Method and apparatus for determining channel access for uplink transmissions - Patent Application 20070123633

Abstract

A method for determining channel access for an uplink transmission is disclosed. The example method (200) includes determining (210) a duration of a gap between an uplink transmission of a first device and a downlink transmission of a second device prior to the uplink transmission and during the channel occupation time of the second device, if the uplink transmission falls within the channel occupation time, and determining (220) at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension of the uplink transmission according to the duration of the gap. Related apparatuses and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Various exemplary embodiments relate to methods and apparatus for determining channel access for uplink transmissions. [Background technology]

[0002] In addition to dynamically scheduled and configured grant uplink (UL) transmissions, periodic or semi-persistent (P / SP) UL transmissions for information such as scheduling requests (SRs), sounding reference signals (SRSs), channel state information (CSI), and hybrid automatic repeat request responses (HARQ-ACKs) may also be supported in communication systems such as new radio (NR or 5G) systems.

[0003] In a first aspect, a method is disclosed that includes: determining a duration of a gap between an uplink transmission of a first device and a downlink transmission of a second device prior to the uplink transmission and during a channel occupation period of the second device, if the uplink transmission falls within a channel occupation period, and determining at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension of the uplink transmission according to the duration of the gap. For example, the method may be performed in a first device, such as a mobile device or a user equipment (UE), and the second device may be a base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​an NR system).

[0004] In some exemplary embodiments, the method may further include receiving information for determining a duration of the gap, and the information may include a channel occupancy time structure. For example, the information for determining the duration of the gap may be carried on a Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH).

[0005] In some demonstrative embodiments, the method may further include receiving information for determining a duration of the gap, where the information may include one or more of a channel access type for the at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for the at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator for the at least one uplink transmission, a channel occupancy duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length. For example, the information for determining the duration of the gap may be transmitted on a GC-PDCCH.

[0006] In some exemplary embodiments, if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a first value and the duration of the uplink transmission is less than a second value, the channel access type may be a first type, for example, type 2C, the first value may be about 16 μs, and the second value may be about 0.584 ms.

[0007] In some demonstrative embodiments, if the duration of the gap is equal to a third value, the channel access type may be a second type, e.g., the second type may be Type 2B, and the third value may be about 16 μs.

[0008] In some demonstrative embodiments, if the duration of the gap is at least the fourth value, the channel access type may be a third type, e.g., the third type may be Type 2A and the fourth value may be about 25 μs.

[0009] In some exemplary embodiments, if the uplink transmission falls outside the channel occupancy time, the channel access type is a fourth type. For example, the fourth type may be Type 1.

[0010] In some exemplary embodiments, the method may further include extending a cyclic prefix of the uplink transmission to reduce the duration of the gap if the duration of the gap is greater than the fifth value and less than the sum of the fifth value and an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol duration. For example, the fifth value may be about 16 μs.

[0011] In some demonstrative embodiments, the method may further include dropping the uplink transmission if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a sixth value and the duration of the uplink transmission is greater than a seventh value. For example, the sixth value may be approximately 16 μs and the seventh value may be approximately 0.584 ms.

[0012] In some exemplary embodiments, the method may further include receiving, eg, via radio resource control signaling, information regarding a configuration of time and frequency resources for uplink transmission.

[0013] In some exemplary embodiments, the uplink transmission may be a periodic or semi-permanent uplink transmission.

[0014] In a second aspect, a method is disclosed that includes transmitting information for determining a duration of a gap between an uplink transmission of a first device and a downlink transmission of a second device prior to the uplink transmission and during the channel occupation time of the second device when the uplink transmission falls within the channel occupation time, and determining at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension of the uplink transmission based on the gap duration. For example, the method may be performed in a second device, such as a base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​an NR system), and the first device may be a UE.

[0015] In some exemplary embodiments, the information may include a structure of the channel occupancy time, for example, the information may be transmitted via the GC-PDCCH.

[0016] In some example embodiments, the information may include one or more of a channel access type of the at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration of the at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length of the at least one uplink transmission. For example, the information may be transmitted via a GC-PDCCH.

[0017] In some example embodiments, the method may further include transmitting, eg, via radio resource control signaling, information regarding a configuration of time and frequency resources for the uplink transmission.

[0018] In some exemplary embodiments, the uplink transmission may be a periodic or semi-permanent uplink transmission.

[0019] In a third aspect, an apparatus is disclosed that includes means for determining a duration of a gap between an uplink transmission of the apparatus and a downlink transmission of another apparatus prior to the uplink transmission and during the channel occupation period of the other apparatus if the uplink transmission falls within the channel occupancy time, and means for determining at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension of the uplink transmission according to the duration of the gap. For example, the apparatus may be at least part of a mobile or UE, and the other apparatus may be at least part of a base station.

[0020] In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for receiving information for determining a duration of the gap, the information including a channel occupancy time structure, for example, the information for determining a duration of the gap may be transmitted on a GC-PDCCH.

[0021] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for receiving information for determining a duration of the gap, the information may include one or more of a channel access type for the at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for the at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy time duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length for the at least one uplink transmission. For example, the information for determining a duration of the gap may be transmitted on a GC-PDCCH.

[0022] In some exemplary embodiments, if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a first value and the duration of the uplink transmission is less than a second value, the channel access type may be a first type, for example, the first type may be Type 2C, the first value may be about 16 μs, and the second value may be about 0.584 ms.

[0023] In some demonstrative embodiments, if the duration of the gap is equal to a third value, the channel access type may be a second type, e.g., the second type may be Type 2B, and the third value may be about 16 μs.

[0024] In some demonstrative embodiments, if the duration of the gap is at least the fourth value, the channel access type may be a third type, e.g., the third type may be Type 2A and the fourth value may be about 25 μs.

[0025] In some exemplary embodiments, if the uplink transmission falls outside the channel occupancy time, the channel access type is a fourth type. For example, the fourth type may be Type 1.

[0026] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for extending a cyclic prefix of the uplink transmission to reduce the duration of the gap if the duration of the gap is greater than the fifth value and less than the fifth value plus the duration of the OFDM symbol. For example, the fifth value may be about 16 μs.

[0027] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for dropping the uplink transmission if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a sixth value and the duration of the uplink transmission is greater than a seventh value. For example, the sixth value may be approximately 16 μs and the seventh value may be approximately 0.584 ms.

[0028] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for receiving, eg, via radio resource control signaling, information regarding a configuration of time and frequency resources for uplink transmission.

[0029] In some exemplary embodiments, the uplink transmission may be a periodic or semi-permanent uplink transmission.

[0030] In a fourth aspect, an apparatus is also disclosed, the apparatus including means for transmitting information for determining a duration of a gap between a downlink transmission of the apparatus within a channel occupation time of the apparatus and an uplink transmission of another apparatus after the downlink transmission if the uplink transmission falls within the channel occupation time, and at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension of the uplink transmission is determined based on the duration of the gap. For example, the apparatus may be at least a part of a base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​an NR system), and the other apparatus may be at least a part of a UE.

[0031] In some exemplary embodiments, the information may include a structure of the channel occupancy time, for example, the information may be transmitted via the GC-PDCCH.

[0032] In some demonstrative embodiments, the information may include one or more of a channel access type for the at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for the at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length for the at least one uplink transmission. For example, the information may be transmitted via a GC-PDCCH.

[0033] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for transmitting, eg, via radio resource control signaling, information regarding a configuration of time and frequency resources for uplink transmission.

[0034] In some exemplary embodiments, the uplink transmission is a periodic or semi-permanent uplink transmission.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is also disclosed, the apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory. The at least one memory may include computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code together with the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods in the first aspect. For example, the apparatus may correspond to the first apparatus in any of the methods in the first aspect, and may be at least part of a mobile terminal or UE.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is also disclosed, the apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory. The at least one memory may include computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to execute any method in the second aspect. For example, the apparatus may correspond to the second apparatus in any method in the second aspect, and may be at least a part of a base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​an NR system).

[0037] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is also disclosed, the computer-readable medium including program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least any of the methods in the first aspect. For example, the apparatus may correspond to the first apparatus in any of the methods in the first aspect, or may be at least a part of a UE.

[0038] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is also disclosed that includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute at least any method in the second aspect. For example, the apparatus may correspond to the second apparatus in any method in the second aspect, and may be at least a part of a base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​an NR system). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0039] Some illustrative embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of determining a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension in an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal arrangement according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of determining a channel access type in the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of determining a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension in an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink transmission process in the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal sequence according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary method according to an embodiment. [Figure 9]FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an apparatus according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] Various types of channel access or listen-before-talk (LBT) may be applied to transmission in different cases. For example, channel access or LBT types supported in 3GPP standards (e.g., 3GPP TS37.213) may include Type 2C, which is immediate transmission without LBT until a certain period (e.g., 584 μs), Type 2B, which is single-shot LBT with a measurement period (e.g., 16 μs), Type 2A, which is single-shot LBT with another measurement period (e.g., 25 μs), Type 1, which is LBT with exponential regression, etc.

[0041] For a UE's P / SP UL transmission, the channel access type may be determined by the UE based, for example, on whether the UL transmission falls within the channel occupation time (COT) of a base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​an NR system).

[0042] In one example, the UE may receive information regarding the structure of the base station's COT via the GC-PDCCH, which may include an indication of slots for uplink transmissions in the COT, slots for downlink transmissions in the COT, duration of each slot in the COT, etc., as shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, the UE may receive a configuration for P / SP UL transmission, which may be part of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration from the base station and may include information regarding the UE's P / SP UL transmission, such as periodicity, time or slot offset, various resources to be used, etc. Then, the UE may determine whether the intended UL transmission of the P / SP UL transmission falls within the COT according to the information of the COT structure and the P / SP UL transmission configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the UE may determine Type 1 without cyclic prefix (CP) extension for the intended UL transmission 110 outside the COT 100, and Type 2A without CP extension for the intended UP transmission 120, 130, or 140 within the COT 100.

[0043] In another example, the UE may apply a channel access type and / or a CP extension length within or outside the COT according to an RRC configuration from the base station, for example, according to the RRC configuration, the UE may apply a designated channel access type for intended UL transmissions within the COT and another designated channel access type for intended UL transmissions outside the COT, respectively.

[0044] FIG. 2 illustrates an example method 200 for determining at least one of a channel access type and a CP extension for an intended UL transmission of a UE's P / SP UL transmission in an embodiment, which may be performed, for example, in the UE.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2 , the example method 200 comprises step 210 of determining a duration of a gap between a UL transmission of a first device (e.g., a UE or part of a UE) and a downlink (DL) transmission of a second device (e.g., a base station or part of a base station) before a UL transmission within the COT of the second device, when the UL transmission falls within the COT, and step 220 of determining at least one of a channel access type and a CP extension of the UL transmission according to the duration of the gap.

[0046] Through the example method 200, for example, the first device may be permitted to utilize different types of channel access or LBT (i.e., switch between different types) when the intended UL transmission is within the COT, and dynamic configuration of CP extensions may also be permitted such that the UE's P / SP UL transmissions can be dynamically adapted to different use cases. Thus, for example, the UE may be able to use an aggressive / efficient channel access scheme when transmitting a P / SP UL signal.

[0047] Further, through the example method 200, for example, some or all UEs may apply substantially the same channel access mechanism such that frequency division multiplexing of UL transmissions of different UEs may be simplified. Further, for example, the UEs may adaptively select an appropriate channel access type and CP extension such that additional Layer 1 control signaling may be avoided.

[0048] In some embodiments, the information used in step 210 to determine the duration of the gap may include the structure of the base station's COT, for example, the UE may receive such information via the GC-PDCCH.

[0049] 3, the UE 310 (a first device in the example method 200) may receive a configuration 330 for its P / SP UL transmission from the base station 320 (a second device in the example method 200). For example, the configuration 330 may be part of an RRC configuration from the base station 320 and may include information such as the periodicity and time offset (e.g., slot offset) of the P / SP UL transmission, and the time and / or frequency and / or code space resources to be used for the P / SP UL transmission. The UE 310 may also detect the GC-PUCCH 340 from the base station 320 (e.g., using downlink control information format 2_0) before, after, or in parallel with receiving or processing the configuration 330 to determine the structure of the COT of the base station 320.

[0050] Next, for any intended UL transmission of UE310's P / SP UL transmissions, e.g., in step 210 or additional steps of example method 200, or even prior to execution of example method 200, UE310 uses information obtained from configuration 330 and / or the structure of the COT obtained from information transmitted by GC-PDCCH 340 to determine (1) whether the intended UL transmission falls within the COT of base station 320, and (2) with respect to a DL transmission, the location of the intended UL transmission, e.g., the closest DL transmission that precedes the intended UL transmission within the COT, i.e., the duration of the gap between the intended UL transmission and the last DL transmission.

[0051] For example, as shown in FIG 4, the UE 310 may determine the structure of the COT 400 of the base station 320 based on the detected GC-PDCCH 340. Further, for example, in conjunction with the configuration 330 (e.g., periodicity and time offset included in or derived from the configuration 330), the UE 310 may determine whether the intended UL transmission is within the COT 400. For example, as shown in FIG 4, the UE 310 may determine that the intended UL transmission 420, 430, or 450 is within the COT 400 and the intended UL transmission 460 is outside the COT 400.

[0052] Further, the UE 310 may determine the location of the intended UL transmission relative to a DL transmission preceding the intended UL transmission, for example, based on the structure and configuration 330 of the COT 400. For example, for the intended UL transmission 420, the duration (or gap duration, distance in time) 470 of the gap between the intended UL transmission 420 and the DL transmission 410, for example, from the end of the DL transmission 410 (e.g., the last DL transmission in the DL slot preceding the UL transmission 420) to the start of the intended UL transmission 420 may be determined, where the DL transmission 410 in the DL slot may be adjacent to and prior to the UL slot containing the intended UL transmission 420 and may be the closest DL transmission preceding the intended UL transmission 420. Similarly, for the intended UL transmission 430, the duration of the gap 480 between the intended UL transmission 430 and the DL transmission 410 may be determined, and for the intended UL transmission 450, the duration of the gap 490 between the intended UL transmission 450 and the DL transmission 440 may be determined.

[0053] It should be understood that the method of determining whether the intended UL transmission falls within the COT and the gap duration for the intended UL transmission are not limited to the above examples. In various embodiments, any suitable method and suitable information can be utilized to determine whether the intended UL transmission of the UE's P / SP UL transmission falls under base station initiated channel occupancy and to determine the gap duration for any intended UL transmission of the UE's P / SP UL transmission. More examples are described below.

[0054] 4, the determined gap durations may be different for different intended UL transmissions of the UE 310. Then, in step 220 of the example method 200, different types of channel access or LBT and / or different processes may be determined for the intended UL transmissions based on the different gap durations.

[0055] In some embodiments, for an UL transmission of a P / SP UL transmission of the UE, if the gap duration is less than or equal to a first value (e.g., a value of about 16 μs) and the duration of the UL transmission is less than a second value (e.g., a value of about 0.584 ms), the channel access type may be determined as a first type (e.g., Type 2C). For example, for the intended UL transmission 420 of FIG. 4, the determined gap duration 470 is less than or equal to 16 μs and the duration 425 of the intended UL transmission 420 is less than 0.584 ms. Then, the type of channel access or LBT of the intended UL transmission 420 may be determined as Type 2C.

[0056] In some embodiments, for a P / SP UL transmission of the UE, if the gap duration is equal to a third value (e.g., a value of about 16 μs), the channel access type may be determined as a second type (e.g., Type 2B). For example, if the determined gap duration 490 for the intended UL transmission 450 of FIG. 4 is equal to 16 μs, the UE 310 may use a Type 2B UL channel access procedure (with 16 μs measurement) for the intended UL transmission 450.

[0057] In some embodiments, for an UL transmission of the UE's P / SP UL transmission, if the gap duration is at least a fourth value (e.g., a value of about 25 μs), the channel access type may be determined as a third type (e.g., Type 2A). For example, if the determined gap duration 480 for the intended UL transmission 430 of FIG. 4 is at least 25 μs, the UE 310 may use a Type 2A UL channel access procedure (with 25 μs measurement) for the intended UL transmission 430.

[0058] In some embodiments, for an UL transmission of a UE's P / SP UL transmission, the channel access type may be determined as a fourth type (e.g., Type 1) if the UL transmission is outside the COT. For example, for an intended UL transmission 460 outside the COT 400 of FIG. 4, the UE 310 may use a Type 1 UL channel access procedure. In this case, for example, no CP extension may be used prior to the intended UL transmission 460. In another example, a CP extension may be used prior to the intended UL transmission 460.

[0059] In some embodiments, for an UL transmission of a UE's P / SP UL transmission, if the duration of the gap is greater than a fifth value (e.g., a value on the order of 16 μs) and less than the fifth value plus the duration of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, the CP of the UL transmission may be extended to shorten the duration of the gap. Thus, the duration of the gap may be effectively reduced by the CP extension to an expected length, such as 16 μs, so that the UE can switch the channel access type for the UL transmission from the third type to the first type or the second type.

[0060] For example, as shown in FIG 5, UE 310 determines that a gap duration 530 between an intended UL transmission 520 in COT 400 and a DL transmission 510 preceding the intended UL transmission 520 in COT 400 is in a range of 16 μs to 25 μs. Then, UE 310 may extend its CP in portion 540 such that a new gap duration 550 between the extended UL transmission (including portions 520 and 540) and DL transmission 510 is 16 μs or less. Further, for example, UE 310 may use the first type (e.g., Type 2C) if the gap duration 550 is 16 μs or less and the duration of the extended UL transmission (including portions 520 and 540) is less than 0.584 ms, and may use the second type (e.g., Type 2B) if the gap duration 550 is equal to 16 μs.

[0061] Similarly, if gap duration 530 is greater than 25 μs, UE 310 may extend the CP in portion 540 such that a new gap duration 550 between the extended UL transmission (including portions 520 and 540) and the DL transmission 510 is reduced to 25 μs or to 16 μs or less. UE 310 may then use any of the above first type (e.g., Type 2C), second type (e.g., Type 2B), or third type (e.g., Type 2A) depending on the new gap duration 550 and the duration of the extended UL transmission (including portions 520, 540).

[0062] In some embodiments, for a UL transmission of a UE's P / SP UL transmission, if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a sixth value (e.g., a value of about 16 μs) and the duration of the UL transmission is greater than a seventh value (e.g., a value of about 0.584 ms), the UL transmission may be dropped.

[0063] 6, the UE 310 determines that the gap duration 630 between the intended UL transmission 620 in the COT 400 and the DL transmission 610 prior to the intended UL transmission 620 in the COT 400 is less than or equal to 16 μs and the duration 640 of the intended UL transmission 620 is greater than 0.584 ms. The UE 310 may then drop the UL transmission 620.

[0064] As described above with some illustrative but non-limiting examples, through the example method 200, for example, a UE may utilize different types of channel access or LBT (i.e., switch between different types) when the intended UL transmission is within the COT, and dynamic configuration of CP extensions may also be allowed such that the UE's P / SP UL transmissions are dynamically adaptable for different use cases. Thus, for example, a UE may be able to use an aggressive / efficient channel access scheme when transmitting P / SP UL signals. Furthermore, through the example method 200, for example, some or all UEs may apply substantially the same channel access mechanism, which may simplify frequency division multiplexing of UL transmissions of different UEs. Furthermore, through the example method 200, a UE may adaptively select an appropriate channel access type and CP extension such that additional Layer 1 control signals are avoided.

[0065] It is understood that, taking into account the tolerance range, the various values ​​such as the first value and the second value may be values ​​within a range of values ​​based on a reference value (e.g., 16 μs, or 25 μs, or 0.584 ms). For example, "not more than 16 μs" may mean "not more than a range of values ​​including 16 μs, taking into account the tolerance range or a predetermined threshold / parameter", and "a value on the order of 16 μs" may mean, for example, 16 μs, or a value of about 16 μs such as 15.985 μs and 16.101 μs, or other reasonable value in a range of values ​​including 16 μs, taking into account the tolerance range or a predetermined threshold / parameter.

[0066] It is also understood that the example method 200 is not limited to any of the above examples or embodiments. For example, the example method may further include receiving, e.g., via RRC signaling, information regarding a configuration of time and frequency resources for uplink transmissions, e.g., as shown in FIG.

[0067] For example, as shown in Figure 7, in addition to or in lieu of the configuration 330 and information 340 regarding the structure COT as shown in Figure 3, the UE 310 may receive information 710 from the base station 320 for determining the duration of the gap. In various embodiments, the information 710 may include, but is not limited to, one of a channel access type of at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration of at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy time duration indicator, a cyclic prefix extension length of at least one uplink transmission, etc. for any one or more of the intended UL transmissions of the UE 310's P / SP UL transmissions. In various embodiments, such information 710 may be transmitted via the GC-PDCCH, or one or more other suitable channels or signals, and in any suitable format.

[0068] 4, for intended UL transmissions 420, 430, and 450, UE 310 may receive information about a channel access type for UL transmission 420, a channel access type for UL transmission 430, a gap duration 490 for UL transmission 450, a length of a CP extension to apply to UL transmission 430, and a length of a CP extension to apply to UL transmission 490, etc. Then, for example, UE 310 may determine the channel access types of UL transmissions 420 and 430 directly from information 710, or may obtain the gap duration 490 of UL transmission 450 from information 710 and determine the channel access type of UL transmission 490 based on the obtained gap duration 490, etc.

[0069] Thus, for example, the UE may determine the channel access type or LBT type by analyzing the received information, or the determination of the duration gap or CP extension for the intended UL transmission may be simplified. For example, including the gap duration for one or more intended UL transmissions (e.g., between the last DL transmission of an ongoing DL burst in the COT and the intended UL transmission) may be useful, for example, in cases where the base station fills a portion of the gap using partial OFDM symbol transmission to create a gap of a certain duration.

[0070] It is understood that any of the above examples or embodiments may be combined. For example, for the first intended UL transmission and the second intended UL transmission, the UE may detect the GC-PDCCH to determine the structure of the COT, and then determine the duration gap, and then at least one of the channel access type / LBT type and CP extension, similar to the procedure as shown in Figure 3, and while receiving information including the channel access type of the third UL transmission and the gap duration of the fourth UL transmission, may determine the duration gap, and then at least one of the channel access type / LBT type and CP extension of the third UL transmission and the fourth UL transmission, etc.

[0071] Corresponding to the example method 200, FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 that may be performed in a base station, for example, base station 320 in FIG. 3 or FIG.

[0072] 8, the example method 800 may include transmitting 810 information for determining a duration of a gap between a UL transmission of a first device (e.g., the UE 310 or part of the UE 310) and a DL transmission of a second device (e.g., the base station 320 or part of the base station 320) before a UL transmission in the COT of the second device, i.e., the gap duration in step 210 of the example method 200, if the UL transmission falls within the COT. Then, based on the gap duration, at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension for the UL transmission may be determined.

[0073] In some embodiments, the information transmitted in step 810 may include a structure of the COT of the base station, for example as shown in FIG. 3. In some embodiments, the information transmitted in step 810 may include one or more of a channel access type for at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy time duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length for at least one uplink transmission, for example as shown in FIG. 7. In various embodiments, the information transmitted in step 810 may be transmitted via the GC-PDCCH or any other suitable channel or signal. Furthermore, the information transmitted in step 810 or further steps of embodiment 800 may include information regarding a configuration for time and frequency resources for uplink transmission, for example via RRC signaling.

[0074] FIG. 9 illustrates an apparatus 900 for determining at least one of a channel access type and a CP extension for an intended UL transmission of a P / SP UL transmission of a UE in an embodiment, which may be, for example, at least part of a UE (e.g., UE 310 in FIG. 3 or 7).

[0075] 9, the exemplary device 900 may include at least one processor 910 and at least one memory 920, which may include computer program code 930. The at least one memory 920 and the computer program code 930, together with the at least one processor 910, may be configured to cause the device 900 to perform at least the example method 200 described above, e.g., the device 900 may be a first device in the example method 200.

[0076] In various exemplary embodiments, the at least one processor 910 in the exemplary device 900 includes at least one hardware processor, including, but not limited to, at least one microprocessor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), at least one portion of a hardware processor, and any other suitable dedicated processor, such as those developed based on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Additionally, the at least one processor 910 may also include at least one other circuit or element not shown in FIG.

[0077] In various embodiments, the at least one memory 920 in the exemplary apparatus 900 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, for example, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), cache, etc. Non-volatile memory may include, for example, but is not limited to, read only memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, etc. Furthermore, at least memory 920 may include, for example, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof.

[0078] Additionally, in various embodiments, example device 900 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as, for example, at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, etc.

[0079] In various embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces within exemplary device 900, including at least one processor 910 and at least one memory 920, may be coupled in any suitable manner, such as electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connections, including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wired, and / or wireless.

[0080] The configuration of the device on the UE 310 side is not limited to the above exemplary device 900. Figure 10 shows another exemplary device 1000 for determining at least one of a channel access type and a CP extension for an intended UL transmission of a P / SP UL transmission of a UE in an embodiment, which may be, for example, at least a part of a UE (e.g., the UE 310 in Figure 3 or 7).

[0081] 10, the exemplary apparatus 1000 may include means 1010 for performing step 210 of the example method 200 and means 1020 for performing step 220 of the example method 200. In one or more other exemplary embodiments, at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, etc. may also be included in the exemplary apparatus 1000. For example, the exemplary apparatus 1000 may be a first apparatus in the example method 200.

[0082] In some exemplary embodiments, examples of the means 1010 and 1020 may include circuitry. For example, an example of the means 1010 may include circuitry configured to perform step 210 of the exemplary method 200, and an example of the means 1020 may include circuitry configured to perform step 220 of the exemplary method 200. In some exemplary embodiments, examples of the means may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities.

[0083] In some embodiments, the exemplary apparatus 1000 may further include one or more additional means for receiving the above information to determine the duration of the gap, possibly extending a cyclic prefix of an uplink transmission, and / or possibly dropping an uplink transmission.

[0084] Throughout this disclosure, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) a hardware-only circuit implementation (such as an implementation in only analog and / or digital circuitry); (b) a combination of hardware circuits and software, such as (where applicable), (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware; (ii) any portion of a hardware processor with software (digital signal processors, software, and memory working together to cause a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions); (c) hardware circuits and processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that require software for operation (e.g., firmware), which may not be present when software is not required for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to one or all uses of the term in this disclosure, including any claims. As a further example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also covers merely a hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term circuitry also covers, for example, and where applicable to claim elements, baseband or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0085] FIG. 11 illustrates an example apparatus 1100 that may be at least a portion of a base station, such as, for example, base station 320 in FIG.

[0086] 11, the example apparatus 1100 may include at least one processor 1110 and at least one memory 1120, which may include computer program code 1130. The at least one memory 1120 and the computer program code 1130, in conjunction with the at least one processor 1110, may be configured to cause at least the apparatus 1100 to perform at least the example method 800 described above. For example, the apparatus 1100 may be a second apparatus in the example method 800.

[0087] In various exemplary embodiments, the at least one processor 1110 in the exemplary device 1100 includes at least one hardware processor, including, but not limited to, at least one microprocessor, such as a CPU, at least one portion of a hardware processor, and any other suitable dedicated processor, such as those developed based on FPGAs and ASICs. Additionally, the at least one processor 1110 may also include at least one other circuit or element not shown in FIG.

[0088] In various exemplary embodiments, the at least one memory 1120 in the exemplary apparatus 1100 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, for example, but is not limited to, RAM, cache, etc. Non-volatile memory may also include, for example, but is not limited to, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, etc. Furthermore, at least memory 1120 may include, for example, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof.

[0089] Additionally, in various exemplary embodiments, the exemplary device 1100 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as, for example, at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, etc.

[0090] In various exemplary embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces within exemplary device 1100, including at least one processor 1110 and at least one memory 1120, may be coupled in any suitable manner, such as electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connection, including, but not limited to, a bus, crossbar, wired, and / or wireless.

[0091] FIG. 12 illustrates another example apparatus 1200 that may be at least a portion of a base station, such as, for example, base station 320 of FIG.

[0092] 12, the exemplary apparatus 1200 may include means 1210 for performing step 810 of the example method 800. In one or more other exemplary embodiments, the exemplary apparatus 1100 may further include at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, etc. For example, the exemplary apparatus may be the second apparatus of the example method 800.

[0093] In various exemplary embodiments, the exemplary means 1210 may include circuitry configured to perform step 810 of the example method 800. In some exemplary embodiments, the exemplary means may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities.

[0094] Another example embodiment relates to computer program code or instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the respective method above, such as computer program code or instructions for causing a UE to perform at least the example method 200 above, and computer program code or instructions for causing a base station to perform at least the example method 800 above.

[0095] Another exemplary embodiment may relate to a computer readable medium having such computer program code or instructions stored thereon. In various exemplary embodiments, such computer readable medium may include at least one storage medium of various forms, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, RAM, cache, etc. Non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, etc.

[0096] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout this specification and claims, words such as "comprise", "consist of", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, i.e., "including but not limited to", as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense. The term "coupled" as generally used herein refers to two or more elements that are either directly connected or connected via one or more intermediate elements. Similarly, the term "linked" as generally used herein refers to two or more elements that are either directly connected or connected via one or more intermediate elements. Furthermore, the words "herein", "above", "hereinafter", and similar words, when used herein, refer to this specification as a whole and not to any particular portion of this specification. Where the context permits, words using the singular or plural number herein can also include the plural or singular number, respectively. The word "or" in reference to a list of two or more items covers all of the following interpretations of this word, any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

[0097] Moreover, conditional language used herein, in particular "can," "could," "may," "might," "for example," "such," and the like, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and / or conditions and other embodiments do not, unless specifically stated otherwise or understood otherwise within the context of use. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that the features, elements, and / or conditions are in any way required by one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining whether those features, elements, and / or conditions should be included or implemented in any particular embodiment, with or without author input or prompting.

[0098] Although several exemplary embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the apparatus, methods, and systems described herein may be embodied in various other forms, and further, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the forms of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, although blocks are presented in a given arrangement, alternative embodiments may perform similar functions with different components and / or circuit topologies, and some blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and / or modified. At least one of these blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, the order of these blocks may be changed. Any suitable combination of elements and operations of the various embodiments described above may be combined to provide further embodiments. The appended claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications that fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. determining (210) a duration of a gap between an uplink transmission of a first device and a downlink transmission of a second device prior to said uplink transmission and during said second device's channel occupation time if said uplink transmission falls within said channel occupation time; determining (220) at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension for the uplink transmission according to a duration of the gap; Including, if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a first value and the duration of the uplink transmission is less than a second value, the channel access type is a first type; The first type is to transmit immediately without LBT for a certain period of time. Method (200).

2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information for determining a duration of the gap, the information including a structure of the channel occupancy time.

3. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information for determining the duration of the gap, the information including at least one of a channel access type for at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for the at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy time duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length for the at least one uplink transmission.

4. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information is transmitted on a group common physical downlink control channel.

5. If the uplink transmission falls within the channel occupation time, transmitting information for determining a duration of a gap between an uplink transmission of a first device and a downlink transmission of the second device prior to the uplink transmission and during the channel occupation time of the second device (810), and determining at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension of the uplink transmission based on the duration of the gap; if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a first value and the duration of the uplink transmission is less than a second value, the channel access type is a first type; The first type is to transmit immediately without LBT for a certain period of time. Method (800).

6. The method (800) of claim 5, wherein the information includes a structure of the channel occupancy time.

7. 6. The method (800) of claim 5, wherein the information includes at least one of a channel access type for the at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for the at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy time duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length for the at least one uplink transmission.

8. 7. The method (800) of claim 6, wherein the information is transmitted over a group common physical downlink control channel.

9. At least one processor (910); At least one memory (920) including computer program code (930), the at least one memory (920) and the computer program code (930), together with the at least one processor (910), provide an apparatus (900) for: if the uplink transmission falls within the channel occupation time, determining the duration of a gap between an uplink transmission of said device (900) and a downlink transmission of another device prior to said uplink transmission and during the channel occupation time of the other device; determining at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension for the uplink transmission according to the duration of the gap; At least one memory (920) configured to execute Equipped with if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a first value and the duration of the uplink transmission is less than a second value, the channel access type is a first type; The first type is to transmit immediately without LBT for a certain period of time. Apparatus (900).

10. The at least one memory (920) and the computer program code (930), together with the at least one processor (910), are configured to further cause the device (900) to receive information (340) for determining the duration of the gap, the information (340) including a structure of the channel occupancy time.

11. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, are configured to cause the apparatus to further receive information for determining the duration of the gap, the information including at least one of a channel access type for at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy time duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length for the at least one uplink transmission.

12. 11. The apparatus (900) of claim 10, wherein the information (340) is transmitted on a group common physical downlink control channel.

13. 10. The apparatus (900) of claim 9, wherein if the duration of the gap is equal to a third value, the channel access type is a second type.

14. 10. The apparatus (900) of claim 9, wherein the channel access type is a fourth type if the uplink transmission is outside the channel occupancy time.

15. The apparatus (900) of claim 14, wherein the fourth type is Type 1.

16. 10. The apparatus (900) of claim 9, wherein the at least one memory (920) and the computer program code (930) are further configured to cause the at least one processor (910) to extend a cyclic prefix of the uplink transmission to reduce the duration of the gap when the duration of the gap is greater than a fifth value and less than the fifth value plus a duration of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol.

17. 10. The apparatus (900) of claim 9, wherein the at least one memory (920) and the computer program code (930) are further configured to cause the at least one processor (910) to drop the uplink transmission if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a sixth value and the duration of the uplink transmission is greater than a seventh value.

18. 10. The apparatus (900) of claim 9, wherein the at least one memory (920) and the computer program code (930), together with the at least one processor (910), are configured to cause the apparatus (900) to further perform receiving information regarding a configuration of time and frequency resources for the uplink transmission via radio resource control signaling.

19. The apparatus (900) of claim 9, wherein the uplink transmission is a periodic or semi-permanent uplink transmission.

20. At least one processor (1110); At least one memory (1120) including computer program code (1130), the at least one memory (1120) and the computer program code (1130), together with the at least one processor (1110), provide an apparatus (1100) that: a memory configured to cause the device to transmit information for determining a duration of a gap between a downlink transmission in a channel occupation time of the device (1100) and an uplink transmission of another device after the downlink transmission, if the uplink transmission falls within a channel occupation time, wherein at least one of a channel access type and a cyclic prefix extension of the uplink transmission is determined based on the duration of the gap; Equipped with if the duration of the gap is less than or equal to a first value and the duration of the uplink transmission is less than a second value, the channel access type is a first type; The first type is to transmit immediately without LBT for a certain period of time. Apparatus (1100).

21. The apparatus (1100) of claim 20, wherein the information includes a structure of the channel occupancy time.

22. 21. The apparatus (1100) of claim 20, wherein the information includes at least one of a channel access type for the at least one uplink transmission, a gap duration for the at least one uplink transmission, a slot format indicator, a channel occupancy time duration indicator, and a cyclic prefix extension length for the at least one uplink transmission.

23. 22. The apparatus (1100) of claim 21, wherein the information is transmitted via a group common physical downlink control channel.

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