Evaluation period for NR-U networks

Abstract

In an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for wireless communication, for determining, by a user equipment (UE), a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity, performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of the quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period, and determining, by the UE, whether to initiate a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 911,993, entitled "EVALUATION PERIOD IN NR-U NETWORKS," filed on October 7, 2019, and U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 063,486, entitled "EVALUATION PERIOD IN NR-U NETWORKS," filed on October 5, 2020, which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more specifically, to determining a maximum number of missed opportunities during evaluation period calculation in a 5G New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) network. [Background technology]

[0003] Wireless communication systems have been widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services, such as telephone, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. A typical wireless communication system may utilize multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide common protocols that allow different wireless devices to communicate at city, national, regional, and even global levels. An exemplary telecommunications standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the ongoing mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There is a need for further improvements in 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunications standards that employ these technologies.

[0005] Due to the increasing demand for wireless communications, it is desirable to improve the efficiency of wireless communication network techniques. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all possible aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of all aspects or to delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0007] One example implementation includes a wireless communication method including: determining, by a user equipment (UE), a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity; performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; determining, by the UE, whether to initiate one of a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measurements of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals; and performing, by the node, at least one of the set of actions.

[0008] In a further example, an apparatus for wireless communication is provided that includes a transceiver, a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. Aspects may include the one or more processors configured to execute instructions to: determine, by the UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity; perform, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; determine, by the UE, whether to initiate one of a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measurements of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals; and perform, by the node, at least one of the set of actions.

[0009] In another aspect, an apparatus is provided for wireless communication, including means for determining, by a UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity; means for performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; means for determining, by the UE, whether to initiate one of a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measurements of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals; and means for performing, by the node, at least one of the set of actions.

[0010] In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that includes one or more processors executing code for determining, by a UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity; code for performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; code for determining, by the UE, whether to initiate one of a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measurements of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals; and code for performing, by the node, at least one of the set of actions.

[0011] Another example implementation includes a wireless communication method including: determining, by a UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity; performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; identifying, by the UE, a first available Random Access Channel (RACH) opportunity within the first time period; and transmitting, by the UE, a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements.

[0012] In a further example, an apparatus for wireless communication is provided that includes a transceiver, a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. Aspects may include the one or more processors configured to execute instructions to: determine, by the UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity, perform, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period, identify, by the UE, a first available RACH opportunity within the first time period, and transmit, by the UE, a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements.

[0013] In another aspect, an apparatus is provided for wireless communication including means for determining, by a UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity; means for performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; means for identifying, by the UE, a first available RACH opportunity within the first time period; and means for transmitting, by the UE, a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements.

[0014] In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that includes one or more processors that execute code for determining, by a UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity; code for performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; code for identifying, by the UE, a first available RACH opportunity within the first time period; and code for transmitting, by the UE, a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements.

[0015] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed and the description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system and access network in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a first 5G / NR frame, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a DL channel in a 5G / NR subframe, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2C] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a second 5G / NR frame, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2D] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a UL channel in a 5G / NR subframe, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a base station and user equipment (UE) in an access network in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart of an example wireless communication method for determining a maximum number of missed downlink opportunities during an evaluation period calculation in an NR-U network in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart of an example wireless communication method for determining a maximum number of missed uplink opportunities during an evaluation period calculation in an NR-U network in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a UE, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a base station, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The detailed description set forth below with reference to the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0018] Several aspects of a telecommunications system are now presented with reference to various apparatus and methods that are described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0019] As an example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements, may be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on chips (SoCs), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Software may be broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, and the like, regardless of whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0020] Thus, in one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium or encoded as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium includes a computer storage medium. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable storage medium may comprise a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), an optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of the above types of computer-readable storage media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures accessible by a computer.

[0021] 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100 configured to determine an evaluation period for a multi-panel UE. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., 5G core (5GC)).

[0022] In some aspects, the UE 104 may be configured to operate the communications component 198 and / or the configuration component 240 to determine a first time period for the evaluation procedure during communication with the network entity, perform a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period, and determine whether to initiate a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals.

[0023] In another aspect, the UE 104 may be configured to operate the communications component 198 and / or the configuration component 240 to determine a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity, perform a first set of measurements of the quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period, identify a first available random access channel (RACH) opportunity within the first time period, and transmit a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements.

[0024] Correspondingly, in some aspects, the network entity 102 (e.g., a base station) may be configured to operate the communication component 199 and / or the configuration component 241 to communicate with the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 to receive a signal within a first time period.

[0025] The base station 102 may include macrocells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). Macrocells include base stations. Small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.

[0026] A base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 through a backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). A base station 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with the core network 190 through a backhaul link 184. In addition to other functions, the base station 102 may perform one or more of the following functions: forwarding of user data, encryption and decryption of radio channels, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160 or the core network 190) via a backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The backhaul links 132, 134, and 184 may be wired or wireless.

[0027] The base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage to a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a Home Evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB) that may serve a closed group known as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG). A communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) transmission (also referred to as a reverse link) from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or a downlink (DL) transmission (also referred to as a forward link) from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may be through one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum with bandwidth up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) per carrier allocated in carrier aggregation with up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers) used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​than UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0028] Several UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication links 158. The D2D communication links 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication links 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through various wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0029] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 in communication with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in the 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating to determine if a channel is available.

[0030] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell 102' may utilize NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' utilizing NR in the unlicensed frequency spectrum may provide increased coverage to and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0031] The base station 102, whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), may include an eNB, a gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as the gNB 180, may communicate with the UE 104 and operate in the traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and / or sub-mmW frequencies. When the gNB 180 operates in mmW or sub-mmW frequencies, it may be referred to as a mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in that band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Sub-mmW may extend downward to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using mmW / sub-mmW radio frequency bands (e.g., 3 GHz to 300 GHz) have very high path losses and short distances. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the very high path losses and short distances.

[0032] The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182′. The UE 104 may receive a beamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182″. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive a beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of the base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit direction and receive direction for the base station 180 may be the same or different. The transmit direction and receive direction for the UE 104 may be the same or different.

[0033] The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 is responsible for bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are forwarded through the Serving Gateway 166, which is itself connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to the IP Services 176. The IP services 176 may include Internet, intranet, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), PS streaming services, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may act as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services in the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to deliver MBMS traffic to base stations 102 that belong to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area that broadcasts a particular service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and collecting eMBMS-related charging information.

[0034] The core network 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a session management function (SMF) 194, and a user plane function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may be in communication with an integrated data management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the core network 190. In general, the AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are forwarded through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to IP services 197. The IP services 197 may include the Internet, intranet, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), PS streaming services, and / or other IP services.

[0035] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), access point, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), transmit / receive point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or core network 190 for the UEs 104. Examples of the UEs 104 include mobile phones, smartphones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, gaming consoles, tablets, smart devices, wearable devices, vehicles, electric meters, gas pumps, large or small cooking appliances, health management devices, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other similarly functional devices. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0036] 2A-2D include diagrams of example frame structures and resources that may be utilized in communications between a base station 102, a UE 104, and / or a secondary UE (or sidelink UE) 110 as described in this disclosure. FIG. 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a first subframe in a 5G / NR frame structure. FIG. 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of a DL channel in a 5G / NR subframe. FIG. 2C is a diagram 250 illustrating an example of a second subframe in a 5G / NR frame structure. FIG. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an example of a UL channel in a 5G / NR subframe. The 5G / NR frame structure may be FDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to either DL or UL, or may be TDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL. In the example given by Figures 2A, 2C, the 5G / NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly with DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and X is flexible for use between DL / UL, and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 34 (mostly with UL). Subframes 3, 4 are shown with slot formats 34, 28, respectively, but any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0, 1 are all DL, UL, respectively. The other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format through a received slot format indicator (SFI) (either dynamically through DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically through radio resource control (RRC) signaling). Please note that the following description also applies to the 5G / NR frame structure, which is TDD.

[0037] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a minislot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each slot may include 7 or 14 symbols depending on the slot configuration. In slot configuration 0, each slot may include 14 symbols, and in slot configuration 1, each slot may include 7 symbols. Symbols on the DL may be Cyclic Prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. Symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also called Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (limited to a single stream transmission for power-limited scenarios). The number of slots in a subframe is based on the slot configuration and numerology. In slot configuration 0, the different numerologies μ0-5 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. In slot configuration 1, the different numerologies 0-2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Thus, for slot configuration 0 and numerology μ, 14 symbols / slot and 2 μ There are slots / subframes. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are numerology dependent. The subcarrier spacing is 2 μ* may be equal to 15 kHz, where μ is the numerology 0 to 5. Thus, numerology μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and numerology μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480 kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A-2D give an example of slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and numerology μ=0 with 1 slot per subframe. The subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz and the symbol duration is approximately 66.7 μs.

[0038] A resource grid can be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot contains a resource block (RB), also called a physical RB (PRB), that spans 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RSs) for the UE. The RSs are demodulation RSs (DM-RSs) (for a particular configuration, 100x is the port number) for channel estimation at the UE. x DM-RS (shown as DM-RS in FIG. 1, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS). The RS may also include Beam Measurement RS (BRS), Beam Improvement RS (BRRS), and Phase Tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0040] FIG. 2B illustrates an example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including nine RE groups (REGs), each REG including four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DM-RS described above. The Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), which carries the Master Information Block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form the Synchronization Signal (SS) / PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the System Frame Number (SFN). The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data and broadcast system information that is not transmitted over the PBCH, such as the System Information Block (SIB), and paging messages.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 2C, some of the REs carry DM-RS (denoted as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may transmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short or long PUCCH is transmitted and depending on the particular PUCCH format used. Although not shown, the UE may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0042] 2D shows an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH, in one configuration, may be arranged as shown. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI) such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may be further used to carry buffer status reports (BSR), power headroom reports (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0043] 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with a UE 350 in an access network, which may be an example implementation of a base station 102 and which may be an example implementation of a UE 104. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions. Layer 3 includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and Layer 2 includes a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 controls RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIBs, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with forwarding of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), MAC SDUs from TBs, and MAC SDUs from TBs. It provides MAC layer functions associated with demultiplexing of SDUs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0044] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and receive (RX) processor 370 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0045] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 350. Multiple spatial streams may be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbol stream if destined for the UE 350. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to a controller / processor 359, which implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0046] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable storage medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and / or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

[0047] Similar to the functionality described with respect to DL transmission by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIBs, SIBs) collection, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto the TB, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from the TB, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0048] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0049] The UL transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver functions at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the RX processor 370.

[0050] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable storage medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and / or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

[0051] At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform aspects associated with the communications component 198 of FIG.

[0052] At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 may be configured to perform aspects associated with the communications component 199 of FIG.

[0053] With reference to Figures 4-7, the described features generally relate to the maximum number of missed opportunities during the calculation of an evaluation period in an NR-U network. For example, after an evaluation period or an interruption period, the UE is required to perform a set of actions, such as handover to a neighboring cell, detecting beam obstructions, monitoring the radio link, etc. In an NR unlicensed (NR-U) network, the network or the UE may have to back off during these periods due to listen-before-talk requirements. Thus, the evaluation / interruption period is extended by the number of times the network and / or UE back off. The number of times that backoff occurs is typically limited to some maximum amount, otherwise, in an NR-U network, the evaluation period may be extended to infinity. In an LTE license assisted (LA) network, the period of the reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) is fixed, and the maximum number of missed DL / UL opportunities is independent of the reference signal. However, in an NR-U network, the reference signal may have a different period, and the maximum number of missed DL / UL opportunities may be dependent on the reference signal.

[0054] In an aspect, the maximum number of missed DL / UL opportunities between evaluation / suspension period calculations may depend on the following factors: the period of the reference signal, the period of the SSB-RACH association period, UE mobility, and / or UE capabilities. For example, the period of the reference signal may vary from 5 ms to 160 ms. The SSB-RACH association period may vary from 10 ms to 160 ms. If the same number of missed DL / UL opportunities is configured for these periods, the overall evaluation period may become too large for longer periods of the reference signal and SSB-RO association period.

[0055] Moreover, in some cases, the evaluation / suspension period consists of two or more periods. The UE may utilize the evaluation during the first period to perform some actions during the second period. If the first and second evaluation periods are too long, the interval between the actions of these two periods becomes too long, and the evaluation during the first period may not be suitable for the actions in the second period. For example, the suspension time during handover consists of the search period, the fine time tracking period, and the time required to find the first available PRACH opportunity. The UE shall detect neighboring cells during the search period, track timing during the fine time tracking period, and transmit RACH during the third period. The UE shall use the timing of the cells it detected during the search period as a coarse reference for fine-tuning the timing during the "fine time tracking period". If the backoff of the network reaches a threshold amount before transmitting a reference signal during the fine time tracking period, the UE may not be able to utilize the coarse timing of the detected cells as a reference for fine-tuning. The maximum allowed number of backoffs may depend on the following factors: First, the period of the reference signal. The longer the period, the larger the interval between actions between two periods for a given number of backoffs. Second, the mobility of the UE. The higher the mobility, the larger the impact on the interval between actions between two periods for a given number of backoffs. Third, the UE capability. For example, the length of time that the UE can use the coarse time as a reference for future fine time tracking may depend on the timing drift capability of the UE.

[0056] For example, in an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communications for determining, by a UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity, performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period, and determining, by the UE, whether to initiate a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measurements of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals.

[0057] In a further example, in an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communications to determine, by a UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity, perform, by the UE, a first set of measurements of quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period, identify, by the UE, a first available random access channel (RACH) opportunity within the first time period, and transmit, by the UE, a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements.

[0058] 4 is a flowchart 400 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 104, the apparatus 350, the controller / processor 359, which may include memory 360, the processor 612, which may include memory 616, the modem 640, which may be the UE 104 in its entirety or components of the UE 104, such as the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and / or the transceiver 802) in combination with the communications component 198 / configuration component 240.

[0059] At 402, the method 400 includes determining, by the UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity. In an aspect, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to determine a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity. Thus, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may define a means for determining, by the UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity, together with the controller / processor 359, which may include, for example, the memory 360, the processor 612, and may include the memory 616, the modem 640, the TX processor 368, and the transceiver 602.

[0060] At 404, the method 400 includes performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals during a first time period. In an aspect, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to perform the first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals during a first time period. Thus, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may define means for performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals during a first time period, together with the controller / processor 359, which may include, for example, the memory 360, the processor 612, and may include the memory 616, the modem 640, the RX processor 356, and the transceiver 602.

[0061] At 406, the method 400 includes determining, by the UE, whether to initiate a set of actions associated with an evaluation procedure based on a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals. In an aspect, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to determine, by the UE, whether to initiate a set of actions associated with an evaluation procedure based on a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals. Thus, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may define a means for determining, by the UE, whether to initiate a set of actions associated with an evaluation procedure based on a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals.

[0062] In some implementations of the method 400, the first time period is based on the number of times the discovery reference signal is unavailable.

[0063] In some implementations of method 400, the number of times the discovery criteria signal is unavailable is limited by a maximum unavailable threshold.

[0064] In some implementations of method 400, the maximum unavailability threshold is based on one or more of a period of the reference signal, UE mobility, and UE capability.

[0065] In some implementations of the method 400, the UE 104 and / or the communications component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to determine whether a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals meets a quality threshold and to transmit a second signal based on a determination that the first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals meets the quality threshold.

[0066] In some implementations of method 400, the second signal corresponds to one or more combinations of a beam failure recovery signal or a random access channel (RACH) signal.

[0067] In some implementations of method 400, a second signal is transmitted to a network entity to inform the network entity of the index of the new beam or the new reference signal.

[0068] In some implementations of the method 400, in response to transmitting the second signal, a downlink signal is received from the network entity.

[0069] Some implementations of method 400 determine whether a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals meet a quality threshold, and perform a second set of measurements of the quality of the second set of discovery reference signals based on a determination that the first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals does not meet the quality threshold.

[0070] Some implementations of the method 400 evaluate whether the quality of the second set of discovery criteria signals exceeds a threshold.

[0071] Some implementations of the method 400 may further include the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 configured to transmit an uplink signal to the network and inform a network entity of an index of a new reference signal in the second set of discovery reference signals when the quality of the reference signal exceeds a threshold.

[0072] In some implementations of method 400, the set of actions corresponds to at least one of a handover procedure to a neighboring cell, a beam failure detection procedure, a radio link monitoring procedure, a serving cell or neighboring cell measurement procedure, and a beam candidate detection procedure.

[0073] In some implementations of the method 400, the first set of discovery reference signals corresponds to at least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0074] 5 is a flowchart 500 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 104, the apparatus 350, the controller / processor 359, which may include memory 360, the processor 612, which may include memory 616, the modem 640, which may be the UE 104 in its entirety or components of the UE 104, such as the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and / or the transceiver 802) in combination with the communication component 198 / configuration component 240.

[0075] At 502, the method 500 includes determining, by the UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity. In an aspect, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to determine a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity. Thus, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may define a means for determining, by the UE, a first time period for an evaluation procedure during communication with a network entity, together with the controller / processor 359, which may include, for example, the memory 360, the processor 612, and may include the memory 616, the modem 640, the TX processor 368, and the transceiver 602.

[0076] At 504, the method 500 includes performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period. In an aspect, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to perform the first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period. Thus, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may define means for performing, by the UE, a first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period, together with the controller / processor 359, which may include, for example, the memory 360, the processor 612, and may include the memory 616, the modem 640, the TX processor 368, and the transceiver 602.

[0077] At 506, the method 500 includes identifying, by the UE, a first available random access channel (RACH) opportunity within the first time period. In an aspect, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to identify the first available RACH opportunity within the first time period. Thus, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240, together with the controller / processor 359, which may include, for example, the memory 360, the processor 612, and may include the memory 616, the modem 640, the TX processor 368, and the transceiver 602, may define means for identifying, by the UE, a first available random access channel (RACH) opportunity within the first time period.

[0078] At 508, the method 500 includes transmitting, by the UE, a signal within a first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements. In an aspect, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may be configured to transmit a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements. Thus, the UE 104 and / or the communication component 198 / configuration component 240 may define means for transmitting, by the UE, a signal within the first time period based on the identification of the first available RACH opportunity and the first set of measurements, in conjunction with the controller / processor 359, which may include, for example, the memory 360, the processor 612, and may include the memory 616, the modem 640, the TX processor 368, and the transceiver 602.

[0079] In some implementations of method 500, the first time period is based on the number of times a RACH opportunity is unavailable and the number of times the first set of discovery reference signals is unavailable.

[0080] In some implementations of method 500, the number of times a RACH opportunity is unavailable and the number of times a discovery reference signal is unavailable are limited by a maximum unavailable threshold.

[0081] In some implementations of method 500, the maximum unavailability threshold is based on one or more of a period of the reference signal, a period of the SSB-RACH association period, UE mobility, and UE capabilities.

[0082] In some implementations of the method 500, the discovery reference signal includes one or more combinations of SSB and CSI-RS.

[0083] In some implementations of the method 500, the signal corresponds to a RACH signal.

[0084] In some implementations of the method 500, the UE 104 and / or the communications component 198 / configuration component 240 are configured to receive a downlink signal from a network entity in response to transmitting the RACH signal.

[0085] In some implementations of the method 500, the set of actions corresponds to at least one of a handover procedure to a neighboring cell, an RRC connection release procedure, and an RRC connection re-establishment procedure.

[0086] With reference to FIG. 6, an example of an implementation of a UE 104 may include various components, some of which have been described above and will be further described herein, including components such as one or more processors 612 and memories 616 and transceivers 602 in communication via one or more buses 644, which may operate in conjunction with a model 640 and / or a CC / BWP group communication component 198 to determine a maximum number of missed opportunities during calculation of an evaluation period in the NR-U network.

[0087] In certain aspects, the one or more processors 612 may include a modem 640 and / or may be part of a modem 640 using one or more modem processors. Thus, various functions related to the communications component 198 may be included in the modem 640 and / or the processor 612, and in certain aspects may be performed by a single processor, while in other aspects different ones of the functions may be performed by a combination of two or more different processors. For example, in certain aspects, the one or more processors 612 may include any one or any combination of a modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or a transceiver processor associated with the transceiver 602. In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors 612 and / or the modem 640 associated with the communications component 198 may be performed by the transceiver 602.

[0088] The memory 616 may also be configured to store local versions of data and / or applications 675 used herein, or one or more of the communications component 642 and / or its subcomponents executed by the at least one processor 612. The memory 616 may include any type of computer-readable medium usable by the computer or the at least one processor 612, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In an aspect, for example, the memory 616 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one or more computer-executable codes defining the communications component 198 and / or one or more of its subcomponents, and / or data associated therewith, when the UE 104 operates the at least one processor 612 to execute the communications component 198 and / or one or more of its subcomponents.

[0089] The transceiver 602 may include at least one receiver 606 and at least one transmitter 608. The receiver 606 may include hardware and / or software executable by a processor to receive data, where the code comprises instructions and is stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). The receiver 606 may be, for example, a radio frequency (RF) receiver. In an aspect, the receiver 606 may receive signals transmitted by at least one base station 102. In addition, the receiver 606 may process such received signals and obtain measurements of the signals, such as, but not limited to, Ec / Io, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and the like. The transmitter 608 may include hardware and / or software executable by a processor to transmit data, where the code comprises instructions and is stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). A suitable example of the transmitter 608 may include, but is not limited to, an RF transmitter.

[0090] Moreover, in an aspect, the UE 104 may include an RF front end 688 that may be in operative communication with one or more antennas 665 and a transceiver 602 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, e.g., wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 102 or wireless transmissions transmitted by the UE 104. The RF front end 688 may be connected to the one or more antennas 665 and may include one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs) 690, one or more switches 692, one or more power amplifiers (PAs) 698, and one or more filters 696 for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

[0091] In an embodiment, the LNAs 690 can amplify the received signal at a desired power level. In an embodiment, each LNA 690 can have a specified minimum and maximum gain value. In an embodiment, the RF front end 688 can use one or more switches 692 to select a particular LNA 690 and its specified gain value based on the desired gain value of a particular application.

[0092] Further, for example, one or more PAs 698 may be used by the RF front end 688 to amplify the signal at the RF output at a desired output power level. In an aspect, each PA 698 may have a specified minimum and maximum gain value. In an aspect, the RF front end 688 may use one or more switches 692 to select a particular PA 698 and its specified gain value based on the desired gain value of a particular application.

[0093] Also, for example, one or more filters 696 may be used by the RF front end 688 to filter a received signal to obtain an input RF signal. Similarly, in an aspect, for example, each filter 696 may be used to filter an output from a respective PA 698 to generate an output signal for transmission. In an aspect, each filter 696 may be connected to a particular LNA 690 and / or PA 698. In an aspect, the RF front end 688 may use one or more switches 692 to select a transmit path or a receive path using a specified filter 696, LNA 690, and / or PA 698 based on a configuration specified by the transceiver 602 and / or the processor 612.

[0094] Thus, the transceiver 602 may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through one or more antennas 665 via the RF front end 688. In an aspect, the transceiver may be tuned to operate at a designated frequency such that the UE 104 can communicate with, for example, one or more base stations 102, or one or more cells associated with one or more base stations 102. In an aspect, for example, the modem 640 may configure the transceiver 602 to operate at a designated frequency and power level based on the UE configuration of the UE 104 and a communication protocol used by the modem 640.

[0095] In an aspect, the modem 640 may be a multi-band multi-mode modem capable of processing digital data and communicating with the transceiver 602 such that the digital data is transmitted and received using the transceiver 602. In an aspect, the modem 640 may be multi-band and configured to support multiple frequency bands for a particular communication protocol. In an aspect, the modem 640 may be multi-mode and configured to support multiple operating networks and communication protocols. In an aspect, the modem 640 may control one or more components of the UE 104 (e.g., the RF front end 688, the transceiver 602) to enable transmission and / or reception of signals from the network based on a specified modem configuration. In an aspect, the modem configuration may be based on the modem mode and the frequency band in use. In another aspect, the modem configuration may be based on UE configuration information associated with the UE 104, such as provided by the network during cell selection and / or cell reselection.

[0096] In an aspect, the communication component 642 may optionally include a mode decision component 652. For example, upon receiving an anchor signal from the network entity 102 in the initial bandwidth portion to trigger an initial access procedure for the UE 104, the mode decision component 652 may determine whether to operate in wideband OFDM mode or wideband SC-FDM mode in response to receiving the anchor signal. The communication component 642 may then transmit a capabilities report message to the network entity 102 based on a determination by the mode decision component 652 of whether to operate in wideband OFDM mode or wideband SC-FDM mode.

[0097] In an aspect, the processor 612 may correspond to one or more of the processors described with respect to the UE of Figure 3. Similarly, the memory 616 may correspond to the memory described with respect to the UE of Figure 3.

[0098] With reference to FIG. 7, an example implementation of a base station 102 (e.g., a base station 102 as described above) may include various components, some of which have already been described above, including components such as one or more processors 712, memory 716, and transceivers 702 in communication via one or more buses 744, which may operate in conjunction with a modem 740 and a communication component 199 for communicating reference signals.

[0099] The transceiver 702, receiver 706, transmitter 708, one or more processors 712, memory 716, application 775, bus 744, RF front end 788, LNA 790, switch 792, filter 796, PA 798, and one or more antennas 765 may be the same as or similar to corresponding components of the UE 104, as described above, but may be configured or otherwise programmed for base station operation rather than UE operation.

[0100] In an aspect, the processor 712 may correspond to one or more of the processors described with respect to the base station of Figure 3. Similarly, the memory 716 may correspond to the memory described with respect to the base station of Figure 3.

[0101] It should be understood that the particular order or hierarchy of the blocks in the disclosed processes / flow charts is indicative of an example approach. Based on design preferences, it should be understood that the particular order or hierarchy of the blocks in the processes / flow charts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in an example order, and are not limited to the particular order or hierarchy presented.

[0102] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not limited to the aspects shown herein but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claim language, and references to elements in the singular do not mean "the only one" unless so expressly stated, but rather "one or more." The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C and may include multiple As, multiple Bs, or multiple Cs. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, and any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or that later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is made public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. Terms such as "modules," "mechanisms," "elements," "devices," and the like are not intended to be used interchangeably herein. The term "means for" may not be a substitute for the word "means." Thus, no claim element should be construed as a means-plus-function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for." [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 102 Base station 104UE 110 Geographic Coverage Areas 120 Communication Links 132 backhaul links 134 backhaul links 150 Wi-Fi access points 152 Wi-Fi stations 154 Communication Links 158 Inter-Device Communication Links 160 EPC 162 MME 164 Other MMEs 166 Serving Gateway 168 MBMS GW 170 BM-SC 172 PDN Gateway 174 HSS 176 IP Services 180 gNB 182 Beamforming 184 backhaul links 190 Core Network 192 AMF 193 Other AMF 194 SMF 195 UPF 196 U.D.M. 197 IP Services 198 Communication Components 199 Communication Components 240 Configuration Components 241 Configuration Components 310 base station 316 TX Processor 318RX Receiver 318TX Transmitter 320 Antenna 350UE 352 Antenna 354RX Receiver 354TX Transmitter 356 RX processor 358 Channel Estimator 359 Controller / Processor 360 Memory 368 TX Processor 370 RX Processor 374 Channel Estimator 375 Controller / Processor 376 Memory 602 Transceiver 606 Receiver 608 Transmitter 612 processor 616 Memory 640 Modem 644 Bus 660 LNA 666 Filter 668 PA 675 Applications 688 RF Front End 690 LNA 692 Switch 696 Filters 698 PA 975 Applications

Claims

1. 1. A method of wireless communication in a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining a first time period for evaluation procedures and listen-before-talk procedures during communication with a network entity, the first time period being based on a number of times a discovery reference signal is unavailable, the number of times the discovery reference signal is unavailable being limited by a maximum unavailable threshold based on one or more of a reference signal period, UE mobility, and UE capabilities; performing a first set of measurements of the quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; determining whether to initiate a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measures of quality of the first set of discovery criteria signals; A method comprising:

2. determining whether the first set of measures of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals meets a quality threshold; transmitting a second signal based on a determination that the first set of measures of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals meets the quality threshold; The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second signal corresponds to one or more combinations of a beam failure recovery signal or a random access channel (RACH) signal.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting the second signal to the network entity to inform the network entity of an index of a new beam or a new reference signal.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising receiving a downlink signal from the network entity in response to transmitting the second signal.

6. determining whether the first set of measures of quality of the first set of discovery reference signals meets a quality threshold; performing a second set of measurements of the quality of a second set of discovery reference signals based on a determination that the first set of measurements of the quality of the first set of discovery reference signals does not meet the quality threshold; The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising evaluating whether the quality of the second set of discovery criteria signals exceeds a threshold.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: executing a radio link failure mode if the quality of the second set of discovery reference signals falls below the threshold.

9. 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of: if the quality of the second set of discovery reference signals exceeds the threshold, transmitting an uplink signal to the network entity informing the network entity of an index of a new reference signal in the second set of discovery reference signals.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of actions corresponds to at least one of a handover procedure to a neighboring cell, a beam failure detection procedure, a radio link monitoring procedure, a serving cell or neighboring cell measurement procedure, and a beam candidate detection procedure.

11. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of discovery reference signals corresponds to at least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

12. An apparatus for wireless communication in a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for determining a first time period for evaluation procedures and listen-before-talk procedures during communication with a network entity, the first time period being based on a number of times a discovery reference signal is unavailable, the number of times the discovery reference signal is unavailable being limited by a maximum unavailable threshold based on one or more of a reference signal period, UE mobility, and UE capabilities; means for performing a first set of measurements of the quality of a first set of discovery reference signals during the first time period; means for determining whether to initiate a set of actions associated with the evaluation procedure based on the first set of measures of quality of the first set of discovery criteria signals; An apparatus comprising:

13. A computer program comprising code for causing a computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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