmap indicating multiple resource sets, a T bit may be used in the DCI to indicate how many configured resource sets are used (e.g., indicating whether the first or last 2 Teach in etc.). In some embodiments, the slot duration z can be applied to the slot offset only if the UE successfully passes LBT in the configured slot offset opportunity. In other embodiments, the slot duration can be applied to all slot offsets such that the UE can perform LBT on all consecutive LBT opportunities for the slot duration for each slot offset. In some embodiments, the UE can attempt the LBT access channel for each slot offset, but once LBT is successful, it transmits with only one slot offset per period. In other embodiments, regardless of periodicity, the UE can use as many slot offsets as its UL traffic demand.

[0092] In some embodiments, the n slot offsets can be configured individually in the same manner as the Rel-15 signaling for a single slot offset. For CG type 1, the n slot offsets can be configured via RRC, and for CG type 2, the n slot offsets can each be configured via DCI with 13 bits such that the slot offset can take on any integer value from 0 to 5119. In one embodiment, the candidate slot offset positions with periodicity are constrained to a smaller set of slots such that the signaling required for each offset is reduced. The reduced set can be a function of the period P such that if the maximum slot / micro-slot duration for each offset is Z, the slot offset is from a total of total possible slot offsets. See Figure 8B , which shows an illustration of an example of multiple slot offsets configured within a periodicity according to various embodiments discussed herein, each slot offset having a slot duration during which the UE can perform its transmission continuously in time. In various embodiments, the slot offset position can be signaled completely flexibly using the conventional Rel-15 method of offsets from 0 to 5119, or can be from a subset of the Rel-15 offset set.

[0093] In some embodiments, given a reference starting slot m (e.g., where the slot refers to a full-length slot or micro-slot), and given values z and a fixed offset value n indicating the number of consecutive resources to be used for CG operation, the resources within the period P can be configured such that the slots m + n(i - 1) + {0,..z - 1} can be used for configured grant transmissions, where i = 2, 3,...K, and K is chosen such that m + n(K - 1) + z - 1 < P. In various embodiments, m, z, and n can be configured via RRC or indicated via DCI by adding a new field or reinterpreting an existing field.

[0094] In another embodiment, the slot offset position may be deterministically derived (or fixed) from the legacy Rel-15 offset indicated in the CG activation, the periodicity P, and new parameters n and z, where n is the number of total slot offsets configured and z is the transmission slot / minislot duration. For example, if the Rel-15 slot offset indicates a slot K2 from the start of the periodicity, then a possible function may be derived such that the slot offsets must be such that there is a gap of at least K2+z between each slot offset, such that the number of offsets for the periodicity, initial slot offset, and transmission duration z may be configured such that n≤min{P / (K2+z),N}. However, since a gap of K2+z may be too short given a large periodicity and a maximum number of slot offsets per periodicity, in various embodiments there may be an additional slot gap g added at the end of the slot / minislot transmission duration. Thus, in such embodiments, the slot offset may occur at slots {K2,(I–1)(K2+z+g)}, i=2,…,n, and the gap may be determined as Fig. 8A A specific example of such an embodiment is shown where K2=1, z=2, n=2 and g=1.

[0095] In another embodiment, the time slot offset can be simulated via a bitmap, which can configure certain time slots via a bitmap of length X within the periodicity and a bitmap time granularity y. For example, a bitmap can enable or disable time slots / microslots in a granularity of y, where the granularity y can be determined by X and P. In the case of short periodicity (e.g., 2OS, 7OS, 1 time slot, etc.), the bitmap granularity may be constrained in some embodiments to make it suitable for the service / traffic type, and only the first X1 bits of the bitmap are used for the offset, while the remaining X-X1 bits are set to zero. In terms of long periodicity, the bitmap signaling duration is made shorter than the periodicity, and in such embodiments, the bitmap indication can simply be repeated until it covers the entire duration of the periodicity. In addition, other options and / or techniques discussed in conjunction with the bitmap herein can be adopted.

[0096] In some embodiments, the offset and duration may be provided by two different bitmaps / sequences, which may have the same length and may be configured by RRC. In some embodiments, an X bit may be introduced within the DCI to signal a specific element, either the first or last 2 bits, included in the RRC sequence. X - 1 element or group of elements to use for configuring grant transmissions within period P. In some embodiments, the value of X may determine a specific element of an RRC sequence such as used in the following examples.

[0097] In some exemplary embodiments, an element may be signaled. In one example, a given RRC sequence includes the following elements: n = [3, 9, 24, 36, 96, 107, 156, 200]; Z = [2, 3, 5, 2, 9, 10, 2, 8], and given 3 bits in the DCI, these three bits may indicate which value of n or z to use;

[0098] In some exemplary embodiments, the front (or back) 2 X -1 elements. In one example, given an RRC sequence including the following elements: n = [3, 9, 24, 36, 96, 107, 156, 200]; Z = [2, 3, 5, 2, 9, 10, 2, 8], and given an X (e.g., 3 in the following example) bit in the DCI, these three bits will indicate the first m elements to be used. For example, if X = 001, only n = {3} and m = {2} are used. If X = 011, n = {3, 9, 24} and m = {2, 3, 5} are used (the last 2 X -1 elements can be indicated in a similar manner).

[0099] In some exemplary embodiments, a group of elements may be signaled. In one example, a lookup table (LUT) may be formed, and each element of X may correspond to a specific group of elements of n and z via the LUT.

[0100] In some embodiments, the CG UE may have a table, wherein each entry in the table may be associated with an offset configuration, wherein the slot offset configuration table may contain an offset format, wherein each offset format may correspond to one (or a combination) of the various embodiments discussed herein, etc. In one example of such an embodiment, in an entry of the table with index j, the UE may be configured with n(j) slot offsets, and a slot / minislot duration z(j), and these offsets and slot durations may be configurable by higher layers. In another example of such an embodiment, an entry in index j of the table may have a slot offset {K 2,1 (j),…,K 2,n (j)}, where the total number of slot offsets n(j) may be different in each entry j. In some embodiments, each slot offset configuration in the table may have a sequence of slot offsets and an associated sequence of slot / minimum slot durations {z1(j), ..., z2(j), ..., z3(j), ..., z4(j), ..., z5(j), ..., z6(j), ..., z7(j), ..., z8(j), ..., z9(j), ..., z10(j), ..., z11(j), ..., z12(j), ..., z13(j), ..., z14(j), ..., z15(j), ..., z16(j), ..., z17(j), ..., z18(j), ..., z19(j), ..., z21(j), ..., z22(j), ..., z31(j), ..., z4 n(j)(j)}. In some embodiments, the table can be configured with a slot bitmap and a bitmap granularity parameter, the slot bitmap indicating whether a slot / mini-slot is enabled or disabled. In one example of such an embodiment, the bitmap in table index j can be a vector x(j) of length X(j), and the granularity can be y(j). In some embodiments, the total number of entries in the table can be M (e.g., M is some power of 2 (e.g., M=16) or other integer), and CG activation can use The UE may use one of the bits to signal one of the offset configurations. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with an index from its table in its CG activation to indicate the timeslot offset to be used, which may be configured by RRC for CG Type 1 and by the gNB in ​​DCI activation for CG Type 2. In other embodiments, the UE may autonomously select an index from the table based on its current traffic requirements and may indicate the timeslot offset configuration used in the CG-UCI (Uplink Control Information).

[0101] In some embodiments, multiple legacy Rel-15 configurations may be supported (and / or repeated), where each configuration may support specific services / traffic and each configuration may be associated with independent activation and deactivation.

[0102] In various embodiments, one or a combination of the features, techniques, and / or options discussed herein may be used to implement time domain allocation for CG UEs using unlicensed operation of NR.

[0103] Additional Embodiments

[0104] Reference Fig. 9 , a flow chart of an exemplary method 900 of facilitating NR-U operation based on one or more configured time resources for UL transmissions that can be employed at a UE according to various embodiments discussed herein is shown. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with the method 900 that, when executed, may cause the UE to perform the actions of the method 900.

[0105] At 910, a configuration grant (CG) and / or a bitmap associated with uplink (UL) operations may be received on a NR unlicensed cell.

[0106] At 920, one or more time resources for UL operations may be determined based on the CG and / or the bitmap.

[0107] At 930, optionally (eg, if the UE has UL data to transmit), the UE may perform an LBT operation in conjunction with at least one of the one or more time resources to determine whether the unlicensed cell is idle for UL transmission.

[0108] At 940, optionally (eg, if the UE has UL data to transmit and the unlicensed cell is idle for UIL transmission), the UE may transmit the UL data via at least one of the one or more time resources.

[0109] Additionally or alternatively, method 900 may include one or more other actions described herein.

[0110] The examples herein may include subject matter, such as a method, components for performing actions or blocks of the method, and at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor having a memory (e.g., device / apparatus 200, 300, 400, etc.), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform actions of a method or apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to the described embodiments and examples.

[0111] Embodiment 1 is a device configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to: process at least one bitmap via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, wherein each bitmap in the at least one bitmap includes X bits, where X is an integer greater than 1; and determine, based at least on the at least one bitmap, for each time resource of at least one configuration grant (CG) period, whether the time resource is configured for uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier, wherein each CG period in the at least one CG period includes P time resources, where P is an integer greater than 1.

[0112] Embodiment 2 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, for a first time resource determined to be configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier, determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a listen-before-talk (LBT) process.

[0113] Embodiment 3 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 2, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the one or more processors are further configured to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

[0114] Embodiment 4 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 3, wherein each of the X bits indicates, for an associated time resource of at least one CG period, whether the associated time resource is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier.

[0115] Embodiment 5 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 4, wherein each time resource of at least one CG period has a size based on a granularity indicated via one of higher layer signaling or downlink control information (DCI), wherein the size is one of two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one time slot, one subframe, or one radio frame.

[0116] Embodiment 6 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein X is independent of the subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carrier.

[0117] Embodiment 7 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 1-5, wherein X is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carrier.

[0118] Embodiment 8 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein X is configured via one of RRC or downlink control information (DCI).

[0119] Embodiment 9 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein at least one bitmap is at least one identical bitmap repeated within at least one CG period, wherein X is independent of P.

[0120] Embodiment 10 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, and wherein when X is greater than P, each of the first P bits of the single bitmap indicates whether the associated time resources of each CG cycle in at least one CG cycle are configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier.

[0121] Embodiment 11 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, wherein at least one CG cycle is n CG cycles, the integer n is greater than 1, and wherein when X is greater than (n-1)×P and less than nP, the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of each CG cycle in the n CG cycles is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of the single bitmap followed by the first nP-X bits of the single bitmap.

[0122] Embodiment 12 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein at least one bitmap is n bitmaps, the integer n is greater than 1, wherein at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, and wherein, when P is greater than (n-1)×X and less than nX, the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of the single CG cycle is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier is indicated by the associated bits of the first n-1 bitmaps of the n bitmaps followed by the first nX-P bits of the nth bitmap of the n bitmaps.

[0123] Embodiment 13 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein at least one bitmap is a single bitmap and at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, wherein when P is greater than X, each of the X bits of the single bitmap indicates whether an associated time resource of the single CG cycle is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier, and wherein one or more additional time resources of the single CG cycle without an associated bit of the single bitmap are not configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier.

[0124] Embodiment 14 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein, when P is greater than X, at least one bitmap is two or more bitmaps, wherein a second bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted relative to a first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps.

[0125] Embodiment 15 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 14, wherein each bitmap except the first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted relative to the first bitmap by a common offset.

[0126] Embodiment 16 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine, for each bitmap other than the first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps, a cyclic shift of the bitmap relative to the first bitmap based on at least one of RRC signaling, a downlink control information (DCI) message, or a locally stored table.

[0127] Embodiment 17 is a UE including the apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16.

[0128] Embodiment 18 is a machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment (UE) to: process at least one bitmap via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, wherein each bitmap in the at least one bitmap comprises X bits, where X is an integer greater than 1; and determine, based at least on the at least one bitmap, for each time resource of at least one configuration grant (CG) period, whether the time resource is configured for uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier, wherein each CG period in the at least one CG period comprises P time resources, where P is an integer greater than 1.

[0129] Embodiment 19 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a listen-before-talk (LBT) process within a first time resource determined to be configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

[0130] Embodiment 20 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 19, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the instructions when executed further cause the UE to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

[0131] Embodiment 21 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 20, wherein each of the X bits indicates, for an associated time resource of at least one CG period, whether the associated time resource is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier.

[0132] Embodiment 22 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 21, wherein at least one time resource of at least one CG cycle has a size based on a granularity indicated via one of higher layer signaling or downlink control information (DCI), wherein the size is one of two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one time slot, one subframe, or one radio frame.

[0133] Embodiment 23 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 18 to 22, wherein X is independent of the subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carrier.

[0134] Embodiment 24 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 18 to 22, wherein X is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carrier.

[0135] Embodiment 25 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein X is configured via one of RRC or downlink control information (DCI).

[0136] Embodiment 26 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein at least one bitmap is at least one identical bitmap repeated within at least one CG period, wherein X is independent of P.

[0137] Embodiment 27 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, and wherein when X is greater than P, each of the first P bits of the single bitmap indicates whether the associated time resources of each CG cycle in at least one CG cycle are configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier.

[0138] Embodiment 28 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, wherein at least one CG cycle is n CG cycles, the integer n is greater than 1, and wherein when X is greater than (n-1)×P and less than nP, the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of each CG cycle in the n CG cycles is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of the single bitmap followed by the first nP-X bits of the single bitmap.

[0139] Embodiment 29 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein at least one bitmap is n bitmaps, the integer n is greater than 1, wherein at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, and wherein, when P is greater than (n-1)×X and less than nX, the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of the single CG cycle is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier is indicated by the associated bits of the first n-1 bitmaps of the n bitmaps followed by the first nX-P bits of the nth bitmap of the n bitmaps.

[0140] Embodiment 30 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein at least one bitmap is a single bitmap and at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, wherein when P is greater than X, each of the X bits of the single bitmap indicates whether an associated time resource of the single CG cycle is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier, and wherein one or more additional time resources of the single CG cycle without an associated bit of the single bitmap are not configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

[0141] Embodiment 31 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein, when P is greater than X, at least one bitmap is two or more bitmaps, wherein a second bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted relative to a first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps.

[0142] Embodiment 32 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 31, wherein each bitmap except the first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted by a common offset relative to the first bitmap.

[0143] Embodiment 33 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 31, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine, for each bitmap other than the first bitmap among the two or more bitmaps, a cyclic shift of the bitmap relative to the first bitmap based on at least one of RRC signaling, a downlink control information (DCI) message, or a locally stored table.

[0144] Embodiment 34 is a device configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors configured to: process a configuration grant (CG) for an unlicensed carrier via one of radio resource control (RRC) or downlink control information (DCI); and determine one or more time resources configured for uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier based at least on the CG.

[0145] Embodiment 35 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 34, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a listen-before-talk (LBT) process for a first time resource of the one or more time resources.

[0146] Embodiment 36 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 35, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the one or more processors are further configured to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

[0147] Embodiment 37 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 34 to 36, wherein the configuration authorization includes one or more parameters, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters.

[0148] Embodiment 38 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 37, wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start symbol and length indicator value (SLIV), or a repetition number (repK).

[0149] Embodiment 39 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 38, wherein the one or more parameters include periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, and repK.

[0150] Embodiment 40 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of time slot offsets and a duration of consecutive time slots applied to each of the plurality of time slot offsets, wherein one or more processors are configured to determine one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of time slot offsets and the duration of consecutive time slots.

[0151] Embodiment 41 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 40, wherein multiple time slot offsets are evenly spaced in time during the CG cycle.

[0152] Embodiment 42 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of time slot offsets and an associated consecutive number of resources for each of the plurality of time slot offsets, wherein one or more processors are configured to determine one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of time slot offsets and the associated consecutive number of resources for each of the plurality of time slot offsets.

[0153] Embodiment 43 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 42, wherein the associated contiguous number of resources for each of a plurality of time slot offsets has a time resource granularity that is one of fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one time slot, two time slots, or four time slots.

[0154] Embodiment 44 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates one or more time resources by indicating one or more resource sets, wherein the one or more sets are one of fixed or configured.

[0155] Embodiment 45 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 44, wherein the CG is processed via DCI, and wherein the CG indicates one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

[0156] Embodiment 46 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 44, wherein the CG indicates one or more resource sets via a bitmap, wherein each of the one or more resource sets is associated with a different bit of the bitmap.

[0157] Embodiment 47 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of time slot offsets that are evenly spaced in time during a CG period, wherein each time slot offset has a fixed duration, and wherein one or more processors are configured to determine one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of time slot offsets and the fixed duration.

[0158] Embodiment 48 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 34 to 39, wherein one or more time resources have a total duration that is less than the CG period.

[0159] Embodiment 49 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 34 to 39, wherein one or more processors are configured to determine one or more time resources based at least on entries in a locally stored table, wherein the entries are determined based at least on the CG.

[0160] Embodiment 50 is a UE comprising the apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 34 to 49.

[0161] Embodiment 51 is a machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment (UE) to: process a configuration grant (CG) for an unlicensed carrier via one of radio resource control (RRC) or downlink control information (DCI); and determine, based at least on the CG, one or more time resources configured for uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

[0162] Embodiment 52 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 51, wherein the instructions when executed further cause the UE to determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle within a first time resource of the one or more time resources via a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure.

[0163] Embodiment 53 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 52, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the instructions when executed further cause the UE to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

[0164] Embodiment 54 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 51 to 53, wherein the configuration grant includes one or more parameters, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters.

[0165] Embodiment 55 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 54, wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start symbol and length indicator value (SLIV), or a repetition number (repK).

[0166] Embodiment 56 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 55, wherein the one or more parameters include periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, and repK.

[0167] Embodiment 57 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of time slot offsets and a duration of consecutive time slots applied to each of the plurality of time slot offsets, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of time slot offsets and the duration of consecutive time slots.

[0168] Embodiment 58 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 57, wherein multiple time slot offsets are evenly spaced in time during the CG cycle.

[0169] Embodiment 59 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of time slot offsets and an associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of time slot offsets, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of time slot offsets and the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of time slot offsets.

[0170] Embodiment 60 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 59, wherein the associated contiguous number of resources for each of a plurality of time slot offsets has a time resource granularity that is one of fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one time slot, two time slots, or four time slots.

[0171] Embodiment 61 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates one or more time resources by indicating one or more resource sets, wherein the one or more sets are one of fixed or configured.

[0172] Embodiment 62 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 61, wherein the CG is processed via DCI, and wherein the CG indicates one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

[0173] Embodiment 63 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 61, wherein the CG indicates one or more resource sets via a bitmap, wherein each of the one or more resource sets is associated with a different bit of the bitmap.

[0174] Embodiment 64 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of time slot offsets that are evenly spaced in time during the CG period, each time slot offset having a fixed duration, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of time slot offsets and the fixed duration.

[0175] Embodiment 65 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 51 to 56, wherein one or more time resources have a total duration that is less than the CG period.

[0176] Embodiment 66 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine one or more time resources based at least on entries in a locally stored table, wherein the entries are determined based at least on the CG.

[0177] Embodiment 67 includes an apparatus comprising means for performing any of the described operations of embodiments 1-66.

[0178] Embodiment 68 includes a machine-readable medium storing instructions for execution by a processor to perform any of the described operations of Embodiments 1 to 66.

[0179] Embodiment 69 includes an apparatus comprising: a memory interface; and a processing circuit configured to: perform any of the described operations of embodiments 1 to 66.

[0180] The following are additional exemplary embodiments.

[0181] Embodiment A1 may include a method comprising: configuring time domain allocation for a UE using CG operation in an NR unlicensed spectrum.

[0182] Embodiment A2 may include the method of embodiment A1 or some other embodiment, further comprising interpreting the configured time domain allocation based on the configured periodicity or other Rel-15 parameters.

[0183] Embodiment A3 may include the method of embodiment A1 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising configuring time domain resources through RRC signaling via a bitmap.

[0184] Embodiment A4 may include the method of embodiment A3 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the bitmap consists of X bits, wherein each bit corresponds to a symbol / slot / mini-slot / subframe or radio frame.

[0185] Embodiment A5 may include the method of embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the value of X is the same regardless of the subcarrier spacing (SCS) used.

[0186] Embodiment A6 may include the method of embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the value of X is scaled based on the subcarrier spacing: for example, for 15KHz SCS, X=40 bits, for 30KHz SCS, X=80 bits, or for 60KHz SCS, X=160 bits.

[0187] Embodiment A7 may include the method of embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein X may be configured by higher layers or by the gNB via DCI, regardless of the SCS.

[0188] Embodiment A8 may include the method of embodiment A1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the granularity parameter G may be scaled with the SCS, or it may be independently configured by higher layers, or configured by the gNB via DCI.

[0189] Embodiment A9 may include the method of Embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the bitmap is repeated regardless of the CG periodicity used, and its values ​​are interpreted accordingly.

[0190] Embodiment A10 may include the method of Embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for each period, the first P time unit resources of the bitmap are used if the length of the time resource unit of each periodic value is less than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit.

[0191] Embodiment A11 may include the method of Embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for each time domain resource group covered by n periods, where n is such that nxP = X or (nxP > X and (n - 1)xP < X), bitmap X is used, and the first (nP - X) time domain configurations of the bitmap are used to configure the spare resources not covered by the length of the bitmap in the last period if the length of the time resource unit of each periodic value is less than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit.

[0192] Embodiment A12 may include the method of Embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein if the length of the time resource unit of each cycle value is greater than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, for each cycle, the first time domain resource is configured for the bitmap, and the remaining time domain resources are configured by repeating the bitmap in time until the end of the cycle.

[0193] Embodiment A13 may include the method of Embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein. If the length of the time resource unit of each cycle value is greater than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, the first X resource units within the cycle are configured after the bitmap, and the remaining resources within the cycle are not used to configure authorized transmissions.

[0194] Embodiment A14 may include the method of Embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein bitmap X and repetition Y may be configured, where X resource units are repeated Y times at the start of the cycle for allocating configured authorization resources, and the remaining resources within the cycle are not used to configure authorized transmissions.

[0195] Embodiment A15 may include the method of Embodiment A4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein to increase the flexibility in how to configure the time domain resources when using a bitmap and the cycle is greater than X, an offset cyclic shift is used to repeat the bitmap (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5).

[0196] Embodiment A16 may include the method of Embodiment A15 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the offset is the same for all repetitions. In one implementation, the offset for each repetition is different.

[0197] Embodiment A17 may include the method of Embodiment A15 or some other embodiments herein, wherein for the first bitmap L = 0, and then a common or different offset is used.

[0198] Embodiment A18 may include the method of embodiment A17 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the offset value is carried in different RRC parameters. In one embodiment, the offset value is carried in different RRC parameters. Figure 1 Carry-over: This is done by boosting the bitmap from X to X+M bits, where M is the MSB or LSB bits of the bitmap and they are used to signal the offset.

[0199] Embodiment A19 may include the method of embodiment A15 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the UE includes multiple bitmap configurations, and the index of the configuration is signaled to the UE via higher layers or gNB in ​​DCI activation, or the UE selects it and signals the index to the gNB via CG-UCI.

[0200] Embodiment A20 may include the method of embodiment A1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein time domain allocation of the UE is based on Rel-15 allocation, using {periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, repK}.

[0201] Embodiment A21 may include the method of embodiment A20 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the time domain allocation configuration provides a plurality of time slot offsets for the UE within a configured periodicity.

[0202] Embodiment A22 may include the method of embodiment A21 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the maximum number N of configurable time slot offsets is fixed and the UE may be assigned any number of time slot offsets between 1 and N.

[0203] Embodiment A23 may include the method of embodiment A21 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the transmission duration parameter z indicates the number of consecutive time slots / mini-time slots that the UE can attempt to transmit, starting from any time slot indicated in the time slot offset.

[0204] Embodiment A24 may include the method of Embodiment A23 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the duration parameter may be a reinterpretation of a Rel-15 parameter (such as repK), or a newly defined parameter not in Rel-15.

[0205] Embodiment A25 may include the method of embodiment A23 or some other example herein, wherein the parameter z may be constant across all time slot offsets, or may be configured differently for each time slot offset.

[0206] Embodiment A26 may include the method of embodiment A22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the slot offsets are each individually signaled in the same manner as the slot offsets in Rel-15 slot offset signaling.

[0207] Embodiment A27 may include the method of embodiments A20-A22 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the slot offset is signaled from a subset of the Rel-15 slot offset set.

[0208] Embodiment A28 may include the methods of embodiments A20 to A22 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the slot offset is derived as a function of a slot offset indication, a duration parameter z, a periodicity, a selected number of slot offsets n, and any other parameters that may affect the slot offset position.

[0209] Embodiment A29 may include a method as described in Embodiment A27 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the parameters may be Rel-15 parameters or new parameters.

[0210] Embodiment A30 may include the method of embodiments A20-A22 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the offsets occur evenly spaced apart and each offset has a fixed time slot duration.

[0211] Embodiment A31 may include the method of embodiments A20-A22 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the offset is emulated by a bitmap indicating which times within a periodicity the resources are enabled.

[0212] Embodiment A32 may include the method of embodiment A30 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the bitmap may have a length proportional to the periodicity, or may be fixed regardless of the periodicity.

[0213] Embodiment A33 may include the method of embodiment A32 or some other embodiments herein, wherein a bitmap of length X points to an allocation table of length 2X-1 such that the slot / mini-slot allocation length has a length of up to 2X-1.

[0214] Embodiment A34 may include the method of embodiment A23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the slot offset positions and durations are each signaled in a separate sequence such that corresponding indices form a pair.

[0215] Embodiment A35 may include the method of embodiment A23 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the aggregation of the slot offsets and durations is always less than the total slots in the periodicity.

[0216] Embodiment A36 may include the method of embodiment A23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the time slot offsets in a first periodicity are relative to a reference time slot, and the same time slot offset allocation pattern within the first periodicity repeats itself for all subsequent periodicities until the CG is deactivated via type 1 RRC or type 2 DCI.

[0217] Embodiment A37 may include the method of embodiment A27 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the subset is derived from a subset of a set of Rel-15 slot offsets derived from a parameter such as slot duration.

[0218] Embodiment A38 may include the method of embodiment A37 or some other embodiments herein, wherein each UE has a time slot configuration table so that multiple time slot offset configurations can be assigned to the UE, each table indexing a time slot offset configuration.

[0219] Embodiment A39 may include the method of embodiment A38 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the index of the table is signaled to the UE via RRC of CG type 1 or by the gNB via activation DCI of CG type 2.

[0220] Embodiment A40 may include the method of embodiment A38 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the UE autonomously selects a configuration from its time slot offset configuration table and signals the index of the configuration used to the gNB via the CG-UCI.

[0221] Embodiment Z01 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments A1-A40 or any other method or process described herein.

[0222] Embodiment Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which 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 in or related to any one of Embodiments A1 to A40 or any other method or process described herein.

[0223] Embodiment Z03 may include a device comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of a method according to or related to any of Embodiments A1 to A40, or any other method or process described herein.

[0224] Embodiment Z04 may include a method, technique or process according to any one of Embodiments A1 to A40 or related thereto, or a portion or component thereof.

[0225] Embodiment Z05 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 any of the methods, techniques, or processes described in or related to Embodiments A1 to A40, or portions thereof.

[0226] Embodiment Z06 may include a signal according to or related to any one of Embodiments A1 to A40, or a portion or component thereof.

[0227] Embodiment Z07 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU) or message described in or related to any one of Embodiments A1 to A40, or a part or component thereof, or described otherwise in the present disclosure.

[0228] Embodiment Z08 may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of Embodiments A1 to A40, or a portion or component thereof, or as otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0229] Embodiment Z09 may include a signal encoding a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU) or message as described or associated with any one of Embodiments A1 to A40, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0230] Embodiment Z10 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 execute a method, technique, process, or portion thereof described in or related to any one of Embodiments A1 to A40.

[0231] Embodiment Z11 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element will cause the processing element to perform a method, technique or process described in or related to any one of Embodiments A1 to A40, or a portion thereof.

[0232] Embodiment Z12 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0233] Embodiment Z13 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0234] Embodiment Z14 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0235] Embodiment Z15 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0236] The above description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, including the contents described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Although specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications can be considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples as can be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art.

[0237] In this regard, although the subject matter disclosed in the present invention has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it should be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to perform the same, similar, alternative or alternative functions of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the described embodiments. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted according to the breadth and scope of the following claims.

[0238] In particular, with respect to the various functions performed by the above-described components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), unless otherwise specified, the terms used to describe such components (including references to "members") are intended to correspond to any component or structure that performs the specified functions of the components (e.g., functionally equivalent), even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structures that perform the functions in the exemplary implementations shown herein. In addition, while particular features have been disclosed with respect to only one of a plurality of implementations, for any given or particular application, such features may be combined with one or more other features of other implementations, which may be desirable and advantageous.

Claims

1. A baseband processor, comprising: One or more processors configured to: Receiving a Configuration Grant (CG) for an unlicensed carrier via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, wherein the CG indicates: CG periodicity, a plurality of time slot positions within the CG periodicity, and a duration of the contiguous resource applied to each of the plurality of time slot positions; as well as One or more time resources for uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier are determined based at least on the plurality of time slot locations and the duration of contiguous resources.

2. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the duration of the continuous resource is constant for each of the plurality of time slot positions.

3. A baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the CG includes one or more parameters, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters, wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of periodicity, time slot offset, start symbol and length indicator value (SLIV) or number of repetitions (repK).

4. A baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the CG indicates a continuous number of resources for each time slot in the multiple time slot positions, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the continuous number of resources.

5. The baseband processor according to claim 4, wherein: The contiguous number of resources for each of the multiple time slot positions has a time resource granularity that is either fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one time slot, two time slots, or four time slots.

6. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the CG indicates the one or more time resources via indicating one or more resource sets, wherein the one or more resource sets are one of fixed or configured; and Wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

7. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of time slot positions are evenly spaced.

8. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory circuit; one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to the memory circuit and, when executing instructions stored in the memory circuit, causing the UE to: Receiving a Configuration Grant (CG) for an unlicensed carrier via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, wherein the CG indicates: CG periodicity, a plurality of time slot positions within the CG periodicity, and a duration of the contiguous resource applied to each of the plurality of time slot positions; as well as One or more time resources for uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier are determined based at least on the plurality of time slot locations and the duration of contiguous resources.

9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the duration of the continuous resources is constant for each of the plurality of slot positions.

10. A UE according to claim 8, wherein the CG includes one or more parameters, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters, wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of periodicity, time slot offset, start symbol and length indicator value (SLIV) or number of repetitions (repK).

11. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the CG indicates a continuous number of resources for each time slot in the multiple time slot positions, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the continuous number of resources.

12. The UE according to claim 11, wherein: The contiguous number of resources for each of the multiple time slot positions has a time resource granularity that is either fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one time slot, two time slots, or four time slots.

13. The UE of claim 8, wherein the CG indicates the one or more time resources via indicating one or more resource sets, wherein the one or more resource sets are one of fixed or configured; and Wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

14. The UE of claim 8, wherein the plurality of time slot positions are evenly spaced.

15. A method for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Receiving a Configuration Grant (CG) for an unlicensed carrier via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, wherein the CG indicates: CG periodicity, a plurality of time slot positions within the CG periodicity, and a duration of the contiguous resource applied to each of the plurality of time slot positions; and determining one or more time resources for uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier based at least on the plurality of time slot locations and the duration of the contiguous resources.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the duration of continuous resources is constant for each of the plurality of slot positions.

17. A method according to claim 15, wherein the CG includes one or more parameters, and wherein the method also includes determining the one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters, wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of periodicity, time slot offset, start symbol and length indicator value (SLIV) or number of repetitions (repK).

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the CG indicates a continuous number of resources for each time slot in the plurality of time slot positions, wherein the method further comprises determining the one or more time resources based at least on the continuous number of resources.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The contiguous number of resources for each of the multiple time slot positions has a time resource granularity that is either fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one time slot, two time slots, or four time slots.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the CG indicates the one or more time resources via indicating one or more resource sets, wherein the one or more resource sets are one of fixed or configured; and Wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

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