Terminal device and method for side chain resource selection

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to terminal equipment and a method for side chain resource selection. A terminal device triggers a side chain resource selection for a side chain transmission in an unlicensed band, wherein a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure is to be performed prior to the side chain transmission. The terminal device performs side chain resource selection based on a condition associated with at least one resource reserved by the terminal device. In this manner, in resource selection for sidechain transmissions, the impact of reserved resources from / to the terminal device itself may be avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to the field of communications, and particularly to terminal devices, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for sidechain resource selection. Background Technology

[0002] New Radio (NR) operation on unlicensed bands relies on the User Equipment (UE) sensing the selected radio resource before commencing transmission. This technique is known as Listen-Before-Speak (LBT). In NR on unlicensed bands (NR-U), in order to coexist with other wireless technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi systems) on the unlicensed band, an LBT process can be performed on the selected resource to secure the channel before each transmission. If LBT fails, indicating that the channel is already occupied, the corresponding transmission will be dropped.

[0003] Side-chain (SL) transmissions can also operate on unlicensed frequency bands. LBT technology from NR-U can be introduced to enable SL transmissions to coexist with other radio systems on unlicensed frequency bands. Enhancements to resource selection for SLs on unlicensed frequency bands (SL-U) remain needed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Overall, embodiments of this disclosure provide a solution for resource selection in unlicensed frequency bands for sidechain transmission.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes: a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to: trigger resource selection for sidelink transmission in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein a listen-before-tell (LBT) procedure is performed prior to the sidelink transmission; and perform resource selection based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by the terminal device.

[0006] In a second aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to: in the event of a listen-before-tell (LBT) process for a multi-continuous time-slot transmission (MCSt) including one or more transmissions of Media Access Control Protocol Data Units (MAC PDUs) failing, reselect at least one time slot in an unlicensed frequency band; and retransmit at least one of the one or more transmissions in the at least one time slot.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided to be performed by a terminal device. The method includes: triggering a sidechain resource selection for sidechain transmission in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein a listen-before-tell (LBT) procedure is performed prior to the sidechain transmission. The method further includes: performing the sidechain resource selection based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by the terminal device.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method performed by a terminal device is provided. The method includes: in the event of a listen-before-tell (LBT) process for a multi-continuous time-slot transmission (MCSt) of one or more transmissions including a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU), reselecting at least one time slot in an unlicensed frequency band. The method further includes: retransmitting at least one of the one or more transmissions in the at least one time slot.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores program instructions. When executed by a device, the program instructions cause the device to at least: trigger resource selection for sidelink transmission in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein a listen-before-tell (LBT) process is performed prior to the sidelink transmission; and perform resource selection based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by a terminal device.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores program instructions. When executed by a device, the program instructions cause the device to at least: reselect at least one time slot in an unlicensed frequency band in the event of a listen-before-tell (LBT) process for a multi-continuous time slot transmission (MCSt) including one or more transmissions of a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU); and retransmit at least one of the one or more transmissions in the at least one time slot.

[0011] It should be understood that the summary portion is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Some embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 The illustration shows a schematic diagram of a communication environment in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2 The illustration shows a flowchart of an example method for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figures 3A-3D The illustration shows an example of resource allocation for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 4 The illustration shows a flowchart of an example method for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figures 5A-5BThe illustration shows an example of resource (re)selection for MCSt transmission according to some embodiments of this disclosure; and

[0018] Figure 6 A simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Throughout the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described merely for illustration and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement this disclosure, and do not impose any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

[0021] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0022] References to "an embodiment," "example embodiment," "embodiment," and "some embodiments" in this disclosure indicate that the described embodiments may include specific features, structures, or characteristics, but not every embodiment necessarily includes such specific features, structures, or characteristics. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Additionally, when a specific feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed that incorporating other embodiments (whether explicitly described or not) to affect such a feature, structure, or characteristic is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0023] It should be understood that although the terms “first” and “second”, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may also be referred to as a second element without departing from the scope of the embodiments, and similarly, a second element may also be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0024] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” should also include the plural forms. It will be further understood that the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “having,” “including,” and / or “containing” as used herein specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0025] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standard, such as 5G NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will also be communication technologies and systems that embody future types of this disclosure. This should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure to the systems described above.

[0026] As used herein, the term "network device" generally refers to a node in a communication network through which terminal devices can access the network and receive services. Network devices can refer to base stations (BS) or access points (APs), such as Node B (NodeB or NB), Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes, Evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also known as gNB), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Header (RH), infrastructure equipment for V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication, Transmitter Receiver Point (TRP), Receiver Point (RP), Remote Radio Header (RRH), relay, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) nodes, low-power nodes (such as femtoBS, picoBS), etc., depending on the terminology and technology used.

[0027] As used herein, the term "terminal device" generally refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), end user equipment, subscriber station (SS), unmanned vehicle (UAV), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, VoIP phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices (e.g., remote surgical equipment), industrial equipment (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0028] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block,” “uplink resource,” “downlink resource,” or “sidechain resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication between a terminal device and a network device or between terminal devices, such as time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, code-domain resources, or any other resource capable of communication. In the following, resources in both the frequency and time domains will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0029] To extend the applicability of sidechain resource selection to commercial use cases, one of the identified key requirements is increased data rates. SL-U can support this requirement. Furthermore, with support for unlicensed spectrum, since the use of the Intelligent Transmission System (ITS) band is limited to ITS security-related applications, sidechain resource selection will be better implemented in commercial devices.

[0030] One objective of research on sidechains in unlicensed frequency bands is the channel access mechanism, which is as follows:

[0031] The following agreement is made in 3GPP standard TS 38.321:

[0032] As mentioned above, the LBT mechanism in NR-U can be introduced to enable SL transmissions to coexist with other radio systems in unlicensed frequency bands. Before each sidelink transmission, the SL UE may need to perform an LBT, and if the LBT fails, the sidelink transmission is discarded. LBT failures are typically caused by inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) transmissions, such as those involving WiFi, NR-U, and Licensed Assisted Access (LAA). However, in addition to inter-RAT effects, the intra-RAT effects of LBT failures also need to be considered. For example, the selected radio resources in SL-U should not be affected by or should not affect reserved resources in SL-U. Intra-RAT transmission effects have two sub-cases. One sub-case is the inter-UE case, i.e., the impact from / to resources reserved by other terminal devices, which can be handled by the physical layer. The other sub-case is the intra-UE case, i.e., the impact to / from resources reserved by the SLUE itself. SL-U needs enhancements for the intra-UE case.

[0033] Furthermore, the following is agreed upon in 3GPP standard TS 38.321:

[0034] It is currently unclear how to trigger resource (re)selection for MCSt transports. The details of the scheme for resource reselection for MCSt transports are incomplete and need to be developed.

[0035] This disclosure provides a solution for resource selection in unlicensed frequency bands for sidechain transmission. The principles and implementation of embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example Implementation

[0036] Figure 1 The illustration shows a schematic diagram of a communication environment 100 in which some embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the communication environment 100 (also known as the communication network 100 or the communication system 100) includes network equipment 110, terminal equipment 120-1, terminal equipment 120-2, terminal equipment 120-3 and terminal equipment 120-4 (collectively referred to as terminal equipment 120).

[0037] Network device 110 manages cell 112 and serves terminal devices 120-1 and 120-2 within cell 112. To send data and / or control information, terminal devices 120-1 and 120-2 can respectively communicate with network device 110. Specifically, as... Figure 1 As shown in the exemplary scenario, terminal device 120-1 can communicate with network device 110 via communication link 115-1, and terminal device 120-2 can communicate with network device 110 via communication channel 115-2. For transmissions from network device 110 to terminal device 120-1 or 120-2, communication link 115-1 or 115-2 can be referred to as a downlink, while for transmissions from terminal device 120-1 or 120-2 to network device 110, communication link 115-1 or 115-2 can alternatively be referred to as an uplink.

[0038] In addition to communication links 115-1 and 115-2, terminal devices 120-1 and 120-2 can also perform sidelink transmissions via sidelink 125-1, also known as device-to-device (D2D) communication. For example, in Figure 1 In an exemplary scenario, terminal device 120-1 will perform sidechain transmission 130-1 of terminal device 120-2 via sidechain 125-1. In some embodiments, sidechain transmission 130-1 may be performed on an unlicensed frequency band in which various wireless devices based on different wireless technologies share the same wireless spectrum.

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, terminal devices 120-3 and 120-4 can be outside the coverage area of ​​network device 110 (i.e., outside cell 112). For terminal devices 120-3 and 120-4, only sidelink resource selection may exist. For example, terminal devices 120-1 and 120-3 can perform sidelink transmission between terminal devices 120-1 and 120-3 via sidelink 125-2. Terminal devices 120-2 and 120-4 can perform sidelink transmission between terminal devices 120-2 and 120-4 via sidelink 125-3. Terminal devices 120-3 and 120-4 can perform sidelink transmission between terminal devices 120-3 and 120-4 via sidelink 125-4. Although Figure 1 Although not shown, sidechain transmissions can be performed between terminal devices 120-1 and 120-4, and between terminal devices 120-2 and 120-3, via the respective sidechains.

[0040] In some embodiments, network device 110 may not be in the communication environment 100. In other words, terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, and 120-4, and possibly other terminal devices (not shown), may be outside the coverage area of ​​network device 110 (i.e., outside cell 112). In this case, terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, and 120-4 and... Figure 1 There may be only sidechain resource selection among other possible terminal devices not shown in the diagram.

[0041] As used herein, the term "sidechain transport" generally refers to any transport performed from one end device to another. A sidechain transport can be used to send any data or control information associated with sidechain resource selection, such as sidechain data, sidechain control information, sidechain feedback information, etc. As used herein, the term "sidechain channel" can generally refer to any channel used for sidechain resource selection, such as the Physical Sidechain Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidechain Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Sidechain Discovery Channel (PSDCH), Physical Sidechain Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), Physical Sidechain Feedback Channel (PSFCH), and other existing or future sidechain channels.

[0042] Channel access in a sidechain can rely on a so-called LBT (Local Level By-Break) process. For example, before executing sidechain transmission 130-1, terminal device 120-1 can first “sensor” the communication channel to detect the absence of communication on the channel before any transmission occurs. If sidechain transmission 130-1 is to be executed in an unlicensed frequency band, terminal device 120-1 can first perform a sidechain resource selection for sidechain transmission 130-1. If a sidechain resource is selected for sidechain transmission 130-1, the LBT process can be performed on the selected sidechain resource before sidechain transmission 130-1. If the LBT fails, sidechain transmission 130-1 on the selected sidechain resource can be discarded, and terminal device 120-1 can perform a resource reselection process for another sidechain transmission 130-1.

[0043] Despite Figure 1 The communication environment 100 describes network device 110 and terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, and 120-4, but the embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to any other suitable communication devices communicating with each other. That is, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to... Figure 1 An exemplary scenario. In this regard, it should be noted that, although in Figure 1In this embodiment, network device 110 is schematically depicted as a base station and terminal device 120 is schematically depicted as a mobile phone; however, it is understood that these depictions are exemplary in nature and do not represent any limitation. In other embodiments, network device 110 and terminal device 120 may be any other communication device, such as any other wireless communication device.

[0044] When terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, and 120-4 are vehicle-mounted terminal devices, the communication associated with them can be referred to as V2X communication. More generally, although Figure 1 Although not shown, V2X communication associated with terminal device 120 may include communication channels between terminal device 120 and any other communication device, including but not limited to infrastructure equipment, another vehicle-mounted terminal device, pedestrian equipment, roadside units, etc. Furthermore, although not shown, Figure 1 All communication links shown can be transmitted via one or more relays.

[0045] It should be understood that, such as Figure 1 As shown, the specific numbers of various communication devices, communication links, other elements, and the specific shape of cell 112 are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent any limitation. Communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of communication devices, any suitable number of communication links, any suitable number of other elements, and cell 112 of any suitable shape suitable for implementing embodiments of this disclosure. Furthermore, it should be understood that various wireless and wired communications may exist between all communication devices (if desired).

[0046] Communication in communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G) and fifth generation (5G), NR-U, wireless local area network communication protocols (such as IEEE 802.11), and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Furthermore, such communication can utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Spectrum OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future. Example Method

[0047] In the following text, see references Figures 2-3DThis describes some embodiments of resource selection for sidechain transmission that take into account the impact of resources from / to resources reserved by the terminal device itself. References will be made to... Figures 4-5B Some embodiments for resource reselection for MCSt transport are described.

[0048] Figure 2 The illustration shows a flowchart of an example method 200 for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, method 200 can be implemented in devices (such as...) in a communication network. Figure 1 The method is implemented at the terminal device 120-1 shown. Alternatively or concurrently, method 200 can be implemented at... Figure 1 The method is implemented at other devices shown. In some other embodiments, method 200 can be implemented at other devices. Figure 1 The method is implemented at a device not shown. Furthermore, it should be understood that method 200 may include additional boxes not shown and / or some boxes shown may be omitted, and the scope of this disclosure is not limited in this respect. For the purposes of discussion, reference will be made to… Figure 1 Method 200 is described from the perspective of terminal device 120-1.

[0049] At block 210, terminal device 120-1 triggers sidechain resource selection for sidechain transmission in the unlicensed frequency band. The LBT process is performed before the sidechain transmission. At block 220, terminal device 120-1 performs sidechain resource selection based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by the terminal device. For example, refer to... Figure 1 Terminal device 120-1 can be in UE autonomous resource allocation mode (i.e., mode 2). When resource (re)selection triggering conditions are met, for example, upon service arrival or if buffered data ready for transmission exists in the logical channel, terminal device 120-1 can perform a resource (re)selection process for available resources from its physical layer or from the selected resource pool. In some embodiments, terminal device 120-1 may have already reserved some resources, for example, for MAC PDU transmission. In this case, terminal device 120-1 can consider additional constraints associated with reserved resources when performing sidechain resource selection. In this way, the influence of resources reserved by the SL UE itself can be avoided in resource selection. Therefore, the reliability and efficiency of sidechain communication can be improved, and transmission latency can be reduced.

[0050] In the following text, reference will be made to Figures 3A-3D This section describes in detail some embodiments of the sidechain resource selection scheme. Figures 3A-3D Examples of resource allocation for resource selection according to some embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to... Figure 1 and Figure 2 describe Figures 3A-3D Resource allocation within. Figures 3A-3D The resource allocations shown are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent any limitations. Other resource allocations are also possible.

[0051] Figure 3A An example of resource allocation 300-1 for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. See reference... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The terminal device 120-1 can perform resource selection to choose available resources for the sidelink transmission 130-1 on unlicensed frequency band channels. For example, the terminal device 120-1 may have already reserved one or more resources (e.g., Figure 3A Reserved resources 301 and 311 in the resource allocation diagram can be used for additional packets or packet retransmission. In some embodiments, terminal device 120-1 can identify candidate resources 302 and 312 from the available resources. Resources can correspond to, for example, one or more time slots and one or more subchannels. Each subchannel can include one or more consecutive (or non-consecutive, e.g., interleaved) RBs. Resource allocation 300-1 is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent any limitation. Other resource allocations are also possible. For example, although reserved resources 301 and candidate resources 302 are shown as consecutive resources in the time domain, and candidate resources 311 and reserved resources 312 are also shown as consecutive resources in the time domain, the candidate resources and reserved resources may not be consecutive resources in the time domain.

[0052] In some embodiments, if the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource overlaps in the time domain with one of at least one reserved resource, or if the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of at least one reserved resource overlaps in the time domain with a candidate resource, then terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission. For example, as Figure 3A As shown, assuming candidate resource 302 is selected for sidelink transmission 130-1, the LBT duration 303 on candidate resource 302 for sidelink transmission 130-1 will overlap with reserved resource 301. Assuming candidate resource 312 is selected for sidelink transmission 130-1, the LBT duration 313 on reserved resource 311 for transmission will overlap with candidate resource 312. In some embodiments, terminal device 120-1 may avoid selecting candidate resources 302 and 301 from available resources, or reduce the priority of selecting candidate resources 302 and 312 from available resources.

[0053] In some embodiments, if the candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have different Channel Access Priority (CAPC) priorities, then the terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission. For example, as Figure 3AAs shown, reserved resource 301 and candidate resource 302 are contiguous resources in the time domain, and candidate resource 311 and reserved resource 312 are also contiguous resources in the time domain. In some embodiments, if the CAPC priority of a transmission on reserved resource 301 is different from the CAPC priority of a transmission on candidate resource 302, this means that if LBT is performed for contiguous transmissions on reserved resource 301 and candidate resource 302, the higher CAPC priority of the two CAPC priorities will be reduced. In this case, terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting candidate resource 302 from available resources, or reduce the priority of selecting candidate resource 302 from available resources. Similarly, if the CAPC priority of a transmission on reserved resource 311 is different from the CAPC priority of a transmission on candidate resource 312, terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting candidate resource 312 from available resources, or reduce the priority of selecting candidate resource 312 from available resources.

[0054] In some embodiments, if the candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have different CAPC priorities, and the transmission priority of a transmission on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority is higher than a threshold priority, then the terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission. For example, as Figure 3A As shown, reserved resource 301 and candidate resource 302 are contiguous resources in the time domain, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on reserved resource 301 can be higher than the CAPC priority of the transmission on candidate resource 302. If the transmission priority of the transmission on reserved resource 301 is higher than the threshold priority, the terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting candidate resource 302 for the sidechain transmission or reduce the priority of selecting candidate resource 302 for the sidechain transmission.

[0055] In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a CAPC priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a service priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a (highest) logical channel priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a MAC PDU priority. In some embodiments, the threshold priority may be configured by Radio Resource Control (RRC).

[0056] In some embodiments, if the candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have different CAPC priorities, and the transmission priority of the transmission on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority is configured such that the CAPC priority cannot be reduced relative to the transmission priority, then the terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission. In some embodiments, the transmission priority can be a CAPC priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority can be a service priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority can be the (highest) logical channel priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority can be a MAC PDU priority. For example, such as Figure 3A As shown, reserved resource 301 and candidate resource 302 are contiguous resources in the time domain, and the CAPC priority of a transmission on reserved resource 301 can be higher than the CAPC priority of a transmission on candidate resource 302. If the logical channel priorities of a transmission on reserved resource 301 include #1, #2, and #3, and terminal device 120-1 is configured such that the CAPC priorities associated with logical channel priorities #1 and #2 cannot be reduced, then terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting candidate resource 302 for a sidelink transmission, or reduce the priority of selecting candidate resource 302 for a sidelink transmission.

[0057] In some embodiments, if a candidate resource is after a reserved resource and within the expected Channel Occupancy Time (COT) duration associated with the reserved resource, and the CAPC priority of a transmission on the candidate resource is lower than the CAPC priority of a transmission on the reserved resource, then terminal device 120-1 may avoid selecting a candidate resource for a sidechain transmission. In other words, even if a candidate resource is within the expected COT duration associated with a reserved resource, if the CAPC priority of a transmission on the candidate resource does not meet the COT requirement initiated by the reserved resource, terminal device 120-1 may avoid selecting a candidate resource for a sidechain transmission or reduce the priority of selecting a candidate resource for a sidechain transmission.

[0058] In some embodiments, if a reserved resource is after a candidate resource and within the expected COT duration associated with the candidate resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource is lower than the CAPC priority of the transmission on the candidate resource, then the terminal device 120-1 may avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission. In other words, even if the reserved resource is within the expected COT duration associated with the candidate resource, if the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource does not meet the COT requirement initiated by the candidate resource, the terminal device 120-1 may avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission or reduce the priority of selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission.

[0059] In some embodiments, if the sidechain transmission is a wideband transmission, for which multiple LBT processes are executed on multiple resource block (RB) sets in the candidate resources, and at least one LBT process overlaps with at least one reserved resource, then the terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission. In some embodiments, if the transmission on one of the reserved resources in the at least one reserved resource is a wideband transmission, for which multiple LBT processes are executed on multiple RB sets in the reserved resources, and at least one LBT process overlaps with a candidate resource, then the terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting a candidate resource for the sidechain transmission. In other words, if the candidate resource or reserved resource is used for wideband transmission, i.e., the transmission on the candidate resource or reserved resource spans multiple RB sets, then multiple LBTs can be executed for wideband transmission, i.e., one LBT on each RB set. In this case, the terminal device 120-1 can check whether any of the multiple LBTs of the wideband transmission on the candidate resource or reserved resource overlaps with the reserved resource or candidate resource, and determine whether to process the candidate resource or reserved resource. For example, if any LBT of a plurality of broadband transmissions on a candidate resource or reserved resource overlaps with a reserved resource or candidate resource, the terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting a resource. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120-1 can adjust the candidate resource or reserved resource to ensure that there is a sufficient gap length between the candidate resource and the reserved resource.

[0060] Figure 3B An example of another resource allocation 300-2 for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some embodiments, the sidechain transmission 130-1 may be a wideband transmission, i.e., a transmission across multiple RB groups. Figure 3B As shown, assuming candidate resource 322 is selected for sidechain transmission 130-1, multiple LBTs 323 can be performed for wideband transmission, i.e., one LBT on each RB set. In some embodiments, since one of the LBTs 323 transmitted on candidate resource 322 overlaps with reserved resource 321, terminal device 120-1 can determine to avoid selecting candidate resource 322 for sidechain transmission 130-1. Similarly, in some embodiments, transmission on reserved resource 331 can be wideband transmission, so multiple LBTs 333 can be performed for wideband transmission. In some embodiments, since one of the LBTs 333 transmitted on reserved resource 331 overlaps with candidate resource 332, terminal device 120-1 can determine to avoid selecting candidate resource 332 for sidechain transmission 130-1.

[0061] In some embodiments, if a sidechain transmission is included in multiple MAC PDU transmissions, and at least one candidate resource in a series of candidate resources overlaps with the Type 1 LBT duration associated with at least one reserved resource, then terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting the series of candidate resources for the multiple MAC PDU transmissions. In other words, if a series of candidate resources is selected for multiple MAC PDU transmissions and the Type 1 LBT duration of one or more candidate resources in that series overlaps with the reserved resource in the time domain, or if the Type 1 LBT duration of the transmission on the reserved resource overlaps with the series of candidate resources in the time domain, then terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting that series of candidate resources.

[0062] Figure 3C An example of another resource allocation 300-3 for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some embodiments, sidechain transmission 130-1 may include multiple MAC PDU transmissions. Figure 3C As shown, assuming a series of candidate resources 342-1, 342-2, and 342-3 are selected for multiple MAC PDU transmissions in sidechain transmission 130-1, the Type 1 LBT duration of the transmission on reserved resource 341 will overlap with that of candidate resource 342-2. In some embodiments, terminal device 120-1 may determine to avoid selecting a series of candidate resources 342-1, 342-2, and 342-3 for sidechain transmission 130-1.

[0063] In some embodiments, if a sidechain transmission is included in multiple MAC PDU transmissions, and a candidate resource in a series of candidate resources overlaps with a Type 1 LBT duration associated with at least one reserved resource, then terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting overlapping candidate resources for multiple MAC PDU transmissions from that series of candidate resources. In some embodiments, if a sidechain transmission is included in multiple MAC PDU transmissions, and a Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource in a series of candidate resources overlaps with at least one reserved resource, then terminal device 120-1 can avoid selecting candidate resources with overlapping Type 1 LBT durations for multiple MAC PDU transmissions from that series of candidate resources. In other words, terminal device 120-1 can process only the problematic resources in a series of candidate resources used for multiple MAC PDU transmissions. If a series of candidate resources is selected for multiple MAC PDU transmissions and the Type 1 LBT duration of one or more candidate resources in that series overlaps with a reserved resource in the time domain, or if the Type 1 LBT duration of a transmission on a reserved resource overlaps with one or more candidate resources in that series in the time domain, then terminal device 120-1 can process one or more candidate resources in that series of candidate resources. For example, terminal device 120-1 may avoid selecting one or more candidate resources from the series of candidate resources. In some embodiments, terminal device 120-1 may adjust one or more candidate resources from the series of candidate resources to ensure that there is a sufficient gap length between one or more candidate resources in the series of candidate resources and the reserved resources.

[0064] like Figure 3C As shown, assuming a series of candidate resources 342-1, 342-2, and 342-3 are selected for multiple MAC PDU transmissions in sidechain transmission 130-1, the Type 1 LBT duration of the transmission on reserved resource 341 will overlap with that of candidate resource 342-2. In some embodiments, terminal device 120-1 may determine to avoid selecting candidate resource 342-2. For example, terminal device 120-1 may adjust candidate resource 342-2 to ensure a sufficient gap length between the candidate resource and the reserved resource.

[0065] In some embodiments, if the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource does not overlap with at least one reserved resource in the time domain, and the candidate resource does not overlap with the Type 1 LBT duration associated with at least one reserved resource in the time domain, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission. In other words, if there is no overlap between the Type 1 LBT duration of transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource, and there is no overlap between the Type 1 LBT duration of transmissions on the candidate resource and any of the reserved resources, then the candidate resource can be considered selectable for sidechain transmission.

[0066] In some embodiments, if a Type 2 LBT procedure is to be executed for transmission on a candidate resource following one of at least one reserved resource in the time domain, the terminal device 120-1 may determine that candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission. In other words, if a Type 2 LBT procedure is to be executed for transmission on a candidate resource, the candidate resource may be considered selectable for sidechain transmission even if it immediately follows a reserved resource. In some embodiments, if a Type 2 LBT procedure is to be executed for transmission on one of at least one reserved resource following a candidate resource in the time domain, the terminal device 120-1 may determine that candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission. In other words, if a Type 2 LBT procedure is to be executed for transmission on a reserved resource immediately following a candidate resource, the candidate resource may be considered selectable for sidechain transmission. In some embodiments, if a Type 2 LBT is expected to be used for transmission on a candidate resource or a reserved resource, the available candidate resource is selectable, where there is no impact on resources reserved by the terminal device itself.

[0067] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission. Back Figure 3AReserved resource 301 and candidate resource 302 are contiguous resources in the time domain, and candidate resource 311 and reserved resource 312 are also contiguous resources in the time domain. In some embodiments, if candidate resource 302 is selected for sidechain transmission 130-1, LBT can be performed for contiguous transmissions on candidate resource 302 and reserved resource 301. If the CAPC priority of the sidechain transmission on candidate resource 302 is different from the CAPC priority of the sidechain transmission on reserved resource 301, the higher of the two CAPC priorities can be reduced.

[0068] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have the same CAPC priority, the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission.

[0069] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have different CAPC priorities, and the transmission priority on one of the contiguous resources with the higher CAPC priority is lower than the threshold priority, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a CAPC priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a service priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be the (highest) logical channel priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a MAC PDU priority.

[0070] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have different CAPC priorities, and the transmission priority of the transmission on one of the contiguous resources with the higher CAPC priority is configured such that the CAPC priority can be reduced relative to the transmission priority, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a CAPC priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a service priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be the (highest) logical channel priority. In some embodiments, the transmission priority may be a MAC PDU priority.

[0071] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the candidate resource is after a reserved resource and within the expected COT duration associated with the reserved resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the candidate resource is higher than the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission.

[0072] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the reserved resource is after the candidate resource and within the expected COT duration associated with the candidate resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource is higher than the CAPC priority of the transmission on the candidate resource, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission.

[0073] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the candidate resource follows the reserved resource and is within the shared COT duration associated with the reserved resource, and the transmission on the candidate resource satisfies the conditions for utilizing the shared COT duration, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission.

[0074] In some embodiments, the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource may overlap with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resource may overlap with the candidate resource in the time domain. If the reserved resource follows the candidate resource and is within the shared COT duration of the transmission on the candidate resource, and the transmission on the reserved resource satisfies the conditions for utilizing the shared COT duration, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission.

[0075] In some embodiments, if the gap length between a candidate resource and at least one reserved resource is not less than the predetermined Type 1 LBT duration length of the transmission on the candidate resource or at least one reserved resource, then the terminal device 120-1 may determine the candidate resource as selectable for sidechain transmission. In some embodiments, the predetermined Type 1 LBT duration length may be configured or pre-configured for CAPC priority. In some embodiments, the predetermined Type 1 LBT duration length may be specified by a standard for CAPC priority. In some embodiments, the predetermined Type 1 LBT duration length may be indicated by the physical layer of the terminal device for CAPC priority.

[0076] In other words, terminal device 120-1 can select candidate resources from available resources and ensure that there is a sufficient gap length between the selected candidate resource and the reserved resource. This gap length can be equal to or greater than the Type 1 LBT duration of the transmission on the candidate resource or the reserved resource. Since the Type 1 LBT duration is a random duration, there is no precise Type 1 LBT duration before a transmission is to be performed. In some embodiments, the typical Type 1 LBT duration length can be directly specified in the standardization or (pre)configured for each CAPC priority. Terminal device 120-1 can then determine the typical LBT duration based on the expected CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource or the candidate resource, and the configured / specified association between the CAPC priority and the typical LBT duration length. Terminal device 120-1 can then guarantee the gap based on this typical Type 1 LBT duration. In some embodiments, the typical LBT duration of the transmission on the candidate resource / reserved resource can be indicated from the physical layer of the terminal device, and therefore, the MAC layer of the terminal device can guarantee the gap based on the indicated typical LBT duration. In some embodiments, the typical Type 1 LBT duration may also be used by the terminal device 120-1 to determine whether the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource overlaps with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or whether the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resource overlaps with the candidate resource in the time domain. The terminal device 120-1 may determine whether a candidate resource can be selected based on a comparison of resource gaps and typical Type 1 LBT durations, as well as the other optional conditions described above.

[0077] Figure 3D The illustration shows another example of resource allocation 300-4 for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3DAs shown, if the gap between reserved resource 351 and subsequent candidate resource 352 is equal to or greater than the typical type 1 LBT duration 353 corresponding to the CAPC priority of the transmission on candidate resource 352, then candidate resource 352 can be considered as selectable for sidechain transmission. Similarly, if the gap between candidate resource 362 and subsequent reserved resource 361 is equal to or greater than the typical type 1 LBT duration 363 corresponding to the CAPC priority of the transmission on reserved resource 361, then candidate resource 362 can be considered as selectable for sidechain transmission. In some embodiments, since the gap between reserved resource 351 and subsequent candidate resource 352 is equal to or greater than the typical type 1 LBT duration 353 corresponding to the CAPC priority of the transmission on candidate resource 352, terminal device 120-1 can determine that there is no overlap between reserved resource 351 and the type 1 LBT duration associated with candidate resource 352. Since the gap between candidate resource 362 and subsequent reserved resource 361 is equal to or greater than the typical type 1 LBT duration 363 corresponding to the CAPC priority of the transmission on reserved resource 361, terminal device 120-1 can determine that there is no overlap between candidate resource 362 and the type 1 LBT duration associated with reserved resource 361.

[0078] Figure 4 The illustration shows a flowchart of an example method 400 for resource selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, method 400 can be implemented in devices (such as...) within a communication network. Figure 1 The terminal device 120-1 shown is implemented therein. Alternatively or concurrently, method 400 can be implemented at [location missing]. Figure 1 The method is implemented at other devices shown. In some other embodiments, method 400 can be implemented at other devices. Figure 1 The method is implemented at a device not shown. Furthermore, it should be understood that method 400 may include additional boxes not shown and / or some boxes shown may be omitted, and the scope of this disclosure is not limited in this respect. For the purposes of discussion, reference will be made to… Figure 1 Method 400 is described from the perspective of terminal device 120-1.

[0079] At block 410, in the event of a failure of the LBT process for MCSt involving one or more transmissions including a MAC PDU, terminal device 120-1 reselects at least one time slot in an unlicensed frequency band. At block 420, terminal device 120-1 retransmits at least one of the one or more transmissions in at least one time slot. In this way, resource (re)selection for MCSt transmissions can be triggered, and the reliability of MCSt transmissions can be improved.

[0080] In the following text, reference will be made to Figures 5A-5BThis document describes in detail some embodiments of sidechain resource (re)selection for MCSt transmission. Figures 5A-5B Examples of resource (re)selection schemes for MCSt transmissions according to some embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to... Figure 1 and Figure 2 describe Figures 5A-5B Resource allocation within.

[0081] In some embodiments, a reselection can be triggered for MCSt if the LBT process fails for all transmissions in one or more transmissions associated with the same MAC PDU. In some embodiments, at least one time slot may include multiple consecutive time slots. For example, terminal device 120-1 may perform MCSt transmissions in an unlicensed frequency band. A Type 1 LBT process may be performed before the MCSt transmission. If the LBT process fails before the first time slot, the first time slot is discarded, and the LBT process continues. If the LBT process fails again before the second time slot, the second time slot is discarded. This behavior continues until the LBT process succeeds, or until the LBT process fails for all time slots of the MCSt transmission. In some embodiments, resource (re)selection can be triggered when the LBT process fails for the last time slot of a transmission of the same MAC PDU. Resources of consecutive time slots can be selected for all MAC PDU transmissions in the MCSt transmission.

[0082] Figure 5A An example of resource (re)selection 500-1 for MCSt transmission according to some embodiments of this disclosure is illustrated. Figure 5A As shown, time slots Tx#1 to Tx#3 are used for the first MAC PDU transmission, and time slots Tx#4 to Tx#5 are used for the second MAC PDU transmission. If all time slots Tx#1 to Tx#3 for the first MAC PDU transmission fail in LBT processes 501, 502, and 503, the terminal device 120-1 can trigger resource (re)selection. In other words, resource (re)selection can be triggered when LBT process 503 before the last time slot Tx#3 fails. In some embodiments, during resource (re)selection, resources for consecutive time slots (e.g., ReTx#1 to ReTx#3) used for the first MAC PDU transmission can be reselected.

[0083] In some embodiments, reselection may be triggered for at least one transmission if at least one LBT procedure fails for at least one transmission and the LBT procedure for at least one remaining transmission of the MCSt succeeds. One or more transmissions may be associated with different MAC PDUs. In some embodiments, at least one time slot may include multiple consecutive time slots. In other words, resource (re)selection may be triggered when the LBT procedure succeeds only for a portion of the time slots of the MCSt transmissions with different MAC PDUs. Resources of consecutive time slots may be selected for the discarded MAC PDU transmissions.

[0084] Figure 5B An example of another resource (re)selection 500-2 for MCSt transmission according to some embodiments of this disclosure is illustrated. Figure 5B As shown, time slots Tx#1 to Tx#4 are used for the first MAC PDU transmission, the second MAC PDU transmission, the third MAC PDU transmission, and the fourth MAC PDU transmission, respectively. If LBT process 503 fails for time slot Tx#3, while LBT processes 501 and 502 fail for time slots Tx#1 to Tx#2, then terminal device 120-1 can trigger resource (re)selection. In other words, resource (re)selection can be triggered when LBT process 503 succeeds for MCSt transmission, but at least one time slot is discarded due to LBT failure. In some embodiments, during resource (re)selection, resources for consecutive time slots (e.g., ReTx#1 to ReTx#2) can be reselected for the first MAC PDU transmission and the second MAC PDU transmission. Example device

[0085] Figure 6 A simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. Device 600 can be considered as follows: Figure 1 Another example implementation of the terminal device 120 and network device 110 shown. Therefore, device 600 can be implemented at or as a part of network device 110.

[0086] As shown in the figure, device 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620 coupled to the processor 610, suitable transmitters (TX) and receivers (RX) 640 coupled to the processor 610, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 640. The memory 610 stores at least a portion of a program 630. The TX / RX 640 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, but in practice, there may be multiple access nodes mentioned in this disclosure. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs or gNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Serving Gateway (S-GW) and an eNB or gNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB or gNB and a Relay Node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB or gNB and a terminal device.

[0087] Assume that program 630 includes program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 610, enable device 600 to operate according to embodiments of this disclosure, as referenced herein. Figures 1 to 6 The embodiments discussed herein can be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 610 of device 600, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 610 can be configured to implement various embodiments of this disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 610 and the memory 620 can form a processing unit 650 suitable for implementing various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0088] Memory 620 can be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and by way of non-limiting example, it can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. Although only one memory 620 is shown in device 600, several physically different memory modules may be present in device 600. Processor 610 can be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and by way of non-limiting example, it can include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0089] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 200 or 400 (e.g., terminal device 120-1) may include components for performing corresponding steps of method 200 or 400. These components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. In some embodiments, the components include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause execution of method 200 or 400.

[0090] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented using hardware, while others can be implemented using firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0091] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functionality of a program module can be combined or split among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for the program module can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0092] Program code used to perform the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. This program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that, when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0093] The aforementioned program code can be embodied on a machine-readable medium, which can be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. Machine-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0094] Furthermore, although operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring the operations to be performed in the indicated specific order or sequentially, or to perform all indicated operations to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the foregoing discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0095] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that this disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.

[0096] The embodiments disclosed herein may also be described using the following terms.

[0097] Clause 1. A terminal device, comprising: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: trigger sidechain resource selection for sidechain transmission in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein a listen-before-tell (LBT) procedure is performed prior to the sidechain transmission; and perform sidechain resource selection based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by the terminal device.

[0098] Clause 2. The terminal device pursuant to Clause 1, wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes avoiding the selection of candidate resources for sidechain transmission based on the following: the type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource overlaps with one of the at least one reserved resources in the time domain; or the type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resources overlaps with the candidate resource in the time domain.

[0099] Clause 3. The terminal equipment pursuant to Clause 1, wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes avoiding the selection of candidate resources for sidechain transmissions based on one of the following:

[0100] Candidate resources and reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but transmissions on candidate resources and reserved resources have different channel access priority (CAPC) priorities;

[0101] Candidate resources and reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but transmissions on candidate resources and reserved resources have different CAPC priorities. Transmissions on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority have a higher transmission priority than the threshold priority.

[0102] Candidate resources and reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but transmissions on candidate resources and reserved resources have different CAPC priorities. The transmission priority of a transmission on a contiguous resource with a higher CAPC priority is configured such that the CAPC priority cannot be reduced relative to the transmission priority.

[0103] The candidate resource is reserved after the reserved resource and during the expected Channel Occupancy Time (COT) duration associated with the reserved resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the candidate resource is lower than the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource; or

[0104] The reserved resource is placed after the candidate resource and for the expected COT duration associated with the candidate resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource is lower than that of the transmission on the candidate resource.

[0105] Clause 4. The terminal equipment pursuant to Clause 1, wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes avoiding the selection of candidate resources for sidechain transmissions based on one of the following:

[0106] Sidechain transmission is wideband transmission. For wideband transmission, multiple LBT procedures will be executed on multiple sets of resource blocks (RBs) in the candidate resources, and at least one LBT procedure in the multiple LBT procedures will overlap with at least one reserved resource; or

[0107] The transmission on one of the reserved resources is a wideband transmission. For wideband transmission, multiple LBT processes will be executed on multiple RB sets in the reserved resources, and at least one LBT process in the multiple LBT processes overlaps with the candidate resource.

[0108] Clause 5. The terminal device pursuant to Clause 1, wherein the sidechain transmission is included in multiple Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) transmissions, and wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes one of the following:

[0109] In cases where at least one candidate resource in a series of candidate resources overlaps with the type 1LBT duration associated with at least one reserved resource, avoid selecting a series of candidate resources for multiple MAC PDU transmissions; or

[0110] In cases where the Type 1 LBT duration associated with at least one candidate resource in a series of candidate resources overlaps with at least one reserved resource, avoid selecting a series of candidate resources for multiple MAC PDU transmissions.

[0111] Clause 6. A terminal device pursuant to Clause 1, wherein a sidechain transmission is included in multiple MAC PDU transmissions, and wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes avoiding the selection of candidate resources for multiple MAC PDU transmissions from a set of candidate resources based on one of the following:

[0112] The candidate resource overlaps with the Type 1 LBT duration associated with at least one reserved resource; or

[0113] The type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource overlaps with at least one reserved resource.

[0114] Clause 7. The terminal equipment pursuant to Clause 1, wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes determining candidate resources selectable for sidechain transmission based on one of the following:

[0115] The type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource does not overlap with at least one reserved resource in the time domain, and the type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource does not overlap with at least one reserved resource in the time domain.

[0116] Type 2 LBT procedures are to be performed for transfers on candidate resources, which in the time domain follow at least one reserved resource; or

[0117] Type 2 LBT procedures are to be performed for a transfer on a reserved resource that is at least one reserved resource in the time domain after the candidate resource.

[0118] Clause 8. A terminal device pursuant to Clause 1, wherein the Type 1 LBT duration associated with a candidate resource overlaps in the time domain with one of at least one reserved resource, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of at least one reserved resource overlaps in the time domain with a candidate resource, and wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes determining whether a candidate resource is selectable for sidechain transmission based on one of the following:

[0119] Candidate resources and reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain;

[0120] Candidate resources and reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but transmissions on candidate resources and reserved resources have the same CAPC priority;

[0121] Candidate resources and reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but transmissions on candidate resources and reserved resources have different CAPC priorities. Transmissions on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority have a transmission priority lower than the threshold priority.

[0122] Candidate resources and reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but transmissions on candidate resources and reserved resources have different CAPC priorities. The transmission priority of a transmission on a contiguous resource with a higher CAPC priority is configured such that the CAPC priority can be reduced relative to the transmission priority.

[0123] The candidate resource is reserved after the reserved resource and within the expected COT duration associated with the reserved resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the candidate resource is higher than the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource;

[0124] The reserved resource is placed after the candidate resource and for the expected COT duration associated with the candidate resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource is higher than that of the transmission on the candidate resource.

[0125] The candidate resource is reserved after the resource is reserved and during the shared COT duration associated with the reserved resource, and the transmissions on the candidate resource meet the conditions for utilizing the shared COT duration; or

[0126] The reserved resource is after the candidate resource and during the shared COT duration of the transmission on the candidate resource, and the transmission on the reserved resource satisfies the conditions for utilizing the shared COT duration.

[0127] Clause 9. Terminal equipment pursuant to Clause 3 or 8, wherein the transmission priority is one of the following: CAPC priority; service priority; logical channel priority; or MAC PDU priority.

[0128] Clause 10. The terminal device according to Clause 1, wherein performing sidechain resource selection includes: determining that a candidate resource is selectable for sidechain transmission if the gap length between a candidate resource and at least one reserved resource is not less than the predetermined type 1LBT duration length of the transmission on the candidate resource or at least one reserved resource.

[0129] Clause 11. A terminal device pursuant to Clause 10, wherein the duration of the predetermined type 1 LBT is one of the following: configured or pre-configured for CAPC priority; specified by the standard for CAPC priority; or indicated by the physical layer of the terminal device for CAPC priority.

[0130] Clause 12. A terminal device comprising: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: in the event of a listen-before-tell (LBT) process for a multi-continuous time-slot transmission (MCSt) including one or more transmissions of a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) failing, reselect at least one time slot in an unlicensed frequency band; and retransmit at least one of the one or more transmissions in the at least one time slot.

[0131] Clause 13. The terminal device pursuant to Clause 12, wherein if the LBT process for all transmissions in one or more transmissions associated with the same MAC PDU fails, a reselection for MCSt is triggered.

[0132] Clause 14. The terminal device pursuant to Clause 12, wherein if at least one LBT procedure fails for at least one transmission and the LBT procedure succeeds for at least one remaining transmission of the MCSt, a reselection for at least one transmission is triggered, and one or more transmissions are associated with different MAC PDUs.

[0133] Clause 15. A terminal device pursuant to any one of Clauses 12 to 14, wherein at least one time slot comprises a plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0134] Clause 16. A method performed by a terminal device, comprising: triggering a sidechain resource selection for a sidechain transmission in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein a listen-before-tell (LBT) procedure is performed prior to the sidechain transmission; and performing the sidechain resource selection based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by the terminal device.

[0135] Clause 17. A method performed by a terminal device, comprising: in the event of a listen-before-tell (LBT) process for a multi-continuous time-slot transmission (MCSt) of one or more transmissions including a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) failing, reselecting at least one time slot in an unlicensed frequency band; and retransmitting at least one of the one or more transmissions in the at least one time slot.

[0136] Clause 18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored program instructions thereon, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to at least: trigger sidechain resource selection for sidechain transmission in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein a listen-before-tell (LBT) process is performed prior to the sidechain transmission; and perform sidechain resource selection based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by a terminal device.

[0137] Clause 19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored program instructions thereon, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to at least: reselect at least one time slot in an unlicensed frequency band in the event of a listen-before-tell (LBT) process for a multi-continuous time slot transmission (MCSt) including one or more transmissions of a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU); and retransmit at least one of the one or more transmissions in the at least one time slot.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: processor; as well as The transceiver is coupled to the processor. The processor is configured as follows: Triggering sidechain resource selection for sidechain transmissions in unlicensed frequency bands, wherein the listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure is performed prior to the sidechain transmission; and The sidechain resource selection is performed based on conditions associated with at least one resource reserved by the terminal device.

2. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein performing the sidechain resource selection includes avoiding the selection of candidate resources for the sidechain transmission based on the following: The type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource overlaps with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain; or The Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resources overlaps with the candidate resource in the time domain.

3. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein performing the sidechain resource selection includes avoiding selecting the candidate resource for the sidechain transmission based on one of the following: The candidate resources and the reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resources and the reserved resources have different channel access priority categories (CAPC priorities). The candidate resources and the reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resources and the reserved resources have different CAPC priorities. The transmission priority of the transmission on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority is higher than the threshold priority. The candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have different CAPC priorities. The transmission priority of the transmission on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority is configured such that the CAPC priority cannot be reduced for the transmission priority. The candidate resource is located after the reserved resource and within the expected channel occupancy time (COT) duration associated with the reserved resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmissions on the candidate resource is lower than that of the transmissions on the reserved resource; or The reserved resource is located after the candidate resource and within the expected COT duration associated with the candidate resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource is lower than that of the transmission on the candidate resource.

4. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein performing the sidechain resource selection includes avoiding the selection of candidate resources for the sidechain transmission based on one of the following: The sidechain transmission is a wideband transmission. For the wideband transmission, multiple LBT procedures will be executed on multiple resource block (RB) sets in the candidate resources, and at least one LBT procedure in the multiple LBT procedures overlaps with the at least one reserved resource; or The transmission on one of the at least one reserved resources is a wideband transmission. For the wideband transmission, multiple LBT processes will be executed on multiple RB sets in the reserved resources, and at least one LBT process in the multiple LBT processes overlaps with the candidate resource.

5. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the sidechain transmission is included in multiple Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) transmissions, and wherein performing the sidechain resource selection includes one of the following: In cases where at least one candidate resource in a series of candidate resources overlaps with the type 1LBT duration associated with the at least one reserved resource, the selection of the series of candidate resources for the plurality of MAC PDU transmissions should be avoided; or In cases where the Type 1 LBT duration associated with at least one of the candidate resources in a series of candidate resources overlaps with the at least one reserved resource, the selection of the series of candidate resources for the plurality of MAC PDU transmissions is avoided.

6. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the sidechain transmission is included in a plurality of MAC PDU transmissions, and wherein performing the sidechain resource selection includes avoiding the selection of candidate resources for the plurality of MAC PDU transmissions from a set of candidate resources based on one of the following: The candidate resource overlaps with the Type 1 LBT duration associated with the at least one reserved resource; or The Type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource overlaps with the at least one reserved resource.

7. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein performing the sidechain resource selection includes determining that candidate resources can be selected for the sidechain transmission based on one of the following: The type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource does not overlap with the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, and the candidate resource does not overlap with the type 1 LBT duration associated with the at least one reserved resource in the time domain; Type 2 LBT procedure is to be performed for the transfer on the candidate resource, which is in the time domain after one of the at least one reserved resource; or Type 2 LBT process is to be performed for a transmission on one of the at least one reserved resources, which is located after the candidate resource in the time domain.

8. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the Type 1 LBT duration associated with the candidate resource overlaps with one of the at least one reserved resource in the time domain, or the Type 1 LBT duration associated with one of the at least one reserved resource overlaps with the candidate resource in the time domain, and The sidechain resource selection process includes determining whether the candidate resources can be selected for the sidechain transfer based on one of the following: The candidate resources and the reserved resources are continuous resources in the time domain; The candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have the same CAPC priority; The candidate resources and the reserved resources are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resources and the reserved resources have different CAPC priorities. The transmission priority of the transmission on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority is lower than the threshold priority. The candidate resource and the reserved resource are contiguous resources in the time domain, but the transmissions on the candidate resource and the reserved resource have different CAPC priorities. The transmission priority of the transmission on one of the contiguous resources with a higher CAPC priority is configured such that the CAPC priority can be reduced for the transmission priority. The candidate resource is located after the reserved resource and within the expected COT duration associated with the reserved resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the candidate resource is higher than that of the transmission on the reserved resource. The reserved resource is after the candidate resource and within the expected COT duration associated with the candidate resource, and the CAPC priority of the transmission on the reserved resource is higher than the CAPC priority of the transmission on the candidate resource; The candidate resource is after the reserved resource and within the shared COT duration associated with the reserved resource, and the transmission on the candidate resource satisfies the conditions for utilizing the shared COT duration; or The reserved resource is located after the candidate resource and within the shared COT duration of the transmission on the candidate resource, and the transmission on the reserved resource satisfies the conditions for utilizing the shared COT duration.

9. The terminal device according to claim 3 or 8, wherein the transmission priority is one of the following: CAPC priority; Business priorities; Logical channel priority; or MAC PDU priority.

10. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein performing the sidechain resource selection includes: If the gap length between the candidate resource and the at least one reserved resource is not less than the predetermined type 1 LBT duration length of the transmission on the candidate resource or the at least one reserved resource, it is determined that the candidate resource can be selected for the sidechain transmission.

11. The terminal device of claim 10, wherein the predetermined type 1 LBT duration length is one of the following: Configured or pre-configured for CAPC priority; As specified by the standard for CAPC priority; or The physical layer of the terminal device is indicated by the CAPC priority.

12. A terminal device, comprising: processor; as well as The transceiver is coupled to the processor. The processor is configured as follows: In the event that the Listen-After-Talk (LBT) process for a multi-continuous time-slot transmission (MCSt) including one or more transmissions of Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) fails, at least one time slot shall be reselected in the unlicensed frequency band. as well as Retransmit at least one of one or more transmissions in the at least one time slot.

13. The terminal device of claim 12, wherein if the LBT process for all transmissions in the one or more transmissions associated with the same MAC PDU fails, a reselection for the MCSt is triggered.

14. The terminal device of claim 12, wherein if at least one LBT process fails for the at least one transmission and the LBT process succeeds for at least one remaining transmission of the MCSt, the reselection for the at least one transmission is triggered, the one or more transmissions being associated with different MAC PDUs.

15. The terminal device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the at least one time slot comprises a plurality of consecutive time slots.

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