Sharing frequency bands between licensed and unlicensed accesses

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a first apparatus may receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The first device may communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol based at least in part on time division multiplexing (TDM) using a time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. The second device may communicate in the wireless network using a synchronous unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on a frequency band assigned to the licensed access mode and the unlicensed access mode. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 378,803, filed on October 7, 2022, entitled “SHARING A FREQUENCY BAND BETWEEN LICENSED ACCESS AND UNLICENSED ACCESS,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 18 / 479,336, filed on October 2, 2023, entitled “SHARING A FREQUENCY BAND BETWEEN LICENSED ACCESS AND UNLICENSED ACCESS,” which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and to techniques and apparatus for sharing frequency bands between licensed access and unlicensed access. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communications for wireless communication devices, such as user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. A "downlink" (or "DL") refers to a communication link from a network node to a UE, and an "uplink" (or "UL") refers to a communication link from a UE to a network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communications, such as via a local link (e.g., a side link (SL), a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and / or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, etc.).

[0006] The above-mentioned multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at a city, country, region and / or global level. New Radio (NR) (which may be referred to as 5G) is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by: improving spectrum efficiency; reducing costs; improving services; utilizing new spectrum; and using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink, CP-OFDM and / or single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink to better integrate with other open standards; and supporting beamforming, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR and other radio access technologies remain useful. Summary of the invention

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus. The method may include receiving a synchronization signal from an external device. The method may include communicating in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol, the licensed access protocol based at least in part on time division multiplexing (TDM) using a time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus. The method may include receiving a synchronization signal from an external device. The method may include communicating in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communicating based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0009] Some aspects described herein are directed to a method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus. The method may include sending a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. The method may include deferring sending a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include one or more processors, one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, and instructions stored in the one or more memories. The instructions may be executable by the one or more processors individually or collectively to cause the apparatus to receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The instructions may be executable by the one or more processors individually or collectively to cause the apparatus to: communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol, the licensed access protocol being based at least in part on TDM using a time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the licensed access protocol being based at least in part on communicating in a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0011] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include one or more processors, one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, and instructions stored in the one or more memories. The instructions may be executable by the one or more processors, individually or collectively, to cause the apparatus to receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The instructions may be executable by the one or more processors, individually or collectively, to cause the apparatus to: communicate in a wireless network using a synchronous unlicensed access protocol, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on communicating in a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0012] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include one or more processors, one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, and instructions stored in the one or more memories. The instructions may be executable by the one or more processors, individually or collectively, to cause the apparatus to: send a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. The one or more processors may be configured, individually or collectively, to cause the apparatus to: postpone sending a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol, based at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0013] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication by an apparatus. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the apparatus, may cause the apparatus to: receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The set of instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the apparatus, may cause the apparatus to: communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol, the licensed access protocol being based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0014] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication by an apparatus. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the apparatus, may cause the apparatus to: receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The set of instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the apparatus, may cause the apparatus to: communicate in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0015] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication by a device. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the device, may cause the device to: send a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. The set of instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the device, may cause the device to: defer sending a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deducing a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0016] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include components for receiving a synchronization signal from an external device. The apparatus may include components for communicating in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol, the licensed access protocol based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0017] Some aspects described herein are directed to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for receiving a synchronization signal from an external device. The apparatus may include means for communicating in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0018] Some aspects described herein are directed to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for transmitting a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. The apparatus may include means for deferring transmission of a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deducing a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0019] Aspects collectively include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, network entities, network nodes, wireless communication devices and / or processing systems as fully described herein with reference to the drawings and description and as illustrated in the drawings and description.

[0020] The features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure have been outlined quite extensively above so that the following specific embodiments may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be easily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purpose of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both in terms of their organization and method of operation, and the associated advantages will be better understood by considering the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each of the figures in the accompanying drawings is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limitations of the claims.

[0021] Although various aspects are described in the present disclosure by illustrating some examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that such aspects can be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. The technology described herein can be implemented using different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes and / or packaging arrangements. For example, some aspects can be implemented via integrated chip implementations or other devices based on non-module components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication equipment, computing equipment, industrial equipment, retail / shopping equipment, medical equipment and / or artificial intelligence devices). Various aspects can be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components and / or system-level components. The equipment incorporating the various aspects and features described may include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the various aspects claimed and described. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals may include one or more components (e.g., hardware components, including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders and / or summers) for analog and digital purposes. The various aspects described herein are intended to be practiced in various devices, components, systems, distributed arrangements and / or end-user devices of various sizes, shapes and configurations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to be able to understand the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure in detail, a more specific description briefly summarized above may be obtained by reference to various aspects (some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings). However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the specification may admit of other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0023] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between a network node and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 3A and Figure 3B are diagrams illustrating a first example and a second example of a license access protocol according to the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a synchronous unlicensed access protocol according to the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 5A and Figure 5B are diagrams illustrating first and second examples of an asynchronous unlicensed access protocol according to the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an asynchronous unlicensed access protocol according to the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication process between a first pair of devices and a second pair of devices according to the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a device according to the present disclosure.

[0031] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a device according to the present disclosure.

[0032] Fig.10 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a device according to the present disclosure.

[0033] Fig.11 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure.

[0034] Fig.12 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] As more and more devices access wireless networks, the demand for services provided by wireless networks continues to increase. As the number of devices accessing the wireless network increases, the availability of communication resources (e.g., frequency resources and / or time resources) that provide these services becomes proportionally tight. In order to increase capacity, the same part of the spectrum can be shared between licensed access and unlicensed access. For example, the same part of the spectrum can be allocated to licensed access at outdoor locations and unlicensed access at indoor locations. "Licensed access" may refer to a communication and / or access protocol that is based at least in part on the use of a licensed spectrum. A device may send and / or receive wireless communications within a licensed spectrum based at least in part on the expectation that other devices will avoid using the licensed spectrum at the same time. "Unlicensed access" may refer to a communication and / or access protocol that is based at least in part on the use of an unlicensed spectrum.

[0036] Coexistence between licensed access and unlicensed access in the same portion of the spectrum can increase the capacity of the wireless network, but also result in increased interference observed by the receiver. For illustration, at least a portion of the licensed transmission can occur simultaneously with the unlicensed transmission. The increased interference may degrade signal quality, increase recovery errors, reduce data throughput, and / or increase data transfer delays.

[0037] Some techniques and apparatus described herein provide for sharing frequency bands between licensed access and unlicensed access. In some aspects, an apparatus may receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The apparatus may communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol based at least in part on time division multiplexing (TDM) using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal. In some aspects, communicating in a wireless network using the licensed access protocol is based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0038] In some aspects, an apparatus may receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The apparatus may communicate in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal. In some aspects, communicating in a wireless network using the synchronized unlicensed access protocol is based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0039] In some aspects, an apparatus may transmit a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. The apparatus may defer transmission of a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0040] Coordinating licensed and unlicensed access to the same portion of the spectrum can increase the capacity of the wireless network and reduce interference observed by the receiver. Reduced interference can increase signal quality, reduce recovery errors, increase data throughput, and / or reduce data transfer delays.

[0041] The various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Instead, these aspects are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether it is independently or in combination with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such a device or method practiced using other structures, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or different from the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the present invention.

[0042] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0043] Although various aspects may be described herein using terms generally associated with 5G or new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), various aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT and / or RATs beyond 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0044] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or elements of a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, etc. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as network node 110a, network node 110b, network node 110c, and network node 110d), user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UE 120a, UE 120b, UE 120c, UE 120d, and UE 120e), and / or other entities. The network node 110 is a network node that communicates with the UE 120. As shown in the figure, the network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, the network node 110 may be a converged network node, which means that the converged network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., within a single device or unit). For another example, the network node 110 may be a decomposed network node (sometimes referred to as a decomposed base station), which means that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)).

[0045] In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with the UE 120 via a radio access link, such as an RU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link, such as a DU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or communicates with the core network via a backhaul link, such as a CU. In some examples, the network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a decomposed network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and / or one or more DUs. The network node 110 may include, for example, an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G), a gNB (e.g., in 5G), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), a DU, a RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, network nodes 110 may be interconnected to each other or to one or more other network nodes 110 in wireless network 100 via various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and / or backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, air interfaces, or virtual networks) using any suitable transport network.

[0046] In some examples, the network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​the network node 110 and / or the network node subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. The network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by a UE 120 associated with the femto cell (e.g., a UE 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. The network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or a home network node. Figure 1In the example shown, network node 110a may be a macro network node for macro cell 102a, network node 110b may be a pico network node for pico cell 102b, and network node 110c may be a femto network node for femto cell 102c. The network node may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, the cells may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cells may move depending on the location of the mobile network node 110 (e.g., a mobile network node).

[0047] In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to an aggregated base station, a decomposed base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station" or "network node" may refer to a CU, a DU, a RU, a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions (such as those described herein in conjunction with network node 110). In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to multiple devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a plurality of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeatedly perform at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one of the base station functions, but not another base station function. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0048] The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that can receive transmissions of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmit transmissions of data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 that is capable of relaying transmissions for other UEs 120. Figure 1 In the example shown, a network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with a network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and a UE 120d to facilitate communications between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, a relay, etc.

[0049] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes different types of network nodes 110, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, etc. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and / or different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro network node may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while a pico network node, a femto network node, and a relay network node may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0050] The network controller 130 may be coupled to or in communication with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for the network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may also communicate directly with each other or indirectly via a wireless or wired backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be, or may include, a CU or a core network device.

[0051] UE 120 may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. UE 120 may include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, and / or a subscriber unit. UE 120 may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node, and / or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0052] Some UEs 120 may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and / or eMTC UEs may include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and / or location tags, which may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered as customer premises equipment. UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as a processor component and / or a memory component. In some examples, the processor component and the memory component may be coupled together. For example, a processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and a memory component (e.g., a memory) may be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and / or electrically coupled.

[0053] In general, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a specific RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. RAT may be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency may be referred to as a carrier, frequency channel, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0054] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly (e.g., without using network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with each other) using one or more side link channels. For example, UE 120 may use peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), and / or mesh network communications. In such examples, UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by network node 110.

[0055] The devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using an electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., according to frequency or wavelength. For example, the devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency ranges designated FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "below 6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. A similar naming problem sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0056] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz–24.25GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and therefore the features of FR1 and / or FR2 can be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to more than 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz-71GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz-114.25GHz) and FR5 (114.25GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0057] Considering the above examples, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "below 6 GHz" or the like is used herein, the term may broadly refer to frequencies that may be lower than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, the term may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) may be modified, and the techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0058] In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., network node 110 or UE 120) may include communication manager 140. Alternatively, the apparatus may include communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, communication manager 140 and / or communication manager 150 may receive a synchronization signal from an external device; and communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to licensed access mode and unlicensed access mode. Additionally or alternatively, communication manager 140 and / or communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0059] Alternatively, communication manager 140 and / or communication manager 150 may receive a synchronization signal from an external device; and communicate in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. Additionally or alternatively, communication manager 140 and / or communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0060] Alternatively, communication manager 140 and / or communication manager 150 may send a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode; and defer sending a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary. Additionally or alternatively, communication manager 140 and / or communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0061] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or components in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station or network equipment can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR BS, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a TRP or a cell, etc.) or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as an independent base station or a monolithic base station) or a decomposed base station. "Network entity" or "network node" may refer to a decomposed base station or one or more units of a decomposed base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof).

[0062] An aggregated base station (e.g., an aggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). A decomposed base station (e.g., a decomposed network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs). In some examples, a CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other network nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of a CU, a DU, and a RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), and the like.

[0063] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a decomposed base station may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as a network configuration initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)) to facilitate the scaling of a communication system by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be deployed separately. A decomposed base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented virtually for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a decomposed base station may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the decomposed base station.

[0064] As indicated above, Figure 1 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 1 The examples described are different.

[0065] Figure 2 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a network node 110 communicating with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T≥1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R≥1). The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as an antenna 234 and a modem 254. In some examples, the network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include a radio frequency component that facilitates direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs or one or more DUs.

[0066] At the network node 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) from the data source 212. The transmit processor 220 may select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for the UE 120 based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 based at least in part on the MCS selected for the UE 120, and may provide data symbols for the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, and / or upper layer signaling), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) (shown as modems 232a to 232t). For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of the modem 232. Each modem 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) using a corresponding modulator component to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or up-convert) the output sample stream using a corresponding modulator component to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a to 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a to 234t).

[0067] At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a to 252r) may receive downlink signals from the network node 110 and / or other network nodes 110 and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) (shown as modems 254a to 254r). For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a corresponding demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modem 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, and / or a CQI parameter, among other things. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in the housing 284.

[0068] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0069] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a to 234t and / or antennas 252a to 252r) may include or be included within one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and / or one or more antenna arrays, etc. Antenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and / or antenna arrays may include one or more antenna elements (in a single housing or multiple housings), sets of coplanar antenna elements, sets of non-coplanar antenna elements, and / or may be coupled to one or more transmit and / or receive components (such as, Figure 2 One or more antenna elements of one or more components in.

[0070] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and / or CQI). The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be pre-decoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, where applicable, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and sent to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 252, a modem 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, and / or a TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (eg, controller / processor 280) and memory 282 to perform the functions described herein (eg, with reference to Figures 3A to 12 ) or any aspect of any of the methods described herein.

[0071] At the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 and / or other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 232), detected by the MIMO detector 236 (where applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink communication and / or uplink communication. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna 234, modem 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and / or TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform operations described herein (e.g., with reference to Figures 3A to 12 )Aspects of any of the methods described herein.

[0072] The controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other components of the network node 110 may perform one or more techniques associated with sharing a frequency band between licensed access and unlicensed access as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other component of the Figure 8 The process of 800 Fig. 9 The process of 900 Fig.10 1000 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. Memory 242 and memory 282 may store data and program codes for network node 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some examples, memory 242 and / or memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and / or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compilation, conversion, and / or interpretation) by one or more processors of network node 110 and / or UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, UE 120, and / or network node 110 to perform or direct, for example Figure 8 The process of 800 Fig. 9 The process of 900 Fig.10 The process 1000 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running instructions, converting instructions, compiling instructions, and / or interpreting instructions, etc.

[0073] In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., network node 110 or UE 120) includes a component for receiving a synchronization signal from an external device; and / or a component for communicating in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol, the licensed access protocol being based at least in part on TDM using a time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. In some aspects, the components for the apparatus to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: communication manager 150, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246. Alternatively, in some aspects, the components for the device to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: the communication manager 140, the antenna 252, the modem 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, the TX MIMO processor 266, the controller / processor 280, or the memory 282.

[0074] In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., network node 110 or UE 120) includes a component for receiving a synchronization signal from an external device; and / or a component for communicating in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. In some aspects, the components for the apparatus to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: communication manager 150, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246. Alternatively, in some aspects, the components for the device to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: the communication manager 140, the antenna 252, the modem 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, the TX MIMO processor 266, the controller / processor 280, or the memory 282.

[0075] In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., network node 110 or UE 120) includes: a component for sending a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode; and / or a component for deferring the sending of a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on deducing a synchronization signal time boundary. In some aspects, the components for the apparatus to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: communication manager 150, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246. Alternatively, in some aspects, the components for the device to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: the communication manager 140, the antenna 252, the modem 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, the TX MIMO processor 266, the controller / processor 280, or the memory 282.

[0076] Although Figure 2The blocks in the 2000 and 2010 are illustrated as distinct components, but the functionality described above for these blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functionality described for the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0077] As indicated above, Figure 2 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 2 The examples described are different.

[0078] As more and more devices access wireless networks, the demand for services provided by the wireless networks continues to increase. As the number of devices accessing the wireless network increases, the availability of communication resources (e.g., frequency resources and / or time resources) to provide these services becomes proportionally tight. In order to increase capacity, the same portion of the spectrum, such as the millimeter wave band (e.g., above 6 GHz and / or FR2 frequencies), can be shared between licensed access and unlicensed access. For example, the same portion of the spectrum can be allocated to licensed access at outdoor locations and unlicensed access at indoor locations.

[0079] "Licensed access" may refer to a communication and / or access protocol based at least in part on the use of a licensed spectrum. "Licensed spectrum" may refer to a portion of a spectrum to which an administrative agency (e.g., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the ITU, and / or the Department of Communications) has granted, allocated, and / or assigned exclusive access rights for a specific purpose. For example, the FCC has assigned a first portion of the spectrum to maritime mobile use, a second portion of the spectrum to broadcast satellite communications, and a third portion of the spectrum to mobile communications. Based at least in part on the exclusive access rights associated with that portion of the spectrum, a device may send and / or receive wireless communications within the licensed spectrum based at least in part on the expectation that other devices will avoid using the licensed spectrum at the same time. Accordingly, a device that uses licensed access to access the spectrum may experience reduced interference from other devices. "Unlicensed access" may refer to a communication and / or access protocol based at least in part on the use of an unlicensed spectrum. "Unlicensed spectrum" may refer to a spectrum that can be utilized by any device without exclusive access (e.g., a portion of a frequency that can be accessed without a license). That is, maritime mobile use, broadcast satellite communications, and / or mobile communications may each utilize the same portion of the unlicensed spectrum.

[0080] Coexistence between licensed access and unlicensed access in the same portion of the spectrum (e.g., millimeter wave bands and / or frequency bands) can increase the capacity of the wireless network, but also result in increased interference observed by the receiver. For illustration, at least a portion of the licensed transmission can occur simultaneously with the unlicensed transmission. The increased interference may reduce signal quality, increase recovery errors, reduce data throughput, and / or increase data transfer latency.

[0081] Some techniques and apparatuses described herein provide for sharing frequency bands between licensed access and unlicensed access. In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) may receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The apparatus may communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal. In some aspects, communicating in a wireless network using the licensed access protocol is based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0082] In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) may receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The apparatus may communicate in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal. In some aspects, communicating in a wireless network using the synchronized unlicensed access protocol is based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0083] In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) may send a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. The apparatus may defer sending a second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0084] Coordinating licensed and unlicensed access to the same portion of the spectrum can increase the capacity of the wireless network and reduce interference observed by the receiver. Reduced interference can increase signal quality, reduce recovery errors, increase data throughput, and / or reduce data transfer delays.

[0085] Figure 3A and Figure 3B300 and 302, respectively, are diagrams illustrating a first example 300 and a second example 302 of a licensed access protocol according to the present disclosure. In some aspects, the licensed access protocol may be based at least in part on a portion of the access spectrum allocated to both licensed access and unlicensed access, and may be associated with a first portion of the spectrum including a millimeter wave band, a second portion of the spectrum above the millimeter wave band, and / or a third portion of the spectrum below the millimeter wave band. The licensed access protocol illustrated in the first example 300 and the second example 302 is alternatively referred to as a synchronized licensed access protocol. At least some aspects of the licensed access protocol illustrated by the first example 300 and the second example 302 may be specified by a communication standard.

[0086] The licensed access protocol shown in the first example 300 and the second example 302 may use TDM based at least in part on a synchronization signal, such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) synchronization signal. For illustration, a device may include a GNSS receiver that receives a GNSS synchronization signal, and the device may process the GNSS synchronization signal to derive a time base. However, the licensed access protocol may base TDM on other types of synchronization signals, such as a synchronization signal sent by a master network node serving the device. In some aspects, the synchronization signal may be generated by a first device that is external to both the second device and the third device that communicate with each other. In some aspects, the first device may send a synchronization signal based at least in part on a first RAN different from a second RAN used by the second device and the third device to communicate and / or a different time structure. However, in other aspects, the synchronization signal may be generated by a master network node associated with the licensed access protocol. In some aspects, the device may periodically receive a synchronization signal and / or periodically update the time based at least in part on receiving the synchronization signal.

[0087] As shown by the first example 300 and the second example 302, the device may identify the first synchronization signal time boundary 304-1 based at least in part on the first occurrence of the synchronization signal, identify the second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2 based at least in part on the second occurrence of the synchronization signal, and / or identify the third synchronization signal time boundary 304-3 based at least in part on the third occurrence of the synchronization signal. In some aspects, the device may identify the first synchronization signal time boundary 304-1, the second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2, and / or the third synchronization signal time boundary 304-3 based at least in part on deriving the time base using the first synchronization signal, at least in part on receiving the second synchronization signal and / or receiving a corresponding synchronization signal for each time boundary to update the time base. For example, the device may receive the first synchronization signal associated with the first synchronization signal time boundary 304-1, derive the time base, and identify the second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2 based at least in part on the derived time base. As another example, the device may receive a second synchronization signal associated with a second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2 and / or a third synchronization signal associated with a third synchronization signal time boundary 304-3. Although examples 300 and 302 show three synchronization signal time boundaries, other examples may include more or fewer time boundaries associated with more or fewer occurrences of synchronization signals.

[0088] The TDM partitioning associated with the licensed access protocol may be based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries. Figure 3A and Figure 3B As shown, the licensed access protocol may specify time slot boundaries based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries. For example, a first time slot may start at a first synchronization signal time boundary 304-1 and end at a first time slot time boundary 306-1. That is, the first time slot may be based at least in part on a duration 308 defined by the first synchronization signal time boundary 304-1 and the first time slot time boundary 306-1. A second time slot may start at the first time slot time boundary 306-1, end at the second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2, and have a duration 310. A third time slot may start at the second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2, end at the second time slot time boundary 306-2, and have a duration 312. Alternatively or additionally, a fourth time slot may start at the second time slot time boundary 306-2, end at the third synchronization signal time boundary 304-3, and have a duration 314. While the first example 300 and the second example 302 illustrate a grant access protocol that divides the time duration between synchronization signal time boundaries into two time slots, other examples may include grant access protocols that divide the time duration into more or fewer time slots.

[0089] In some aspects, the grant access protocol may specify that a new transmission must start at a synchronization signal time boundary. For example, a network node (e.g., network node 110) that sends a downlink signal 316 (shown as including at least a first portion 316-1 and a second portion 316-2) may delay the transmission of the downlink signal 316 until a first synchronization signal time boundary 304-1. That is, the network node may avoid starting the downlink signal 316 at an unsynchronized signal time boundary (e.g., a first time slot boundary 306-1 and a second time slot boundary 306-2). The network node may wait until the occurrence of a synchronization signal time boundary (e.g., a first synchronization signal time boundary 304-1, a second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2, and / or a third synchronization signal time boundary 304-3) to start the transmission of the downlink signal 316. Alternatively or additionally, a UE (eg, UE 120) may delay transmission of an uplink signal 318 (shown as including a first portion 318-1 and a second portion 318-2) until a synchronization signal time boundary (eg, second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2) occurs.

[0090] As shown by the first example 300, the network node may send a downlink signal, and / or the UE may send an uplink signal 318, without performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) and / or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure based at least in part on utilizing a licensed access protocol. However, in some aspects and as shown by the second example 302, the UE (e.g., UE 120) may perform a CCA procedure 320 (e.g., a single CCA procedure, multiple CCA procedures, and / or as part of an LBT procedure) before sending an uplink signal 322 (shown as including a first portion 322-1 and a second portion 322-2). In some aspects, the UE may optionally perform a CCA procedure over a duration 324 and before sending the uplink signal 322. Alternatively or additionally, the licensed access protocol may instruct the UE to perform a CCA procedure before starting a new transmission. The CCA procedure may include a device measuring a power level in a frequency band and / or sub-band, and comparing the power level to a threshold to determine whether the frequency band contains no other transmissions.

[0091] In some aspects, the licensed access protocol may specify that the duration 324 associated with the CCA process 320 must start at a synchronization signal time boundary (e.g., the second synchronization signal time boundary 304-2). The UE may send an uplink signal 322 based at least in part on the CCA process 320 being clear. An "idle" CCA may refer to a device detecting that a power level in a measured frequency band (e.g., a millimeter wave band) meets a low power threshold. That is, the device may detect that an energy level of a communication channel associated with the frequency band is at or below a specified level. Accordingly, the UE may send an uplink signal 322 at least in the remainder of the time slot associated with performing the CCA process indicating that the communication channel is available for use (shown as duration 326).

[0092] Using a synchronization signal (e.g., a synchronization signal generated by a device other than the network node and the UE) enables a first transmission associated with permitted access of a first device to be synchronized with a second transmission associated with unlicensed access of a second device based at least in part on each access protocol using a common time base (as further described below). Synchronizing permitted access with unlicensed access can reduce the occurrence of collisions, improve signal quality, reduce recovery errors, increase data throughput, and / or reduce data transfer latency.

[0093] As indicated above, Figure 3A and Figure 3B are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 3A and Figure 3B The examples described are different.

[0094] Figure 4 400 is a diagram illustrating an example of a synchronized unlicensed access protocol according to the present disclosure. In some aspects, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol illustrated by example 400 may be associated with a portion of an access spectrum allocated to both licensed access and unlicensed access. For example, the portion of the spectrum may be associated with a millimeter wave band, but other examples may include portions of the spectrum above or below the millimeter wave band. The synchronized unlicensed access protocol illustrated by example 400 may alternatively be referred to as an unlicensed access protocol. At least some aspects of the synchronized unlicensed access protocol illustrated by example 400 may be specified by a communication standard.

[0095] The synchronized unlicensed access protocol shown in example 400 may use TDM based at least in part on a synchronization signal (such as a GNSS synchronization signal). For illustration, a device (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) may receive a synchronization signal and process the synchronization signal to derive a time base. Processing the synchronization signal may include updating the time base using an additional synchronization signal.

[0096] As shown by example 400, a device (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) may detect, identify, and / or derive a first synchronization signal time boundary 402-1, a second synchronization signal time boundary 402-2, and / or a third synchronization signal time boundary 402-3 based at least in part on at least a first occurrence of a synchronization signal (e.g., a GNSS synchronization signal). In some aspects, the device may detect the first synchronization signal time boundary 402-1 based at least in part on the first occurrence of the synchronization signal, and derive the second synchronization signal time boundary 402-2 and / or the third synchronization signal third time boundary 402-3 based at least in part on the derived timing, as further described above. Alternatively or additionally, and as part of synchronizing unlicensed access, the device may receive a configuration parameter and calculate the synchronization signal time boundary based at least in part on the configuration parameter. Some non-limiting examples of the configuration parameter may include one or more of an energy threshold, a contention window size, a listen-before-talk configuration parameter, an interframe space length, a backoff configuration, and / or a synchronization period. However, other examples may include alternative or additional unlicensed access protocol configuration parameters.In some aspects, the device may refrain from sending access probes until a synchronization signal is received and / or until a timing base is derived.

[0097] Alternatively or additionally, a device (eg, network node 110) may transmit a beacon based at least in part on using air interface resources specified by a communication standard. For example, a device may transmit a beacon in a time slot (specified by a communication standard) configured to mitigate collisions.

[0098] In some aspects, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol illustrated by example 400 may be based at least in part on TDM partitioning associated with synchronization signal time boundaries. For illustration, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol may specify time slot boundaries based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries. Alternatively or additionally, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol may specify time slot boundaries based at least in part on dividing duration between synchronization signal time boundaries. For example, and as illustrated by example 400, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol may specify that a first time slot starts at a first synchronization signal time boundary 402-1 and ends at a first time slot time boundary 404-1. Alternatively or additionally, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol may specify that a second time slot starts at a first time slot time boundary 404-2 and ends at a second synchronization signal time boundary 404-2, a third time slot starts at a second synchronization signal time boundary 402-2 and ends at a second time slot time boundary 404-2, and / or a fourth time slot may start at a second time slot time boundary 404-2 and end at a third synchronization signal time boundary 402-3. Accordingly, the pattern and / or configuration of the slot time boundaries relative to the synchronization signal time boundaries may repeat over time. Although example 400 illustrates a synchronized unlicensed access protocol that divides the duration between synchronization signal time boundaries into two time slots, other examples may include synchronized unlicensed access protocols that divide the duration into more or fewer time slots.

[0099] The synchronous unlicensed access protocol may specify that a new transmission must start at a synchronization signal time boundary. In some aspects, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol may specify the use of a primary channel and / or a control channel to send a reservation signal. Alternatively or additionally, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol may specify that a CCA process (e.g., a single CCA process, multiple CCA processes, and / or as part of an LBT process) be performed before the transmission of the new transmission. For illustration, a network node (e.g., network node 110) may determine that a downlink signal 406 (shown as a first portion 406-1 and a second portion 406-2) is to be sent. Based at least in part on the start of the downlink signal 406 being the start of a new transmission, the network node may delay the transmission of the downlink signal 406 until the first synchronization signal time boundary 402-1.

[0100] In some aspects, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol illustrated by example 400 may allocate air interface resources (e.g., frequency resources and / or time resources) to a primary channel and / or control channel transmission (e.g., a downlink control channel and / or an uplink control channel), such as a reservation signal further described below. For illustration, and as illustrated by example 400, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol may allocate air interface resources to the primary channel and / or control channel transmission, the air interface resources being associated with any combination of the first subband 408-1, the second subband 408-2, and / or the third subband 408-3 (e.g., within the frequency band 412) and the duration 410 defined by the synchronization signal time boundary. Accordingly, the device may transmit a reservation signal during the duration 410, the reservation signal indicating that the device intends to transmit in a subsequent air interface resource associated with the frequency band 412 and / or that the device is reserving the subsequent air interface resource. The reservation signal may be sent at a higher power spectral density relative to downlink data transmission and / or uplink data transmission, and may be sent at least in part based on any combination of the first subband 408-1, the second subband 408-2, and / or the third subband 408-3. Accordingly, the network node may send the reservation signal using the primary channel and / or the downlink control channel and at least in part based on the allocated air interface resources, as shown by reference numeral 414-1, reference numeral 414-2, and / or reference numeral 414-3.

[0101] Alternatively or additionally, the synchronous unlicensed access protocol may instruct a device (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) to perform a CCA procedure prior to transmitting a new signal and based at least in part on air interface resources associated with first subband 408-1, second subband 408-2, third subband 408-3, and / or duration 410. To illustrate, the network node may perform a CCA procedure (e.g., a single CCA procedure, multiple CCA procedures, and / or as part of an LBT procedure) during a first portion of duration 410 beginning at first synchronization signal time boundary 402-1, and transmit a reservation signal during a second portion of duration 410. As another example, the network node may transmit the reservation signal using a first subband (e.g., first subband 408-1) and perform the CCA procedure using another subband (e.g., third subband 408-3 that is farthest from the transmission). Accordingly, the network node may use any combination of the first subband 408-1, the second subband 408-2, and / or the third subband 408-3 to send a reservation signal and / or perform a CCA process during the duration 410. Based at least in part on sending the reservation signal and / or the CCA (or LBT) process being idle, the network node may send a downlink signal 406, which is shown in the example 400 as spanning a duration 418 associated with the first time slot (e.g., defined by the first synchronization signal time boundary 402-1) and a duration 420 associated with the second time slot (e.g., defined by the second synchronization signal time boundary 402-2). However, in other examples, the downlink signal 406 may span a longer or shorter duration.

[0102] Based at least in part on instructions associated with the synchronous unlicensed access protocol illustrated in example 400, a UE (e.g., UE 120) may delay transmission of an uplink signal 422 (shown as including a first portion 422-1 and a second portion 422-2) until the occurrence of a synchronization signal time boundary (e.g., second synchronization signal time boundary 402-2). As indicated by reference numeral 424-1, reference numeral 424-2, and / or reference numeral 424-3, the UE may transmit a reservation signal (e.g., having a higher power spectral density relative to uplink data transmission) and / or perform a CCA procedure (e.g., a single CCA procedure, multiple CCA procedures, and / or as part of an LBT procedure) during a duration 426 beginning at the start of the synchronization signal time boundary (shown as second synchronization signal time boundary 406-2). The UE may transmit a reservation signal and / or perform a CCA procedure using any combination of the first subband 408-1, the second subband 408-2, the third subband 408-3, and / or the duration 426. Based at least in part on sending the reservation signal and / or the CCA process being idle, the UE may send an uplink signal 422, which is shown in example 400 as spanning a duration 428 associated with the third time slot (e.g., defined by the second synchronization signal time boundary 402-2) and a duration 430 associated with the fourth time slot (e.g., defined by the third synchronization signal time boundary 402-3). However, in other examples, the uplink signal 422 may span a longer or shorter duration.

[0103] The use of a synchronization signal enables a first transmission associated with a permitted access of a first device to be synchronized with a second transmission associated with an unlicensed access of a second device based at least in part on each access protocol using a common time base. For illustration, the permitted protocol access described in the first example 300 and / or the second example 302 and the unlicensed protocol access described in the example 400 may specify that a new transmission be started at the beginning of a synchronization signal time boundary common to both permitted access and unlicensed access. Alternatively or additionally, the permitted protocol access and the unlicensed protocol access may specify that a CCA process be performed before starting a new transmission to mitigate conflicts. Synchronizing permitted access with unlicensed access may reduce the occurrence of conflicts, improve signal quality, reduce recovery errors, increase data throughput, and / or reduce data transfer delays.

[0104] As indicated above, Figure 4 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 4 The examples described are different.

[0105] Figure 5A and Figure 5Bis a diagram illustrating a first example 500 and a second example 524 of an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol according to the present disclosure. In some aspects, an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may be associated with a portion of an access spectrum allocated to both licensed access and unlicensed access, such as a first portion of the spectrum within a millimeter wave band, a second portion of the spectrum above the millimeter wave band, and / or a third portion of the spectrum below the millimeter wave band. The unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol illustrated by the first example 500 and / or the second example 524 may alternatively be referred to as an unlicensed access protocol. At least some aspects of the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol illustrated by the first example 500 and / or the second example 524 may be specified by a communication standard.

[0106] The first example 500 illustrates a method for performing a task by a first device (eg, a network node 110 and / or a UE 120) based at least in part on the Figure 3A and Figure 3B The first device may generate a first granted access transmission 502 based at least in part on the granted access protocol described above. For example, the first device may detect, identify and / or derive a first synchronization signal time boundary 504-1, a second synchronization signal time boundary 504-2, and / or a third synchronization signal time boundary 504-3 based at least in part on the received synchronization signal. Alternatively or additionally, and based at least in part on the synchronization signal, the first device may derive a timing base. Using the timing base, the first device may identify a first time slot time boundary 506-1, a second time slot time boundary 506-2, a third time slot time boundary 506-3 and / or a fourth time slot time boundary 506-4 associated with the TDM specified by the granted access protocol. Accordingly, the first device may synchronize the transmission of the first granted access transmission 502 based at least in part on the first synchronization signal time boundary 504-1. That is, the first device may delay the transmission of the first granted access transmission 502 until the first synchronization signal time boundary 504-1, as described with respect to FIG. Figure 3A and Figure 3B Further described.

[0107] The first example 500 also shows a first unlicensed access transmission 508 generated by a second device (e.g., another network node 110 and / or another UE 120) based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed protocol access. In some aspects, and based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed protocol access, the second device may not use the same synchronization signal to derive a common time base with the first device. That is, the second device may lack information about the synchronization signal time boundary 504-1 used by the first device, and may therefore be unsynchronized with the first device. In some aspects, the second device may perform a CCA process (e.g., a single CCA process, multiple CCA processes, and / or as part of an LBT process) as shown by reference numeral 510 during the duration 512 and before sending the first unlicensed access transmission 508. In some aspects, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may instruct the device to perform a CCA process during the duration 512 and / or indicate one or more time boundaries associated with the duration 512 (e.g., an LBT start time boundary and / or an LBT pass duration). Based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access, a portion of the first granted access transmission 502 and a portion of the first unlicensed access transmission 508 may collide, as indicated by reference number 514 .

[0108] Based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol to access a shared portion of a spectrum, a second device may operate in a restricted access mode, such as a mode with lower power, lower duty cycle, shorter channel occupancy time, and / or longer backoff relative to a synchronous unlicensed access protocol and / or a licensed access protocol. That is, the restricted access mode may be based at least in part on reduced access to a shared portion of a spectrum relative to a synchronous unlicensed access. For example, an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may specify a duration in which transmissions are not permitted. For illustration, an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may be based at least in part on a distributed coordination function interframe space (DIFS), such that a second device may be restricted from sending a second unlicensed access transmission 516 until a minimum duration has occurred (e.g., after the first unlicensed access transmission 508 is completed). Alternatively or additionally, an unsynchronized unlicensed protocol access may specify that if a device senses energy within a frequency band, transmission is not permitted. For example, and based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed protocol access, a second device may perform a second CCA process prior to sending a second unlicensed access transmission 516. The duration of the second unlicensed access transmission 516 may be based at least in part on a channel occupancy time (COT).

[0109] In some aspects, the first device may wait for a minimum duration before performing the second CCA procedure. For example, the second device may calculate the minimum duration, the synchronization period, and / or the deferral period based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol. For example, the second device may calculate the synchronization period using a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), an inter-frame space (IFS) size, a contention window size (e.g., a contention backoff window time), and a COT:

[0110] MCOT size = IFS + contention backoff time + COT = synchronization period (1)

[0111] Based at least in part on equation (1), the second device may calculate a minimum duration to wait before attempting to send the second unlicensed access transmission 516. That is, the minimum duration may indicate a minimum time to wait before starting a contention return of the timer (e.g., an LBT countdown duration). In some aspects, the second device may receive a configuration parameter associated with an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and calculate the derived synchronization signal time boundary and / or the minimum duration based at least in part on the configuration parameter. For example, the configuration parameter may include one or more of an energy threshold, a contention window size, a listen-before-talk configuration parameter, an IFS length, a backoff configuration, and / or a synchronization period. However, other examples may include alternative or additional unlicensed access protocol configuration parameters.

[0112] At the end of the minimum duration, the second device may perform a second CCA process and measure a power level that satisfies an energy detection (ED) threshold (e.g., due to the presence of the first licensed access transmission 502). That is, the second device may measure the power level in the shared portion of the spectrum during the duration 518. The second device may repeatedly measure the power level during the duration 518 until the measured power level is below the ED threshold (shown as occurring at the end of the duration 518). In some aspects, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may indicate a first ED threshold that is lower than a second ED threshold for synchronized unlicensed access. Alternatively or additionally, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may indicate a restart of the contention window after a contention-based postponement and / or a postponement based at least in part on a derived synchronization signal time boundary, as further described below.

[0113] Based at least in part on measuring a power level below the ED threshold, the second device may start an LBT countdown timer and / or wait for an LBT countdown duration (shown by reference numeral 520). For illustration, the LBT countdown duration 520 may be based at least in part on a contention return of an IFS and a time, as shown in equation (1). In some aspects, and based at least in part on the first device using a permitted access protocol to send a first permitted access transmission 502, the second device may infer that a time associated with a transition from a measured power level satisfying the ED threshold to a failure to satisfy the ED threshold is associated with a synchronization signal time boundary. That is, the second device may drive the synchronization signal time boundary based at least in part on a power level transition. At the end of the LBT countdown, the second device may begin sending a second unlicensed access transmission 516. In some aspects, an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may specify that the sending of the second unlicensed access transmission 516 is completed based at least in part on a calculated synchronization period (e.g., before a third synchronization signal time boundary 504-3). By completing the transmission of the second unlicensed access transmission 516 based at least in part on the calculated synchronization period, the second device can release the shared portion of the spectrum before the third synchronization signal time boundary 504-3, so that the first device can transmit the second licensed access transmission 522 at the third synchronization signal time boundary 504-3 without a conflict with the unlicensed access transmission from the second device. Alternatively or additionally, the second device can use a derived synchronization period (e.g., one or more time boundaries and / or duration synchronization period associated with the synchronization period) to synchronize additional unlicensed access transmissions.

[0114] Figure 5B The illustrated example 524 includes a first grant access transmission 502 generated by a first device based at least in part on a grant access protocol and time boundaries associated with receiving a synchronization signal at the first device (e.g., a first synchronization signal time boundary 506-1, a second synchronization time boundary 504-2, a third synchronization signal time boundary 504-3, a first time slot time boundary 504-2, a second time slot time boundary 506-2, a third time slot time boundary 506-3, and a fourth time slot time boundary 506-4). In the example 524, the first device may synchronize the transmission of the first grant access transmission 502 based at least in part on the first synchronization signal time boundary 504-1.

[0115] Example 524 also includes a first unlicensed access transmission 508 generated by the second device based at least in part on access using an unsynchronized unlicensed protocol. Accordingly, the second device may lack information about the synchronization signal time boundary 504-1 and transmit the first unlicensed access transmission after performing a CCA process (e.g., a single CCA process, multiple CCA processes, and / or as part of an LBT process) as shown by reference numeral 510 during a duration 512. Based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access, a portion of the first granted access transmission 502 and a portion of the first unlicensed access transmission 508 may conflict, as shown by reference numeral 514.

[0116] As shown by example 524, the second device may determine to send a third unlicensed access transmission 526 as a new transmission. Based at least in part on equation (1) and / or inferring the synchronization signal time boundary from the transition power level, the second device may postpone the transmission of the third unlicensed access transmission 526 based at least in part on the minimum duration 528. That is, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may indicate that the second device may restart the LBT process after the minimum duration. Accordingly, when the minimum duration 528 expires, the second device may restart the LBT countdown timer, as shown by reference numeral 530, and when the LBT countdown timer expires, start the transmission of the third unlicensed access transmission 526.

[0117] By deriving synchronization signal boundaries and / or deriving synchronization periods, devices communicating using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol can synchronize unlicensed access transmissions with licensed access transmissions, based at least in part on the synchronization of unlicensed access with licensed access. Synchronizing unlicensed access with licensed access can reduce the occurrence of conflicts in a shared spectrum, improve capacity, improve signal quality, reduce recovery errors, increase data throughput, and / or reduce data transfer latency.

[0118] As indicated above, Figure 5A and Figure 5B are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 5A and Figure 5B The examples described are different.

[0119] Figure 6 600 is a diagram illustrating an example of an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol according to the present disclosure. In some aspects, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may be associated with a portion of the access spectrum allocated for both licensed access and unlicensed access, such as a first portion of the spectrum within a millimeter wave band, a second portion of the spectrum above the millimeter wave band, and / or a third portion of the spectrum below the millimeter wave band. The unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol illustrated by example 600 may alternatively be referred to as an unlicensed access protocol and may be associated with a protocol for accessing a portion of the spectrum allocated for both licensed access and unlicensed access. Figure 5A and Figure 5BThe first example 500 and / or the second example 524 described above may be used in combination. At least some aspects of the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol illustrated in example 600 may be specified by a communication standard.

[0120] In some aspects, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may specify a minimum time delay between two new transmissions of a device (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120). Alternatively or additionally, the master network node may configure the minimum time delay for the device. For illustration, example 600 shows multiple unlicensed access transmissions associated with different devices. In example 600, an unlicensed access transmission performed by a first device is shown by using a vertical stripe pattern, an unlicensed access transmission performed by a second device is shown by using a diagonal stripe pattern, and an unlicensed access transmission performed by a third device is shown by using a dotted line pattern. For reference, example 600 also shows a first synchronization signal time boundary 602-1, a second synchronization signal time boundary 602-2, a third synchronization signal time boundary 602-3, a first time slot time boundary 604-1, a second time slot time boundary 604-2, a third time slot time boundary 604-3, and a fourth time slot time boundary 604-4 that may be based at least in part on a synchronization signal. However, these time boundaries may be unknown to the first device, the second device, and the third device discussed with respect to example 600 based at least in part on the devices' use of an asynchronous unlicensed access protocol to access portions of the spectrum.

[0121] The first device may send a first unlicensed access transmission 606 at a first time 608, which may be any time. In some aspects, the first device may perform the following steps: Figure 5A The first device may complete the transmission of the first unlicensed access transmission 606 at a second time 610. At the second time 610 and after the first unlicensed access transmission 606 is completed, the first device may refrain from transmitting new unlicensed access transmissions for at least a first minimum duration 612, which begins at the second time 610 and ends at a third time 614. During the first minimum duration 612 and as shown by the example 600, the second device may transmit at least a portion of the second unlicensed access transmission 616 using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol, and / or the third device may transmit at least a portion of the third unlicensed access transmission 618 using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol.

[0122] In some aspects, the master network node may configure a first minimum duration 612 for the first device. For example, the master network node may be implemented as an access point serving the first device, the second device, and the third device. Alternatively or additionally, the first device, the second device, and the third device may be implemented as client devices and / or UEs served by the access point. In some aspects, the master network node may configure a corresponding minimum duration for each device to synchronize unlicensed access transmissions to mitigate conflicts. Alternatively or additionally, the master network node may be aware of synchronization signal time boundaries and configure a corresponding minimum duration for each device to synchronize unlicensed access transmissions with permitted access transmissions to mitigate conflicts.

[0123] To illustrate, the first device may refrain from sending another (new) unlicensed access transmission during the first minimum duration 612. At a third time 614, the first device may perform a CCA procedure and detect a first power level that satisfies an ED threshold in the shared portion of the spectrum. As shown by example 600, the detected first power level may be based at least in part on a third unlicensed access transmission 618. Based at least in part on detecting the first power level, the first device may defer sending a new unlicensed access transmission.

[0124] At a fourth time 620, the first device may detect a second power level that fails to meet the ED threshold in a shared portion of the spectrum. The first device may start an LBT countdown as shown by reference numeral 622, and after completing the LBT countdown, start sending a fourth unlicensed transmission 624. In some aspects, the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol may indicate that self-postponement is not allowed unless the self-postponement is based at least in part on ensuring a minimum time between DIFS. "Self-postponement" may refer to a device delaying transmission based at least in part on an operating condition at the device rather than on detected contention, as shown by example 600. In some aspects, self-postponement may result in unlicensed access transmissions that conflict with licensed access transmissions. In order to mitigate conflicts, the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol alternatively or additionally indicates that access probes sent by a UE (e.g., a client) are not allowed. Accordingly, the first device may start sending a fourth unlicensed transmission 624 at the end of the LBT countdown, rather than deferring the transmission to a later point in time.

[0125] The second device may perform a similar process based at least in part on a second minimum duration 626 (e.g., configured by the master network node) and refrain from transmitting during at least the second minimum duration 626. Alternatively or additionally, the third device may refrain from transmitting during at least a minimum duration 628, which may also be configured by the master network node.

[0126] The master network node may configure a minimum time delay for devices communicating in a shared spectrum using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol. By configuring the minimum time delay, the master network node may synchronize an unlicensed access transmission with a licensed access transmission and / or another unlicensed access transmission. Synchronizing unlicensed access with licensed access and / or additional unlicensed access may reduce the occurrence of conflicts in a shared spectrum, improve capacity, improve signal quality, reduce recovery errors, increase data throughput, and / or reduce data transfer latency.

[0127] As indicated above, Figure 6 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 6 The examples described are different.

[0128] Figure 7 700 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication process between a first pair of devices (shown as devices 702 and devices 704) and a second pair of devices (shown as devices 706 and devices 708) according to the present disclosure. In some aspects, devices 702 and 704 may communicate with each other based at least in part on the use of a licensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to licensed access and unlicensed access. Alternatively or additionally, devices 706 and 708 may communicate with each other based at least in part on the use of an unlicensed access protocol (e.g., a synchronized unlicensed access protocol or an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol) associated with the same frequency band allocated to licensed access and unlicensed access. Devices 702, 704, 706, and 708 may be included in any combination of devices, such as any combination of network nodes (e.g., network node 110) and / or UEs (e.g., UE 120).

[0129] As shown by reference numeral 710, the first device 702 can communicate with the second device 704 based at least in part on using a licensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated for licensed access and unlicensed access. For illustration, the first device 702 and / or the second device 704 can receive a synchronization signal from an external device. As a non-limiting example, the synchronization signal can be a GNSS synchronization signal. The first device 702 and / or the second device 704 can communicate with each other based at least in part on utilizing TDM that uses time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal. In some aspects, the TDM used by the first device 702 and / or the second device 704 (e.g., as specified by the licensed access protocol) can align synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal with time slot time boundaries, such as with respect to Figure 3A and Figure 3B Alternatively or additionally, TDM may divide the duration between synchronization signal time boundaries into multiple time slots.

[0130] In some aspects, the first device 702 and / or the second device 704 may send communications (e.g., downlink communications or uplink communications) without performing a CCA procedure. In other aspects, the first device 702 and / or the second device 704 may perform a CCA procedure (e.g., optionally or as instructed by a licensed access protocol) and send communications based at least in part on the CCA procedure being idle.

[0131] In some aspects, the first device 702 and / or the second device 704 can communicate with each other based at least in part on starting transmission of communications at a synchronization signal time boundary. Starting transmission at a synchronization signal boundary can include delaying transmission of communications until the synchronization signal time boundary.

[0132] As shown by reference numeral 720, the third device 706 can communicate with the fourth device 708 based at least in part on the use of an unlicensed access protocol (e.g., a synchronous unlicensed access protocol or an asynchronous unlicensed access protocol) associated with the same frequency band used by the device 702 and / or the device 704. In some aspects, the same frequency band can be allocated for licensed access and unlicensed access. For example, the third device 706 can communicate with the fourth device 708 based at least in part on the use of a synchronous unlicensed access protocol. For another example, the third device 706 can communicate with the fourth device 708 based at least in part on the use of an asynchronous unlicensed access protocol.

[0133] Based at least in part on using a synchronous unlicensed access protocol, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may receive a synchronization signal (e.g., a GNSS synchronization signal) from an external device, and communicate with each other based at least in part on receiving the synchronization signal and / or at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal. For example, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may perform a CCA process before sending a communication, and delay performing the CCA process until the synchronization signal time boundary. As further described herein, sending a communication may be conditional and / or based at least in part on a CCA process idle. Alternatively or additionally, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may avoid sending an access probe until a synchronization signal is received to mitigate conflicts. In some aspects, and as part of communicating using a synchronous unlicensed access protocol, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may send beacons based at least in part on using air interface resources specified by a communication standard, such as designated time slots, designated frequency bands, and / or designated sub-bands (e.g., main channels and / or control channels) based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries.

[0134] The third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may perform the CCA process based at least in part on the use of a frequency band and / or a sub-band specified by the communication standard. That is, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may measure the power level within the frequency band and / or the sub-band specified by the communication standard. For illustration, the sub-band may be associated with a main channel and / or a control channel used by another device to send a reservation signal. Alternatively or additionally, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may send a reservation signal based at least in part on the use of a main channel and / or a control channel before sending a communication to another device.

[0135] In some aspects, and based at least in part on using the synchronous unlicensed access protocol, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may perform a second CCA process, such as when the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 identifies that the first CCA process detected energy in the frequency band and / or sub-band. In some aspects, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may delay performing the second CCA process until a second synchronization signal time boundary.

[0136] Based at least in part on the use of an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may send a first communication to another device, and postpone the sending of a second communication based at least in part on the derived synchronization signal time boundary. For example, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may receive a configuration parameter associated with the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol from the master network node, and calculate the derived synchronization signal time boundary based at least in part on the configuration parameter, such as described with respect to equation (1). Alternatively or additionally, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may calculate a synchronization period between the first derived synchronization signal time boundary and the second derived synchronization signal time boundary. For example, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may receive one or more of an energy threshold, a contention window size, a listen-before-talk configuration parameter, an interframe space length, a backoff configuration, and / or a synchronization period as a configuration parameter. However, other examples may include alternative or additional unlicensed access protocol configuration parameters. Calculating the synchronization period may be based at least in part on the IFS length (eg, size or duration) and / or the DIFS.

[0137] Based at least in part on the use of the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 can perform a CCA process (e.g., before sending a communication), as described with respect to Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 6Further described. In some aspects, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may detect contention. That is, the CCA process may indicate that the detected energy level meets the ED threshold. Accordingly, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may postpone the transmission of the communication based at least in part on the detection of the contention. In some aspects, the CCA process may be based at least in part on a first ED threshold that is lower than a second ED threshold associated with synchronous unlicensed access.

[0138] In some aspects, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol indicates that the transmission of the communication is completed before the derived synchronization signal time boundary. Accordingly, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 can communicate with each other based at least in part on completing the transmission before the derived synchronization signal time boundary.

[0139] Based at least in part on using the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 can restart the minimum duration (e.g., associated with sending a new transmission) after completing the transmission of the communication, as described with respect to Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 6 Further described. Alternatively or additionally, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may defer sending of the new communication based at least in part on the minimum duration. In some aspects, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may receive an indication of the minimum duration from the primary network node.

[0140] In some aspects, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may indicate that self-deferral by the device is not allowed. Accordingly, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may avoid deferring transmission based at least in part on self-deferral. Alternatively or additionally, the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol may indicate that transmission of access probes is not allowed. Accordingly, the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 may avoid sending access probes, such as when the third device 706 and / or the fourth device 708 is at least part of a UE.

[0141] Coordinating licensed and unlicensed access to the same portion of the spectrum can increase the capacity of the wireless network and reduce interference observed by the receiver. Reduced interference can increase signal quality, reduce recovery errors, increase data throughput, and / or reduce data transfer delays.

[0142] As indicated above, Figure 7 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 7 The examples described are different.

[0143] Figure 8is a diagram illustrating an example process 800, performed, for example, by an apparatus, according to the present disclosure. Example process 800 is an example in which an apparatus (eg, network node 110 and / or UE 120) performs operations associated with sharing a frequency band between licensed access and unlicensed access.

[0144] like Figure 8 As shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include: receiving a synchronization signal from an external device (block 810). For example, the device (e.g., using Fig.11 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or receiving component 1102, and / or using Fig.12 The depicted communications manager 150 and / or receiving component 1202) can receive a synchronization signal from an external device, as described above.

[0145] like Figure 8 As further shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include communicating in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with synchronization signals, the communication based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode (block 820). For example, the device (e.g., using Fig.11 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or license access protocol manager component 1110, and / or use Fig.12 The depicted communications manager 150 and / or licensed access protocol manager component 1210) may communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with synchronization signals, the communications based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode, as described above.

[0146] Process 800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0147] In a first aspect, the synchronization signal is a GNSS synchronization signal.

[0148] In a second aspect, a granted access protocol is based at least in part on aligning synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal with time boundaries of time slots of a granted access pattern.

[0149] In a third aspect, the TDM partition includes at least two time slots between two synchronization time boundaries.

[0150] In a fourth aspect, communicating in a wireless network includes sending communications without performing a CCA procedure.

[0151] In a fifth aspect, the communication comprises downlink communication or uplink communication.

[0152] In a sixth aspect, communicating in a wireless network includes performing a CCA procedure and sending an uplink communication to a network node based at least in part on the CCA procedure being idle.

[0153] In a seventh aspect, communicating in a wireless network includes transmitting a communication based at least in part on initiating transmission of the communication at a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0154] In an eighth aspect, sending the communication includes delaying sending of the communication until a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0155] In a ninth aspect, the apparatus is at least a portion of a network node.

[0156] In a tenth aspect, the apparatus is at least a part of a UE.

[0157] although Figure 8 An example block diagram of process 800 is shown, but in some aspects, process 800 may include Figure 8 The blocks depicted may be additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 800 may be performed in parallel.

[0158] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process 900, performed, for example, by an apparatus, according to the present disclosure. Example process 900 is an example in which an apparatus (eg, network node 110 and / or UE 120) performs operations associated with sharing a frequency band between licensed access and unlicensed access.

[0159] like Fig. 9 As shown, in some aspects, process 900 may include: receiving a synchronization signal from an external device (block 910). For example, the device (e.g., using Fig.11 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or receiving component 1102, or using Fig.12 The depicted communications manager 150 and / or receiving component 1202) can receive a synchronization signal from an external device, as described above.

[0160] like Fig. 9 As further shown, in some aspects, process 900 may include communicating in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries associated with a synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode (block 920). For example, the apparatus (e.g., using Fig.11 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108, and / or using Fig.12The depicted communications manager 150 and / or unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108) may communicate in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries associated with a synchronization signal, the communications being based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode, as described above.

[0161] Process 900 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0162] In a first aspect, the synchronization signal comprises a GNSS synchronization signal.

[0163] In a second aspect, communicating in a wireless network includes sending a communication, and process 900 includes performing a CCA procedure prior to sending the communication.

[0164] In a third aspect, performing the CCA procedure includes delaying performing the CCA procedure until a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0165] In a fourth aspect, sending a communication includes sending a communication based at least in part on a CCA process being idle.

[0166] In a fifth aspect, performing a CCA procedure includes performing a CCA procedure based at least in part on a sub-band specified by a communication standard.

[0167] In a sixth aspect, the CCA process is a first CCA process, the synchronization signal time boundary is a first synchronization signal time boundary, and process 900 includes: identifying that the first CCA process indicates that energy is detected in the frequency band, and delaying execution of a second CCA process until the second synchronization signal time boundary.

[0168] In a seventh aspect, communicating in a wireless network includes sending a communication, and process 900 includes sending a reservation signal based at least in part on using a primary channel prior to sending the communication.

[0169] In an eighth aspect, process 900 includes refraining from sending an access probe until a synchronization signal is received.

[0170] In a ninth aspect, process 900 includes transmitting a beacon based at least in part on using air interface resources specified by a communication standard.

[0171] In a tenth aspect, the apparatus is at least a portion of a network node.

[0172] In an eleventh aspect, the apparatus is at least a part of a UE.

[0173] although Fig. 9Example blocks of process 900 are shown, but in some aspects, process 900 may include Fig. 9 The blocks depicted may be additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 900 may be performed in parallel.

[0174] Fig.10 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1000, performed, for example, by an apparatus, according to the present disclosure. Example process 1000 is an example in which an apparatus (eg, network node 110 and / or UE 120) performs operations associated with sharing a frequency band between licensed access and unlicensed access.

[0175] like Fig.10 As shown, in some aspects, process 1000 may include sending a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode (block 1010). For example, the device (e.g., using Fig.11 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or receiving component 1102, and / or using Fig.12 The depicted communications manager 150 and / or receiving component 1202) can send the first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode, as described above.

[0176] like Fig.10 As further shown, in some aspects, process 1000 may include deferring transmission of a second communication based at least in part on an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and based at least in part on a derived synchronization signal time boundary (block 1020). Fig.11 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108, and / or using Fig.12 The depicted communications manager 150 and / or unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108) can defer transmission of the second communication based at least in part on an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol, based at least in part on a derived synchronization signal time boundary, as described above.

[0177] Process 1000 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0178] In a first aspect, process 1000 includes receiving configuration parameters associated with an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol, and calculating, at least in part, a synchronization signal time boundary based on the configuration parameters. For example, the configuration parameters may include one or more of an energy threshold, a contention window size, a listen-before-talk configuration parameter, an interframe space length, a backoff configuration, and / or a synchronization period. However, other examples may include alternative or additional unlicensed access protocol configuration parameters.

[0179] In a second aspect, the derived synchronization signal time boundary is a first derived synchronization signal time boundary, and process 1000 includes calculating a synchronization period between the first derived synchronization signal time boundary and the second derived synchronization signal time boundary based at least in part on the distributed coordination function inter-frame space.

[0180] In a third aspect, an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol indicates that self-deferral by the device is not permitted.

[0181] In a fourth aspect, process 1000 includes restarting the minimum duration after completing sending of the second communication.

[0182] In a fifth aspect, the apparatus is at least part of a UE, and the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol indicates that sending of access probes is not permitted.

[0183] In a sixth aspect, process 1000 includes performing a CCA process and detecting contention as part of the CCA process. In some aspects, deferring transmission of the second communication is based at least in part on detecting the contention.

[0184] In a seventh aspect, process 1000 includes completing transmitting a second communication based at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0185] In an eighth aspect, performing a CCA procedure is based at least in part on a first energy detection threshold that is lower than a second energy detection threshold associated with synchronous unlicensed access.

[0186] In a ninth aspect, the apparatus is at least a portion of a UE, and the process 1000 includes receiving an indication of a minimum duration from a primary network node.In some aspects, deferring transmission of the second communication is based at least in part on the minimum duration.

[0187] In a tenth aspect, the apparatus is at least a portion of a network node.

[0188] In an eleventh aspect, the apparatus is at least a part of a UE.

[0189] although Fig.10 Example blocks of process 1000 are shown, but in some aspects, process 1000 may include Fig.10The blocks depicted may be additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1000 may be performed in parallel.

[0190] Fig.11 1 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1100 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 1100 may be a first apparatus (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120), and another apparatus (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) may include apparatus 1100. In some aspects, apparatus 1100 includes a receiving component 1102 and a sending component 1104, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 1100 may communicate with another apparatus 1106 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using receiving component 1102 and sending component 1104. As further shown, apparatus 1100 may include a communication manager 140. Communication manager 140 may include one or more of an unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 and / or a licensed access protocol manager component 1110, and the like.

[0191] In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 may be configured to perform FIG. 3A to FIG. 10 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1100 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Figure 8 The process of 800 Fig. 9 The process of 900 Fig.10 In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 and / or Fig.11 One or more of the components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, Fig.11 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the component set may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or codes stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0192] The receiving component 1102 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 1106. The receiving component 1102 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1100. In some aspects, the receiving component 1102 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the device 1100. In some aspects, the receiving component 1102 may include combining Figure 2 The device may include one or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof.

[0193] The transmitting component 1104 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 1106. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1100 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1104 for transmission to the device 1106. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1104 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1106. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1104 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the device. In some aspects, the transmit component 1104 can be co-located with the receive component 1102 in a transceiver.

[0194] The receiving component 1102 can receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The licensed access protocol manager component 1110 can communicate in the wireless network using a licensed access protocol through the receiving component 1102 and / or the sending component 1104, the licensed access protocol being based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to the licensed access mode and the unlicensed access mode.

[0195] The receiving component 1102 can receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can communicate in the wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol via the receiving component 1102 and / or the sending component 1104, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to the licensed access mode and the unlicensed access mode.

[0196] The unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can refrain from sending access probes until a synchronization signal is received.

[0197] Transmitting component 1104 can transmit the first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to the licensed access mode and the unlicensed access mode. Unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can defer transmission of the second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0198] Unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can receive configuration parameters associated with the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol via receiving component 1102. Alternatively or additionally, unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can computationally derive synchronization signal time boundaries based at least in part on the configuration parameters. In some aspects, unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can restart the minimum duration after completing the transmission of the second communication.

[0199] The unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can perform a CCA procedure. In some aspects, as part of the CCA procedure, the unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can detect contention. In some aspects, deferring the transmission of the second communication is based at least in part on detecting the contention. The unlicensed access protocol manager component 1108 can complete the transmission of the second communication based at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0200] Fig.11 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Fig.11 Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Fig.11 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Fig.11 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.11 The illustrated set of component(s) may be described as being executable by Fig.11 Another collection of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0201] Fig.121 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1200 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 1200 may be a first apparatus (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120), or another apparatus (e.g., network node 110 and / or UE 120) may include apparatus 1200. In some aspects, apparatus 1200 includes a receiving component 1202 and a sending component 1204, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 1200 may communicate with another apparatus 1206 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using receiving component 1202 and sending component 1204. As further shown, apparatus 1200 may include a communication manager 150. Communication manager 150 may include one or more of an unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 and / or a licensed access protocol manager component 1210, etc.

[0202] In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform FIG. 3A to FIG. 10 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Figure 8 The process of 800 Fig. 9 The process of 900 Fig.10 In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 and / or Fig.12 One or more of the components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, Fig.12 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the component set may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or codes stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0203] The receiving component 1202 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 1206. The receiving component 1202 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1200. In some aspects, the receiving component 1202 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the device 1200. In some aspects, the receiving component 1202 may include combining Figure 2The device may include one or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof.

[0204] The transmitting component 1204 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 1206. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1200 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1204 for transmission to the device 1206. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1204 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1206. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1204 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the device. In some aspects, the transmit component 1204 can be co-located with the receive component 1202 in a transceiver.

[0205] The receiving component 1202 can receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The licensed access protocol manager component 1210 can communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol based at least in part on TDM using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to licensed access mode and unlicensed access mode.

[0206] The receiving component 1202 can receive a synchronization signal from an external device. The unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can communicate in the wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol via the receiving component 1202 and / or the sending component 1204, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to the licensed access mode and the unlicensed access mode.

[0207] Unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can refrain from transmitting access probes until a synchronization signal is received.Alternatively or additionally, unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can transmit a beacon via transmitting component 1204 based at least in part on using air interface resources specified by a communication standard.

[0208] Transmitting component 1204 can transmit the first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to the licensed access mode and the unlicensed access mode. Unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can defer transmission of the second communication based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0209] Unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can receive configuration parameters associated with the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol via receiving component 1202. Alternatively or additionally, unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can computationally derive synchronization signal time boundaries based at least in part on the configuration parameters. In some aspects, unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can restart the minimum duration after completing the transmission of the second communication.

[0210] Unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can perform a CCA process. In some aspects, as part of the CCA process, unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can detect contention. In some aspects, deferring transmission of the second communication is based at least in part on detecting the contention.

[0211] Additionally or alternatively, unlicensed access protocol manager component 1208 can accomplish transmitting the second communication based at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0212] Fig.12 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Fig.12 Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Fig.12 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Fig.12 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.12 The illustrated set of component(s) may be described as being executable by Fig.12 Another collection of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0213] The following provides an overview of some aspects of the disclosure:

[0214] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus, the method comprising: receiving a synchronization signal from an external device; and communicating in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol, the licensed access protocol being based at least in part on time division multiplexing (TDM) using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0215] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1, wherein the synchronization signal is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) synchronization signal.

[0216] Aspect 3: The method according to aspect 1 or aspect 2, wherein the granted access protocol is based at least in part on aligning synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal with time slot time boundaries of the granted access pattern.

[0217] Aspect 4: The method according to aspect 3, wherein the TDM partition includes at least two time slots between two synchronization time boundaries.

[0218] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein communicating in the wireless network includes: sending communications without performing a clear channel assessment procedure.

[0219] Aspect 6: The method according to aspect 5, wherein the communication comprises: downlink communication or uplink communication.

[0220] Aspect 7: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein communicating in the wireless network includes: performing a clear channel assessment process; and sending uplink communications to a network node based at least in part on the clear channel assessment process being clear.

[0221] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein communicating in the wireless network includes: transmitting the communication based at least in part on starting the transmission of the communication at a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0222] Aspect 9: The method according to aspect 8, wherein sending the communication includes: delaying the sending of the communication until the synchronization signal time boundary.

[0223] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the apparatus is at least a part of a network node.

[0224] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the apparatus is at least a part of a user equipment (UE).

[0225] Aspect 12: A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus, the method comprising: receiving a synchronization signal from an external device; and communicating in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol, the synchronized unlicensed access protocol being based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, the communication being based at least in part on a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

[0226] Aspect 13: The method according to aspect 12, wherein the synchronization signal comprises a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) synchronization signal.

[0227] Aspect 14: The method according to aspect 12 or aspect 13, wherein communicating in the wireless network includes sending communication, and the method further includes: performing a clear channel assessment process before sending the communication.

[0228] Aspect 15: The method according to Aspect 14, wherein performing the clear channel assessment process comprises: delaying the performance of the clear channel assessment process until the synchronization signal time boundary.

[0229] Aspect 16: The method according to aspect 14 or aspect 15, wherein sending the communication comprises: sending the communication based at least in part on the clear channel assessment process being idle.

[0230] Aspect 17: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 16, wherein performing the clear channel assessment process includes: performing the clear channel assessment process based at least in part on a frequency sub-band specified by a communication standard.

[0231] Aspect 18: A method according to any one of Aspects 14 to 17, wherein the idle channel assessment process is a first idle channel assessment process, wherein the synchronization signal time boundary is a first synchronization signal time boundary, and the method further includes: identifying that the first idle channel assessment process indicates that energy is detected in the frequency band; and delaying execution of a second idle channel assessment process until a second synchronization signal time boundary.

[0232] Aspect 19: The method according to any one of aspects 12 to 18, wherein communicating in the wireless network includes sending a communication, and the method further comprises: sending a reservation signal based at least in part on using a primary channel before sending the communication.

[0233] Aspect 20: The method according to any one of aspects 12 to 19, further comprising: avoiding sending access probes until the synchronization signal is received.

[0234] Aspect 21: The method of any one of aspects 12 to 20, further comprising: transmitting a beacon based at least in part on using air interface resources specified by a communication standard.

[0235] Aspect 22: The method according to any one of aspects 12 to 20, wherein the apparatus is at least part of a network node.

[0236] Aspect 23: A method according to any one of aspects 12 to 21, wherein the apparatus is at least part of a user equipment (UE).

[0237] Aspect 24: A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus, the method comprising: sending a first communication based at least in part on using an asynchronous unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode; and delaying the sending of a second communication based at least in part on the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol and at least in part on deriving a synchronization signal time boundary.

[0238] Aspect 25: The method according to aspect 24, the method further comprising: receiving configuration parameters associated with the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol; and calculating the derived synchronization signal time boundary based at least in part on the configuration parameters.

[0239] Aspect 26: A method according to Aspect 25, wherein the derived synchronization signal time boundary is a first derived synchronization signal time boundary, and the method further includes: calculating a synchronization period between the first derived synchronization signal time boundary and a second derived synchronization signal time boundary based at least in part on a distributed coordination function inter-frame space.

[0240] Aspect 27: The method according to aspect 25 or aspect 26, wherein the configuration parameters include at least one of the following: energy threshold, contention window size, listen-before-talk configuration parameter, inter-frame space length, backoff configuration, or synchronization period.

[0241] Aspect 28: The method according to any one of aspects 24 to 27, wherein the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol indicates that self-deferral by the device is not allowed.

[0242] Aspect 29: The method according to any one of aspects 24 to 28, further comprising: restarting the minimum duration after completing the sending of the second communication.

[0243] Aspect 30: The method according to any one of aspects 24 to 29, wherein the apparatus is at least part of a user equipment (UE), and wherein the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol indicates that sending of access probes is not allowed.

[0244] Aspect 31: A method according to any one of Aspects 24 to 30, the method further comprising: performing an idle channel assessment process; and detecting contention as part of the idle channel assessment process, wherein postponing the sending of the second communication is at least partially based on detecting the contention.

[0245] Aspect 32: The method according to any one of aspects 24 to 31, further comprising: completing the sending of the second communication based at least in part on deriving the synchronization signal time boundary.

[0246] Aspect 33: The method according to aspect 31 or aspect 32, wherein performing the clear channel assessment process is based at least in part on a first energy detection threshold that is lower than a second energy detection threshold associated with synchronous unlicensed access.

[0247] Aspect 34: A method according to any one of Aspects 24 to 33, wherein the device is at least part of a user equipment (UE), and the method further comprises: receiving an indication of a minimum duration from a primary network node, wherein postponing the sending of the second communication is at least partially based on the minimum duration.

[0248] Aspect 35: A method according to any one of aspects 24 to 29 and 31 to 33, wherein the apparatus is at least part of a network node.

[0249] Aspect 36: A method according to any one of aspects 24 to 34, wherein the apparatus is at least part of a user equipment (UE).

[0250] Aspect 37: An apparatus for performing wireless communications at a device, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the memories and executable individually or collectively by the processors to cause the apparatus to perform one or more of the methods described in Aspects 1 to 11.

[0251] Aspect 38: An apparatus for performing wireless communications at a device, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the memories and executable individually or collectively by the processors to cause the apparatus to perform one or more of the methods described in Aspects 12 to 23.

[0252] Aspect 39: An apparatus for performing wireless communications at a device, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the memories and executable individually or collectively by the processors to cause the apparatus to perform one or more of the methods described in Aspects 24 to 36.

[0253] Aspect 40: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to execute the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 11.

[0254] Aspect 41: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to execute the method according to one or more of aspects 12 to 23.

[0255] Aspect 42: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to execute the method according to one or more of aspects 24 to 36.

[0256] Aspect 43: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: at least one component, the at least one component being configured to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 11.

[0257] Aspect 44: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: at least one component, the at least one component being configured to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 12 to 23.

[0258] Aspect 45: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: at least one component, the at least one component being configured to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 24 to 36.

[0259] Aspect 46: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 11.

[0260] Aspect 47: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 12 to 23.

[0261] Aspect 48: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 24 to 36.

[0262] Aspect 49: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform one or more of the methods described in aspects 1 to 11.

[0263] Aspect 50: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform one or more of the methods described in aspects 12 to 23.

[0264] Aspect 51: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of a device, causes the device to perform one or more methods according to aspects 24 to 36.

[0265] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the various aspects.

[0266] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other names, "software" should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, processes and / or functions, etc. As used herein, a "processor" is implemented in a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software. It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented by a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software in different forms. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit various aspects. Therefore, there is no reference to a specific software code herein to describe the operation and behavior of the system and / or method, because those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the system and / or method based at least in part on the description herein.

[0267] As used herein, "satisfying a threshold" may refer to a value being greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, etc., depending on the context.

[0268] Although the specific combination of features is set forth in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features can be combined in a manner not specifically described in the claims and / or not disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim combined with each other claim in the claim set. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" the list of items refers to any combination of these items (it includes a single member). As an example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c and a+b+c, and any combination with multiple identical elements (for example, a+a, a+a+a, a+a+b, a+a+c, a+b+b, a+c+c, b+b, b+b+b, b+b+c, c+c and c+c+c, or any other ordering of a, b and c).

[0269] Any element, action or instruction used herein should not be interpreted as key or necessary unless explicitly described as such. In addition, as used herein, the article "one" is intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the article "said" is intended to include one or more items in conjunction with the article "said", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If only one item is intended to be referred to, the phrase "only one" or similar terms will be used. In addition, as used herein, the terms "have", "have", "have" etc. are intended to be open terms, which do not limit the elements they modify (for example, "an element with" A may also have B). In addition, the phrase "based on" is intended to represent "based at least in part on", unless otherwise explicitly stated. Additionally, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be open-ended and used interchangeably with "and / or" unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in conjunction with "either" or "only one of").

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors being individually or collectively configured to cause the apparatus to: receiving a synchronization signal from an external device; as well as Communicate in a wireless network using a licensed access protocol, wherein the licensed access protocol is based at least in part on time division multiplexing (TDM) using time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal, and the one or more processors are configured to cause the device to communicate at least in part based on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the synchronization signal is a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) synchronization signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grant access protocol is based at least in part on aligning synchronization signal time boundaries associated with the synchronization signal with time boundaries of time slots of the grant access pattern.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein in order for the apparatus to communicate in the wireless network, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to: Communications are sent without performing a clear channel assessment procedure.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein in order for the apparatus to communicate in the wireless network, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to: performing a clear channel assessment process; and An uplink communication is sent to a network node based at least in part on the clear channel assessment process being idle.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein in order for the apparatus to communicate in the wireless network, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to: The communication is sent based at least in part on initiating the sending of the communication at a synchronization signal time boundary.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein in order to cause the apparatus to send the communication, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to: The transmission of the communication is delayed until the synchronization signal time boundary.

8. An apparatus for wireless communication at an apparatus, the apparatus comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors being individually or collectively configured to cause the apparatus to: receiving a synchronization signal from an external device; as well as Communicate in a wireless network using a synchronized unlicensed access protocol, wherein the synchronized unlicensed access protocol is based at least in part on a synchronization signal time boundary associated with the synchronization signal, and the one or more processors are configured to cause the device to communicate at least in part based on frequency bands allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the synchronization signal comprises a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) synchronization signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein to cause the apparatus to communicate in the wireless network, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to send communications, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: A clear channel assessment procedure is performed prior to sending the communication.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein in order to cause the apparatus to perform the clear channel assessment process, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to: The clear channel assessment process is delayed until the synchronization signal time boundary.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein in order to cause the apparatus to send the communication, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to: The communication is sent based at least in part on the clear channel assessment process being idle.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein in order to cause the apparatus to perform the clear channel assessment process, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to: The clear channel assessment process is performed based at least in part on frequency sub-bands specified by a communication standard.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein to cause the apparatus to communicate in the wireless network, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to send communications, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: Prior to sending the communication, a reservation signal is sent based at least in part on using the primary channel.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: Sending access probes is avoided until the synchronization signal is received.

16. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: The beacon is transmitted based at least in part on using air interface resources specified by a communication standard.

17. An apparatus for wireless communication at an apparatus, the apparatus comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors being individually or collectively configured to cause the apparatus to: transmitting a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode; as well as Based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol, sending of a second communication is deferred based at least in part on a derived synchronization signal time boundary.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: receiving configuration parameters associated with the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol; and The derived synchronization signal time boundary is calculated based at least in part on the configuration parameters.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the derived synchronization signal time boundary is a first derived synchronization signal time boundary, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: A synchronization period between the first derived synchronization signal time boundary and the second derived synchronization signal time boundary is calculated based at least in part on a distributed coordination function inter-frame space.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol indicates that self-deferral by the apparatus is not permitted.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: The minimum duration is restarted after the sending of the second communication is completed.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus is at least a portion of a user equipment (UE), and Wherein the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol indicates that sending of access probes is not allowed.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: performing a clear channel assessment process; and detecting contention as part of the clear channel assessment process, Wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to defer transmission of the second communication based at least in part on detecting the contention.

24. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: Transmitting the second communication is accomplished based at least in part on the derived synchronization signal time boundary.

25. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: receiving an indication of a minimum duration from a master network node, Wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to defer sending the second communication based at least in part on the minimum duration.

26. A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus, the method comprising: transmitting a first communication based at least in part on using an unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol associated with a frequency band allocated to a licensed access mode and an unlicensed access mode; as well as Based at least in part on the unsynchronized unlicensed access protocol, sending of a second communication is deferred based at least in part on a derived synchronization signal time boundary.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising: receiving configuration parameters associated with the asynchronous unlicensed access protocol; as well as The derived synchronization signal time boundary is calculated based at least in part on the configuration parameters.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the configuration parameters include at least one of: Energy threshold, Contention window size, Listen first and then speak to configure parameters. The length of the interframe space, backoff configuration, or Synchronization cycle.

29. The method according to claim 26, further comprising: performing a clear channel assessment process; as well as detecting contention as part of the clear channel assessment process, Wherein deferring sending of the second communication is based at least in part on detecting the contention.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein performing the clear channel assessment process is based at least in part on a first energy detection threshold that is lower than a second energy detection threshold associated with synchronous unlicensed access.

Images