Sidelink control information (SCI) signaling and clear channel assessment (CCA) method for sidelink unlicensed (SL-u) channel occupation time (COT) sharing and recovery

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for a wireless device to share a channel occupancy time (COT) in a sidelink (SL) channel. The techniques include a method for sharing a channel occupancy time (COT) in a sidelink (SL) channel, the method including performing, by a first wireless device, a clear channel assessment (CCA) to initialize the COT. The first wireless device determines that a portion of the COT may be shared, and sends first sidelink control information (SCI) to one or more eligible wireless devices. The first SCI may include a destination identification (ID), an offset, and an SL duration. The destination ID indicates one or more conditional wireless devices that can share the COT, and the SL duration defines a duration for which the one or more conditional wireless devices can be used to share the COT. The first wireless device may resume transmission in the COT.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to wireless devices for enhancing sidelink communication in unlicensed spectrum bands, wireless networks including the devices, computer-readable media, and methods. Background Technology

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now offer access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and can operate complex applications that utilize these capabilities. Furthermore, many different wireless communication technologies and standards exist. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A (Advanced LTE), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and Bluetooth. ™ wait.

[0003] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functions into wireless communication devices necessitates continuous improvement of both wireless communication and the devices themselves. In addition to the aforementioned communication standards, new wireless communication technologies are under development to increase coverage and better serve the intended uses of wireless communication, including fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication. Therefore, improvements are needed to support this development and design. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Various aspects relate to devices, computer-readable media, and methods for enhancing sidelink communication. These aspects include a method for sharing Channel Occupied Time (COT) in a sidelink (SL) channel, the method comprising a first radio device performing an Empty Channel Assessment (CCA) to initialize the COT. The first radio device determines that a portion of the COT is available for sharing and sends first Sidelink Control Information (SCI) to one or more eligible radio devices. The first SCI may include a destination identifier (ID), an offset, and an SL duration. The destination ID indicates one or more eligible radio devices that can share the COT, and the SL duration defines the duration for which the one or more eligible radio devices can use to share the COT. In some embodiments, the first radio device may resume transmission within the COT.

[0005] In another embodiment, the implementation relates to a communication device, computer-readable medium, and method for sharing a COT in a sidelink SL channel. The method includes receiving first sidelink control information (SCI) from a first radio device. The first SCI includes a destination ID, an offset, an SL duration, and an indication of a cyclic prefix extension (CPE) to be used. The destination ID indicates one or more eligible radio devices, and the SL duration defines the duration for which the one or more eligible radio devices can be used to share the COT. The method includes: determining that there are existing reservations with priority for non-eligible radio devices in the time slots during the SL duration; and performing a Type 2 Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) for the desired transmission during the SL duration and using the indicated CPE. In the implementation, the CPE may be designed to help facilitate appropriate access to resources.

[0006] In another aspect, the implementation relates to communication devices, computer-readable media, and methods for resource selection. The method includes a first wireless device receiving a first SCI from a second wireless device. The first SCI includes a destination ID, offset, SL duration, maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), and priority. The destination ID indicates one or more eligible wireless devices, and the SL duration defines the duration for which the one or more eligible wireless devices can be used to share a portion of the COT. The method includes: determining that the second wireless device is not one of the one or more eligible wireless devices; determining that the priority is higher than the priority of a desired transmission from the second wireless device; and performing resource selection for the desired transmission that excludes the COT. The priority may be based on a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) value or L1 priority.

[0007] The technologies described herein can be implemented in and / or used with a variety of different types of devices, including but not limited to any one of cellular phones, wireless devices, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and various other computing devices.

[0008] The present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subjects described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are merely illustrative and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or substance of the subjects described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subjects described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0009] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained by considering the following detailed description of various aspects in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0010] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system is illustrated based on some aspects.

[0011] Figure 2 Example block diagrams of a UE based on some aspects are shown.

[0012] Figure 3 An example is given of a base station (BS) that communicates with a user equipment (UE) device based on some aspects.

[0013] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Examples of different sidelink communications based on several aspects are shown.

[0014] Figure 5A and Figure 5B An example of SCI signaling for sharing COT is shown, based on some aspects.

[0015] Figure 6A and Figure 6B An example of SCI signaling for sharing parts of COT is shown.

[0016] Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C Different SCI signaling scenarios for sharing COT are illustrated based on several aspects.

[0017] Figure 8 Examples are given of the COT (Coordination of the Origin) shared with non-response communication devices based on certain aspects.

[0018] Although the features described herein may be subject to various modifications and alternatives, their specific aspects are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to limit one to the specific forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0019] In some wireless communication systems, a wireless device can communicate directly with another wireless device without going through a wireless node, for example. For instance, a wireless device can establish a sidelink session with another peer wireless device. Once a sidelink session is established, the wireless device can monitor messages from that peer wireless device, and vice versa.

[0020] A sidelink (SL) communication link is a communication link established between terminals acting as UE devices. In SL communication, a physical channel can be associated with a set of resource elements carrying information originating from higher layers. These resource elements can be transmitted via sidelink physical signals used by the physical layer without carrying information originating from higher layers. These physical signals may include indexing information signaling and synchronization information signaling.

[0021] According to the implementation scheme, SL transmission can be configured based on the resource allocation mode provided by the gNB. The resource allocation mode can provide dynamic granting of sidelink resources, as well as semi-statically configured granting of periodic sidelink resources via sidelink-configured granting. To improve the reliability of SL transmission, Dynamic Sidelink Granting (DCI) can provide resources for one or more transmissions of a transport block. Sidelink-configured granting can be SL transmissions configured to be used immediately by the UE device before these grants are released via RRC signaling.

[0022] According to the implementation scheme described herein, a resource allocation mode selected for SL transmission can be implemented in the SL bandwidth portion (BWP). An SL BWP can be multiple contiguous resource blocks configured for SL transmission within a predetermined channel bandwidth. The configuration of the SL BWP and resource pools is established through the RRC layer and provided to lower layers when activated. At least one active SL BWP can exist for a UE device at a time in a given frequency band. An SL BWP can be defined by its frequency, bandwidth, subcarrier spacing (SCS), and cyclic prefix (CP). SL BWPs can define parameters common to all resource pools contained therein, namely the number of symbols and start symbols used for SL in all time slots (except those with synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), power control for the PSBCH, and the location of the DC subcarriers.

[0023] In 5G NR technology, the resource pool is located within the SL BWP, which is defined in the frequency domain by a set of contiguous resource blocks (RBs) defined by an information element labeled sl-Rb-Number. This set of contiguous RBs begins at an RB defined by an information element labeled sl-StartRBsubchannel. Furthermore, the resource pool can be divided into sub-channels of a size defined by an information element labeled sl-SubchannelSize, which can take one of several values ​​(i.e., 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, and 100). Depending on the values ​​of sl-RB-Number and sl-SubchannelSize, some RBs within the resource pool may not be used by the UE.

[0024] In the time domain, a resource pool has a number of available time slots configured through various parameters. A set of criteria is applied to determine which time slots belong to the pool. For example, time slots that transmit SSBs may not be used. The number and location of these time slots can be based on predefined configurations. Time slots not allocated for UL (e.g., in terms of Time Division Multiplexing (TDD)) or not having all available symbols (according to SL BWP configuration) can also be excluded from the resource pool. Some time slots can be reserved such that the number of remaining time slots is a multiple of the bitmap length defined by the tag sl-TimeResource-r16 or Lbitmap, ranging from 10 bits to 160 bits. The reserved time slots can be distributed across a variable number of time slots. The bitmap sl-TimeResource-r16 can be applied to the remaining time slots to calculate the final set of identified / tagged time slots belonging to the pool.

[0025] According to the implementation plan, the communication device (e.g., UE) may perform a Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) procedure to establish the Channel Occupancy Time (COT) for different channels in the sidelink resource pool. More specifically, the communication device may perform a Type 1 or Type 2 Free Channel Assessment (CCA) LBT procedure before accessing resources.

[0026] Type 1 CCA refers to a channel access mode with multi-slot channel sensing, where random backoff is based on an adjusted contention window size. A corresponding Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) value can be established based on the priority of the service to be transmitted. The Maximum COT Length (MCOT) can also be established based on the CAPC value.

[0027] Type 2 CCA refers to a channel access mode based on fixed-length monitoring time slots, where the channel is used if idle. Type 2 channel access modes include Type 2A, Type 2B, and Type 2C channel access. The different types 2A, 2B, and 2C refer to the reduced timing (in μs) of single-transmission channel sensing.

[0028] When a communication device performs a Type 1 CCA LBT procedure to establish a COT in a sidelink, the communication device may not use the entire COT. The embodiments disclosed herein provide procedures for sharing a COT with other communication devices in a sidelink. Although some limited COT sharing has been established between the base station and the UE (see, for example, TS 37.213, Clauses 4.2.1.0.3 and Sections 4.1.3), the embodiments herein advantageously provide COT sharing for unicast, multicast, and broadcast messages between communication devices in a sidelink framework.

[0029] In the implementation scheme described herein, generally speaking, the Type 1 channel access mode is used for communication devices to initiate channel occupancy, and the Type 2 channel access mode can be used for communication devices to share channel occupancy.

[0030] The embodiments disclosed herein provide sidelink control information (SCI) signaling for supporting SL COT sharing and resuming COT use after sharing. The embodiments further provide methods for communication devices to perform Type 2 CCA to access the shared COT. The embodiments define appropriate cyclic prefix extensions (CPEs) used by responding devices during COT sharing. As explained below, in some embodiments, COT sharing information may be considered reserved based on the priority associated with the communication device's transmission in the sidelink.

[0031] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure:

[0032] Memory medium – any device of any type of nontransitory memory device or storage device. The term “memory medium” is intended to include mounting media, such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory, such as flash memory; magnetic media, such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory medium may also include other types of nontransitory memory or combinations thereof. Furthermore, memory medium may reside in a first computer system executing a program, or it may reside in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter example, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory media residing in different locations in different computer systems connected via, for example, a network. Memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied in a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0033] Carrier medium – such as memory media as described above, and physical transmission media, such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media for transmitting signals (such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals).

[0034] Programmable hardware elements encompass a variety of hardware devices that include multiple programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field-Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Programmable functional blocks can range from fine-grained (combinational logic or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0035] Computer system—any of all types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, networked appliances, internet-connected appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0036] User equipment (UE) (also referred to as "user equipment" or "UE device")—any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone). ™ Based on Android ™ Telephones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS) ™ PlayStation Portable ™ Gameboy Advance ™ iPhone ™ This includes laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument clusters, head-up displays (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostics (OBD) devices, dashboard moving equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDT), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine control units (ECU), electronic / engine control modules (ECM), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), connected or "smart" appliances, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Generally speaking, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined as including any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that can be carried by a user and is capable of wireless communication.

[0037] A wireless device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be stationary or fixed in a location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0038] A communication device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, which may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or it may be stationary or fixed in a location. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0039] Base station—The term “base station” or “wireless station” has the full range of its common meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed in a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. For example, if a base station is implemented in an LTE environment, it may alternatively be referred to as an “eNodeB” or “eNB”. If a base station is implemented in a 5G NR environment, it may alternatively be referred to as a “gNodeB” or “gNB”. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” “nodeB,” “base station,” “NB,” etc., may also refer to one or more wireless nodes serving a cell to provide wireless connectivity between user equipment and, generally, a wider network, and the concepts discussed are not limited to any particular wireless technology. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” “nodeB,” “base station,” “NB,” etc., are not intended to limit the concepts discussed herein to any particular wireless technology, and the concepts discussed can be applied to any wireless system.

[0040] Node – As used herein, the term “node” or “wireless node” can refer to one or more devices associated with a cell that provides a wireless connection between a user equipment and a typically wired network.

[0041] A processing element (or processor) – refers to a variety of elements or combinations of elements capable of performing the functions of a device, such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. A processing element may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, a portion or circuitry of a single processor core, an entire processor core, a single processor, a processor array, circuitry such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable hardware elements such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and any combination thereof.

[0042] A channel is a medium used to transmit information from a transmitter to a receiver. It should be noted that because the characteristics of the term "channel" can vary depending on the wireless protocol, the term "channel" as used herein can be considered to be used in a standardized manner consistent with the type of device to which the term is referenced. In some standards, the channel width can be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE can support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels can be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels can be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, for example, different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0043] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full range of its general meaning and includes at least a segment of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which a channel is used or reserved for the same purpose.

[0044] Automatic—means the execution of an action or operation by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without requiring direct user input to specify or perform that action or operation. Therefore, the term "automatic" is the opposite of an operation performed or specified manually by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process can be initiated by user-provided input, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a form by selecting each field and providing input to specify information (e.g., by typing information, selecting a checkbox, radio selection, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) which analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without any user input specifying answers for the fields. As indicated above, the user can invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers for the fields, but they are completed automatically). This manual provides various examples of operations that can be performed automatically in response to actions taken by the user.

[0045] Approximately—means a value close to the correct or precise value. For example, approximately can refer to a value within 1% to 10% of the precise (or expected) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold (or tolerance) can be application-dependent. For example, in some respects, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or expected value, while in various other respects, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0046] Concurrency refers to the parallel execution or implementation of tasks, processes, or programs in a manner that overlaps at least partially. For example, concurrency can be achieved using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed in parallel (at least partially) on corresponding computing elements; or using “weak parallelism,” where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0047] "Configured as"—Various components can be described as being "configured as" to perform one or more tasks. In this context, "configured as" is a broad expression generally meaning "having" a "structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Therefore, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently performing one (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect one module to another, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured as" can be a broad expression generally meaning a structure that "has" a "circuit" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Therefore, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently powered on. Generally, the circuit forming the structure corresponding to "configured as" can include hardware circuitry.

[0048] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Statements describing a component as configured to perform one or more tasks are explicitly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 USC § 112(f) for that component.

[0049] Example wireless communication system

[0050] Now go to Figure 1 This illustrates a simplified example of a wireless communication system based on some aspects. It should be noted that... Figure 1 The system described herein is merely a non-limiting example of possible systems, and the features of this disclosure can be implemented in any of various systems as needed.

[0051] As shown in the figure, the example wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipments 106A, 106B to 106Z via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0052] Base station (BS) 102A may be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site (e.g., a “cellular base station”), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with UEs 106A to 106Z.

[0053] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". Base station 102A and UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of Radio Access Technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with air interfaces such as WCDMA or TD-SCDMA), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, and 3GPP2 CDMA2000. Note that if base station 102A is implemented in an LTE context, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if base station 102A is implemented in a 5G NR environment, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0054] In some aspects, UE 106 can be an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed to utilize low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Proximity Service (ProSe), or Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, sensor network, or IoT network. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. As an example, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) may utilize ProSe features using a PC5 interface to communicate directly between devices. The IoT UE may also execute background applications (e.g., keeping track of activity messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0055] like Figure 1As shown, UEs 106 (such as UE 106A and UE 106B) can directly exchange communication data via PC5 interface 108A. Furthermore, UEs 106C, 106N, and 106Z can jointly exchange communication data via PC5 interfaces 108B, 108C, and 108D. Generally, this type of PC5 interface is referred to as an SL connection.

[0056] For example, the PC5 interface 108 may include one or more physical channels, including but not limited to the Physical Side Link Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Side Link Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Side Link Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), and Physical Side Link Feedback Channel (PSFCH). According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the PC5 interface 108 may be responsible for direct communication (unicast) between devices, selective group message transmission and reception (multicast) between devices, and broadcast message transmission and reception.

[0057] In a V2X scenario, one or more base stations in base station 102 may be roadside units (RSUs) or act as RSUs. The term RSU can refer to any transport infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. An RSU may be implemented in or by suitable radio nodes or fixed (or relatively fixed) UEs, wherein the RSU is implemented in or by the UE, eNB, or gNB. For example, an RSU is a computing device coupled to radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to UEs in passing vehicles.

[0058] As shown in the figure, base station 102A can also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., the core network of a cellular service provider, telecommunications networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and / or the Internet, and various other possibilities). Therefore, base station 102A facilitates communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. Specifically, cellular base station 102A can provide UE 106 with various telecommunications capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0059] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B to 102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UEs 106A to 106Z and similar devices over a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0060] Therefore, although base station 102A can act as such Figure 1The illustrated "serving cells" are UEs 106A to 106Z, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals (and possibly within its communication range) from one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B to 102Z and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. These cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pecimen" cells, and / or any other cells of various other granularities providing service area size. For example, in Figure 1 Base stations 102A and 102B illustrated can be macro cells, while base station 102Z can be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0061] In some respects, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station (e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB"). In some respects, the gNB may connect to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, the gNB cell may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 may support joint transmission, enabling UE 106 to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as... Figure 1 As illustrated, both base station 102A and base station 102C are shown as serving UE 106A.

[0062] It should be noted that UE 106 may be able to communicate using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to some of the cellular communication protocols discussed herein, UE 106 may also be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peering, etc.). If desired, UE 106 may additionally or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) (e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0063] In one or more embodiments, UE 106 can be a cellular communication-enabled device, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, laptop, tablet, smartwatch or other wearable device or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0064] UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. UE 106 may execute any method aspect of the method aspects described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, UE 106 may include any of the following programmable hardware elements: an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an integrated circuit, and / or various other possible hardware components configured to execute (e.g., individually or in combination) any method aspect of the method aspects described herein or any part of any method aspect of the method aspects described herein.

[0065] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration) for performing wireless communication. Generally, the radio component may include any combination of baseband processors, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, and amplifiers) or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or transmit chain among various wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above.

[0066] In some aspects, UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate therein. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components uniquely used by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include shared radio components for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM, and various other possibilities), and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0067] In some respects, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmission from any of the base stations in base station 102 to UE 106, while uplink transmission can utilize similar techniques. This grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources in the downlink within each time slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is standard practice for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid can include multiple resource blocks, which describe the mapping from a specific physical channel to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0068] One such channel is the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), which carries user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 106. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries information such as transmission formats and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel. It also informs UE 106 of transmission formats, resource allocations, and HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 102 within the cell) can be performed at any base station in base station 102 based on channel quality information fed back from any UE in UE 106. Downlink resource assignment information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each UE in the UE.

[0069] The PDCCH can use Control Channel Elements (CCEs) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the complex-valued symbols of the PDCCH are first organized into quadruplets, which are then arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE corresponds to a set of four physical resource elements (REGs) of nine. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. Four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8) can exist.

[0070] Example communication device

[0071] Figure 2Example of a user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with base station 102 or other user equipment 106 according to some aspects. UE 106 can be a cellular communication-capable device, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, laptop, tablet, smartwatch, or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0072] UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. UE 106 may execute any of the method aspects described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, UE 106 may include any of the programmable hardware elements, such as any FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), integrated circuit, and / or various other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method aspects described herein or any portion thereof.

[0073] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Generally, the radio component may include any combination of baseband processors, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or transmit chain among multiple wireless communication technologies (such as those discussed above).

[0074] In some aspects, UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate therein. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include shared radio components for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM, and various other possibilities), and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0075] In some implementations, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmission from any of the base stations in base station 102 to UE 106, while uplink transmission can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources in the downlink within each time slot. Such time-frequency representations are common practice for OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid may include multiple resource blocks, which describe the mapping from a specific physical channel to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0076] The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 106. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries information such as transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It also informs UE 106 of transmission format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 102 within the cell) can be performed at any base station in base station 102 based on channel quality information fed back from any UE in UE 106. Downlink resource allocation information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used for (e.g., allocated to) each UE in the UE.

[0077] The PDCCH can use Control Channel Elements (CCEs) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the complex-valued symbols of the PDCCH are first organized into quadruplets, which are then arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE corresponds to a set of four physical resource elements (REGs) of nine. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. Four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8) can exist.

[0078] Figure 2 A simplified block diagram illustrating a communication device 106 according to some aspects is shown. Note that... Figure 2 The block diagram of the communication device is merely one example of possible communication devices. Depending on the aspects, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 200 configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 200 may be implemented as independent components or groups of components for various purposes. The set of components 200 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuitry of the communication device 106.

[0079] For example, communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 210), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 220 (e.g., for connection to a computer system; docking station; charging station; input devices such as microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as speaker; etc.), a display 260 that may be integrated with or external to communication device 106, and wireless communication circuitry 230 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some aspects, communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0080] The wireless communication circuit 230 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antenna 335 as shown in the figure. The wireless communication circuit 230 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or short-to-medium range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0081] In some aspects, as further described below, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may include one or more receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) of multiple Radio Access Points (RATs) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Furthermore, in some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may include a single transmit chain that can be switched between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT (e.g., LTE) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio component. A second radio component may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a shared transmit chain. In some aspects, the second RAT is capable of operating at millimeter-wave frequencies. Because millimeter-wave systems operate at frequencies higher than those typically found in LTE systems, signals in the millimeter-wave frequency range are significantly attenuated due to environmental factors. To help address this attenuation problem, millimeter-wave systems typically utilize beamforming and include more antennas compared to LTE systems. These antennas may be organized into antenna arrays or panels consisting of individual antenna elements. These antenna arrays can be coupled to a radio link.

[0082] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include any of a variety of elements, such as a display 260 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0083] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 245 with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) 245.

[0084] As shown in the figure, the SOC 200 may include a processor 202 and display circuitry 204. The processor executes program instructions of the communication device 106, and the display circuitry performs graphics processing and provides display signals to the display 260. One or more processors 202 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 240 (which may be configured to receive addresses from one or more processors 202 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 206, read-only memory (ROM) 250, NAND flash memory 210)) and / or coupled to other circuitry or devices (such as display circuitry 204, wireless communication circuitry 230, connector I / F 220, and / or display 260). The MMU 240 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some aspects, the MMU 240 may be included as part of the processor 202.

[0085] As noted above, communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium), processor 202 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), processor 202 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 200, 204, 206, 210, 220, 230, 240, 245, 250, 260, processor 202 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0086] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 202 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 202 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 202. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 202.

[0087] Furthermore, as described herein, the wireless communication circuit 230 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the wireless communication circuit 230. Therefore, the wireless communication circuit 230 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 230. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 230.

[0088] Example base station

[0089] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a base station 102 according to some aspects is illustrated. It should be noted that the base station in Figure 4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, base station 102 may include a processor 304 that executes program instructions for base station 102. Processor 304 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 304 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 360 and read-only memory (ROM) 350), or to other circuitry or devices.

[0090] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 370. Network port 370 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to multiple devices, such as UE device 106, as described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Access to the telephone network described in the text.

[0091] Network port 370 (or an additional network port) may also be configured, or alternatively configured, to couple to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, network port 370 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by a cellular service provider).

[0092] In some respects, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In such respects, base station 102 may connect to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, UEs capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0093] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 334, and may include multiple antennas. At least one antenna 334 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 330. Antenna 334 communicates with radio component 330 via communication link 332. Communication link 332 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 330 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0094] Base station 102 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, base station 102 may include multiple radio components that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. When base station 102 supports millimeter wave, the 5G NR radio component may be coupled to one or more millimeter wave antenna arrays or panels. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communication according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies, such as 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.

[0095] As further described herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. The processor 304 of base station 102 may be configured, for example, to implement or support some or all of the specific implementations of the methods described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processor 304 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 330, 332, 334, 340, 350, 360, 370, the processor 304 of BS 102 may be configured to implement or support implementations of some or all of the features described herein.

[0096] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 304 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 304 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 304. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 304.

[0097] Furthermore, as described herein, radio component 330 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, radio component 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio component 330. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio component 330.

[0098] In a sidelink scenario, wireless devices communicate directly with other wireless devices without needing to be routed through a wireless node. A sidelink (e.g., via a PC5 interface) is a logical direct interface between wireless devices.

[0099] The implementation disclosed herein provides sidelink control information (SCI) signaling fields for supporting SL COT sharing and the use of COT recovery. The implementation includes time-domain information as part of the COT sharing information.

[0100] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Examples of different sidelink communications based on several aspects are shown. Figure 4A A typical unicast transmission between UE1 and UE2 is demonstrated. Figure 4B Other sidelink communications are demonstrated based on several aspects. For example, Figure 4B This demonstrates multicast transmission from UE1 to both UE2 and UE3. For example... Figure 4B As shown, UE 1 may not communicate directly with UE 4. Furthermore, UE 2, UE 3, and UE 4 may or may not communicate with the base station. Such scenarios can depend on network conditions, location, etc.

[0101] exist Figure 4A and Figure 4B In this context, UE 1 can be considered the UE that initiates COT. In some implementations, UE 1 may perform Type 1 CCA and then initialize COT for its own transmission.

[0102] Figure 5A and Figure 5B An example of SCI signaling for sharing COT is shown, based on several aspects. Figure 5A and Figure 5BIn this process, a signal is sent to notify the offset and duration of all potential SL transmissions used in the shared COT. In the implementation described herein, the maximum interval used for transmission can be set to 25 μs or less. The CCA bandwidth can be 20 MHz, similar to current CCA procedures.

[0103] For example, in Figure 5A In this scenario, UE 1 can transmit an SCI with an offset and SL duration in slot 1. This SCI indicates that, after the offset, UE 1 will share two slots (slots 4 and 5) of the COT during the SL duration. The offset and SL duration indication in the SCI is used for a shared resource pool of all UEs eligible to share the COT. This indication is received by eligible UEs, who can then perform resource selection (such as Type 2 CCA) to transmit using the shared COT indicated in the SL duration. The SCI may include a destination ID indicating the eligible UE, such as a multicast ID or a unicast ID. Figure 5A In this scenario, UE1 uses different transmit blocks in time slots 1 and 2. In one alternative, SCI information regarding offset and duration is transmitted only in time slot 1. In another alternative, SCI information regarding offset and duration is transmitted in both time slots 1 and 2. The offset value in time slot 2 is modified appropriately.

[0104] exist Figure 5A In the example, UE 2 transmits in time slot 4, and UE 3 transmits in time slot 5. UE 2 and UE 3 can also transmit SCI 2 and SCI 3, respectively. In this scenario, there is a possibility of some conflicts between UE 2 and UE 3 in the access time slot. In some implementations, priorities can be established for potential transmissions within the shared time slots of the COT. Priorities can be based on the CAPC value associated with the transmission.

[0105] Furthermore, the implementation scheme has the capability to initiate UE transmission to resume COT after sharing. For example... Figure 5A As shown, after the SL duration ends, UE 1 can resume transmission in slot 6.

[0106] exist Figure 5A In this scenario, UE 1 may be unaware of any anticipated transmissions from UE 2 or UE 3. In previous UL / DL COT sharing methods using base stations, the base station has the advantage of knowing what a UE needs to transmit via buffer status reports (BSRs). Therefore, the distinguishing feature of the embodiments disclosed herein is that devices sharing the COT may be unaware of pending transmissions from other devices.

[0107] As noted above, the COT can be shared with eligible UEs. In the implementation described herein, an eligible UE can be a receiving UE that is the target of the PSCCH / PSSCH transmission from the COT initiator. For example, eligible UEs may include some or all UEs associated with a resource pool. The SCI transmitted by the sharing UE includes a destination ID. The destination ID may include a multicast ID, unicast ID, or other ID to identify the eligible UE that can share the COT.

[0108] In the case of unicast transmission from the COT initiator, the source ID and destination ID contained in the COT initiator's SCI will match the corresponding destination ID and source ID associated with the same unicast at the receiving UE. In the case of multicast and / or broadcast, the destination ID contained in the COT initiator's SCI will match the destination ID known at the receiving UE. For example, using a pre-configured group configuration (multicast ID) known to the receiving UE.

[0109] If additional IDs are supported in the COT shared information, the responding UE can also be a UE identified by other IDs. When an additional ID is included in the COT shared information from the COT initiator, such an additional ID can be in addition to the source ID and destination ID sent by the PSCCH / PSSCH.

[0110] According to the implementation scheme disclosed herein, the UE initiating COT may expect to transmit before the end of the SL duration. For example, if the SCI information has already indicated a shared portion of the COT, and a desired transmission is exhibited for UE 1 during the COT period.

[0111] In some implementations, the UE initiating the COT may be prohibited from transmitting during the indicated SL duration. For example, refer to Figure 5A The policy can prevent UE 1 from transmitting in time slots 4 and 5.

[0112] In other implementations, the UE initiating COT may be allowed to transmit during an indicated SL duration or offset. For example, refer to Figure 5A UE1 can participate in resource selection similar to UE2 and UE3 to use the shared portion of COT. Therefore, UE1 can transmit in the shared portion of COT in slot 1, such as... Figure 5B As shown. Specifically, in Figure 5B During the SL duration, UE 1 transmits in slot 5.

[0113] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, a UE's transmission expectation compared to its previously indicated sharing can be based on the priority of the expected transmission. The priority can be based on a CAPC value associated with the expected transmission. For example, if the initiating UE exhibits traffic with a specified CAPC value (or lower) after COT is initiated, the initiating UE can attempt to transmit before the SL duration ends. According to known standards, CAPC values ​​can indicate different transmission categories corresponding to different priorities, where a lower CAPC value indicates a higher transmission priority.

[0114] In the embodiments described herein, the responding UE may indicate the expected duration of its transmission. The responding UE may transmit an SCI indicating that the UE has completed the shared portion of the COT. In some embodiments, the SCI includes the expected duration of transmission. As will be explained in more detail below, the expected duration of transmission may be transmitted as an offset in the SCI.

[0115] For example, refer to Figure 5B The SCI 2 transmitted in time slot 4 may include an indication that UE 2 is releasing a shared portion of the COT. As a specific example, UE 2 may transmit an SCI 2 with an offset equal to the expected duration of UE 2's transmission within the shared portion of the COT. In such an implementation, UE 1 may resume transmission in time slot 5 after UE 2 has completed its transmission.

[0116] As described above, policies can be formulated to prevent the initiating UE from resuming transmission before the SL duration expires. However, even in such implementations, the initiating UE can be allowed to resume transmission in the COT based on SCIs received from one or more responding UEs. For example, refer to... Figure 5B SCI 2 from UE 2 in slot 2 may include information indicating that UE 1 can resume COT transmission in slot 5.

[0117] Figure 6A and Figure 6B Examples of SCI signaling for sharing portions of the COT are illustrated according to several aspects. In these implementations, the initiating UE may indicate multiple different portions of the MCOT that are available for sharing. These implementations are applicable if the initiating UE knows or anticipates that it will have another transmission for the COT, but is able to share a portion of the COT prior to such a transmission. In such implementations, the initiating UE may include one or more sets of offset / SL duration pairs defining the different portions of the MCOT to be shared.

[0118] For example, in Figure 6AIn the diagram, SCI 1 transmitted in time slot 1 may include two sets of offset / SL duration pairs. The first set indicates a one-slot offset 1 and a two-slot SL duration 1. The second set indicates a four-slot offset 2 and a two-slot SL duration 2. As shown, UE 2 can transmit in time slots 3 and 6, and UE 3 can transmit in time slots 4 and 7. UE 1 can freely transmit in time slot 5 of the COT because this time slot is part of offset 2.

[0119] exist Figure 6B In the example, a repeated set of offset and SL duration is used. More specifically, a single-slot offset and two-slot duration are transmitted in slot 1, and this pattern is repeated within the MCOT. Therefore, UE 1 is free to transmit in slot 5 of the MCOT, because this slot occurs during the single-slot offset. Although Figure 6A and Figure 6B The proposed implementation scheme can achieve a similar result to that shown in the figure, but... Figure 6B The implementation scheme may require less overhead when sending SCI 1.

[0120] In the implementation scheme disclosed herein, eligible UEs using a shared portion of the COT are prohibited from further sharing within the same COT. That is, when one UE shares a COT, another UE may not further share portions of the same COT.

[0121] For example, refer to Figure 4B If UE 1 initiates a COT and instructs that a portion of the COT be shared with UE 2 and UE 3, the SCI for UE 3 through UE 4 will indicate, using a default value, that the COT can be excluded from further sharing. Figure 4A The same applies to the SCI of UE 2 to UE 1. UE 1 can also use this default value to indicate in the SCI that there will be no sharing of COT.

[0122] Therefore, in the embodiments disclosed herein, values ​​corresponding to the offset and SL duration included in the SCI of the responding UE are established. In some embodiments, the offset and duration may be set to default values, such as zero, to indicate that the COT may not be shared.

[0123] In some implementations, the SL duration can be set to zero, and the offset can be set to the expected duration of the transmission performed in response to the UE. (See also: Regarding...) Figure 5B As mentioned, SCI 2 in response to UE 2 may indicate the expected end of transmission or the release of COT from UE 2. Since UE 2 cannot further share COT, this indication may be included in SCI 2 as an offset. In some implementations, UE 1 may treat the received value as an offset used to resume transmission.

[0124] In some implementations, the appropriate UE may be signaled with the offset and sidelink duration transmitted for each SL in the shared COT. Such implementations can be considered similar to the current DL scheduling performed by the base station. In such implementations, the SCI may include an indication of the type of CCA and a cyclic prefix extension (CPE) to be used by the responding UE for access to the shared portion. In the implementations herein, a type 2 CCA procedure is used for eligible UEs to access the shared portion of the COT.

[0125] Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C Different SCI signaling scenarios for sharing COT are illustrated based on several aspects. Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C Different alternative schemes for directly signaling offset and SL duration to a specific UE are shown, based on several aspects.

[0126] exist Figure 7A In the SCI 1 transmitted by UE 1 in time slot 1, UE 2's destination ID and the offset and SL duration indicating that UE 2 can transmit in time slot 4 are included. SCI 1.1 transmitted by UE 1 in time slot 2 contains UE 3's destination ID and the offset and SL duration indicating that UE 3 can transmit in time slot 5. Therefore, the offset and SL duration for a specific responding UE are included in the SCI. Figure 7A The associated implementation schemes are fully effective when targeting unicast services.

[0127] Figure 7B Alternative SCI signaling methods based on several aspects are demonstrated. Figure 7B In this context, the SCI comprises multiple sets of offsets and SL durations for the responding UE. The SCI can be transmitted in the first time slot after initiating COT. Specifically, SCI 1 from UE 1 in time slot 1 includes offsets and SL durations for UE 2 to transmit in time slot 4 and offsets and SL durations for UE 3 to transmit in time slot 5. The sets of offsets and SL durations guide UE 2 and UE 3 to share COT in time slots 4 and 5, respectively. Although... Figure 7B The implementation plan needs to be more Figure 7A The implementation schemes shown have higher costs, but Figure 7B The implementation scheme allows UE 2 and UE 3 to have more processing time to use the shared COT.

[0128] Figure 7C Another alternative SCI signaling method is demonstrated based on several aspects. Figure 7CIn this context, each SCI sent includes multiple sets of offsets and SL durations for the responding UE. Specifically, SCI 1 sent from UE 1 in slot 1 includes: a first offset and SL duration pointing to UE 2 indicating that UE 2 can share the COT in slot 4, and a second offset and SL duration pointing to UE 3 indicating that UE 3 can share the COT in slot 5. SCI 1.1 sent from UE 1 in slot 2 also includes offset and SL duration pairs for UE 2 and UE 3, indicating that slots 4 and 5 are available for sharing. The offset values ​​in SCI 1.1 are reduced compared to those given in SCI 1. Although... Figure 7C The implementation schemes may be more stable and less likely to cause eligible UEs to lose the shared portion of COT, but these implementation schemes require significant overhead for sending SCI.

[0129] The embodiments disclosed herein also include combinations of the aspects shown in Figures 5 through 7. For example, for an SCI for unicast transmission, the embodiment associated with Figure 7 can be used. For an SCI for a group of UEs, the embodiment associated with Figures 5 and / or 6 can be used.

[0130] As previously mentioned, the SCI that initiates the UE may include an indication of the specific type 2 CCA procedure to be used, and may also include a CPE to be used by the responding UE.

[0131] In an implementation where the shared SL resource is indicated to all eligible UEs (e.g., those eligible UEs in Figure 5), the responding UE will perform a Type 2 CCA resource (re)selection procedure. Transmission on the shared resource begins at the offset and continues within the SL duration.

[0132] Under certain conditions, existing reservations may exist within the COT made by other UEs. These UEs may not be eligible UEs. That is, these UEs may not be included in the destination ID of the SCI that initiated the UE. These existing reservations may include periodic transmissions, HARQ transmissions, etc. Existing reservations are possible given the standard reservation procedures that can be adopted by UEs in the network. Priorities (such as CAPC values ​​or L1 priorities) may be associated with such transmissions.

[0133] Therefore, in some implementations, when other UEs are not part of the eligible shared COT UEs, the shared slot / RB set within the COT may have existing reservations made by other UEs with higher priority.

[0134] Figure 8 Examples are given of the COT (Coordination of the Origin) shared with non-response communication devices based on certain aspects. Figure 8This involves UE 4 and UE 5, which are not part of the destination ID of the SCI of the initiating UE of COT. However, UE 4 and UE 5 may have existing reservations as shown in the shaded area. Furthermore, as shown in the figure, existing reservations may not include the full 20MHz bandwidth of the occupied time slot.

[0135] for Figure 8 Considering that UE 1 shares offset and SL duration with UE 2 and UE 3 in SCI 1, similar to the previous examples in Figures 5 and 6. In the implementation described herein, UE 2 and UE 3 can track whether an existing reservation with higher priority already exists within the COT during the duration. Therefore, UE 2 and UE 3 track the reservations of UE 4 and UE 5, such as... Figure 8 The shaded area is shown in the diagram. In the embodiments disclosed herein, if the transmission of UE 4 and UE 5 has a higher priority, the CPEs of UE 2 and UE 3 may be designed to facilitate appropriate transmission.

[0136] For example, in an alternative scenario, the CPE can be designed to allow higher-priority reserved transmissions to begin earlier. Specifically, UEs sharing the COT (e.g., UE 2 and UE 3) can transmit with CPE=0. Therefore, the CPE from UE 4 will begin earlier (at least 16 μs earlier). This gives UE 4 and UE 5 higher priority because UE 2 and UE 3 will be unable to achieve the Type 2 CCA required for transmission in the shared time slot. Therefore, transmissions by UE 2 and UE 3 will not block higher-priority reserved transmissions by UE 4 and UE 5.

[0137] In another alternative, a default CPE can be used, regardless of the priority associated with the transmission of eligible UEs that can share a COT. Using the previous example, UE 2 and UE 3 can transmit and perform CCA with either a pre-configured or default CPE. In this alternative, the default CPE can be used regardless of priority. This alternative allows for simultaneous transmission without blocking each other, but there is a chance of collisions occurring within time slots.

[0138] In another alternative, a random CPE can be selected from the possible CPEs for initial positioning within one or two OFDM symbols. In this alternative, using the previous example, UE 2 and UE 3 can transmit and perform CCA if a CPE is randomly selected from the possible CPEs within the first pair of OFDM symbols. In this alternative, the larger CPE reserved for transmission will start earlier and block transmissions from other UEs. Therefore, there will be no conflict in this alternative because other UEs are blocked during the CCP / CPE access procedure.

[0139] If no existing reserved shared time slot / RB set exists, which is being used by other UEs with higher priority, the resource selection of the responding UE may depend on the expected transmission bandwidth within the shared time slot. For example, refer to Figure 8 If there are no reservations (or higher priority reservations) for UE 4 and UE 5, then the access procedure for eligible UEs (UE 2 or UE 3) can be determined based on the expected transmission bandwidth to be performed in the shared part of COT.

[0140] If the responding UE expects full (20MHz) bandwidth transmission, it can choose a random starting location configured within one or two OFDM symbols. This reduces the chance of collisions in shared resources. If the responding UE expects partial bandwidth transmission, such as... Figure 8 For the portion of bandwidth transmitted as shown in UE 2 and UE 3, the responding UE can select a pre-configured starting location, as in the previous example above.

[0141] In some implementations, the responding UE may use a pre-configured CPE or a randomly selected CPE, as described in the alternatives above, regardless of the expected bandwidth to be transmitted.

[0142] In implementations that instruct each responding UE to share SL resources (such as those in Figure 7), the UE can simply stop transmitting if a reservation with higher priority exists. In some implementations, the responding UE may attempt to transmit according to the scheduling following Type 2 CCA, regardless of the reservation or priority of the other UE.

[0143] In some implementations, COT sharing information can be considered reserved by a UE that is not included in the destination ID of the SCI. That is, when a non-responding UE receives an SCI carrying COT sharing information including the MCOT length, the non-responding UE can consider the COT sharing information from the SCI as a reservation for the MCOT, and the UE performs a resource reselection procedure for transmission.

[0144] Such reservations can depend on the relative priority between the transmissions of the responding UE and the non-responding UE. As previously mentioned, if the CAPC value of the responding UE's desired transmission is lower than the CAPC of the non-responding UE (i.e., has a higher priority than that CAPC), the non-responding UE will consider the MCOT reserved based on the CAPC value. Alternatively, the priority can be based on L1 priority. That is, if the L1 priority of the potential transmission of the non-responding UE is lower than the L1 priority of the responding UE, the non-responding UE will consider the MCOT reserved for the responding UE.

[0145] Various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some aspects may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. Other aspects may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other aspects may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0146] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system performs a method, such as any one of the method aspects described herein, or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0147] In some aspects, the device (e.g., UE 106, BS 102) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and wherein the processor is configured to read from the memory medium and execute the program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any one of the various method aspects described herein (or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of the various forms.

[0148] Although the foregoing aspects have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the foregoing disclosure is fully understood. It is intended that the following claims be construed as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for sharing Channel Occupancy Time (COT) in a sidelink (SL) channel, the method comprising: The first wireless device performs a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) to initialize the COT; The first wireless device determines that a portion of the COT can be shared; The first wireless device sends a first side link control information (SCI) to one or more eligible wireless devices. The first SCI includes: a destination identifier (ID), an offset, and a SL duration, wherein the destination ID indicates one or more eligible wireless devices, and wherein the SL duration defines the duration during which the one or more eligible wireless devices can share the COT.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless device is prohibited from transmitting during the SL duration.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The first wireless device resumes transmission in the COT after the SL duration.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The first wireless device resumes transmission in the COT before the end of the SL duration.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The first wireless device receives a second SCI from one of the one or more eligible devices, the second SCI indicating the end of transmission in the shared portion of the COT.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the expected value of the duration transmitted by the second wireless device is indicated as an offset in the second SCI.

7. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The second CCA is performed by the first wireless device before transmission is resumed.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the recovered transmission has a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) value indicating a higher priority than potential transmissions from the one or more eligible wireless devices.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first SCI further comprises: The second offset and the second SL duration define a second duration that can be used by the one or more eligible wireless devices to share the COT.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the offset and the SL duration are repeated at regular intervals within the COT.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the destination ID indicates a second wireless device.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first SCI further comprises: A second offset and a second SL duration, wherein the offset and the SL duration indicate that they can be used for a shared first time slot, and the second offset and the second SL duration indicate that they can be used for a shared second time slot.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the offset and the SL duration are associated with a first eligible wireless device among the one or more eligible wireless devices, and the second offset and the second SL duration are associated with a second eligible wireless device among the one or more eligible wireless devices.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A second SCI, including a default value, is sent by a second wireless device, the default value indicating that the second wireless device does not share the COT.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the default value includes zero offset and zero SL duration.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the default value includes an offset value indicating the expected duration of transmission from the second wireless device.

17. A method for sharing Channel Occupancy Time (COT) in a sidelink (SL) channel, the method comprising: First side link control information (SCI) is received from a first wireless device. The first SCI includes: destination identifier (ID), offset, SL duration, and indication of the cyclic prefix extension (CPE) to be used. The destination ID indicates one or more eligible wireless devices, and the SL duration limitation is available for the one or more eligible wireless devices to share the duration of the COT. Determine that there are existing reservations for non-eligible wireless devices in the time slots during the SL duration, the existing reservations having priority; and During the SL duration, a Type 2 Free Channel Assessment (CCA) is performed for the desired transmission and the indicated CPE is used.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the existing reserved priority is higher than the desired transmission priority, and wherein the indicated CPE is zero.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the existing reserved priority is higher than the desired transmission priority, and wherein the indicated CPE is a pre-configured value.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the existing reserved priority is higher than the desired transmission priority, and wherein the indicated CPE is a CPE randomly selected from possible starting locations within two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the existing reserved priority is lower than the desired transmission priority, and wherein the indicated CPE is a pre-configured value.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the desired transmission is a partial bandwidth transmission.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the existing reserved priority is lower than the desired transmission priority, and wherein the indicated CPE is a CPE randomly selected from possible starting positions within two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the desired transmission is a full-bandwidth transmission.

25. A method for resource selection, the method comprising: The second wireless device receives first sidelink control information (SCI) from the first wireless device. The first SCI includes: destination identifier (ID), offset, sidelink (SL) duration, maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), and priority. The destination ID indicates one or more eligible wireless devices, and the SL duration defines the duration for which a portion of the Channel Occupied Time (COT) can be shared by the one or more eligible wireless devices. Determine that the second wireless device is not one of the one or more eligible wireless devices; Determine that the priority is higher than the expected transmission priority from the second wireless device; and The resource selection for the COT is excluded in relation to the desired transmission.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the priority and the desired transmission priority are based on a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) value.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the priority and the desired transmission priority are based on an L1 priority value.

28. A wireless device configured to perform the method according to claims 1 to 27.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the method according to claims 1 to 27 to be performed.

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