Resource Selection for NR Sidelink Communication

Abstract

The techniques described in this specification include solutions for enabling sidelink resource selection in an unlicensed spectrum. A first UE can receive a configured grant from a base station for a specified sidelink resource. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may notify the UE of a pool of potential sidelink resources, and the UE may select an appropriate sidelink resource from the pool of resources. The UE may perform a listen before talk (LBT), clear channel assessment (CCA), or another type of sensing procedure to verify the availability of the selected resource. The UE can notify other UEs and / or the base station of the sidelink resource selection and use the sidelink resource for sidelink communication with another UE.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Cross - Reference to Related Applications) This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 335,888, filed on Apr. 28, 2022, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] This disclosure relates to a wireless communication network including techniques for selecting wireless resources for sidelink communication in a wireless communication network.

Background Art

[0003] As the number of mobile devices and the demand for mobile data traffic within wireless networks continue to increase, system requirements and architectures are being changed to better address current and expected demands. For example, some wireless communication networks may be developed to implement fifth - generation (5G) or new radio (NR) technologies, sixth - generation (6G) technologies, and the like. One aspect of such technologies includes enabling user equipment (UE) to communicate directly with each other via sidelink communication.

[0004] This disclosure will be readily understood and capable of being carried out with the aid of the detailed description and the figures of the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals may indicate like features and structural elements. The figures and the corresponding descriptions are provided as non - limiting examples of aspects, implementations, etc. of this disclosure, and references to "an" or "one" aspect, implementation, etc. do not necessarily refer to the same aspect, implementation, etc., but may mean at least one, one or more, etc.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in different figures may identify the same or similar features, elements, operations, etc. Additionally, other implementations may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, so the present disclosure is not limited to the following description.

[0015] A communication network may include user equipment (UE) capable of communicating with a base station and other network nodes. The UE and the base station may implement various techniques for establishing and maintaining connectivity. In some implementations, the UEs may be capable of directly communicating and connecting with each other. Direct communication between UEs may sometimes be referred to as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, sidelink communication, etc. The UE may use one or more wireless frequency bands to communicate with different wireless devices. For example, the UE may use a licensed frequency band to communicate with the base station and an unlicensed frequency band to communicate with other UEs. The UE may participate in resource selection procedures (e.g., sidelink resource selection) to enable direct communication with other UEs.

[0016] The sidelink resource selection described in this specification may include mode 1 sidelink resource selection and mode 2 sidelink resource selection. Mode 1 sidelink resource selection may include dynamic grant scheduling and configured grant scheduling of sidelink resources managed by a base station or other network device. Dynamic grant scheduling may include one-time sidelink resources scheduled for transmission. Configured grant scheduling may include a set of sidelink resources scheduled for transmission. Embodiments described in this specification as including or including as an alternative configured grant scheduling may also include dynamic grant scheduling. In a mode 1 scenario, the network dynamically allocates sidelink resources to the UE for sidelink communication. Further, mode 1 sidelink resource selection may include type 1 configured grants or type 2 configured grants. A type 1 configured grant may include a base station that uses radio resource control (RRC) signaling to indicate one or more wireless carriers or channels, the periodicity, offset, start, and length (e.g., symbols) of the allocated resources, the number of repetitions, the transmission power level, etc. A type 2 configured grant may include a base station that provides a more limited amount of configured grant information via RRC (e.g., periodicity and number of repetitions) and additional sidelink configured grant information via downlink control information (DCI). The configured grant may include DCI having a sidelink radio network temporary identifier (SL-RNTI), a sidelink configured scheduling (CS) RNTI (SL-CS-RNTI), etc. In contrast to mode 1 network-managed sidelink resource selection, mode 2 sidelink resource selection may include resource selection mainly performed by the UE. For example, in mode 2 sidelink resource selection, the base station may provide the UE with a pool of potential sidelink resources, and the UE may perform detection (e.g., availability detection), selection, and reservation of sidelink resources within the pool of potential sidelink resources.

[0017] However, currently available sidelink resource selection or allocation techniques do not provide a complete or adequate solution for sidelink resource selection and reservation. For example, before using sidelink resources in an unlicensed spectrum, a UE may be configured to perform listen-before-talk (LBT) procedures, clear channel assessment (CCA), etc., to ensure that the sidelink resources are not already in use (e.g., by another UE). Currently available sidelink resource allocation techniques cannot take into account UEs that perform LBT and CCA, and thus, it may result in a UE selecting inappropriate sidelink resources that may not be properly synchronized with UEs performing LBT, CCA, etc.

[0018] Accordingly, the techniques described herein provide an improved and more complete solution for sidelink resource selection in an unlicensed spectrum by considering that a UE evaluates the availability of sidelink resources before use. For example, a UE may use a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed Uu link to send a request for sidelink resources to a base station. The request may be for sidelink resources in an unlicensed spectrum and / or may include a scheduling request (SR) and / or a buffer status report (BSR). The base station may allocate sidelink resources via a dynamic grant or a configured grant that may be a type 1 configured grant. Alternatively, the base station may have previously provided a UE with a pool of sidelink resources that the UE can select, which may be a type 2 configured grant. As described herein, sidelink resources can include time and frequency resources that a UE can use for unidirectional or bidirectional communication with another UE via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and / or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0019] In some implementations, the dynamic grant or configured grant may also indicate a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure associated with sidelink resources, which may include instructions such as the CCA type (e.g., type 1 CCA, type 2 CCA, etc.), the priority class of the CCA, the start position of the sidelink resource, etc. The CCA procedure may include a process in which the user device measures the amount of radio activity (e.g., the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) corresponding to a specific carrier, a set of carriers, or a channel). The UE may determine whether a channel or resource is available based on whether the measured activity meets a preselected threshold. The dynamic grant / configured grant may also or alternatively indicate whether the sidelink resource corresponds to a partial bandwidth (BW) or a full (BW), the corresponding starting point, etc.

[0020] The UE may respond to a configured grant by performing a CCA procedure according to the configured grant. After a successful CCA procedure, the UE may proceed to use sidelink resources to communicate with the target UE. For example, the UE may transmit and receive data via sidelink or perform hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) procedures during the duration of the channel occupancy time (COT). In some implementations, the UE may also, or alternatively, be able to notify the base station and other UEs within the area of the sidelink resources allocated to the UE. Reporting the sidelink resource allocation to the base station and other UEs can facilitate proper sidelink grants to other UEs by checking which sidelink resources are already in use and thus unavailable. The UE and the base station may also, or alternatively, participate in further sidelink resource grants (e.g., in response to a negative acknowledgment (NACK) message) by repeating one or more of the configured grant operations described above. Accordingly, the techniques described herein provide an enhanced and more complete solution for allocating sidelink resources in an unlicensed spectrum by ensuring that sidelink resource selection and reservation properly consider configured grants, resource monitoring procedures (e.g., LBT, CCA, etc.), resource reservation (e.g., notifying other devices of the use of sidelink resources), and the like.

[0021] FIG. 1 is an exemplary network 100 according to one or more implementations described herein. The exemplary network 100 may include User Equipments (UEs) 110-1, 110-2, etc. (collectively referred to as "UE 110" and individually as "UE 110"), a Radio Access Network (RAN) 120, a Core Network (CN) 130, an Application Server 140, an External Network 150, and Satellites 160-1, 160-2, etc. (collectively referred to as "Satellites 160" and individually as "Satellite 160"). As shown, network 100 may include a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) with one or more satellites 160 (e.g., of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) communicating with UEs 110 and RAN 120.

[0022] The systems and devices of exemplary network 100 may operate according to one or more communication standards, such as the 2nd Generation (2G), 3rd Generation (3G), 4th Generation (4G) (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE)), 5th Generation (5G) (e.g., New Radio (NR)) communication standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the systems and devices of exemplary network 100 may operate according to other communication standards and protocols described herein, including future versions or generations of 3GPP standards (e.g., 6th Generation (6G) standards, 7th Generation (7G) standards, etc.), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards (e.g., Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), etc.).

[0023] Examples of the UE 110 may include a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touchscreen mobile computing device capable of connecting to one or more wireless communication networks). Additionally or alternatively, the UE 110 may include other types of mobile or non-mobile computing devices capable of wireless communication, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless headset, etc. In some implementations, the UE 110 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device (or IoT UE) that can be equipped with a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-lived UE connections. Additionally or alternatively, the IoT UE may utilize one or more types of technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, or machine type communication (MTC) (e.g., for exchanging data with an MTC server or other devices via a public land mobile network (PLMN)), proximity-based services (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, sensor networks, IoT networks, etc. Depending on the scenario, the M2M or MTC exchange of data can be an exchange initiated by a machine, and the IoT network may include interconnecting IoT UEs (which can include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. In some scenarios, the IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connection to the IoT network.

[0024] UE110 can communicate with one or more other UEs 110 via one or more wireless channels 112, each of which may include a physical communication interface / layer, and establish a connection therewith. This connection may include an M2M connection, an MTC connection, a D2D connection, a V2X connection, etc. In some implementations, UE110 may be configured to discover each other, negotiate wireless resources between each other, and establish a connection between each other without intervention or communication including a base station 122 or another type of network node. In some implementations, discovery, authentication, resource negotiation, registration, etc. may include communication with a base station 122 or another type of network node.

[0025] UE110 may use one or more wireless channels 112 to communicate with another entity. As described herein, UE110-1 communicates a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band to base station 122 via a first frequency band, and receives from the base station, in response to the request, a dynamic grant or a configured grant regarding the sidelink resource, executes a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the dynamic grant or the configured grant, selects a sidelink resource based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or the configured grant, and may include one or more processors configured to communicate with another UE110-2 based on the sidelink resource. The first frequency band is a licensed frequency band, and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band.

[0026] UE110 can communicate with and establish a connection with RAN120 (e.g., communicatively coupled), which may include one or more wireless channels 114-1 and 114-2, each of which may include a physical communication interface / layer. As shown, UE110 may also, or alternatively, connect to AP116 via a connection interface 118 that may include an air interface that enables UE110 to be communicatively coupled to access point (AP) 116. AP116 may include a wireless local area network (WLAN), a WLAN node, a WLAN endpoint, etc.

[0027] RAN 120 may include one or more base stations 122-1 and 122-2 (collectively referred to as base station 122 and individually called base stations 122) that enable channels 114-1 and 114-2 to be established between UE 110 and RAN 120. Thus, by way of example, base station 122 may be an E-UTRAN Node B (e.g., an enhanced Node B, eNode B, eNB, 4G base station, etc.) that is a next-generation base station (e.g., a 5G base station, NR base station, next-generation eNB (gNB), etc.). Base station 122 can include a roadside unit (RSU), a transmission and reception point (TRxP or TRP), and one or more other types of terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points). In some scenarios, base station 122 can be a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station and / or a low-power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, etc. having a coverage area smaller, user capacity smaller, or bandwidth wider than that of a macrocell. As will be described below, in some implementations, satellite 160 can operate as base station 122 with respect to UE 110. Thus, references to base station 122 herein can include implementations where base station 122 is a terrestrial network node and implementations where base station 122 is a non-terrestrial network node (e.g., satellite 160).

[0028] In some implementations, a downlink resource grid is used for downlink transmission from any of base stations 122 to UE 110, and uplink transmission may utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid (e.g., a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid) representing the downlink physical resources within each slot. In some aspects, the duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The minimum time-frequency unit of the resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid includes resource blocks, which represent the mapping of a specific physical channel to resource elements. Each resource block may include a set of resource elements (REs), and in the frequency domain, this can represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels transmitted using such resource blocks.

[0029] Furthermore, the base station 122 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with the UE 110 and / or with each other via a licensed medium (also referred to as a "licensed spectrum" and / or "licensed band"), an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as an "unlicensed spectrum" and / or "unlicensed band"), and / or a combination thereof. In one example, the licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, and the unlicensed spectrum may include the 5 GHz band. The licensed spectrum can correspond to channels or frequency bands that are selected, reserved, regulated, etc. for some types of wireless activities (e.g., wireless long-distance communication network activities), and the unlicensed spectrum can correspond to one or more frequency bands that are not restricted for a particular type of wireless activity. Whether a particular frequency band corresponds to a licensed medium or an unlicensed medium can depend on one or more factors, such as a frequency allocation determined by a public sector organization (e.g., a government agency, a regulatory agency, etc.) or a frequency allocation determined by a private sector organization involved in the development of wireless communication standards and protocols.

[0030] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 110 and the base station 122 can operate using a Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanism. In these implementations, the UE 110 and the base station 122 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations or carrier sensing operations before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol.

[0031] As shown, RAN 120 can be connected (e.g., communicatively coupled) to a core network (CN) 130. CN 130 can include a plurality of network elements 132 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 110) connected to CN 130 via RAN 120. In some implementations, CN 130 can include an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G CN, and / or one or more additional or alternative types of CNs. As shown, CN 130, application server 140, and external network 150 can be connected to each other via interfaces 134, 136, and 138 that can include IP network interfaces. Application server 140 can include one or more server devices or network elements (e.g., virtual network functions (VNFs)) that provide applications (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Packet Services (UMTS PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.) that use IP bearer resources at CN 130. Application server 140 can similarly or alternatively be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP) sessions, Push-to-Talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UE 110 via CN 130. Similarly, external network 150 can include one or more of various networks including the Internet, thereby providing mobile communication networks and networked UE 110 with access to various additional services, information, interconnectivity, and other network functions.

[0032] As shown in the illustration, an exemplary network 100 may include a NTN that may include one or more satellites 160-1 and 160-2 (collectively referred to as "satellites 160"). The satellites 160 may communicate with the UE 110 via a service link or wireless interface 162 and / or with the RAN 120 via a feeder link or wireless interface 164 (shown individually as 164-1 and 164). In some implementations, the satellites 160 may operate as passive or transparent network relay nodes with respect to communication between the UE 110 and a terrestrial network (e.g., the RAN 120). In some implementations, the satellites 160 may operate as active or regenerative network nodes such that the satellites 160 can operate as a base station for the UE 110 (e.g., as a gNB of the RAN 120) with respect to communication between the UE 110 and the RAN 120. In some implementations, the satellites 160 may communicate with each other directly via a wireless interface (e.g., 166) or indirectly via a wireless interface (e.g., using interfaces 164-1 and 164-2 via the RAN 120).

[0033] Additionally or alternatively, the satellites 160 may include GEO satellites, LEO satellites, or another type of satellite. The satellites 160 may also or alternatively be related to one or more satellite systems or architectures such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), etc. In some implementations, the satellites 160 may operate as a base station 122 for the UE 110. Accordingly, references to the base station 122 herein may include implementations where the base station 122 is a terrestrial network node and implementations where the base station 122 is a non-terrestrial network node (e.g., the satellites 160). As described herein, the UE 110 and the base station 122 may communicate with each other via the interface 114 to enable enhanced power saving techniques.

[0034] Figure 2 is a diagram of an exemplary overview 200 of sidelink resource selection according to one or more implementations described herein. The exemplary overview 200 can correspond to dynamic sidelink resource selection and allocation scenarios (e.g., a configured grant type 1 scenario where the base station 122 manages sidelink resource selection). For purposes of explaining Figure 2, assume that UE110-1 has already performed sidelink discovery, authentication, and link establishment with another UE (e.g., UE110-2).

[0035] As shown, UE110-1 can transmit an SR to the base station 122 for sidelink resources (at 2.1). UE110-1 can transmit the SR using a licensed spectrum, and the SR can be a request for sidelink resources within an unlicensed spectrum. In response to the SR, the base station 122 can determine sidelink resources suitable for UE110-1 to participate in sidelink communication, which can be based on one or more of various factors or conditions such as sidelink resources currently allocated to other UEs 110, the BSR received in the SR, the capabilities of UE110-1, sidelink congestion recently reported by one or more UEs 110, etc. Having determined the appropriate sidelink resources, the base station 122 can respond to the request by providing a configured grant to the UE110 (at 2.2).

[0036] Since the configured grant may relate to unlicensed spectrum resources, the configured grant may prompt UE110-1 to verify the availability of the allocated resources. In this way, UE110-1 and / or UE110-2 can perform a LBT procedure, a CCA procedure, or another type of evaluation to determine the availability of the sidelink resources (in 2.3) allocated by base station 122. When it is determined that the allocated sidelink resources are available, UE110-1 can proceed by communicating with UE110-2 using the sidelink resources (in 2.4). The configured grant may enable unidirectional or bidirectional communication between UE110-1 and UE110-2 (e.g., via PSCCH and / or PSSCH). Unidirectional communication may include information provided from one device to another device (e.g., from UE110-1 to UE110-2). Bidirectional communication may include information provided between devices (e.g., between both UE110-1 and UE110-2).

[0037] UE110-1 and UE110-2 can implement the HARQ protocol to help verify transmission success and failure. As shown for example, UE110-2 can communicate a HARQ response to UE110-1 (in 2.5), and UE110-1 can transmit or notify base station 122 of the HARQ response (in 2.6). By doing so, UE110-1 notifies base station 122 that the allocated sidelink resources are being used, and can notify base station 122 whether the sidelink resources are being used properly (e.g., based on an acknowledgement (ACK) message or a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message transferred to base station 122). Base station 122 receives the HARQ response, determines whether to update the configured grant of the sidelink resources, and can provide the updated configured grant to UE110-1 accordingly (e.g., so that UE110-1 can retransmit information not acknowledged by UE110-2) (in 2.7).

[0038] Figure 3 is a diagram of another exemplary overview 300 of sidelink resource selection according to one or more implementations described herein. The exemplary overview 300 can correspond to a resource pool sidelink resource selection and allocation scenario.

[0039] As shown, UE110-1 can receive sidelink resource pool configuration information from base station 122 (in 3.1). The sidelink resource pool information can include the range of possible sidelink resources that UE110-1 can use to communicate with other UEs 110 via sidelink. Thus, UE110-1 can verify the availability of sidelink resources from the sidelink pool by performing a LBT procedure, a CCA procedure, or one or more other types of resource availability verification procedures (in 3.2) to identify and reserve sidelink resources. In response to successfully determining that one or more sidelink resources (e.g., sidelink carriers, sidelink channels, etc.) are available, UE110-1 can communicate resource reservation information to other UEs in the area (e.g., UE110-2 to UE110-N) (in 3.3). Additionally or alternatively, UE110-1 may provide resource reservation information to base station 122 (in 3.4). The resource reservation information may describe the sidelink resources (e.g., carriers, channels, periodicity, number of repetitions, etc.) that UE110-1 will use for sidelink communication. Providing the resource reservation information to other devices can enhance sidelink resource selection across the network as it allows base station 122 or other UEs 110 to identify sidelink resources that are not available to them. As shown, UE110-1 can use the resources reserved for communicating with UE110-2 via sidelink (in 3.5). The sidelink communication can include, for example, implementation of HARQ procedures to allow UE110-1 to verify that the sidelink communication was successful, retransmit information if appropriate, and trigger reselection and reservation of alternative sidelink resources if necessary.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process 400 for sidelink resource selection according to one or more implementations described herein. The process 400 may be implemented by the UE 110 and the base station 122. In some implementations, some or all of the process 400 may be executed by one or more other systems or devices including one or more of the devices of FIG. 1. Further, the process 400 may include one or more fewer, additional, different-ordered, and / or arranged operations than those shown in FIG. 4. In some implementations, some or all of the operations of the process 400 may be executed independently of, sequentially with, simultaneously with, etc., one or more of the other operations of the process 400. Accordingly, the techniques described herein are not limited to the number, sequence, arrangement, timing, etc. of the operations or processes shown in FIG. 4.

[0041] As shown, the process 400 may include sidelink connection discovery, authentication, and link establishment (at 410). In some implementations, this may include SL-RNTI allocation, SL-SR resource allocation, etc. Accordingly, the process 400 may begin after the UE 110-1 and the UE 110-2 have already discovered each other, authenticated for sidelink communication, and established a link with each other. The remainder of the process 400 can handle scenarios where the UE 110-1 continues to communicate with the UE 110-2 and thus sidelink resource selection allocation operations are performed.

[0042] For example, as shown, UE110-1 can send a sidelink resource request to base station 122 (at 420). In some implementations, the sidelink resource request may include an SR and / or corresponding BSR for sidelink resources. In some implementations, the sidelink resource request may be sent to base station 122 via a licensed spectrum. In some implementations, the sidelink resource request may be sent to base station 122 via an unlicensed spectrum. In such scenarios, the sidelink resource request may be sent during a COT initiated by base station 122 or UE110-1. The COT may correspond to a duration that includes the sidelink resource request, the sidelink grant, and the use of the sidelink resources of the sidelink grant (e.g., for communication with another UE110-2). In some implementations, UE110 may use type 1 channel access procedures for physical random access channel (PRACH) transmissions that include an SR and / or BSR. The transmission may not include user plane data and may correspond to a particular priority class (e.g., priority class 1).

[0043] In some implementations, the SR transmitted by UE110-1 to base station 122 can be dedicated or configured for a mode 1 type of sidelink configured grant procedure (e.g., a network-managed dynamically scheduled configured grant procedure). For example, the SR transmitted by UE110-1 can include a data set identifying the SR as being for a mode 1 type of sidelink configured grant, one or more parameters, etc. Implementing an SR specifically configured for a mode 1 scenario can facilitate distinguishing it from other types of SR (e.g., SRs not for dynamic sidelink resource requests and allocations). In implementations where UE110-1 is not configured to transmit an SR dedicated to a mode 1 type of sidelink configured grant procedure, UE110-1 can use a random access procedure (e.g., trigger) to report that the SR is for a mode 1 type of sidelink configured grant. For example, UE110-1 can use MsgA and / or Msg3 of PRACH to indicate that the SR is for a mode 1 type of sidelink configured grant procedure.

[0044] The base station 122 can receive an SR from the UE110-1, determine one or more sidelink resources suitable for enabling the UE110-1 to participate in or continue to participate in sidelink communication, and provide a corresponding sidelink grant to the UE110-1 (at 430). The sidelink grant can be a configured grant for the sidelink resources and can include a type 1 configured grant or a type 2 configured grant. In some implementations, the sidelink grant can indicate a CCA type. This can include a 1-bit indication in the sidelink grant. If the sidelink grant indicates a type 1 CCA procedure, the UE110-1 can respond by determining a priority class of the CCA procedure. Alternatively, if the sidelink grant indicates a type 1 CCA and a corresponding priority class. The CCA type and the priority class can include a 2-bit indication (e.g., 1 bit for the CCA type and 1 bit for the priority class). The priority class can be based on BSR information and / or BSR logical channels. For example, a BSR indicating time-sensitive information (e.g., streaming data, real-time data, VoIP communication, etc.) can cause a higher level of priority to be assigned by the CCA procedure. In some implementations, the CCA type is not indicated by the base station 122 and can instead be determined by the UE110-1 (e.g., based on the nature of the sidelink communication, BSR information, etc.).

[0045] CCA type 1 can be a full CCA procedure. The procedure can include the following steps. 1) N = N init is set, where N init is between 0 and CW pIt can be a random number uniformly distributed among them, proceed to Step 4, 2) If N>0 and the sidelink UE can choose to decrement the counter (for example, set SetN = N - 1). 3) Sense the channel over the additional sensing slot duration. If the additional sensing slot duration is idle, proceed to Step 4; otherwise, proceed to Step 5; 4) If N = 0, stop; otherwise, proceed to Step 2. 5) Whether a busy sensing slot is detected within the additional delay duration T d or all the sensing slots of the additional delay duration T d can be detected as idle. Sense the channel until either one is detected. 6) If the channel is detected as idle during all the sensing slot durations of the additional delay duration T d , proceed to Step 4. Otherwise, proceed to Step 5. The delay duration T d can consist of m p consecutive sensing slot durations T sl followed immediately by a duration T f = 16 μs, and T f includes the idle sensing slot duration T f at the start of T sl . CW max、p is the contention window and is CW p or CW min、p below. CW min and CW max and the corresponding priorities can have two options as shown in the following table.

Table 1

Table 2

[0046] Type 2 channel access can be one-shot LBT. Type 2A sidelink UE channel access procedure: When the sidelink UE is instructed to execute the Type 2A sidelink channel access procedure, the sidelink UE can use the Type 2A sidelink channel access procedure for sidelink transmission. The sidelink UE can transmit immediately after detecting that the channel is idle for at least the detection interval T short_ul of 25 μs. T short_ul can consist of a duration T f = 16 μs followed immediately by one slot detection slot, and T f includes the detection slot at the start of T f . The channel is considered idle during T short_ul if both detection slots of T short_ul are detected as idle.

[0047] Type 2B sidelink channel access procedure: When the sidelink UE is instructed to execute the Type 2B sidelink channel access procedure, the sidelink UE can use the Type 2B sidelink channel access procedure for sidelink transmission. The UE can transmit immediately after detecting that the channel is idle within a duration T f = 16 μs. T f can include the detection slot occurring within the last 9 μs of T f . The channel can be considered idle within the duration T f if the channel is detected to be idle for a total of at least 5 μs and at least 4 μs of detection occurs in the detection slot. Type 2C sidelink channel access procedure. When it is indicated that the sidelink UE executes the Type 2C sidelink channel access procedure for sidelink transmission, the sidelink UE may not detect the channel before transmission. The corresponding sidelink transmission duration can be up to 584 μs.

[0048] In some implementations, the base station 122 can indicate whether the sidelink grant corresponds to a partial bandwidth (BW) or full BW allocation. The starting point of the partial BW scenario can be configured (e.g., explicitly done). The partial BW scenario can include a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) situation in which multiple sidelink transmissions are properly structured and aligned to avoid one UE starting sidelink transmissions early and blocking other FDM transmissions. The manner in which sidelink transmissions are coordinated and synchronized may be referred to as an interleaving structure. In the case of the full BW scenario, a 20 megahertz (MHz) BW can be allocated to one UE110 each having a 10 / 5 interleaving structure for 15 / 30 kilohertz (kHz). UE110-1 can select a random starting position within the first symbol of the full BW and use a cyclic prefix (CP) extension to fill any remaining, partial, or half symbol. In some implementations, the base station 122 can also, or alternatively, identify a set of starting positions and notify that set to UE110-1, and UE110-1 can select a starting symbol from the set of starting positions. In some implementations, UE110-1 can do so upon normal completion of procedures such as the LBT procedure, CCA procedure, etc.

[0049] UE110-1 can perform the CCA procedure (at 440). The CCA procedure can meet the requirements for a wireless device (e.g., UE) to verify that an unlicensed spectrum resource is available (e.g., via LBT, CCA, signal-to-noise measurement, and / or one or more other or additional resource monitoring procedures). For the purpose of explaining FIG. 4, assume that the CCA procedure has succeeded (e.g., UE110-1 determines that a sidelink grant resource is available for use). UE110-1 can proceed to use the sidelink grant to communicate information to UE110-2 via sidelink transmission (at 450). The communication between UE110-1 and UE110-2 may be performed via PUSCH and / or PSSCH, and the transmission start position may depend on whether a partial BW and / or full BW is allocated via a configured grant (e.g., sidelink grant). UE110-1 and UE110-2 may be configured to perform a HARQ operation. For example, UE110-2 can respond to the sidelink transmission from 110-1 by sending an ACK message or a NACK message (at 460) depending on whether the sidelink transmission was successfully received. Sidelink HARQ and potential sidelink data may be shared during the COT, and the COT sharing information may be provided via the PSCCH between UE110-1 and UE110-2.

[0050] UE110-1 may be configured to receive an ACK or NACK message (at 460). And it may communicate the ACK or NACK message to the base station 122 (at 470). A normal acknowledgment message (e.g., an ACK message) can indicate to UE110-1 and / or the base station 122 (e.g., via the PUCCH in the licensed band) whether the resources of the sidelink grant have been used normally and / or whether additional or alternative sidelink resources may be useful for the communication between UE110-1 and UE110-2. For example, an ACK message or a NACK message can cause the base station 122 to provide UE110-1 with another sidelink transmission grant that may extend the time for which UE110-1 can use the sidelink grant, a sidelink grant including additional sidelink resources (e.g., a retransmission grant), a sidelink grant including alternative sidelink resources, etc. (at 480).

[0051] Accordingly, one or more of the techniques described herein may enable UE110 to obtain a sidelink configuration grant for sidelink resources (e.g., unlicensed spectrum resources, performing monitoring procedures for using resources, using resources according to a configured grant, and implementing HARQ procedures for determining / reporting whether sidelink resources are being used normally, allocating additional / alternative sidelink resources, etc.).

[0052] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are an example of a process 500 for sidelink resource selection according to one or more implementations described herein. The process 500 may be implemented by the UE 110 and the base station 122. In some implementations, some or all of the process 400 may be performed by one or more other systems or devices including one or more of the devices of FIG. 1. Further, the process 500 may include additional, different orders and / or arrangements of operations that are one or more less than those shown in FIGS. 5 and / or 6. In some implementations, some or all of the operations of the process 500 may be performed independently of, sequentially with, simultaneously with, etc., one or more of the other operations of the process 500. Accordingly, the techniques described herein are not limited to the number, sequence, arrangement, timing, etc. of the operations or processes shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0053] As shown, process 500 may include sidelink connection discovery, authentication, and link establishment including UE110-1, UE110-2, and base station 122 (at 510). Process 500 may include sidelink connection discovery, authentication, and link establishment including UE110-3 and UE110-4 (at 520). UE110-1 may select one or more sidelink resources from a pool of sidelink resources previously provided by a network device such as base station 122. UE110-1 may perform Category 4 (CAT4) sensing operations such as LBT procedures, CCA procedures, etc. with respect to the selected sidelink resources (at 530). If the CAT4 sensing operation is successful. UE110-1 may reserve the corresponding sidelink resources (via reservation signaling) and notify nearby UEs (e.g., UE110-2, UE110-3, UE110-4, etc.) and / or base station 122 that UE110-1 has reserved sidelink resources for sidelink communication (at 540-1, 540-2, 540-3, 540-4). By doing so, it can be notified to UE110 and base station 122 that a specific resource among the pool of resources designated by the network for sidelink communication is currently reserved and thus should not be used by other users.

[0054] In some implementations, the reservation signaling from UE110-1 can cause other UEs (e.g., UE110-5) to be notified to refrain from transmitting specific UL scheduling to the base station 122 to avoid collision with the resources reserved (at 550). After the reservation signaling, UE110-1 can perform Category 2 (CAT2) sensing during the maximum call occupancy time (MCOT) and another period corresponding to the reserved sidelink resources (at 560). UE110-3 and 110-4 can perform sensing operations (e.g., CAT4 sensing operations) for non-reserved sidelink resources (e.g., sidelink resources from a pool of sidelink resources that are not currently reserved) (at 570-1 and 570-2). UE110-1 can communicate sidelink transmissions to UE110-2 based on the reserved sidelink resources (at 580), and UE110-2 can respond with a sidelink ACK / NACK message (at 590) depending on, for example, whether the sidelink transmission from UE110-1 was successfully received.

[0055] Referring now to FIG. 6, process 500 can proceed to have UE110-3 perform a CAT4 sensing operation regarding the selected sidelink resource (at 630). If the CAT4 sensing operation is successful, UE110-3 reserves the corresponding sidelink resource (via reservation signaling) and can notify nearby UEs (e.g., UE110-1, UE110-2, UE110-4, etc.) and / or the base station 122 that UE110-3 has reserved a specific sidelink resource for sidelink communication (at 620-1, 620-2, 620-3, 620-4). By doing so, it can be notified to UE110 and the base station 122 that a specific resource in the pool of resources designated by the network for sidelink communication is currently reserved and thus should not be used by other users.

[0056] In some implementations, the reservation signaling from UE110-3 can cause other UEs (e.g., UE110-5) to be notified to refrain from transmitting specific UL transmission scheduling to the base station 122 to avoid collision with the resources reserved (at 630). After the reservation signaling, UE110-3 can communicate sidelink transmissions to UE110-4 based on the reserved sidelink resources (at 640), and UE110-4 can respond with a sidelink ACK / NACK message (at 650) depending on, for example, whether the sidelink transmission from UE110-3 was successfully received.

[0057] Process 500 can proceed (at 670) with UE110-2 performing a detection operation (e.g., a CAT4 detection operation) for unreserved sidelink resources (e.g., sidelink resources from a pool of sidelink resources not currently reserved by another UE). In response to the success of the CAT4 detection operation (at 670), UE110-2 can proceed with, for example, selection of sidelink resources, reservation of sidelink resources, notification of the reservation to other devices (not shown), etc., and process 500 can continue in a similar manner to enable identification and selection of sidelink resources available for UE110s to communicate with each other.

[0058] Figures 7 and 8 are an example of a process 700 for sidelink resource selection according to one or more implementations described herein. The process 700 may be implemented by the UE 110 and the base station 122. In some implementations, some or all of the process 700 may be executed by one or more other systems or devices including one or more of the devices of FIG. 1. Further, the process 700 may include one or more fewer, additional, different-ordered, and / or arranged operations than those shown in FIGS. 7 and / or 8. In some implementations, some or all of the operations of the process 700 may be executed independently of, sequentially, simultaneously, etc. with one or more of the other operations of the process 700. Accordingly, the techniques described herein are not limited to the number, sequence, arrangement, timing, etc. of the operations or processes shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0059] As shown, the process 700 may include sidelink connection discovery, authentication, and link establishment including the UE 110-1 and the UE 110-2 (at 710). The process 700 may include sidelink connection discovery, authentication, and link establishment including the UE 110-3 and the UE 110-4 (at 720). The UE 110-1 may select one or more sidelink resources from a pool of sidelink resources previously provided by a network device such as a base station (not shown). The UE 110-1 may perform Category 4 (CAT4) detection operations such as LBT procedures and CCA procedures with respect to the selected sidelink resources (at 730). If the CAT4 detection operation is successful. The UE 110-1 may reserve the corresponding sidelink resource (via reservation signaling) and notify nearby UEs (e.g., UE 110-2, UE 110-3, UE 110-4, etc.) that the UE 110-1 has reserved a sidelink resource for sidelink communication (at 740-1, 740-2, 740-3). By doing so, it can be notified to the UE 110 that a specific resource of the pool of resources designated by the network for sidelink communication is currently reserved and should not be used by other users.

[0060] After the reservation signaling, UE110-1 can perform Category 2 (CAT2) detection during the MCOT and during another period corresponding to the reserved sidelink resource (at 750). UE110-3 and 110-4 can perform a detection operation (e.g., a CAT4 detection operation) for non-reserved sidelink resources (e.g., sidelink resources from a pool of sidelink resources that are not currently reserved) (at 760-1 and 760-2). UE110-1 can communicate a sidelink transmission to UE110-2 based on the reserved sidelink resource (at 770), and UE110-2 can respond with a sidelink ACK / NACK message depending on, for example, whether the sidelink transmission from UE110-1 was successfully received (at 780).

[0061] Referring now to FIG. 8, process 700 can proceed to perform a CAT4 detection operation for the sidelink resource selected by UE110-3 (at 810). If the CAT4 detection operation is successful, UE110-3 reserves the corresponding sidelink resource (via reservation signaling) and can notify nearby UEs (e.g., UE110-1, UE110-2, UE110-4, etc.) that UE110-3 has reserved a particular sidelink resource for sidelink communication (at 820-1, 820-2, 820-3). By doing so, it can be notified to UE110 that a particular resource of the pool of resources designated by the network for sidelink communication is currently reserved and should not be used by other users. After the reservation signaling, UE110-3 can communicate a sidelink transmission to UE110-4 based on the reserved sidelink resource (at 830), and UE110-4 can respond with a sidelink ACK / NACK message depending on, for example, whether the sidelink transmission from UE110-3 was successfully received (at 840).

[0062] Process 700 can proceed to perform a detection operation (e.g., a CAT4 detection operation) for a non-reserved sidelink resource (e.g., a sidelink resource from a pool of sidelink resources not currently reserved by another UE) by UE110-2 (at 850). In response to the success of the CAT4 detection operation (at 860), UE110-2 can proceed to select a sidelink resource, reserve the sidelink resource, notify other devices of the reservation, etc. (not shown), and process 700 can continue in a similar manner to enable identification and selection of sidelink resources available for UE110 to communicate with each other.

[0063] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of components of a device according to one or more implementations described herein. In some implementations, device 900 can include at least an integrally coupled application circuit configuration 902, baseband circuit configuration 904, RF circuit configuration 906, front-end module (FEM) circuit configuration 908, one or more antennas 910, and a power management circuit configuration (PMC) 912, as at least shown. The illustrated components of device 900 can be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some implementations, device 900 may include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize application circuit configuration 902 and instead may include a processor / controller that processes IP data received from a CN such as 5GC130 or an evolved packet core (EPC)). In some implementations, device 900 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory / storage, a display, a camera, sensors (including one or more temperature sensors such as a single temperature sensor, multiple temperature sensors at different locations within device 900), or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other implementations, the components described below may be included in two or more devices (e.g., the above-described circuit configurations may be separately included in two or more devices in a cloud RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0064] UE110 may use one or more components of FIG. 9 to perform one or more operations for the processes described herein. For example, UE110 may use application circuit configuration 902, baseband circuit configuration 904, RF circuit configuration 906, front-end module (FEM) circuit configuration 908, one or more antennas 910, and power management circuit configuration (PMC) 912 to communicate a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band to base station 122 via a first frequency band, receive from the base station, in response to the request, dynamic grants and configured grants regarding the sidelink resources, execute a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the dynamic grant or configured grant, select a sidelink resource based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or configured grant, and communicate with another UE110-2 based on the sidelink resource. The first frequency band is a licensed frequency band, and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band.

[0065] Application circuit configuration 902 may include one or more application processors. For example, application circuit configuration 902 may include, but is not limited to, circuit configurations such as one or more single-core processors or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to memory / storage or may include memory / storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable the execution of various applications or operating systems on device 900. In some implementations, the processor of application circuit configuration 902 may be able to process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0066] The baseband circuit configuration 904 may include, but is not limited to, circuit configurations such as one or more single-core processors or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit configuration 904 can include one or more baseband processors or control logics that process the baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit configuration 906 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit configuration 906. The baseband circuit configuration 904 can interface with the application circuit configuration 902 for generating and processing baseband signals and controlling the operation of the RF circuit configuration 906. For example, in some implementations, the baseband circuit configuration 904 can include a 3G baseband processor 904A, a 4G baseband processor 904B, a 5G baseband processor 904C, or another baseband processor(s) 904D for other existing, under-development, or future-developed generations (e.g., 2G, 6G, etc.). The baseband circuit configuration 904 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 904A - D) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more wireless networks via the RF circuit configuration 906. In other implementations, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 904A - D may be included in modules stored in the memory 904G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 904E. The radio control functions can include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some implementations, the modulation / demodulation circuit configuration of the baseband circuit configuration 904 can include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some implementations, the encoding / decoding circuit configuration of the baseband circuit configuration 904 can include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functionality. Implementations of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and can include other suitable functionality in other implementations.

[0067] In some implementations, the baseband circuit configuration 904 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 904F. The audio DSP(s) 904F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other implementations, may include other suitable processing elements. The components of the baseband circuit configuration may be suitably combined within a single chip, a single chipset, or, in some implementations, may be disposed on the same circuit board. In some implementations, some or all of the components of the composition of the baseband circuit configuration 904 and the application circuit configuration 902 may be integrally implemented, for example, on a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0068] In some implementations, the baseband circuit configuration 904 can provide communication compatible with one or more wireless technologies. For example, in some implementations, the baseband circuit configuration 904 can support communication with NG-RAN, evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN), and the like. Implementations in which the baseband circuit configuration 904 is configured to support wireless communication of two or more wireless protocols can be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuit configurations.

[0069] The RF circuit configuration 906 can enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation via a non-solid medium. In various implementations, the RF circuit configuration 906 can include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuit configuration 906 can include a receive signal path that may include a circuit configuration that down-converts the RF signal received from the FEM circuit configuration 908 and provides the baseband signal to the baseband circuit configuration 904. The RF circuit configuration 906 can also include a transmit signal path that may include a circuit configuration that up-converts the baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit configuration 904 and provides an RF output signal for transmission to the FEM circuit configuration 908.

[0070] In some implementations, the receive signal path of the RF circuit configuration 906 can include a mixer circuit configuration 906A, an amplifier circuit configuration 906B, and a filter circuit configuration 906C. In some implementations, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit configuration 906 can include a filter circuit configuration 906C and a mixer circuit configuration 906A. The RF circuit configuration 906 can also include a synthesizer circuit configuration 906D that synthesizes the frequencies used by the mixer circuit configuration 906A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some implementations, the mixer circuit configuration 906A of the receive signal path can be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit configuration 908 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit configuration 906D. The amplifier circuit configuration 906B can be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit configuration 906C can be a low-pass filter (LPF) or a band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal and generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal can be provided to the baseband circuit configuration 904 for further processing. In some implementations, the output baseband signal can be a 0-frequency baseband signal, but this is not a requirement. In some implementations, the mixer circuit configuration 906A of the receive signal path can include a passive mixer, but the scope of the implementation is not limited to this point.

[0071] In some implementations, the mixer circuit configuration 906A of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert an input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit configuration 906D and generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit configuration 908. The baseband signal can be provided by the baseband circuit configuration 904 and can be filtered by the filter circuit configuration 906C.

[0072] In some implementations, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the implementation is not limited to this point. In some alternative implementations, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative implementations, the RF circuit configuration 906 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit configuration, and the baseband circuit configuration 904 can include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuit configuration 906.

[0073] The FEM circuit configuration 908 can include a receive signal path that operates on RF signals received from one or more antennas 910, amplifies the received signals, and provides an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuit configuration 906 for further processing. The FEM circuit configuration 908 can also include a transmit signal path that includes a circuit configuration configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuit configuration 906 and transmitted by one or more of the one or more antennas 910. In various implementations, amplification through the transmit or receive signal path may be performed only in the RF circuit configuration 906, only in the FEM circuit configuration 908, or in both the RF circuit configuration 906 and the FEM circuit configuration 908.

[0074] In some implementations, the FEM circuit configuration 908 can include a Tx / Rx switch for switching between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit configuration can include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit configuration can include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) that amplifies the received RF signal and provides the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit configuration 906). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit configuration 908 can include a power amplifier (PA) that amplifies an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit configuration 906), and one or more filters that generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 910).

[0075] In some implementations, PMC912 can manage the power supplied to baseband circuit configuration 904. Specifically, PMC912 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When device 900 can be powered by a battery, for example, when this device is included in a UE, in many cases, PMC912 can be included. PMC912 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0076] FIG. 9 shows PMC912 coupled only to baseband circuit configuration 904. However, in other implementations, PMC912 can be additionally or alternatively coupled to other components including, but not limited to, application circuit configuration 902, RF circuit configuration 906, or FEM circuit configuration 908 to perform similar power management operations.

[0077] In some implementations, PMC912 can control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of device 900. For example, if device 900 is in the RRC_Connected state where it is still connected to the RAN node as it is expected to receive traffic soon, after a certain inactive period, the device can enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, device 900 can save power by powering off at short intervals.

[0078] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an exemplary interface of a baseband circuit configuration according to one or more implementations described herein. As described above, the baseband circuit configuration 904 of FIG. 9 can include processors 904A - 904E and memory 904G utilized by the processors. Each of processors 904A - 904E can include memory interfaces 1004A - 1004E, respectively, for transmitting and receiving data to and from memory 904G.

[0079] UE 110 may use one or more components of FIG. 10 to perform one or more operations for the processes described herein. For example, UE 110 may use one or more processors 904A - 904E, memory interfaces 1004A - 1004E, and memory 904G to communicate a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band to base station 122 via a first frequency band, receive from the base station a dynamic grant or a configured grant regarding the sidelink resource in response to the request, perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the dynamic grant or the configured grant, select a sidelink resource based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or the configured grant, and communicate with another UE 110 - 2 based on the sidelink resource. The first frequency band is a licensed frequency band, and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band.

[0080] The baseband circuit configuration 904 may further include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling with other circuit configurations / devices, such as a memory interface 1012 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data between the baseband circuit configuration 904 and an external memory), an application circuit configuration interface 1014 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data between the application circuit configuration 902 of FIG. 9), an RF circuit configuration interface 1016 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data between the RF circuit configuration 906 of FIG. 9), a wireless hardware connection interface 1018 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data between near - field communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi - Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 1020 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving power or control signals between PMC 912).

[0081] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing components that can read instructions from a machine-readable medium or a computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and execute any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 11 shows a hardware resource 1100 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1110, one or more memory / storage devices 1120, and one or more communication resources 1130, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1140. In embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1102 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices for utilizing the hardware resources 1100.

[0082] UE 110 and base station 122 may use one or more components of FIG. 11 to perform one or more operations for the processes described herein. For example, the processor 1110, instructions 1150, memory / storage device 1120, and communication resource 1130 may be used such that the UE communicates a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band to the base station 122 via a first frequency band, receives from the base station a dynamic grant or a configured grant for the sidelink resource in response to the request, executes a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the dynamic grant or the configured grant, selects a sidelink resource based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or the configured grant, and enables communication with another UE 110-2 based on the sidelink resource. The first frequency band is a licensed frequency band, and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band.

[0083] The processor 1110 (e.g., a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1112 and processor 1114.

[0084] The memory / storage device 1120 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1120 may include any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, including but not limited to dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state storage, etc.

[0085] The communication resource 1130 may include an interconnect or network interface component or other suitable device for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1104 or one or more databases 1106 via the network 1108. For example, the communication resource 1130 may include a wired communication component (for coupling via, e.g., a universal serial bus (USB)), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, a Bluetooth® component (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), a Wi-Fi® component, and other communication components.

[0086] Command 1150 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any one of processors 1110 to execute any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Command 1150 may be wholly or partially present within at least one of processors 1110 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), within memory / storage device 1120, or within any suitable combination thereof. Further, any portion of Command 1150 may be transferred from any combination of peripheral devices 1104 or database 1106 to hardware resource 1100. Accordingly, the memory of processor 1110, memory / storage device 1120, peripheral devices 1104, and database 1106 are examples of computer-readable media and machine-readable media.

[0087] Embodiments herein can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing actions or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory such as a processor, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform actions of a method or apparatus or system for simultaneous communication using multiple communication techniques according to the described implementations and embodiments.

[0088] In Example 1, which may similarly include one or more of the examples described herein, a baseband processor of a user equipment (UE) communicates a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band to a base station via a first frequency band, receives from the base station, in response to the request, a dynamic grant or a configured grant regarding the sidelink resource, executes a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the dynamic grant or the configured grant, selects a sidelink resource based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or the configured grant, and may include one or more processors configured to communicate with another UE based on the sidelink resource. In Example 2, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the first frequency band is a licensed frequency band and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band.

[0089] In Example 3, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the request for sidelink resource selection includes a scheduling request (SR). In Example 4, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the request for sidelink resource selection includes a buffer status report (BSR). In Example 5, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the configured grant includes a type 1 configured grant or a type 2 configured grant. In Example 6, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the one or more processors are further configured to communicate with another UE via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and / or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) when the CCA procedure is successful.

[0090] In Example 7, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, one or more processors are further configured to perform sidelink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) procedures for shared channel occupancy time (COT). In Example 8, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, one or more processors are further configured to send an update of sidelink resource selection to a base station. In Example 9, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, one or more processors are further configured to communicate sidelink resource selection to UEs within an area. In Example 10, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, one or more processors are further configured to receive sidelink resource configuration grant retransmission from a base station.

[0091] In Example 11, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, a base station includes a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors configured to receive, from a user equipment (UE) via a first frequency band, a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band, and in response to the request, execute instructions to communicate to the UE a dynamic grant or a configuration grant regarding the sidelink resource, the dynamic grant or the configuration grant causing the UE to perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the dynamic grant or the configuration grant, select a sidelink resource based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or the configuration grant, and communicate with another UE based on the sidelink resource.

[0092] In Example 11, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, for sidelink communication with another UE, a sidelink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) positive acknowledgment (ACK) or HARQ negative ACK (NACK) is received from the UE. In Example 12, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, a user equipment (UE) receives sidelink communication from another UE via a sidelink resource assigned by a base station to the other UE through a memory device configured to store instructions, the sidelink communication including information indicating a sidelink resource reserved by the other UE for the sidelink communication, and communicates a sidelink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) positive acknowledgment (ACK) or HARQ negative ACK (NACK) to the other UE based on whether the sidelink communication was properly received, and executes instructions configured to communicate information indicating a sidelink resource reserved by the other UE for the sidelink communication to another UE, and includes one or more processors configured to do so.

[0093] In Example 13, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the sidelink resource is reserved via a dynamic grant or a configured grant from a base station via a first frequency band, and the sidelink communication is performed via a second frequency band. In Example 14, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the first frequency band is a licensed frequency band and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band. In Example 15, which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, the UE and another UE communicate with each other via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and / or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0094] The above description of the illustrated embodiments, implementations, aspects, etc. of the disclosed subject matter, including the content described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed aspects to the exact form disclosed. Specific examples, implementations, aspects, etc. are described herein for illustrative purposes, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various modifications within the scope of such examples, implementations, aspects, etc. are possible.

[0095] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in relation to various examples, implementations, aspects, etc. and the corresponding drawings, it should be understood that other similar aspects can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the disclosed subject matter without departing from the subject matter, to perform the same, similar, alternative, or substitute functions. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single example, implementation, aspect described herein, but rather should be construed in accordance with the breadth and scope of the following appended claims.

[0096] Specifically, with respect to the various functions performed by the above-described components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms used to describe such components (including descriptions related to "means") are intended to correspond to any component or structure that performs the specific function of the described component, even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs the functions of the exemplary implementations of the invention illustrated herein (e.g., functionally equivalent), unless otherwise specified. Further, a particular feature may be disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, but such a feature may be combined with one or more other features of one or more other implementations as may be desirable and advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0097] As used herein, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context, "X uses A or B" is intended to mean any of all possible permutations. That is, in the case where "X uses A", in the case where "X uses B", or in the case where "X uses both A and B", each of the foregoing cases satisfies "X uses A or B". In addition, the articles "a" and "an" used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or it is clear from the context that they refer to the singular form. Further, when "including", "includes", "having", "has", "with", or variations thereof are used in either the embodiments of the invention or the claims, these terms are intended to be as inclusive as the term "comprising". Further, in situations where one or more numbered items (e.g., "first X", "second X", etc.) are described, generally, these one or more numbered items may be distinct or the same, but in some situations, the context may indicate whether the one or more numbered items are distinct or the same.

[0098] The use of personal information should be well understood to comply with privacy policies and practices that meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personal information data should be managed and handled to minimize the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly shown to the user.

Claims

1. A baseband processor of a user equipment (UE), comprising: One or more processors, wherein the one or more processors: Communicate a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band to a base station via a first frequency band; Receive, from the base station in response to the request, a dynamic grant or a configured grant for allocating sidelink resources; Execute a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure in response to receiving the dynamic grant or the configured grant; Select one or more sidelink resources based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or the configured grant; A baseband processor configured to communicate with another UE based on the one or more sidelink resources.

2. The baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the first frequency band is a licensed frequency band and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band.

3. The baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the request for sidelink resource selection includes a scheduling request (SR).

4. The baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the request for sidelink resource selection includes a buffer status report (BSR).

5. The baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the configured grant includes a type 1 configured grant or a type 2 configured grant.

6. The one or more processors: The baseband processor according to claim 1, further configured to communicate with the another UE via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and / or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) when the CCA procedure is successful.

7. The one or more processors: The baseband processor according to claim 1, further configured to execute a sidelink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) procedure during a shared channel occupancy time (COT).

8. The one or more processors: The baseband processor according to claim 1, further configured to transmit an update of the sidelink resource selection to the base station.

9. The one or more processors: The baseband processor according to claim 1, further configured to communicate the sidelink resource selection to UEs in the area.

10. The one or more processors: The baseband processor according to claim 1, further configured to receive a sidelink resource configuration grant retransmission from the base station.

11. A memory configured to store instructions, One or more processors configured to execute the instructions, wherein the instructions cause the base station to Receive, from a user equipment (UE) via a first frequency band, a request for sidelink resource selection in a second frequency band, In response to the request, communicate a dynamic grant or a configuration grant related to the sidelink resource to the UE, The dynamic grant or the configuration grant causes the UE to execute a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the dynamic grant or the configuration grant, select a sidelink resource based on the CCA procedure and the dynamic grant or the configuration grant, and communicate with another UE based on the sidelink resource.

12. The base station according to claim 11, wherein the first frequency band is a licensed frequency band and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band.

13. The base station according to claim 11, wherein the request for sidelink resource selection includes a scheduling request (SR).

14. The base station according to claim 11, wherein the request for sidelink resource selection includes a buffer status report (BSR).

15. The base station according to claim 11, wherein the configuration grant includes a type 1 configuration grant or a type 2 configuration grant.

16. The base station according to claim 11, wherein a sidelink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) or HARQ negative ACK (NACK) is received from the UE regarding the sidelink communication with the another UE.

17. A user equipment (UE) comprising A memory device configured to store instructions, One or more processors, wherein the one or more processors cause the UE to Receive sidelink communication from another UE via a sidelink resource allocated by the base station to the another UE, wherein the sidelink communication includes information indicating a sidelink resource reserved by the another UE for sidelink communication. Based on whether the sidelink communication is properly received, communicate a sidelink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) or HARQ negative ACK (NACK) to the other UE, A user equipment (UE) configured to execute an instruction to cause another UE to communicate the information indicating the sidelink resource reserved by the other UE for sidelink communication. **Claim 18** The UE according to claim 17, wherein the sidelink resource is reserved via a dynamic grant or a configured grant from a base station via a first frequency band, and the sidelink communication is performed via a second frequency band. **Claim 19** The UE according to claim 18, wherein the first frequency band is a licensed frequency band and the second frequency band is an unlicensed frequency band. **Claim 20** The UE according to claim 17, wherein the UE and the other UE communicate with each other via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and / or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

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