Multicarrier / Beam LBT Procedures above 52.6GHz

Abstract

An apparatus and system are described that provide a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) procedure in a multi-carrier or multi-beam mode above the 52.6 GHz band. The LBT procedure is performed separately for each carrier or beam to maintain and update a different back-off counter for each carrier or beam. To adjust the transmission start time across a carrier or beam, for each carrier or beam, the counter continues to decrement if the counter reaches zero before the start time, transmits at the start time if the channel continues to be sensed idle for an additional observation period immediately prior to the start time, and otherwise considers the LBT procedure to have failed. The counter is reinitialized for carriers or beams where transmission has stopped for which a channel occupancy time (COT) is obtained.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 309,401, filed February 11, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments relate to wireless communications. In particular, some embodiments relate to multi-carrier and multi-beam Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedures above the 52.6 GHz band. [Background technology]

[0003] The use and complexity of wireless systems is increasing due to both the increasing types of electronic devices using network resources and the increasing amount of data and bandwidth used by various applications, such as video streaming, running on electronic devices. As expected, numerous problems arise with the emergence of any new technology, including the complexities associated with communication using higher bands. In particular, carriers using above 52.6 GHz can be subject to complex LBT procedures. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0004] In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like reference numbers may describe like components in different figures. Like reference numbers with different subscripts may represent different instances of like components. The figures generally illustrate various embodiments discussed herein by way of example, but not by way of limitation.

[0005] [Figure 1A] 1 illustrates a network architecture, according to some aspects.

[0006] [Figure 1B] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some aspects.

[0007] [Figure 1C] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture, according to some aspects.

[0008] [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communications device according to some embodiments.

[0009] [Diagram 3] 13 illustrates obtaining independent COTs at different times for each beam according to some embodiments.

[0010] [Figure 4] 4 illustrates reference signal transmission according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The following description and drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, portions and features of other embodiments. The claimed embodiments encompass all available equivalents of the claims.

[0012] 1A illustrates a network architecture according to some aspects. Network 140A includes 3GPP LTE / 4G and NG network functions that may be extended to 6G and later generation functions. Accordingly, although 5G is mentioned, it should be understood that this extends to 6G (and beyond) structures, systems and functions to the extent possible. Network functions may be implemented as separate network elements on dedicated hardware, as software instances running on dedicated hardware, and / or as virtualized functions instantiated on a suitable platform, such as dedicated hardware or a cloud infrastructure.

[0013] Network 140A is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and 102 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a portable (laptop) or desktop computer, a wireless handset, a drone, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface. UE 101 and 102 may be collectively referred to herein as UE 101, which may be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0014] Any of the wireless links described herein (e.g., used in network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any exemplary wireless communication technology and / or standard. Any spectrum management scheme may be used, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) at 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and other frequencies, and Spectrum Access System (SAS) at 3.55-3.7 GHz and other frequencies). Different single carrier or orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) modes (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, Filter Bank Based Multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), particularly 3GPP NR, may be used by assigning OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0015] In some aspects, any of the UEs 101 and 102 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE or a Cellular IoT (CIoT) UE that may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. In some aspects, any of the UEs 101 and 102 may include a Narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., Enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and Further Enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE, etc.). The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Proximity Based Services (ProSe) or Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, sensor networks, or Machine-to-Machine (M2M) or Machine-Type Communications (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device over the IoT network. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. The IoT network includes interconnecting IoT UEs that may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network. In some aspects, either of the UEs 101 and 102 may include an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE or a further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UE.

[0016] The UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to be connected, e.g., communicatively coupled, to a Radio Access Network (RAN) 110. The RAN 110 may be, e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The RAN 110 may include one or more gNBs, one or more of which may be implemented by multiple units. It should be noted that although a gNB may be referred to herein, the same aspects may apply to other generations of NodeBs, such as a 6th Generation NodeB (and thus may alternatively be referred to as a Next Generation NodeB (xNB)).

[0017] Each of the gNBs may implement protocol entities in the 3GPP protocol stack, where the layers are considered to be layered from lowest to highest, in that order: physical layer (PHY), medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence control (PDCP), and radio resource control (RRC) / service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) (for control plane / user plane). The protocol layers in each gNB may be distributed in different units: a central unit (CU), at least one distributed unit (DU), and a remote radio head (RRH). The CU may provide functions such as user data forwarding control, effect mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and session management, except for those functions exclusively assigned to the DU.

[0018] The higher protocol layers (PDCP and RRC for the control plane / PDCP and SDAP for the user plane) may be implemented in the CU, and the RLC and MAC layers may be implemented in the DU. The PHY layer may be split, with the higher PHY layers also implemented in the DU, while the lower PHY layers are implemented in the RRH. The CU, DU and RRH may be implemented by different manufacturers, but may still be connected by appropriate interfaces between them. The CU may be connected by multiple DUs.

[0019] Interfaces within the gNB include E1 and fronthaul (F)F1 interfaces. The E1 interface may be between the CU control plane (gNB-CU-CP) and the CU user plane (gNB-CU-UP) and thus may support the exchange of signaling information between the control plane and the user plane through E1AP services. The E1 interface may separate the radio network layer and the transport network layer and may enable the exchange of UE-related and UE-non-related information. The E1AP services may be UE-non-related services related to a single UE and related to the entire E1 interface instance between the gNB-CU-CP and the gNB-CU-UP using UE-non-related signaling connections and UE-related services associated with UE-related signaling connections maintained for the UE.

[0020] The F1 interface may be disposed between the CU and the DU. The CU may control the operation of the DU over the F1 interface. As signaling within the gNB is split into control plane and user plane signaling, the F1 interface may be split into an F1-C interface for control plane signaling between the gNB-DU and the gNB-CU-CP, and an F1-U interface for user plane signaling between the gNB-DU and the gNB-CU-UP, which supports separation of the control plane and the user plane. The F1 interface may separate the radio network and transport network layers and enable the exchange of UE-related and non-UE-related information. In addition, the F2 interface may be between the lower and higher parts of the NR PHY layer. The F2 interface may also be separated into F2-C and F2-U interfaces based on the control plane and user plane functions.

[0021] UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (described in further detail below), which in this example are illustrated as air interfaces enabling a communicative coupling and may align with cellular communication protocols such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocols, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocols, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocols, PTT over Cellular (POC) protocols, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, 5G protocols, 6G protocols, and the like.

[0022] In one aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 may further exchange communication data directly via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface that includes one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), and a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0023] The UE 102 is shown as configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via a connection 107. The connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, such that the AP 106 may include a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown as connected to the Internet without being connected to a core network of a wireless system (described in more detail below).

[0024] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (AN) may be referred to as base stations (BS), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmission-reception points (TRPs). When the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within a communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing a macrocell, e.g., a macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing a femtocell or picocell (e.g., a cell having a smaller coverage area, a smaller user capacity, or a higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell), e.g., a low power (LP) RAN node 112.

[0025] Either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate air interface protocols and may be the first point of contact to the UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may perform various logical functions for the RAN 110, including, but not limited to, radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and radio network controller (RNC) functions such as mobility management. In one example, either of the nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a gNB, an eNB, or another type of RAN node.

[0026] The RAN 110 is shown as communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In an aspect, the CN 120 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as shown with reference to Figures 1B-1C). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is split into two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 122, and an S1 Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0027] In this aspect, the CN 120 includes an MME 121, an S-GW 122, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. The MME 121 may be similar in function to the control plane of a legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME 121 may manage mobility aspects during access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 may include a database of network users including subscription related information to support the handling of communication sessions of the network entities. The CN 120 may include one or several HSSs 124 depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capacity, organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 124 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0028] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. Additionally, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other roles of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0029] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface towards the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the CN 120 and external networks, such as a network including an application server 184 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)), via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also communicate data to other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. Generally, the application server 184 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources in conjunction with a core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown as communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. The application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) of the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0030] The P-GW 123 may further be a policy enforcement and charging data collection node. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session, namely, a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0031] In some aspects, the communication network 140A may be an IoT network or a 5G or 6G network including a 5G New Radio network that employs communication in licensed (5G NR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current enablers of IoT is Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). Operation in the unlicensed spectrum may include Dual Connectivity (DC) operation in the unlicensed spectrum and standalone LTE systems, according to which LTE-based technologies operate exclusively in the unlicensed spectrum without the use of an "anchor" in the licensed spectrum, called MuLTEFire. Further enhanced operation of LTE systems in licensed and unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems. Such enhanced operation may include techniques for sidelink resource allocation and UE processing behavior for NR sidelink V2X communication.

[0032] The NG system architecture (or 6G system architecture) may include a RAN 110 and a core network (CN) 120. The NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The CN 120 (e.g., a 5G Core Network (5GC)) may include an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) and / or a User Plane Function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNB and NG-eNB via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNB and NG-eNB may be connected to the AMF by an NG-C interface and to the UPF by an NG-U interface. The gNB and NG-eNB may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0033] In some aspects, the NG system architecture may use reference points between various nodes. In some aspects, each of the gNB and the NG-eNB may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, and so on. In some aspects, the gNB may be a master node (MN) and the NG-eNB may be a secondary node (SN) in the 5G architecture.

[0034] FIG. 1B illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects. In particular, FIG. 1B illustrates a 5G system architecture 140B in a reference point representation, which may be extended to a 6G system architecture. More specifically, a UE 102 can communicate with a RAN 110 and one or more other CN network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as an AMF 132, a session management function (SMF) 136, a policy control function (PCF) 148, an application function (AF) 150, a UPF 134, a network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, an authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and a unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146.

[0035] The UPF 134 may provide a connection to the data network (DN) 152, which may include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The AMF 132 may be used to manage access control and mobility, and may also include a network slice selection function. The AMF 132 may provide UE-based authentication, authorization, mobility management, etc., and may be independent of the access technology. The SMF 136 may be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to network policies. As such, the SMF 136 may be responsible for session management and assignment of IP addresses to the UE. The SMF 136 may also select and control the UPF 134 for data transfer. The SMF 136 may be associated with a single session of the UE 101 or multiple sessions of the UE 101. That is, the UE 101 may have multiple 5G sessions. A different SMF may be assigned to each session. The use of different SMFs may allow each session to be managed individually. As a result, the functionality of each session may be independent of each other.

[0036] The UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type and can be connected with a data network. The PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework with network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to a PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communication system).

[0037] The AF 150 may provide information on packet flows to the PCF 148, which is responsible for policy control to support the desired QoS. The PCF 148 may set mobility and session management policies for the UE 101. To this end, the PCF 148 may use the packet flow information to determine appropriate policies for appropriate operation of the AMF 132 and the SMF 136. The AUSF 144 may store data for UE authentication.

[0038] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple IP Multimedia Core Network subsystem entities, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 168B and a Call Session Control Function (CSCF). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF, which can operate as a Proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162BE, a Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an Emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not shown in FIG. 1B), or an Interrogate CSCF (I-CSCF) 166B. The P-CSCF 162B can be configured to be the first point of contact for the UE 102 in the IM Subsystem (IMS) 168B. The S-CSCF 164B can be configured to handle session state in the network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certain aspects of the emergency session, such as routing the emergency request to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B can be configured to act as a contact point within the network of the network operator for all IMS connections destined for the network operator's subscribers or roaming subscribers currently located within the network operator's service area. In some aspects, the CSCF 166B can be connected to another IP multimedia network 170B, e.g., an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0039] In some aspects, the UDM / HSS 146 may be coupled to an application server (AS) 160B, which may include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server. The AS 160B may be coupled to the IMS 168B via the S-CSCF 164B or the I-CSCF 166B.

[0040] 1B shows that interactions may exist between corresponding NF services. For example, FIG. 1B shows the following reference points N1 (between UE 102 and AMF 132), N2 (between RAN 110 and AMF 132), N3 (between RAN 110 and UPF 134), N4 (between SMF 136 and UPF 134), N5 (between PCF 148 and AF 150, not shown), N6 (between UPF 134 and DN 152), N7 (between SMF 136 and PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between UDM 146 and AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between two UPFs 134, not shown), N10 (between UDM 146 and SMF 136, not shown) 1B shows N11 (between AMF 132 and SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between AUSF 144 and UDM 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs 132, not shown), N15 (between PCF 148 and AMF 132 in case of a non-roaming scenario, or between PCF 148, visited network and AMF 132 in case of a roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142, not shown). Other reference point representations not shown in FIG. 1B may also be used.

[0041] 1C shows a 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation. In addition to the network entities shown in FIG. 1B, the system architecture 140C can also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture can be service-based, and the interactions between network functions can be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or service-based interfaces.

[0042] In some aspects, as shown in Figure 1C, a service-based representation can be used to represent network functions in the control plane that allow other authorized network functions to access those services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C can include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (service-based interface indicated by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (service-based interface indicated by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (service-based interface indicated by NEF 154), Npcf 158D (service-based interface indicated by PCF 148), Nudm 158E (service-based interface indicated by UDM 146), Naf 158F (service-based interface indicated by AF 150), Nnrf 158C (service-based interface indicated by NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (service-based interface indicated by NSSF 142), and Nausf 158G (service-based interface indicated by AUSF 144). Other service-based interfaces not shown in FIG. 1C (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) may also be used.

[0043] The NR-V2X architecture may support reliable, low-latency sidelink communications with a variety of traffic patterns, including periodic and aperiodic communications with random packet arrival times and sizes. The techniques disclosed herein can be used to support high reliability in distributed communication systems with dynamic topologies, including sidelink NR V2X communication systems.

[0044] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments, such as an evolved NodeB (eNB), new generation NodeB (gNB) (or another RAN node) access point (AP), radio station (STA), mobile station (MS) or user equipment (UE) for performing one or more of the techniques disclosed herein according to some aspects. In alternative aspects, the communication device 200 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices. A communication device may be any machine capable of executing instructions (whether sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. For example, the communication device 200 may be implemented as one or more of the devices illustrated in FIG. 1A-1C. It should be noted that the communications described herein may be encoded prior to transmission by transmitting entities (e.g., UE, gNB) for reception by the receiving entity (e.g., gNB, UE) and decoded after reception by the receiving entity.

[0045] As described herein, examples may include or operate on logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules and components are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a specified manner. In examples, circuits may be arranged in a specified manner (e.g., internally or relative to external entities such as other circuits) as modules. In examples, all or a portion of one or more computer systems (e.g., standalone, client, or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application portions, or applications) as modules that operate to perform specified operations. In examples, the software may reside on a machine-readable medium. In examples, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

[0046] Thus, the terms "module" (and "component") are understood to encompass tangible entities that are physically constructed entities and that are specifically configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily (e.g., transiently) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform some or all of the operations described herein. Considering an example in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one time. For example, if the modules have a general-purpose hardware processor that is configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as different modules at different times. Thus, the software may configure the hardware processor, for example, to configure a particular module at one time and a different module at a different time.

[0047] The communication device 200 may include a hardware processor (or equivalent processing circuitry) 202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a GPU, a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 204, and a static memory 206, some or all of which may be in communication with each other via an interlink (e.g., a bus) 208. The main memory 204 may include any or all of removable and non-removable storage, volatile or non-volatile memory. The communication device 200 may further include a display unit 210, such as a video display, an alphanumeric input device 212 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 214 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 210, the input device 212, and the UI navigation device 214 may be touch screen displays. The communication device 200 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., a drive unit) 216, a signal generating device 218 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 220, and one or more sensors, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensor. The communication device 200 may further include an output controller, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection, to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0048] Storage device 216 may include a non-transitory machine-readable medium 222 (hereinafter simply referred to as machine-readable medium) having stored thereon one or more data structures or sets of instructions 224 (e.g., software) that embody or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 224 may reside, completely or at least partially, within main memory 204, static memory 206, and / or within hardware processor 202 during execution thereof by communications device 200. While machine-readable medium 222 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 224.

[0049] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by communication device 200 and causing communication device 200 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure, or any medium capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media may include non-volatile memory such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks, optical and magnetic disks, random access memory (RAM), and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0050] The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network using a transmission medium 226 via a network interface device 220 utilizing any one of a number of wireless local area network (WLAN) transport protocols (e.g., Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.). Exemplary communications networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile telephone network (e.g., a cellular network), a plain old telephone (POTS) network, and a wireless data network. Communications over the network may include one or more different protocols, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi, the IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMAX, the IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, Next Generation (NG) / Fifth Generation (5G) standards, among others. In an example, the network interface device 220 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jack) or one or more antennas to connect to the transmission medium 226.

[0051] It should be noted that the term "circuitry" as used herein refers to, is a part of, or includes hardware components configured to provide the described functionality, such as electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or groups) and / or memories (shared, dedicated, or groups), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable SoCs), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc. In some embodiments, a circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuitry" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with program code used to perform the functions of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuitry.

[0052] The term "processor circuitry" or "processor" as used herein therefore refers to, is a part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, and / or transferring digital data. The term "processor circuitry" or "processor" may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single or multi-core processor, and / or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes.

[0053] Any of the wireless links described herein may be implemented using Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) wireless communication technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) wireless communication technology, Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) wireless communication technology, and / or Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wireless communication technologies, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Freedom of Multimedia Access (FOMA), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3GPP LTE, ... Evolution Advanced (LTE Advanced), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, Third Generation (3G), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), High Speed ​​Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (Third Generation) (UMTS (3G)), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) (W-CDMA (UMTS)), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access ( 3GPP Release 8 (Pre-4G)), 3GPP Release 9 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 9), 3GPP Release 10 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 10), 3GPP Release 11 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 11), 3GPP Release 12 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 12), 3GPP Release 13 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 13), 3GPP Release 14 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 14), 3GPP Release 15 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 15), 3GPP Release 16 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 16), 3GPP Release 17 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17), 3GPP Release 18 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 18), 3GPP Release 19 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 19), 3GPP Release 20 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 20), 3GPP Release 21 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 21), 3GPP Release 22 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 22), 3GPP Release 23 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 23), 3GPP Release 24 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 24), 3GPP Release 25 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 25), 3GPP Release 26 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 26), 3GPP Release 27 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 27), 3GPP Release 28 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 28), 3GPP Release 29 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 29), 3GPP Release 30 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 30), 3GPP Release 31 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 31), 3GPP Release 32 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 32), 3GPP Release 33 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 33 3GPP Release 11), 3GPP Release 12 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 12), 3GPP Release 13 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 13), 3GPP Release 14 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 14), 3GPP Release 15 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 15), 3GPP Release 16 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 16), 3GPP Release 17 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17) and subsequent releases (e.g.,Release 18, Release 19, etc.), 3GPP 5G, 5G, 5G New Radio (5G NR), 3GPP 5G New Radio, 3GPP LTE Extra, LTE Advanced Pro, LTE Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), MuLTEFire, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Long Term Evolution Advanced (4th Generation) (LTE Advanced (4G)), cdmaOne (2G), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (3rd Generation) (CDMA2000 (3G)), Evolution Data Optimized or Evolution Data Only (EV-DO), Advanced Mobile Phone System (1st Generation) (AMPS (1G)), Total Access Communication System / Enhanced Total Access Communication System (TACS / ETACS), Digital AMPS (2nd Generation) (D-AMPS (2G)), Push-to-Talk (PTT), Mobile Telephone System (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone System (IMTS), Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS), OLT (Norwegian for Offentlig Landmobile Telefoni, Public Land Mobile Telephony), MTD (Mobiltelefonisystem D or Swedish abbreviation for Mobile Telephony System D), Public Automatic Land Mobile (Autotel / PALM), ARP (Finnish for Autoradiopuhelin, "car radio phone"), NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony), NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) High Capacity (Hicap), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, DataTAC, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), Personal Handy Phone System (PHS®), Wide Area Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (WiDEN), iBurst, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) (also referred to as the 3GPP Generic Access Network or GAN standard), Zigbee®, Bluetooth®(r), Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) standard, millimeter wave standards in general (e.g., WiGig, IEEE 802.11ad,wireless systems operating in the 10-300 GHz and above range, such as IEEE 802.11ay), technologies operating above 300 GHz and THz bands (3GPP / LTE based or IEEE 802.11p or IEEE 802.11bd and others), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-x (V2X) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication technologies, 3GPP Cellular V2X, DSRC (dedicated short range communications) communication systems such as Intelligent Transportation Systems and others (typically operating from 5850 MHz to 5925 MHz and above (typically up to 5935 MHz following the proposed changes in CEPT Report 71), ITS-G5A (i.e., frequency The ITS-G5 may operate in accordance with any one or more of the wireless communication technologies and / or standards, including, but not limited to, European ITS-G5 systems (i.e., European versions of IEEE 802.11p-based DSRC), including ITS-G5 operation in the European ITS frequency bands dedicated to ITS for safety-related applications in the range 5,875 GHz to 5,905 GHz), ITS-G5B (i.e., operation in the European ITS frequency bands dedicated to ITS non-safety applications in the frequency range 5,855 GHz to 5,875 GHz), ITS-G5C (i.e., operation for ITS applications in the frequency range 5,470 GHz to 5,725 GHz), Japanese DSRC in the 700 MHz band, including 715 MHz to 725 MHz, IEEE 802.11bd-based systems, etc.

[0054] The aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, licensed exempt spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as LSA=Licensed Shared Access in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and further frequencies, and SAS=Spectrum Access System / CBRS=Citizen Broadband Radio System in 3.55-3.7 GHz and further frequencies).Applicable spectrum bands include bands with national allocations (including 450-470 MHz, 902-928 MHz (note that these are allocated, for example, in the United States (FCC Part 15)), 863-868.6 MHz (note that these are allocated, for example, in the European Union (ETSI EN300)), and 902-928 MHz (note that these are allocated, for example, in the United States (FCC Part 15)). 220), 915.9-929.7MHz (note that this is allocated, for example, in Japan), 917-923.5MHz (note that this is allocated, for example, in Korea), 755-779MHz and 779-787MHz (note that this is allocated, for example, in China), 790-960MHz, 1710-2025MHz, 2110-2200MHz, 2300-2400MHz, 2.4-2.4835GHz (note that this is an ISM band available worldwide and is used by the Wi-Fi family of technologies (11b / g / n / ax) and also Bluetooth®), 2500-2690MHz, 698-790MHz, 610-790MHz, 3400-3600MHz, 3400-3800MHz, 3800- 4200 MHz, 3.55-3.7 GHz (note that these are allocated in the US, for example, for Citizen Broadband wireless service), 5.15-5.25 GHz and 5.25-5.35 GHz and 5.47-5.725 GHz and 5.725-5.85 GHz bands (note that these are allocated in the US, for example, (FCC Part 15), and constitute four U-NII bands totaling 500 MHz of spectrum), 5.725-5.875 GHz (note that these are allocated in the EU, for example, (ETSI EN301 893), 5.47-5.65 GHz (note that allocated in South Korea, for example), 5925-7125 MHz and 5925-6425 MHz bands (note that under consideration in the US and EU, respectively). Next generation Wi-Fi systems are expected to include 6 GHz spectrum as an operating band, however, as of December 2017, Wi-Fi systems are not yet permitted in this band. Regulation is expected to be completed within the 2019-2020 timeframe.), IMT Advanced Spectrum, IMT-2020 spectrum (expected to include 3600-3800 MHz, 3800-4200 MHz, 3.5 GHz bands, 700 MHz bands, bands in the 24.25-86 GHz range, etc.), spectrum made available under the FCC's "Spectrum Frontier" 5G initiative (27.5-28.35 GHz, 29.1- 29.25GHz, 31-31.3GHz, 37-38.6GHz, 38.6-40GHz, 42-42.5GHz, 57-64GHz, 71-76GHz, 81-86GHz and 92-94GHz, etc.), ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) bands 5.9GHz (typically 5.85-5.925GHz) and 63-64GHz, WiGig band 1 (57.24-59.40GHz), WiGig band 2 (59.40-6 This includes bands currently allocated to WiGig, such as WiGig Band 1 (61.56-63.72 GHz) and WiGig Band 4 (63.72-65.88 GHz), IMT spectrum and other types of spectrum / bands, such as 57-64 / 66 GHz (note that this band has a near-global designation for Multi-Gigabit Wireless Systems (MGWS) / WiGig). The US (FCC Part 15) has allocated a total of 14 GHz of spectrum, while the EU (ETSI EN302 567 and ETSI EN301 217-2 for fixed P2P) has allocated a total of 9 GHz of spectrum, the 70.2 GHz-71 GHz bands, any bands between 65.88 GHz and 71 GHz, bands currently allocated to automotive radar applications (such as 76-81 GHz), and future bands including 94-300 GHz and above. Furthermore, schemes may be used secondarily based on bands such as TV white space bands (typically below 790 MHz), with the 400 MHz and 700 MHz bands being promising candidates in particular. Not only cellular applications but also vertical market specific applications such as PMSE (Program Production and Special Events), medical, health, surgery, automotive, low latency, drones, etc. may be addressed.

[0055] The aspects described herein may also implement hierarchical application of this scheme, for example by introducing a hierarchical prioritization of usage for different types of users (e.g., low-medium / high priority, etc.) based on prioritized access to the spectrum (e.g., highest priority access for Tier 1 users, then access for Tier 2 users, then access for Tier 3, etc. users, etc.).

[0056] The aspects described herein can also be applied to different single carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, Filter Bank Based Multi-Carrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), especially 3GPP NR (New Radio), by allocating OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0057] 5G networks extend beyond traditional mobile broadband services to provide various new services such as Internet of Things (IoT), industrial control, autonomous driving, and mission-critical communications, which may have requirements for ultra-low latency, ultra-high reliability, and high data capacity due to safety and performance concerns. Some of the features in this specification are defined for the network side, such as AP, eNB, NR, or gNB. It should be noted that this term is typically used in the context of 3GPP 5G and 6G communication systems, etc. Furthermore, the UE may also play this role and function as an AP, eNB, or gNB; that is, some or all of the features defined for the network equipment may be implemented by the UE.

[0058] As mentioned above, NR support for high frequency communications (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz) has been approved. This support includes the establishment of physical layer procedures, including channel access mechanisms assuming beam-based operation to comply with the regulatory requirements applicable to unlicensed spectrum in frequencies between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz; specifications for both LBT-related and non-LBT-related procedures (in the non-LBT case, no additional sensing mechanisms are specified); specifications for omnidirectional LBT, directional LBT and receiver assistance in channel access; and specifications for improved energy detection thresholds.

[0059] In particular, since the 52.6-71 GHz band is largely unlicensed spectrum, any design will comply with worldwide regulatory requirements within this band. In this regard, Table I summarizes these regions and the associated available unlicensed bands, and also provides a high-level summary of the regulatory requirements that must be met within each region in order to operate in those bands. [Table 1] [Table 1]

[0060] Assuming there are regions (e.g., Europe / CEPT) that require the use of the LBT procedure, RAN1 has agreed to allow the network to configure the use of this procedure so that the network can use the LBT procedure when required or when the LBT procedure would be beneficial to increase system performance.

[0061] The LBT procedure can be utilized either when the system operates in multi-carrier mode or when multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) or time-domain multiplexing (TDM) of beams is used within the channel occupancy time (COT).

[0062] In the case of a multi-carrier mode, the gNB or UE may obtain a COT, one for each channel bandwidth, by performing multiple LBTs. In this case, only multi-carrier channel access modes such as Type A may be supported, where Cat-4 (used by the gNB or UE to initiate the COT of a transmission, with random backoff and variable extended CCA period drawn randomly from a variable size contention window whose size may vary based on channel dynamics) is performed for each carrier. It is determined whether a legacy mechanism such as Type A1 is supported.

[0063] For the case of operation in multi-beam mode, the following agreement has been reached: First, in a COT with TDM of beams with beam switching, one or more of the following LBT operations may be used: Alternative 1: Single LBT detection using a wide beam covering all beams used in the COT with appropriate Energy Detection (ED) threshold; Alternative 2: Independent per-beam LBT detection at the start of the COT is performed for beams used in the COT); and / or Alternative 3: Independent per-beam LBT detection at the start of the COT is performed for beams used in the COT with additional requirement for Cat2 LBT before beam switching.

[0064] Secondly, when an independent per-beam LBT detection (alternative 2 or 3 above) is considered during a COT involving TDM of beams with beam switching, performed for the beams used in the COT, at the start of the COT, the following alternatives are further considered: Alternative A: Per-beam LBT for different beams are performed one after the other in the time domain; Alternative A-1: ​​The node completes one Extended Clear Channel Assessment (ECCA) for one beam and moves directly to ECCA for the other beam with no transmission in between; Alternative A-2: The node completes one ECCA for one beam, starts transmitting with the beam to occupy the COT, and then moves to ECCA for the other beam; Alternative A-3: The node performs ECCA for different beams simultaneously and round-robins between the different beams; Alternative B: Per-beam LBT for different beams are performed simultaneously in parallel, assuming that the node has the capability to detect different beams simultaneously.

[0065] Third, within COT with TDM of beams with beam switching, we support at least Alternative 1 (from the previous agreement): Single LBT detection with wide beam "covers" all beams used in COT.

[0066] Fourth, if a node has the capability to perform simultaneous sensing on different beams within a COT with TDM of beams with beam switching, alternative 2 is supported. If a node also supports Cat2 LBT, alternative 3 becomes possible as a node implementation option. The use of alternative 2 or alternative 3 is based on the node implementation. Alternative 2 from previous agreement: Independent per-beam LBT sensing at the start of the COT is performed for beams used within the COT. Alternative 3 from previous agreement: Independent per-beam LBT sensing at the start of the COT is performed for beams used within the COT, with additional requirements for Cat2 LBT, before beam switching.

[0067] However, details on how the overall procedure may work when an independent per-beam LBT is performed to initiate multi-beam COT with TDMed and spatial domain multiplexed (SDMed) transmission beams remain to be established. Nevertheless, various different options are disclosed herein on how the LBT procedure may be performed for both multi-carrier and multi-beam operation when per-beam LBT is performed to obtain COT.

[0068] [Multi-carrier channel access procedure]

[0069] Multi-carrier operation was introduced in Rel. 16 NR and, similar to LTE, two alternative solutions for dealing with multi-carrier LBT were introduced: Type-A and Type-B operation.

[0070] Type A: The gNB performs Cat-4 LBT for each carrier. To coordinate transmission across the carriers, the gNB performs self-postponement. In this type of operation, the gNB may:

[0071] Type A1: Maintains a contention window size (CWS) counter and performs CWS adjustments separately for each carrier. In this case, if the gNB stops transmitting over one carrier, it resumes decrementing the counters of all other carriers when the channel is idle for 4 CCA or after reinitializing the counter values.

[0072] Type A2: Maintain a common CWS counter and perform common CWS coordination for all carriers. The CWS coordination is performed by associating the highest CWS value across carriers with all carriers. In this case, if the gNB stops transmitting over one carrier, the gNB reinitializes the counters for all carriers.

[0073] Type B: The gNB selects a single carrier, either by picking one carrier uniformly across all carriers in a random manner or by configuring a specific carrier to operate as a so-called "primary channel". The primary channel cannot be changed more than once every predefined period (e.g., seconds). The gNB can perform sensing over other carriers by applying Cat-2 LBT only when the gNB has completed Cat-4 LBT for the primary channel. In this type of operation, the gNB may:

[0074] Type B1: Maintain a CWS counter and perform CWS adjustments separately for each carrier. In this case, a single-carrier mechanism is used, with the difference that the CWS is increased if a negative acknowledgement (NACK) is determined for all carriers in the reference subframe.

[0075] Type B2: Maintains a common CWS counter and performs common CWS coordination for all carriers.

[0076] As mentioned above, for NR operating above the 52.6 GHz band, devices may also operate in multi-carrier mode, and only multi-carrier channel access modes such as Type A may be supported. Although Type A procedures are defined for sub-6 GHz band operation where the concepts of channel access priority classes and contention window adjustment are introduced and Cat-4 LBT is used, such procedures are no longer relevant above the 52.6 GHz band where Type 1 LBT with fixed contention window is defined. Therefore, modifications are used to operate Type A channel access procedures above the 52.6 GHz band, and the overall procedures may deviate from the original sub-6 GHz band design.

[0077] Accordingly, in one embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, when the system operates in a multi-carrier mode and the device performs an LBT to acquire a channel, a Type 1 LBT may be performed separately on each carrier, which indicates that the device may maintain and update the back-off counter for each carrier separately. For example, if the device intends to perform transmission over two carriers, two independent LBTs (one for the first carrier and a second one for the second carrier) are performed. Each of these LBTs is performed separately, and the device may both extract the independent counters for each of the LBTs and update the counters based on measurements performed for each carrier.

[0078] Alternatively, a single counter may be maintained for all carriers and the counter may be decremented if one of the following options is met over each observation period of 8 μs: the channel is rated as idle for all carriers; the channel is rated as idle for at least one of the carriers; or the channel is rated as idle for at least X% of the total number of carriers.

[0079] If a device may maintain independent backoff counters for each carrier, the LBT procedure may end at different times. In this regard, the start times of transmissions are coordinated across carriers on which the device is performing LBT to ensure that a device is not transmitting on one carrier but performing LBT on the other.

[0080] In one embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, when the system operates in a multi-carrier mode and a device performs LBT to acquire a channel, a back-off counter is set for carrier C to coordinate the start time of transmission across the carrier. i of

number

number

number

number

[0081] In another embodiment, above the 52.6 GHz band, when the system operates in a multi-carrier mode and a device performs LBT to acquire a channel, a back-off counter is set for carrier C to adjust the start time of transmission across the carrier. i of

number

number

number

number

[0082] In another embodiment, above the 52.6 GHz band, when the system operates in a multi-carrier mode and a device performs LBT to acquire a channel, a back-off counter is set for carrier C to adjust the start time of transmission across the carrier. i of

number

number

number

number

[0083] In another embodiment, above the 52.6 GHz band, when the system operates in a multi-carrier mode and a device performs LBT to acquire a channel, a back-off counter is set for carrier C to adjust the start time of transmission across the carrier. i of

number

number

number

number

number

[0084] In one option of this embodiment, the Maximum COT (MCOT) is counted from one of the following: the start time of the transmission; or the point in time when at least one of the LBTs is successful over the carrier.

[0085] In another embodiment, above the 52.6 GHz band, when the system operates in a multi-carrier mode and a device performs LBT to acquire a channel, a back-off counter is set for carrier C to adjust the start time of transmission across the carrier. i of

number

number

[0086] In one embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, when the system operates in multi-carrier mode, the device performs LBT to acquire channels and maintains independent counters for each carrier; if the device stops transmitting on any of the carriers on which it performed LBT, the device reinitializes the counters for all carriers.

[0087] In one embodiment, for bands above 52.6 GHz, when the system operates in multi-carrier mode and a device performs LBT to acquire a channel, when the device stops transmission on any of the carriers on which it performed LBT, the device reinitializes the counters for only those carriers on which it was able to stop transmission.

[0088] The above examples / embodiments are not mutually exclusive and one or more may be applied together or may be combined.

[0089] [Multibeam channel access procedure]

[0090] As mentioned above, for NR operating above the 52.6 GHz band, a device can obtain a COT across multiple beams, and in doing so, the device can perform a single wide-beam LBT covering all beams for which the COT is obtained, or the device can perform an independent per-beam LBT individually across each of the beams for which the COT is obtained. The details of the last step have not yet been defined, and there are some caveats.

[0091] In one embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, if the device performs an independent per-beam LBT over each beam for which COT is obtained, the device may drop the transmission if one of the following is met: if the independent per-beam LBT procedure fails on at least one of the beams for which the device intends to acquire the channel and transmit, or if the independent per-beam LBT procedure fails on all beams for which the device intends to acquire the channel, the device may drop the transmission, otherwise, COT is deemed to be obtained for every beam for which the independent per-beam LBT procedure was successful.

[0092] Whether or not a transmission can be dropped based on the independent per-beam LBT procedures in each individual beam, the independent per-beam LBT procedures may end at different times and the device may determine whether the transmission is successful at different times. This determination may therefore be made at a particular time, which may be the actual start time of the transmission. As explained above for the case of multi-carrier operation, this is also determined in this context to be somewhat precluding a device from performing LBT on one beam while transmitting on another beam, since the combination of transmission and LBT may induce self-blocking.

[0093] In one embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, if the device performs an independent per-beam LBT over each beam for which a COT is obtained, a backoff counter is added to beam B to adjust the start time of transmission over the beam. i of

number

number

number

number

[0094] In another embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, if the device performs an independent per-beam LBT over each beam for which a COT is obtained, a back-off counter is added to beam B to adjust the start time of transmission over the beam. i of

number

number

number

number

[0095] In another embodiment, above the 52.6 GHz band, if the device performs an independent per-beam LBT over each beam for which a COT is obtained, a backoff counter is added to beam B to coordinate the start time of transmission over the beam. i of

number

number

number

number

[0096] In another embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, if the device performs an independent per-beam LBT over each beam for which a COT is obtained, a back-off counter is added to beam B to adjust the start time of transmission over the beam. i of

number

number

number

number

number

[0097] In one option of this embodiment, the MCOT is counted from one of the following: the start time of the transmission; or the point in time when at least one of the LBTs is successful through the beam.

[0098] In another embodiment, for above the 52.6 GHz band, if the device performs an independent per-beam LBT over each beam for which a COT is obtained, a back-off counter is added to beam B to adjust the start time of transmission over the beam. i of

number

number

[0099] In one embodiment, above the 52.6 GHz band, where a device performs an independent per-beam LBT across each beam for which a COT is obtained, when the device stops transmitting on any of the beams for which it performed LBT, the device reinitializes the counters of all carriers.

[0100] In one embodiment, above the 52.6 GHz band, if the device performs an independent per-beam LBT across each beam for which a COT is obtained, when the device stops transmitting on any of the beams for which it performed LBT, the device reinitializes the counters for only those carriers on which the device was able to stop transmitting.

[0101] The above examples / embodiments are not mutually exclusive and one or more of them may be applied together or may be combined.

[0102] [Directional LBT COT length indication]

[0103] If directional LBT is used and both wide beam LBT and independent per-beam LBT are performed in the gNB, the UE does not know in which beam or group of beams the LBT procedure was successful. Thus, the gNB indicating the remaining COT length in DCI2_0 may enter into ambiguity between the gNB and the UE as to which particular beam or group of beams the gNB has effectively acquired the COT and can share that COT with the UE. Furthermore, the gNB may potentially acquire independent COT at different time points for each beam. FIG. 3 illustrates the acquisition of independent COT at different time points for each beam according to some embodiments. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates a system 300 in which the gNB 302 initiates two independent COTs in two different beams serving a given UE 304 at different time points.

[0104] In one embodiment, DCI2_0 may be extended to indicate per-beam control information. There may be a link between the indication of the beam in DCI2_0 and the transmission configuration indication (TCI) state or quasi-co-location (QCL) assumptions configured for the UE. This link may be a one-to-one mapping, a one-to-many mapping, or a many-to-one mapping. Furthermore, there is a link between the indication of the beam in DCI2_0 and the sounding reference signal (SRS) resource indicator (SRI) configured for the UE. This link may be a one-to-one mapping, a one-to-many mapping, or a many-to-one mapping. This link may be configured by higher layer signaling or according to a predefined rule. This link may be used to determine UL transmission of the corresponding beam, e.g., the UE may share the gNB starting COT of UL transmission with a beam corresponding to a TCI / SRI state when UL transmission is within the COT of all beams linked with the TCI / SRI state when there is a many-to-one mapping between the beam indication in DCI2_0 and the TCI / SRI state. This link may be used to determine DL reception of the corresponding beam, e.g., the UE may receive CSI-RS on a beam corresponding to a TCI state when DL reception is within the COT of this beam when there is a one-to-many mapping between the beam indication in DCI2_0 and the TCI state of CSI-RS reception.

[0105] In this case, one of the following options can be used:

[0106] While DCI2_0 contains common information regarding slot format indicator (SFI), search space setting group (SSSG) switching and COT length, additional fields, which can be either new fields that can be repurposed or "available" RB set fields, are added to indicate the occupancy status of each beam. In this regard, one of the following may be supported: a bitmap indicating the applicability of information to a particular beam group based on the desired information; a TCI field indicating, if not present, that the carried information applies to all beams (e.g., quasi-omnidirectional LBT was used in gNB); and a beam availability indicator indicating whether a subset of beams is available from the list of beams to which COT is applied.

[0107] While DCI2_0 contains common information regarding SFI and SSSG switching, the COT length information is no longer a scalar but a vector indicating the COT length information of each beam. For example, the COT length information may consist of a list of values, each value being associated with a particular beam or group of beams. In this case, the COT length information of a beam or group of beams set to 0 is interpreted as if the gNB could not acquire the beam or group of beams and therefore could not perform COT sharing in that direction.

[0108] While DCI2_0 contains common information regarding SFI and SSSG switching, the COT length information is no longer a scalar but a vector indicating the COT length information of a group of beams that is additionally signaled via an additional field containing a bitmap. In this case, a COT length of 0 for a beam is interpreted as if the gNB could not acquire that beam. For example, the COT length information may consist of a list of values, each value being associated with a particular beam within a particular group of beams. An indication of the group of beams for which the COT length information is provided is indicated via a bitmap, which indicates which of all beams belong to the group of beams.

[0109] DCI2_0 contains information about SFI, SSSG switching and COT length per beam. In this case, a COT length of 0 for a beam is interpreted as if the gNB could not acquire that beam.

[0110] While DCI2_0 contains information about common information related to SFI, for SSSG switching and COT length this information is provided per beam. In this case, a COT length of 0 for a beam is interpreted as if the gNB could not acquire that beam.

[0111] DCI2_0 includes information about SFI, SSSG switching, and COT length information. At least one of these pieces of information only applies to the group of beams linked with the TCI of DCI2_0. The link of the group of beams and the TCI of DCI2_0 may be configured by higher layer signaling or determined by a predefined rule, for example, associated with the same channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or signaling system block (SSB), or one is associated with the CSI-RS and the other is associated with the SSB, but the CSI-RS is also a QCL that includes the SSB.

[0112] In the above options, if the COT length is indicated per beam or per group of beams, the COTs of different beams may start at different times but end at the same time. Alternatively, the COTs of different beams may start at the same time but end at different times. Alternatively, both the start and end times of the COTs of different beams may be different.

[0113] In the above options, if the SFI is common for multiple beams and the COT is beam or beam group specific, the indicated SFI is applicable to all beams, regardless of whether the LBT of those beams is successful or not. On a beam where the LBT is successful, the gNB may share with the UE its own COT of that particular beam, which implies that the UE may send an UL transmission without LBT (Type 3 LBT) or, if configured / indicated by the gNB and capable of Type 2 LBT (aka Cat-2 LBT), Type 2 LBT is successfully performed in the UE before transmission. On the other hand, on a beam where the LBT is unsuccessful, since the COT is not shared for this beam, the UE will perform Type 1 LBT (aka Cat-4 with fixed contention window, or Cat-3 LBT) when the UE starts an UL transmission.

[0114] [Behavior of responding devices when there are independent COTs across different beams]

[0115] In NR operating above the 52.6 GHz band, if LBT is required or configured to be used, devices may obtain different COTs for different beams at different times by using either wide-beam LBT or independent per-beam LBT. In either case, the exact responding device behavior is defined when the COT is shared and the responding device has Type 2 LBT capability.

[0116] In one embodiment, the responding device may treat each COT separately and may perform Type 2 LBT only on beams that belong to a COT in which a transmission is performed if the gap to any previous transmission in that beam is greater than Y.

[0117] In another embodiment, if the gap to any previous transmission in any of the beams where the COT is initiated is greater than Y, and some of those beams may or may not belong to the COT in which the transmission is performed, the responding device may perform Type 2 LBT in all beams where the COT is initiated separately.

[0118] In another embodiment, if the gap to any previous transmission in any of the beams in which the COT is initiated is greater than Y, the responding device may perform Type 2 LBT only in beams that belong to the COT in which the transmission is to be performed.

[0119] In another embodiment, the gaps between transmissions are counted only over transmissions that take place in beams that belong to the same COT.

[0120] In another embodiment, the gaps between transmissions are counted over transmissions made in beams belonging to all active COTs.

[0121] As above, some of the above embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and one or more of them may be applied together or combined. In addition, the responding device may be either a UE or a gNB. Furthermore, despite the description of the above embodiments, the behavior of both the UE and the gNB as responding devices may be the same or different, and some embodiments may apply to one type of device, while other embodiments may apply to the other type of device.

[0122] FIG. 4 illustrates a reference signal transmission according to some embodiments. The electronic device, network, system, chip, or component of each figure herein, or portions or implementations thereof, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods described herein, or portions thereof. One such process is illustrated in FIG. 4. One such process is illustrated in FIG. 4. Process 400 may be performed by a UE. The process may include, in operation 402, performing an independent LBT for each carrier and beam; in operation 404, sensing the carrier and beam in a period immediately prior to the adjusted transmission time after the back-off counter reaches zero; and in operation 406, transmitting on the carrier or beam after the back-off counter reaches zero in a period immediately prior to the adjusted transmission time and the carrier or beam is sensed as idle.

[0123] [example]

[0124] Example 1 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and a processing circuit, the processing circuit configured to configure the UE to: determine that a Type 1 Listen Before Talk (LBT) is performed in at least one of a multi-carrier or multi-beam mode; perform the Type 1 LBT for at least one of a plurality of beams, or a channel including a plurality of carriers, above a 52.6 GHz band, and maintain and update at least one back-off counter for the at least one of a plurality of carriers or beams; and transmit an uplink transmission on at least one of the carriers or the beam to a fifth generation NodeB (gNB) in response to a success of the Type 1 LBT during a channel occupation time (COT); and wherein the memory is configured to store the at least one back-off counter.

[0125] In Example 2, the subject matter described in Example 1 includes configuring the UE to perform a Type 1 LBT separately for each carrier or beam to separately maintain and update a different backoff counter for each carrier or beam.

[0126] In Example 3, the subject matter described in Example 2 includes configuring the UE to adjust transmission start times of transmissions across the carriers or beams to prevent overlapping transmissions on one of the carriers or beams and LBT on the other of the carriers or beams, respectively.

[0127] In Example 4, the subject matter described in Example 3 includes configuring the UE to, for each carrier or beam, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, continue decrementing the back-off counter and sensing the channel through multiple additional observation periods after the back-off counter reaches zero before the transmission start time, and in response to determining that the channel continues to be sensed as idle in all of the multiple additional observation periods, transmit on the carrier or beam at the start time; and determine that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam does not reach zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time but the channel is sensed as busy in at least one of the multiple additional observation periods, to adjust the start time.

[0128] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 3-4 further comprises: to adjust the start time, the processing circuitry, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, continuing to decrement the back-off counter and sense the channel through a number of additional observation periods after the back-off counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, and in response to determining that the channel continues to be sensed as idle for at least a predetermined number of the number of additional observation periods before the transmission start time, detecting an idle state for the carrier or the beam at the start time. and, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam does not reach zero before the transmission start time, or that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time but the channel is sensed busy in at least one of the predetermined number of the plurality of additional observation periods or in any of the plurality of additional observation periods prior to the transmission start time, determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed.

[0129] In Example 6, the subject matter of Examples 3-5 includes configuring the UE to adjust the start time by: configuring the UE, for each carrier or beam, to: determine, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, that a channel access procedure on the carrier or carrier beam is successful, to transmit on the carrier or beam at the start time; and, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam does not reach zero before the transmission start time, to determine that the channel access procedure on the carrier or beam fails.

[0130] In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 3-6 includes configuring the UE to adjust the start time by: configuring the processing circuitry for each carrier or beam to: determine a channel access procedure on the carrier or carrier beam is successful in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time and the channel is idle after making at least a predetermined number of additional observations immediately prior to the transmission start time; and determine that the channel access procedure on the carrier or beam is unsuccessful in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam does not reach zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time but the channel is busy after making at least one of the predetermined number of additional observations immediately prior to the transmission start time.

[0131] In Example 8, the subject matter described in Example 7 includes configuring the UE to count a maximum channel occupancy time from one of a transmission start time and a time when at least one LBT is successful over one of the carriers or the beams.

[0132] In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 3-8 includes, to adjust the start time, the processing circuitry configures the UE for each carrier or beam to transmit on the carrier at the start time in response to determining that the backoff counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero just before the transmission start time, and otherwise determine that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed.

[0133] In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 2-9 includes configuring the UE to, in response to cessation of transmission on any of the carriers or beams for which LBT has been performed, at least one of reinitializing the counters for all of the carriers or beams, or reinitializing the counters for the carriers or beams for which LBT has been performed and for which transmission has ceased.

[0134] In Example 11, the subject matter described in Examples 1-10 includes configuring the UE to perform an independent per-beam LBT via each beam for which a COT is obtained for the channel, and to drop a transmission in response to one of an LBT procedure failing on at least one of the beams, or an LBT procedure failing on all of the beams and otherwise deeming the COT to be obtained for each beam for which the independent per-beam LBT procedure was successful.

[0135] In Example 12, the subject matter described in Examples 1 to 11 includes configuring the UE to receive downlink control information (DCI) 2_0 including per-beam control information, the control information including, in the absence of a bitmap indicating applicability of the control information to a particular beam group, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) field indicating that the conveyed control information applies to all beams, and an occupancy status provided in one of the beam availability indicators indicating whether a subset of beams is available from a list of beams to which the COT applies.

[0136] In Example 13, the subject matter of Examples 1-12 includes configuring the UE to receive downlink control information (DCI) 2_0 including one of vector COT length information, the COT length information for a particular beam or group of beams including a first list of values, each value associated with a particular beam or group of beams, set to 0 to indicate that the gNB is unable to acquire the particular beam or group of beams and no COT sharing occurs in the direction of the particular beam or group of beams, or the COT length information indicating a COT group of beams signaled via a bitmap, a COT length of a COT beam in the COT group of beams is 0 to indicate that the gNB was unable to acquire the COT beam, the COT length information including a second list of values, each value associated with a particular COT beam in a particular group of COT beams, and the group of COT beams for which the COT length information is provided is indicated via the bitmap.

[0137] In Example 14, the subject matter described in Examples 1 to 13 includes configuring the UE to receive downlink control information (DCI) 2_0 including first common information related to a slot format indicator (SFI) and a search space setting group (SSSG) switching, and per-beam information including a COT length per beam, the COT length of the first beam being 0 to indicate that the gNB was unable to acquire a first beam, second common information related to an SFI, and per-beam information including an SSSG switching and COT length per beam, the COT length of the second beam being 0 to indicate that the gNB was unable to acquire a second beam, or one of SFI, SSSG switching, and COT length information, where at least one of the SFI, SSSG switching, and COT length information applies only to a group of beams linked with a transmission configuration indication (TCI) of the DCI 2_0.

[0138] In other examples, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 13 may be applied to a gNB and a UE. For example, as in Example 1, an apparatus for a fifth generation NodeB (gNB) comprising: a memory; and a processing circuit, the processing circuit configured to: determine that a Type 1 Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) is performed in at least one of a multi-carrier or multi-beam mode; perform a Type 1 LBT for at least one of a plurality of beams, or a channel including a plurality of carriers, above a 52.6 GHz band, and maintain and update at least one back-off counter for the at least one of a plurality of carriers or beams; and transmit a downlink transmission on the at least one of the carriers or the beam to a user equipment (UE) in response to a successful Type 1 LBT during a channel occupation time (COT); and wherein the memory is configured to store the at least one back-off counter.

[0139] Example 15 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), which, when the instructions are executed, configure the UE to perform a procedure of: performing a Type 1 Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) for at least one of a plurality of beams, or a channel including a plurality of carriers, above a 52.6 GHz band, separately for each carrier or at least one of each beam to maintain and update a different back-off counter for each carrier or beam; and, in response to a success of the Type 1 LBT during a channel occupation time (COT), transmitting an uplink transmission on at least one of the carriers or the beams to a fifth generation NodeB (gNB).

[0140] In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15 further comprises configuring the UE to perform a procedure in which the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, adjust a transmission start time of transmissions across the carriers or the beams to prevent overlapping transmissions on one of the carriers or the beams and LBT on the other of the carriers or the beams, respectively; and, for adjusting the start time, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, adjust the back-off counter via an additional observation period immediately prior to the transmission start time after the back-off counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero before the transmission start time. and configuring the UE to perform for each carrier or beam: continuing to decrement a back-off counter and sense the channel, and in response to a determination that the channel continues to be sensed idle for the additional observation periods, transmitting on the carrier or beam at the start time; and in response to a determination that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam does not reach zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time but the channel is sensed busy for the multiple additional observation periods, determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed.

[0141] In Example 17, the subject matter described in Example 16 includes configuring the UE to perform a procedure in which, when the instructions are executed by the one or more processors, in response to cessation of transmission on any of the carriers or beams on which an LBT has been performed, reinitialize the counters for all of the carriers or beams.

[0142] Example 18 is an apparatus for a fifth generation NodeB (gNB), comprising: a memory; and a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit configures the gNB to: perform a Type 1 Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) for at least one of a plurality of beams, or a channel including a plurality of carriers, above a 52.6 GHz band, separately for each carrier or at least one of each beam to maintain and update a different back-off counter for each carrier or beam; and in response to a success of the Type 1 LBT during a channel occupation time (COT), transmit a downlink transmission on at least one of the carriers or the beam to a user equipment (UE); and wherein the memory is configured to store the at least one back-off counter.

[0143] In Example 19, the subject matter described in Example 18 further includes further comprising: the processing circuitry adjusting transmission start times of transmissions across the carriers or beams to prevent overlapping transmissions on one of the carriers or beams and LBTs on the other of the carriers or beams, respectively; and, for each carrier or beam, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, continuing to decrement the back-off counter and sense the channel through an additional observation period immediately prior to the transmission start time after the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time. and, in response to determining that the channel continues to be detected as idle for the additional observation periods, transmitting on the carrier or beam at the start time, and determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam does not reach zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time but the channel is detected as busy for the multiple additional observation periods.

[0144] In Example 20, the subject matter described in Example 19 includes configuring the gNB to, in response to cessation of transmission on any of the carriers or beams on which an LBT has been performed, reinitialize the counters for all of the carriers or beams.

[0145] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform operations to implement the subject matter recited in any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0146] Example 22 is an apparatus comprising means for implementing the subject matter recited in any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0147] Example 23 is a system for implementing the subject matter described in any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0148] Example 24 is a method for implementing the subject matter described in any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0149] Although the embodiments have been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the specification and drawings should be regarded in an illustrative and not restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application, show, by way of example and not limitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. The illustrated embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, whereby structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, this detailed description should not be construed in a limiting sense, and the scope of the various embodiments is defined solely by the appended claims, including the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

[0150] Subject matter may be referred to herein by the term "embodiments", individually and / or collectively, merely for convenience and without intending to intentionally limit the scope of the present application to any single inventive concept when more than one inventive concept is actually disclosed. Thus, although multiple specific embodiments are shown and described herein, it should be understood that any configuration intended to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the multiple specific embodiments shown. The present disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of the various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, as well as other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the above description.

[0151] In this document, the terms "a" or "an" are used to include one or more than one, as is common in patent documents, independent of any other instances or uses of "at least one" or "one or more." In this document, the term "or" is used to refer to a non-exclusive, or "A or B" is used to include "A but not B," "B but not A," and "A and B," unless otherwise stated. In this document, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the plain-language equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein." Also, in the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, i.e., a system, UE, article, composition, formula, or process that includes multiple elements in addition to those recited after such terms in a claim is still considered to be within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc. are used merely as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

[0152] The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (37 CFR). Section 1.72(b) requires that the Abstract shall enable the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. The Abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be seen that various features have been grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter consists of less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Accordingly, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and a processing circuit; The processing circuitry includes: Determining that a Type 1 Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) is performed in at least one of a multi-carrier or a multi-beam mode; performing the Type 1 LBT for at least one of a plurality of beams, or a channel including a plurality of carriers, above the 52.6 GHz band, to maintain and update at least one back-off counter of the at least one of a plurality of carriers or beams; and In response to a successful Type 1 LBT during a channel occupation time (COT), transmitting an uplink transmission on at least one of the carrier or the beam to a fifth generation NodeB (gNB). configuring the UE to wherein the memory is configured to store the at least one backoff counter. Device.

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry configures the UE to perform a Type 1 LBT separately for each carrier or beam and to maintain and update a different back-off counter for each carrier or beam separately.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry configures the UE to adjust transmission start times of transmissions across the carriers or beams to prevent overlapping transmissions on one of the carriers or beams and LBT on the other of the carriers or beams, respectively.

4. To adjust the start time, the processing circuitry: in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, continuing to decrement the back-off counter and sense the channel through a number of additional observation periods after the back-off counter reaches zero before the transmission start time, and in response to determining that the channel continues to be sensed as idle for all of the number of additional observation periods, transmitting on the carrier or beam at the start time; and determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or the beam has failed in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or the beam has not reached zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter for the carrier or the beam has reached zero before the transmission start time but the channel is sensed as busy in at least one of the plurality of additional observation periods. for each carrier or beam.

4. The apparatus of claim 3.

5. To adjust the start time, the processing circuitry: in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, continuing to decrement the back-off counter and sense the channel through a number of additional observation periods after the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, and in response to determining that the channel continues to be sensed as idle for at least a predetermined number of the number of additional observation periods before the transmission start time, transmitting on the carrier or beam at the start time; determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed in response to determining that the back-off counter of the carrier or beam has not reached zero before the transmission start time, or that the back-off counter of the carrier or beam has reached zero before the transmission start time but the channel is sensed as busy for at least one of the predetermined number of the plurality of additional observation periods prior to the transmission start time, or in any of the plurality of additional observation periods. for each carrier or beam.

4. The apparatus of claim 3.

6. To adjust the start time, the processing circuitry: in response to determining that the backoff counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or carrier beam is successful and transmitting on the carrier or the beam at the start time; and determining that the channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed in response to determining that the backoff counter for the carrier or beam has not reached zero before the transmission start time. for each carrier or beam.

4. The apparatus of claim 3.

7. To adjust the start time, the processing circuitry: in response to determining that the backoff counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero before the transmission start time and the channel is idle after performing at least a predetermined number of additional observations immediately prior to the transmission start time, determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or carrier beam is successful and transmitting on the carrier or the beam at the start time; and determining that the channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed in response to determining that the back-off counter of the carrier or beam has not reached zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter of the carrier or beam has reached zero before the transmission start time but the channel is busy after performing at least one of the predetermined number of additional observations immediately prior to the transmission start time. for each carrier or beam.

4. The apparatus of claim 3.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry configures the UE to count a maximum channel occupancy time from one of a transmission start time and a point in time when at least one LBT is successful via the carrier or one of the beams.

9. To adjust the start time, the processing circuitry: transmitting on the carrier at the start time in response to determining that the backoff counter for the carrier or the beam reaches zero just prior to the transmission start time; and Otherwise, determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed. for each carrier or beam.

4. The apparatus of claim 3.

10. The processing circuitry includes: reinitializing all of the counters of the carrier or beam in response to cessation of transmission in any of the carriers or beams on which LBT has been performed; or reinitializing the counter for each carrier or beam for which LBT is being performed and transmission has stopped; configuring the UE to at least one of:

3. The apparatus of claim 2.

11. The processing circuitry includes: performing an independent per-beam LBT over each beam for which a COT is obtained for said channel; a failure of the LBT procedure in at least one of said beams; or the LBT procedure fails for all of the beams, otherwise the COT is deemed to have been obtained for each beam for which the independent per-beam LBT procedure was successful; Dropping a transmission in response to one of configuring the UE to 2. The apparatus of claim 1.

12. The processing circuitry configures the UE to receive Downlink Control Information (DCI) 2_0 including per-beam control information, the control information comprising: a bitmap indicating the applicability of said control information to a particular beam group; If not, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) field indicating that the conveyed control information applies to all beams; and A beam availability indicator indicating whether a subset of beams is available from the list of beams to which the COT applies. [0033] including the occupancy status provided in one of 2. The apparatus of claim 1.

13. The processing circuitry includes: Vector COT length information, The COT length information for a particular beam or group of beams, the COT length information including a first list of values, each value associated with a particular beam or group of beams, the COT length information being set to 0 to indicate that the gNB is unable to acquire the particular beam or group of beams and that no COT sharing is performed in the direction of the particular beam or group of beams; or The COT length information indicating a COT group of beams signaled via a bitmap, the COT length of a COT beam in the COT group of beams is 0 to indicate that the gNB was unable to acquire the COT beam, the COT length information including a second list of values, each value being associated with a particular COT beam in a particular group of COT beams, the group of COT beams for which the COT length information is provided being indicated via the bitmap. and configuring the UE to receive downlink control information (DCI) 2_0 including one of:

2. The apparatus of claim 1.

14. The processing circuitry includes: First common information related to slot format indicator (SFI) and search space setting group (SSSG) switching, and per-beam information including a COT length for each beam, the COT length of the first beam being 0 to indicate that the gNB was unable to acquire the first beam; Second common information related to SFI and per-beam information including SSSG switching and COT length per beam, the COT length of the second beam being 0 to indicate that the gNB was unable to acquire the second beam; or SFI, SSSG switching, and COT length information, where at least one of the SFI, the SSSG switching, and the COT length information is applied only to a group of beams linked with a transmission configuration indication (TCI) of the DCI2_0. configuring the UE to receive downlink control information (DCI) 2_0 including one of:

2. The apparatus of claim 1.

15. 1. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the one or more processors, when executed, performing: performing a Type 1 Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) for at least one of a plurality of beams or a channel including a plurality of carriers above the 52.6 GHz band separately for each carrier or at least one of each beam to maintain and update a different back-off counter for each carrier or beam; and In response to a successful Type 1 LBT during a channel occupation time (COT), transmitting an uplink transmission on at least one of the carrier or the beam to a fifth generation NodeB (gNB). configuring the UE to Medium.

16. The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the UE to perform a procedure to adjust transmission start times of transmissions across the carriers or beams to prevent overlapping transmissions on one of the carriers or beams and LBT on the other of the carriers or beams, respectively; To adjust the start time, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, continuing to decrement the back-off counter and sense the channel through an additional observation period immediately prior to the transmission start time after the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, and in response to determining that the channel continues to be sensed as idle for the additional observation period, transmitting on the carrier or beam at the start time; determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam has not reached zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam has reached zero before the transmission start time but the channel is sensed busy for the additional observation period. for each carrier or beam. The medium according to claim 15.

17. The medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the UE to perform a procedure to reinitialize all of the counters of the carrier or beam in response to cessation of transmission on any of the carriers or beams on which LBT has been performed.

18. An apparatus for a fifth generation NodeB (gNB), comprising: a memory; and a processing circuit; The processing circuitry includes: Performing a Type 1 Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) for at least one of a plurality of beams or a channel including a plurality of carriers above the 52.6 GHz band separately for at least one of each carrier or each beam to maintain and update a different back-off counter for each carrier or beam; and and transmitting a downlink transmission on at least one of the carrier or the beam to a user equipment (UE) in response to a successful Type 1 LBT during a channel occupation time (COT). Configure the gNB to: wherein the memory is configured to store the at least one backoff counter. Device.

19. the processing circuitry adjusts transmission start times of transmissions across the carriers or beams to prevent overlapping transmissions on one of the carriers or beams and LBT on the other of the carriers or beams, respectively; and For each carrier or beam, in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, continuing to decrement the back-off counter and sense the channel through an additional observation period immediately prior to the transmission start time after the back-off counter for the carrier or beam reaches zero before the transmission start time, and in response to determining that the channel continues to be sensed as idle for the additional observation period, transmitting on the carrier or beam at the start time; determining that a channel access procedure on the carrier or beam has failed in response to determining that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam has not reached zero before the transmission start time or that the back-off counter for the carrier or beam has reached zero before the transmission start time but the channel is sensed busy for the additional observation period. Configure the gNB to perform 20. The apparatus of claim 18.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry configures the gNB to reinitialize all of the counters of the carrier or the beam in response to a cessation of transmission in any of the carriers or the beams on which LBT has been performed.

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