Electronic device, method, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product for wireless communication

Abstract

To provide a method, an electronic device, and a storage medium for a beam failure recovery performed when a user device detects a beam failure occurrence in a down-link of an unlicensed band.SOLUTION: A user device determines that a beam failure occurs in a down-link link of an unlicensed band to generate a beam failure recovery request, and performs energy detection for a first channel of a candidate beam which is selected. When the energy detection indicates that the first channel is in an idle state, the beam failure recovery request is transmitted via the first channel and a first timer is activated simultaneously with a start of the energy detection. When the first timer expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is in the idle state, the candidate beam is reselected and the energy detection is performed for the first channel of the reselected candidate beam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 19

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority from a Chinese patent application bearing application number 201910429802.7 and entitled "Electronic Apparatus, Method, and Computer-Readable Storage Medium for Wireless Communication," filed with the China Patent Office on May 22, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication, particularly to beam management techniques in unlicensed bands, and more particularly to an electronic device, method, and computer-readable storage medium for wireless communication. [Background technology]

[0003] New Radio (NR), the next-generation radio access standard for Long Term Evolution (LTE), is a radio access technology (RAT) different from LTE. NR also supports multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology, and beam management is crucial for ensuring communication quality in NR MIMO. For example, if the beam quality of a beam serving a user device deteriorates to a certain extent, the beam becomes unusable and is considered to have experienced a beam failure. In this case, a beam failure recovery mechanism is required to reassign a new beam for data transmission to the user device. In addition, in unlicensed bands, a user device must first perform channel detection, such as energy detection, to determine whether the channel is idle before accessing it, thereby ensuring that there will be no collisions with other user devices after accessing the channel. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004]

[0003] The following presents a brief summary of the application in order to provide a basic understanding of certain aspects of the application. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the application. It is not intended to identify essential or critical portions of the application, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the application. Its purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, an electronic device for wireless communication is provided, including a processing circuit configured to determine that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and generate a beam failure recovery request, perform energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, and if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, transmit the beam failure recovery request via the first channel, start a first timer simultaneously with the start of the energy detection, and if the first timer expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is idle, reselect a candidate beam and perform energy detection on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present application, a method for wireless communication is provided, comprising the steps of determining that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and generating a beam failure recovery request; performing energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, and if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, transmitting the beam failure recovery request via the first channel; starting a first timer simultaneously with the start of the energy detection; and if the first timer expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is idle, reselecting a candidate beam and performing energy detection on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam.

[0007] The electronic device and method according to this aspect of the present application can quickly send beam failure recovery requests and reduce delays in beam failure recovery by timely switching candidate beams when channel resources corresponding to the candidate beams are occupied for a long period of time.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present application, an electronic device for wireless communication is provided, comprising a processing circuit configured to, when a beam failure occurs in a downlink link of an unlicensed band, transmit a beam failure recovery request to a base station on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, monitor a beam failure recovery response from the base station within a dynamic time window after transmitting the beam failure recovery request, and if a beam failure recovery response is not monitored, retransmit the beam failure recovery request and monitor within a new dynamic time window, wherein the length of the dynamic time window is positively correlated with the number of times the beam failure recovery request has been transmitted.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present application, a method for wireless communication is provided, comprising the steps of: when a beam failure occurs in a downlink link of an unlicensed band, transmitting a beam failure recovery request to a base station on a first channel of a selected candidate beam; monitoring a beam failure recovery response from the base station within a dynamic time window after transmitting the beam failure recovery request; and if the beam failure recovery response is not monitored, retransmitting the beam failure recovery request and monitoring within a new dynamic time window, wherein the length of the dynamic time window is positively correlated with the number of times the beam failure recovery request has been transmitted.

[0010] The electronic device and method according to this aspect of the present application can adapt to the requirements of beam fault recovery processing in non-licensed bands by using a dynamic time window mechanism, thereby increasing the efficiency of beam fault recovery and reducing the delay in beam fault recovery.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present application, an electronic device for wireless communication is provided, including processing circuitry configured to determine that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and generate a beam failure recovery request, perform energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, and if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, transmit the beam failure recovery request via the first channel, wherein the candidate beam is selectable by multiple user devices simultaneously.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present application, a method for wireless communication is provided, comprising: determining that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and generating a beam failure recovery request; performing energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam; and, if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, transmitting the beam failure recovery request via the first channel, wherein the candidate beam can be selected by multiple user devices simultaneously.

[0013] The electronic device and method according to this aspect of the present application can reduce channel overhead by competitively using a channel for transmitting beam failure recovery requests among multiple user devices.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present application, an electronic device for wireless communication is provided, including a processing circuit configured to generate a configuration for a beam failure recovery operation of a user device, provide the configuration to the user device by including the configuration in radio resource control signaling, and generate a beam failure recovery request response in response to a beam failure recovery request from the user device, wherein the configuration includes one or more of the length of a first timer for timing energy detection of a candidate beam, the number of times a candidate beam is reselected for one beam failure, establishing a dynamic time window in which the user device waits for a beam failure recovery response, the number of times a beam failure recovery request is sent for one beam failure, and the length of a second timer for timing the time the user device waits for a beam failure recovery response.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present application, a method for wireless communication is provided, comprising the steps of generating a configuration for a beam failure recovery operation of a user device and providing the configuration to the user device by including the configuration in radio resource control signaling; and generating a beam failure recovery request response in response to a beam failure recovery request from the user device, the configuration including one or more of the length of a first timer for timing energy detection of a candidate beam, the number of times to reselect a candidate beam for one beam failure, establishing a dynamic time window in which the user device waits for a beam failure recovery response, the number of times to send a beam failure recovery request for one beam failure, and the length of a second timer for timing the time in which the user device waits for a beam failure recovery response.

[0016] The electronic device and method according to this aspect of the present application can achieve high-efficiency, low-latency beam fault recovery by arranging beam fault recovery operations of user devices.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there are further provided computer program code and a computer program product for implementing the above-described method for wireless communication, as well as a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the computer program code for implementing the above-described method for wireless communication.

[0018] These and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] To further illustrate the above and other advantages and features of the present invention, specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which, together with the following detailed description, are incorporated into and form a part of this specification. Elements having the same function and configuration are designated by the same reference numerals. It should be understood that these drawings illustrate only typical examples of the present invention and should not be considered as limitations on the scope of the present invention.

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of an electronic device for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a situation in which beam failures are detected simultaneously by multiple user devices and beam failure recovery requests are sent to the base station. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of an electronic device for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a collision between beam failure recovery requests sent by two user devices. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is another schematic diagram of a collision between beam failure recovery requests sent by two user devices. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is an example of a mapping relationship between MAC CE formats and candidate beam indices. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of a mapping relationship between the new channel state information format and the candidate beam index. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of an electronic device for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a situation in which a candidate beam is detected as occupied. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an example in which the first timer expires. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an example in which the first channel is detected to be idle when the first timer has not expired. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of an electronic device for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows an example of setting a dynamic time window. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of an electronic device for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of detecting the reference signal received power of the current candidate beam before retransmitting a beam failure recovery request. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of an electronic device for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is an example of information flow between a base station and a user equipment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a method for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a method for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation system to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of a typical personal computer in which methods and / or apparatus and / or systems according to embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For clarity and brevity, the specification does not describe all features of actual embodiments. However, many embodiment-specific decisions must be made during the development of an actual example to achieve a developer's specific goals, including satisfying system- and business-related constraints, which may vary among different embodiments. Furthermore, while the development effort may be highly complex and time-consuming, such development effort will be routine for those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0022] Herein, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention with unnecessary details, only the device configurations and / or processing steps closely related to the solution according to the present invention are shown in the drawings, and other details less relevant to the present disclosure are omitted.

[0023] <First Example> FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of functional modules of an electronic device 100 for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 100 includes: a determination unit 101 configured to determine that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band; a generation unit 102 configured to generate a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ); and a detection unit 103 configured to perform energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, and if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, to transmit a BFRQ via the first channel, where one candidate beam can be simultaneously selected by multiple user devices.

[0024] The determination unit 101, the generation unit 102, and the detection unit 103 can be realized by one or more processing circuits, and the processing circuits can be realized, for example, as a chip. It should be understood that each functional unit in the device shown in Figure 1 is a logical module divided according to the specific function realized thereby, and is not intended to limit the specific implementation form.

[0025] The electronic device 100 may be installed on a user equipment (UE) side or communicatively connected to the UE. Here, the electronic device 100 may be implemented at a chip level or at a device level. For example, the electronic device 100 may function as a user equipment (UE) itself or may include external devices, such as a memory and a transceiver (not shown). The memory may store programs and related data information that the user equipment needs to execute to perform various functions. The transceiver may include one or more communication interfaces to support communication between different devices (e.g., a base station, another user equipment, etc.), and the implementation of the transceiver is not particularly limited. This also applies to the following descriptions of other arrangement examples of electronic devices on the user equipment side.

[0026] It should also be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc. in this specification are used for distinction purposes only and do not imply any ordering.

[0027] The beam failure recovery mechanism implemented on the UE side may include several steps, such as beam failure determination, candidate beam recognition, BFRQ transmission, and beam failure recovery request response (BFRR) acquisition. In the beam failure determination step, the UE detects the beam quality of the current serving beam to determine whether it meets the beam failure trigger condition. In the candidate beam recognition step, the UE can select a candidate beam from other beams to replace the current serving beam. In the BFRQ transmission step, the UE transmits a BFRQ to the base station (or transmitting / receiving point, hereinafter simply referred to as the base station), which may include, for example, information regarding the identification of the UE and the candidate beam. In the BFRR acquisition step, the UE monitors a response to the BFRQ from the base station within a specific time window.

[0028] Currently, Rel-15 only determines the non-contention-based Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) as the channel for BFRQ transmission, and each PRACH is associated with one candidate beam. In this case, dedicated resources must be allocated and maintained for each UE, which results in a relatively large overhead for cells with a large number of UEs.

[0029] In this embodiment, a solution to the contentious use of channels used for BFRQ transmission in unlicensed bands is proposed. Specifically, one candidate beam can be simultaneously selected as each candidate beam by multiple UEs that experience multiple beam failures.

[0030] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a situation in which multiple UEs simultaneously detect beam failures and transmit BFRQs to the base station (gNB). The UEs can select candidate beams based on the Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) of each beam, for example, and select the beam with the highest RSRP as the candidate beam. Therefore, multiple UEs may select the same candidate beam.

[0031] As described above, when the determination unit 101 determines that a beam failure has occurred, the generation unit 102 generates a BFRQ, which the UE transmits to the base station using the selected candidate beam. To access a channel in an unlicensed band, the UE must first detect whether the channel is idle. Therefore, the detection unit 103 performs energy detection on the first channel of the candidate beam. Energy detection here refers to determining whether the channel is idle by detecting whether there is signal transmission on the channel. For example, a Listen Before Talk (LBT) mechanism can be used. The LBT mechanism can include multiple types, such as 25us LBT and cat.4 LBT. As shown in FIG. 3 , the electronic device 100 further includes a transmission unit 104. When the detection unit 103 detects that the first channel is idle, the transmission unit 104 transmits the BFRQ through the first channel.

[0032] If multiple UEs transmitting BFRQs simultaneously select different candidate beams, no collisions will occur between these BFRQs, regardless of whether the selected candidate beams are currently idle or not.

[0033] If two or more UEs simultaneously transmitting BFRQs select the same candidate beam, collisions may occur. Assume that each UE uses a cat.4 LBT mechanism to detect a channel (i.e., a first channel) for transmitting a BFRQ of a candidate beam. The cat.4 LBT mechanism includes an initial clear channel assessment (ICCA) phase and a backoff phase. The length of the backoff phase is limited by a randomly generated random number N. If the result of energy detection for the channel is lower than a predetermined threshold, i.e., indicates that the channel is idle, the random number N is decremented by 1. If the result of energy detection indicates that the channel is idle when N is decremented to 0, the LBT mechanism is completed, and the UE can transmit a BFRQ using the channel.

[0034] The following describes a possible situation in which UE1 and another UE select the same candidate beam to simultaneously transmit BFRQs. For simplicity, UE2 is used as an example of another UE. However, it should be understood that this is not limiting and that there may be multiple other UEs. When the first channel is occupied during the ICCA phase and then becomes idle, if the random number N1 generated by UE1 and the random number N2 generated by UE2 are different, UE1 backs off for a period t1 determined by N1, and UE2 backs off for a period t2 determined by N2. If N1 > N2, t1 > t2, and UE2 transmits the BFRQ first. In this case, no collision occurs. However, if N1 and N2 are the same, UE1 and UE2 back off for the same period and then transmit the BFRQ simultaneously, as shown in FIG. 4, resulting in a collision.

[0035] On the other hand, if the first channel is not occupied in the ICCA phase, UE1 and UE2 will transmit BFRQs simultaneously, which will cause a collision, as shown in FIG.

[0036] If a collision occurs, UE1 and UE2 each perform a random backoff before retransmitting the BFRQ, and the random backoff time for each UE is randomly generated by the UE. The collision may be, but is not limited to, a collision between two BFRQs transmitted simultaneously. If a BFRQ transmitted by one UE collides with signaling and data transmitted by another UE on the first channel of the same candidate beam, the UE also performs a random backoff before retransmitting the BFRQ. The other UE may be a UE in the same communication system or a UE in another communication system, such as a WiFi system. The signaling and data transmitted by the other UE may be various data and are not limited to BFRQs. Correspondingly, for the other UE, the first channel may be various uplink channels, such as a PRACH, a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), etc.

[0037] In this embodiment, the first channel for transmitting the BFRQ may be a PRACH, a PUCCH or a PUSCH.

[0038] If the first channel is a PUCCH, the transmitting unit 104 notifies the base station that a beam failure event occurs by a scheduling request (SR) on the PUCCH, and transmits a BFRQ using a PUSCH resource allocated to the UE by the base station based on the SR. In this case, the BFRQ includes, for example, an index of a candidate beam.

[0039] For example, the SR can indicate the occurrence of a beam failure event using a specific sequence of all 0s or all 1s. The transmitting unit 104 can also transmit the index of the candidate beam to the base station via the MAC CE. If the base station supports up to 64 candidate beams for beam failure recovery, a new 8-bit MAC CE can be defined, where the first two bits are retained (e.g., can be set to all 0s), and the remaining six bits indicate one of the 64 candidate beams. Figure 6 shows an example of the mapping relationship between the MAC CE format and the candidate beam index.

[0040] Alternatively, the transmitting unit 104 can transmit the BFRQ by a newly defined channel status information (CSI) on the PUCCH, where the newly defined CSI includes a specific bit sequence representing a selected candidate beam. If the base station supports up to 64 candidate beams for beam failure recovery, a new 6-bit CSI format can be defined. Figure 7 shows an example of a mapping relationship between the new CSI format and the candidate beam index.

[0041] If the first channel is a PUSCH, the transmitting unit 104 can transmit a BFRQ by a newly defined MAC CE, where the newly defined MAC CE includes a specific bit sequence representing a selected candidate beam. In such a case, the format of the newly defined MAC CE shown in FIG. 6 can be used as well, and will not be repeated here.

[0042] Note that the above examples of the first channel can be applied to each embodiment of the present application, and the description will not be repeated below.

[0043] The electronic device 100 according to this embodiment reduces channel overhead by competitively using a channel for transmitting BFRQs among multiple UEs.

[0044] <Second Example> FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of functional modules of an electronic device 200 for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application, the electronic device 200 including: a determination unit 201 configured to determine that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and to generate a BFRQ; a detection unit 202 configured to perform energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam and, if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, to transmit a BFRQ via the first channel; and a first timer 203 configured to start simultaneously with the start of the energy detection, wherein the detection unit 202 is further configured to reselect a candidate beam and perform energy detection on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam if the first timer 203 expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is idle.

[0045] Similarly, the determination unit 201, the detection unit 202, and the first timer 203 can be realized by one or more processing circuits, and the processing circuits can be realized, for example, as a chip. It should be understood that each functional unit in the device shown in Figure 8 is a logical module divided according to the specific function realized thereby, and is not intended to limit the specific implementation form. Similarly, the electronic device 200 can be installed on a user equipment (UE) side, for example, or can be communicatively connected to the UE.

[0046] Here, the electronic device 200 may be realized at the chip level or at the device level. For example, the electronic device 200 may function as a user device itself or may include external devices such as a memory and a transceiver (not shown). The memory may store programs and related data information that the user device needs to execute to realize various functions. The transceiver may include one or more communication interfaces to support communication between different devices (e.g., a base station, another user device, etc.), and the implementation form of the transceiver is not particularly limited here.

[0047] Similarly, as described in the first embodiment, when a beam failure occurs in a non-licensed band, before transmitting a BFRQ on the first channel of a selected candidate beam (e.g., PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc. described in the first embodiment), energy detection must first be performed on the channel, and if the energy detection indicates that the channel is idle, the BFRQ must be transmitted. Here, the energy detection can be achieved by an LBT mechanism, which can include, for example, cat.4 LBT, 25us LBT, etc.

[0048] However, if multiple UEs are connected to a cell and select the same beam as a candidate beam, or if other UEs in the cell, or even UEs of other systems, such as WiFi, select the same beam to initiate random access or perform data or signaling transmission, the candidate beam may be occupied for a long time. Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of the occupancy status of a candidate beam detected when using the Cat.4 LBT mechanism. During the ICCA phase, the channel is detected as occupied, and then the backoff phase begins. During the ICCA phase, the channel may be idle, but the backoff continues because the LBT execution has not yet completed. During the backoff phase, the WiFi system detects that the channel is occupied again, and the UE waits for at least the WiFi system to release the channel before it can be used for BFRQ transmission.

[0049] In order to transmit the BFRQ as soon as possible so as to reduce the delay in the beam failure recovery process, the electronic device 200 of this embodiment is equipped with a first timer 203 to limit the duration of energy detection on the first channel.

[0050] For example, when using the cat.4 LBT mechanism, if the random number N has not been reduced to 0 when the first timer expires, i.e., the LBT has not been completed, the first channel of the candidate beam is considered to be occupied for a long time. In order to transmit the BFRQ as soon as possible to reduce the delay, the detection unit 102 aborts the current cat.4 LBT, reselects the candidate beam, and performs energy detection on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam. Figure 10 shows an example in which the first timer expires and the backoff phase has not yet ended.

[0051] The candidate beam can be selected based on the RSRP of the beam. For example, the reselected candidate beam is a beam whose RSRP is next to that of the previous candidate beam. As an example, the number of times a candidate beam is reselected can be limited, and the detection unit 102 generates a report message to notify the upper layer protocol if the number of times a candidate beam is reselected exceeds a predetermined number. In this case, it means that beam failure recovery is difficult to achieve and needs to be handled by the upper layer protocol. Alternatively, when a first timer expires, the event can be notified to the upper layer protocol and the upper layer protocol can make a decision.

[0052] Both the length of the first timer and the information on the predetermined number of times can be obtained from the base station via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0053] Furthermore, when the detection unit 102 performs cat.4 LBT on the first channel of a reselected candidate beam, it decrements the random number generated in the previous cat.4 LBT. If the remaining random number obtained when the previous cat.4 LBT is terminated is not 0, the remaining random number is used as the random number to be used for the current cat.4 mechanism. In other words, in the cat.4 LBT of a reselected candidate beam, the duration of the random backoff phase takes into account the backoff duration of the previous cat.4 LBT. In this way, the delay in the beam failure recovery process can be further reduced.

[0054] If energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle before the first timer expires, the UE transmits a BFRQ over the first channel and resets the first timer. Figure 11 shows an example in which the cat.4 LBT is completed when the first timer has not expired. In this case, the LBT is completed when N is decremented to 0, indicating that the first channel is idle, and the UE can immediately transmit a BFRQ.

[0055] Also, as in the first embodiment, if the BFRQ transmitted by the UE collides with data or signaling transmitted by other user devices on the selected candidate beam, the UE retransmits the BFRQ after performing a random backoff.

[0056] Correspondingly, although not shown in FIG. 8, the electronic device 200 may include a transmitting unit for realizing the transmission of BFRQ.

[0057] The electronic device 200 according to this embodiment can promptly transmit BFRQ and reduce the delay in beam failure recovery by switching candidate beams in a timely manner when the channel resources corresponding to the candidate beams are occupied for a long time.

[0058] <Third Example> FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of functional modules of an electronic device 300 for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application, the electronic device 300 including: a transmitting unit 301 configured to transmit a BFRQ to a base station on a first channel of a selected candidate beam when a beam failure occurs in a downlink link of an unlicensed band; and a monitoring unit 302 configured to monitor a BFRR from the base station within a dynamic time window after transmitting the BFRQ; if the BFRR is not monitored by the monitoring unit 302, the transmitting unit 301 retransmits the BFRQ and monitors within a new dynamic time window, the length of the dynamic time window being positively correlated with the number of times the BFRQ has been transmitted.

[0059] The transmitting unit 301 and the monitor unit 302 can be realized by one or more processing circuits, which are realized, for example, as chips. It should be understood that each functional unit in the device shown in Fig. 12 is a logical module divided according to a specific function realized by the functional unit, and is not intended to limit the specific implementation form.

[0060] The electronic device 300 may be installed in, for example, a user equipment (UE) or communicatively connected to the UE. Here, the electronic device 300 may be implemented at a chip level or at a device level. For example, the electronic device 300 may function as a user equipment itself or may include external devices, such as a memory and a transceiver (not shown). The memory may store programs and related data information that the user equipment needs to execute to perform various functions. The transceiver may include one or more communication interfaces to support communication between different devices (e.g., a base station, another user equipment, etc.), where the implementation of the transceiver is not particularly limited.

[0061] In this embodiment, the first channel may also be one of a PRACH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH.

[0062] In Rel-15, when a UE transmits a BFRQ in time slot n, it monitors a response BFRR from the base station within a window starting from time slot n+4, where the window is determined by high-level signaling parameters. If the UE does not receive a BFRR from the base station within the window, the UE performs a random backoff for a certain period and then retransmits the BFRQ. In unlicensed bands, the base station's LBT may indicate that the channel is occupied, preventing the base station from transmitting the BFRR. In this case, the window length must be increased appropriately. Considering that there are still various situations in which a BFRR is not received and this is not due to the base station's LBT, this embodiment provides a solution for setting a dynamic time window.

[0063] In one example, the length of the dynamic time window can be set to the product of the length of the basic time window and the number of times the BFRQ has been transmitted. Figure 13 shows an example of setting the dynamic time window. After the first BFRQ is transmitted, the dynamic time window is Ta, and after the second BFRQ is transmitted, the dynamic time window is 2Ta. In the example shown in Figure 13, a random backoff is also performed before transmitting the BFRQ again.

[0064] In order to avoid a large delay due to the increase of the dynamic time window, the maximum length of the dynamic time window can be limited, for example, limited to Tmax, and the monitor unit 302 is configured to set the length of the dynamic time window to the maximum length if the length of the dynamic time window set according to the number of times the BFRQ has been transmitted is greater than the maximum length. Alternatively / additionally, the maximum number of times the BFRQ has been transmitted can be limited.

[0065] As an example, as shown in FIG. 14, the electronic device 300 may be provided with a second timer 303, which is activated when a beam failure is detected, and the monitor unit 302 stops the current operation and determines that the beam failure recovery has failed if a BFRR is not received when the second timer 303 expires.

[0066] For example, the settings of the above dynamic time windows, such as information on the length of the basic time window, information on the maximum length of the dynamic time window, information on the length of the second timer, and information on the maximum number of BFRQ transmissions, can be obtained from the base station via RRC signaling.

[0067] Also, if the beam failure recovery process continues for a long time, the RSRP of the selected candidate beam may change. Therefore, as shown in Figure 15, before the transmitting unit 301 retransmits the BFRQ every time, the monitor unit 302 may measure the RSRP of the current candidate beam. If the measured RSRP is lower than a predetermined threshold, the candidate beam is reselected, the transmitting unit 301 transmits the BFRQ on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam, and the monitor unit 302 monitors the BFRQ on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam. In this case, the second timer can be reset.

[0068] The electronic device 300 according to this embodiment can adapt to the requirements of beam fault recovery processing in unlicensed bands by using a dynamic time window mechanism, thereby improving the efficiency of beam fault recovery and reducing the delay of beam fault recovery. The electronic devices 100 to 300 described in the first to third embodiments can be used alone or in combination, without any restrictions.

[0069] <Fourth Example> Figure 16 shows a block diagram of functional modules of an electronic device 400 according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 16, the electronic device 400 includes a first generating unit 401 configured to generate a configuration for a beam failure recovery operation of a UE, provide the configuration to the UE by including the configuration in RRC signaling, and generate a BFRR in response to a BFRQ request from the UE, wherein the configuration includes one or more of the length of a first timer for timing energy detection of a candidate beam, the number of times to reselect a candidate beam for one beam failure, setting a dynamic time window in which the user device waits for a beam failure recovery response, the number of times to send a beam failure recovery request for one beam failure, and the length of a second timer for timing the time in which the user device waits for a beam failure recovery response.

[0070] The first generating unit 401 and the second generating unit 402 can be realized by one or more processing circuits, which are realized, for example, as a chip. It should be understood that each functional unit in the device shown in Figure 16 is a logical module divided according to a specific function realized thereby, and is not intended to limit the specific implementation form.

[0071] The electronic device 400 may be installed in a base station or may be communicatively connected to the base station. Here, the electronic device 400 may be implemented at a chip level or at a device level. For example, the electronic device 400 may function as a base station by itself, or may include external devices such as a memory and a transceiver (not shown). The memory may store programs and related data information that the base station needs to execute to perform various functions. The transceiver may include one or more communication interfaces to support communication between different devices (e.g., user devices, other base stations, etc.). The implementation of the transceiver is not particularly limited.

[0072] The electronic device 400 in this embodiment provides RRC configuration signaling and BFRR correspondingly to one or more of the electronic devices 100 to 300 in the above embodiments. The configuration related to beam failure recovery operation in RRC is described in detail in the first to third embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0073] The electronic device 400 according to this embodiment can realize high-efficiency and low-delay beam fault recovery by arranging the beam fault recovery operation of the user device.

[0074] For ease of understanding, Figure 17 illustrates an information flow for beam switching between a base station and a user equipment (UE). As shown in Figure 17, the base station first transmits an RRC configuration to the UE. The RRC configuration may include one or more of the following: the length of a first timer for timing energy detection of a candidate beam; the number of times a candidate beam is reselected for one beam failure; setting a dynamic time window during which the UE waits for a beam failure recovery response; the number of times a beam failure recovery request is transmitted for one beam failure; and the length of a second timer for timing the time during which the UE waits for a beam failure recovery response. The UE detects the current beam quality and detects a beam failure. After selecting a candidate beam based on the RSRP, the UE performs cat.4 LBT on the PRACH (which may be a PUCCH or a PUSCH) of the candidate beam based on the above configuration. After completing the cat.4 LBT, the UE transmits a BFRR to the UE. Similarly, after completing the LBT, the base station transmits a BFRR to the UE, and the UE monitors the BFRR based on the above configuration.

[0075] Note that the information flow in FIG. 17 is schematic and does not limit the configuration of the present application.

[0076] <Fifth Example> In the process of describing the electronic device for wireless communication in the above embodiments, several processes or methods are clearly disclosed. Below, these methods are outlined without repeating some of the above details. Although these methods are disclosed in the process of describing the electronic device for wireless communication, these methods do not necessarily use or are performed by the components described. For example, the embodiments of the electronic device for wireless communication can be partially or completely realized using hardware and / or firmware, and the methods for wireless communication described below can be completely realized by a computer-executable program, and these methods can also use the hardware and / or firmware of the electronic device for wireless communication.

[0077] 18 shows a flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application, the method including: determining that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and generating a BFRQ (S11); and performing energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, and transmitting a BFRQ via the first channel if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle (S12), where the candidate beam can be selected by multiple user equipments simultaneously. The method can be performed by a UE side.

[0078] The method corresponds to the device 100 described in the first embodiment, and specific details thereof can be referred to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here.

[0079] FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application, the method including: determining that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and generating a BFRQ (S21); performing energy detection on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, and transmitting a BFRQ via the first channel if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle (S22); starting a first timer simultaneously with the start of the energy detection (S23); and checking whether the first timer has expired (S24). If the first timer has not expired in step S24, the method includes the steps of: determining whether energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle (e.g., determining whether the LBT mechanism has completed) (S25); if it is determined that the answer is YES in step S25, sending a BFRQ (S26); otherwise, continuing to perform energy detection; if the first timer has expired in step S24, reselecting a candidate beam (S27), and performing energy detection on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam, i.e., returning to step S23. The method can be performed at the UE side.

[0080] The method corresponds to the device 200 described in the second embodiment, and the specific details thereof can be referred to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here.

[0081] 20 shows a flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application, which includes the steps of: transmitting a BFRQ to a base station on a first channel of a selected candidate beam when a beam failure occurs in a downlink link of an unlicensed band (S31); monitoring a BFRR from the base station within a dynamic time window after transmitting the BFRQ (S32); determining whether the BFRR has been monitored (S33); and if the BFRR has not been monitored in S33, proceeding to S34 to update the dynamic time window, where the length of the dynamic time window is positively correlated with the number of times the BFRQ has been transmitted; and then returning to S31 to retransmit the BFRQ and monitor the BFRR within the new dynamic time window. The method can be performed on the UE side.

[0082] This method corresponds to the device 300 described in the third embodiment, and the specific details thereof can be referred to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here.

[0083] 21 shows a flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application, the method including: a step (S41) of generating a configuration for a beam failure recovery operation of a user equipment and providing the configuration to the UE by including the configuration in RRC signaling; and a step (S41) of generating a BFRR in response to a BFRQ from the UE, the configuration including one or more of the length of a first timer for timing energy detection of a candidate beam, the number of times to reselect a candidate beam for one beam failure, setting a dynamic time window in which the UE waits for a BFRR, the number of times to send a BFRQ for one beam failure, and the length of a second timer for timing the time the UE waits for a BFRR. The method can be performed on a base station side.

[0084] This method corresponds to the device 400 described in the fourth embodiment, and the specific details thereof can be referred to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here.

[0085] The above methods can be used in combination or individually.

[0086] The techniques of the present disclosure can be applied to a variety of products.

[0087] For example, the electronic device 400 may be implemented as various base stations. The base station may be implemented as any type of evolved Node B (eNB) or gNB (5G base station). The eNB may include, for example, a macro eNB and a small eNB. The small eNB may be an eNB that can cover a cell smaller than a macro cell, such as a pico eNB, a micro eNB, and a home (femto) eNB. A similar situation may exist for a gNB. Alternatively, the base station may be implemented as any other type of base station, such as a Node B and a base transceiver station (BTS). A base station may include an entity (also called a base station device) configured to control wireless communications and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) located at different locations from the entity. In addition, various types of user equipment may all operate as a base station by temporarily or semi-permanently performing base station functions.

[0088] Any of the electronic devices 100 to 400 may be realized as various user devices. The user device may be realized as a mobile terminal (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game console, a portable / dongle mobile router, and a digital photography device) or an in-vehicle terminal (e.g., a car navigation device). The user device may also be realized as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also called a machine-type communication (MTC) terminal). In addition, the user device may be a wireless communication module (e.g., an integrated circuit module including a single chip) mounted on each of the above terminals.

[0089] [Examples of base station applications] (First application example) 22 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. Note that the following description uses an eNB as an example, but the technology can also be applied to a gNB. The eNB 800 includes one or more antennas 810 and a base station device 820. The base station device 820 and each antenna 810 can be connected to each other via an RF cable.

[0090] Each of the antennas 810 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (e.g., multiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from the base station device 820. As shown in FIG. 22 , the eNB 800 may include multiple antennas 810. For example, the multiple antennas 810 may be compatible with multiple frequency domains used by the eNB 800. Although FIG. 22 shows an example in which the eNB 800 includes multiple antennas 810, the eNB 800 may also include a single antenna 810.

[0091] The base station device 820 includes a controller 821 , a memory 822 , a network interface 823 , and a wireless communication interface 825 .

[0092] The controller 821 is, for example, a CPU or DSP, and operates various functions of higher layers of the base station device 820. For example, the controller 821 generates data packets based on data in signals processed by the wireless communication interface 825 and transmits the generated packets via the network interface 823. The controller 821 can bundle data from multiple baseband processors to generate bundled packets and transmit the generated bundled packets. The controller 821 may have logic functions to perform the following controls, such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. The controls can be performed in combination with a nearby eNB or core network node. The memory 822 includes RAM and ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 821 and various control data (e.g., terminal lists, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

[0093] The network interface 823 is for connecting the base station device 820 to a communication interface of the core network 824. The controller 821 can communicate with a core network node or another eNB via the network interface 823. In this case, the eNB 800 and the core network node or another eNB can be connected to each other by a logical interface (e.g., an S1 interface and an X2 interface). The network interface 823 may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for a wireless backhaul line. If the network interface 823 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 823 can use a higher frequency band for wireless communication compared to the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 825.

[0094] The wireless communication interface 825 supports any cellular communication scheme (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the eNB 800's cell via the antenna 810. The wireless communication interface 825 typically includes, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 826 and an RF circuit 827. The BB processor 826 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, and various types of signal processing for layers (e.g., L1, media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), and packet data aggregation protocol (PDCP)). Instead of the controller 821, the BB processor 826 may have some or all of the above-mentioned logical functions. The BB processor 826 may be a memory in which a communication control program is stored, or may be a module including a processor and related circuits configured to execute the program. Program updates can change the functionality of the BB processor 826. The module may be a card or board inserted into a slot in the base station device 820. Alternatively, the module may be a chip mounted on a card or board. At the same time, RF circuitry 827 may include, for example, mixers, filters, and amplifiers to transmit and receive radio signals via antenna 810.

[0095] As shown in Figure 22, the wireless communication interface 825 may include multiple BB processors 826. For example, the multiple BB processors 826 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB 800. As shown in Figure 22, the wireless communication interface 825 may include multiple RF circuits 827. For example, the multiple RF circuits 827 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. Although Figure 22 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 825 includes multiple BB processors 826 and multiple RF circuits 827, the wireless communication interface 825 may include a single BB processor 826 or a single RF circuit 827.

[0096] 22, the transceiver of the electronic device 200 may be realized by the wireless communication interface 825. At least a part of the functions may be realized by the controller 821. For example, the controller 821 can generate RRC signaling including a configuration for a beam failure recovery operation for the UE and generate a BFRQ response by performing the functions of the first generating unit 401 and the second generating unit 402.

[0097] (Second application example) 23 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. Similarly, the following description uses an eNB as an example, but the technology can also be applied to a gNB. The eNB 830 includes one or more antennas 840, a base station device 850, and an RRH 860. The RRH 860 and each antenna 840 can be connected to each other via an RF cable. The base station device 850 and the RRH 860 can be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as an optical fiber cable.

[0098] Each of the antennas 840 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (e.g., multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving radio signals for the RRH 860. As shown in FIG. 23 , the eNB 830 may include multiple antennas 840. For example, the multiple antennas 840 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB 830. Although FIG. 23 shows an example in which the eNB 830 includes multiple antennas 840, the eNB 830 may also include a single antenna 840.

[0099] The base station device 850 includes a controller 851, a memory 852, a network interface 853, a wireless communication interface 855, and a connection interface 857. The controller 851, the memory 852, and the network interface 853 are the same as the controller 821, the memory 822, and the network interface 823 described with reference to FIG.

[0100] The wireless communication interface 855 supports any cellular communication method (e.g., LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless communication to terminals located in the sector corresponding to the RRH 860 via the RRH 860 and the antenna 840. The wireless communication interface 855 may typically include, for example, a BB processor 856. The BB processor 856 is the same as the BB processor 826 described with reference to FIG. 22 except that the BB processor 856 is connected to the RF circuit 864 of the RRH 860 via a connection interface 857. As shown in FIG. 23, the wireless communication interface 855 may include multiple BB processors 856. For example, the multiple BB processors 856 may be compatible with multiple frequency domains used by the eNB 830. Although FIG. 23 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 855 includes multiple BB processors 856, the wireless communication interface 855 may also include a single BB processor 856.

[0101] The connection interface 857 is an interface for connecting the base station device 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to the RRH 860. The connection interface 857 may be a communication module for connecting the base station device 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to the RRH 860 for communication over the above-described high-speed line.

[0102] The RRH 860 includes a connection interface 861 and a wireless communication interface 863 .

[0103] The connection interface 861 is an interface for connecting the RRH 860 (wireless communication interface 863) to the base station device 850. The connection interface 861 may be a communication module for communication over the above-mentioned high-speed line.

[0104] The wireless communication interface 863 transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 840. The wireless communication interface 863 may typically include, for example, an RF circuit 864. The RF circuit 864 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and may transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 840. As shown in FIG. 23 , the wireless communication interface 863 may include multiple RF circuits 864. For example, the multiple RF circuits 864 may support multiple antenna elements. Although FIG. 23 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 863 includes multiple RF circuits 864, the wireless communication interface 863 may also include a single RF circuit 864.

[0105] 23, the transceiver of the electronic device 400 may be realized by the wireless communication interface 825. At least a part of the functions may be realized by the controller 821. For example, the controller 821 can generate RRC signaling including a configuration for a beam failure recovery operation for the UE and generate a BFRQ response by performing the functions of the first generating unit 401 and the second generating unit 402.

[0106] [Examples of user device applications] (First application example) 24 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 900 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The smartphone 900 includes a processor 901, a memory 902, a storage device 903, an external connection interface 904, an imaging device 906, a sensor 907, a microphone 908, an input device 909, a display device 910, a speaker 911, a wireless communication interface 912, one or more antenna switches 915, one or more antennas 916, a bus 917, a battery 918, and an auxiliary controller 919.

[0107] The processor 901 is, for example, a CPU or a system-on-chip (SoC) and can control the functions of the application layer and other layers of the smartphone 900. The memory 902 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 901. The storage device 903 can include storage media such as semiconductor memory and a hard disk. The external connection interface 904 is an interface for connecting external devices (e.g., memory cards and universal serial bus (USB) devices) to the smartphone 900.

[0108] The imaging device 906 includes an image sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) and generates a captured image. The sensor 907 may include a set of sensors, such as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 908 converts sounds input to the smartphone 900 into audio signals. The input device 909 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect touches on the screen of the display device 910, a keypad, a keyboard, buttons, or switches, and receives actions or information input from a user. The display device 910 includes a screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display) and displays an output image of the smartphone 900. The speaker 911 converts audio signals output from the smartphone 900 into sound.

[0109] The wireless communication interface 912 supports any cellular communication system (e.g., LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 912 typically includes, for example, a baseband processor 913 and an RF circuit 914. The baseband processor 913 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, and various other types of signal processing for wireless communication. The RF circuit 914 can include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and can transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 916. While this diagram illustrates a situation in which one RF link is connected to one antenna, this is merely an example, and the case in which one RF link is connected to multiple antennas via multiple phase shifters is also included. The wireless communication interface 912 may be a single chip module on which the baseband processor 913 and the RF circuit 914 are integrated. As shown in FIG. 24, the wireless communication interface 912 may include multiple baseband processors 913 and multiple RF circuits 914. Although FIG. 24 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 912 includes multiple BB processors 913 and multiple RF circuits 914, the wireless communication interface 912 may include a single BB processor 913 or a single RF circuit 914.

[0110] In addition to the cellular communication system, the wireless communication interface 912 may support other types of wireless communication systems, such as a short-range wireless communication system, a proximity communication system, a wireless local network (LAN) system, etc. In this case, the wireless communication interface 912 may include a baseband processor 913 and an RF circuit 914 for various wireless communication systems.

[0111] Each of the antenna switches 915 switches the connection destination of the antenna 916 between a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits used for different wireless communication methods) included in the wireless communication interface 912.

[0112] Each of the antennas 916 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (e.g., multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used to transmit and receive radio signals over the wireless communication interface 912. As shown in Fig. 24, the smartphone 900 may include multiple antennas 916. Although Fig. 24 shows an example in which the smartphone 900 includes multiple antennas 916, the smartphone 900 may also include a single antenna 916.

[0113] The smartphone 900 may include an antenna 916 for various wireless communication methods. In this case, the antenna switch 915 may be omitted from the arrangement of the smartphone 900.

[0114] The bus 917 interconnects the processor 901, memory 902, storage device 903, external connection interface 904, image capture device 906, sensor 907, microphone 908, input device 909, display device 910, speaker 911, wireless communication interface 912, and auxiliary controller 919. A battery 918 provides power to each block of the smartphone 900 shown in Fig. 24 via power supply lines, which are partially indicated by dotted lines in the drawing. The auxiliary controller 919 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 900, for example, in sleep mode.

[0115] 24 , the transceiver or transmitting unit of the electronic device 100 to 300 may be realized by the wireless communication interface 912. At least a part of the functions may be realized by the processor 901 or the auxiliary controller 919. For example, the processor 901 or the auxiliary controller 919 may realize the competitive use of the channel for transmitting BFRQs for candidate beams by performing the functions of the determination unit 101, the generation unit 102, the detection unit 103, and the transmission unit 104, realize the timely exchange of candidate beams by performing the functions of the determination unit 201, the generation unit 202, and the first timer 203, and realize a dynamic time window mechanism for BFRR monitoring by performing the functions of the transmission unit 301, the monitor unit 302, and the second timer 203.

[0116] (Second application example) 25 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 920 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation device 920 includes a processor 921, a memory 922, a global positioning system (GPS) module 924, a sensor 925, a data interface 926, a content player 927, a storage medium interface 928, an input device 929, a display device 930, a speaker 931, a wireless communication interface 933, one or more antenna switches 936, one or more antennas 937, and a battery 938.

[0117] The processor 921 is, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and can control the navigation function and other functions of the car navigation device 920. The memory 922 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 921.

[0118] The GPS module 924 measures the position (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 920 using GPS signals received from GPS satellites. The sensor 925 may include a set of sensors such as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 926 connects to, for example, a vehicle network 941 via a terminal (not shown) to acquire data generated by the vehicle (e.g., vehicle speed data).

[0119] The content player 927 plays content stored on a storage medium (e.g., CD or DVD), which is inserted into a storage medium interface 928. The input device 929 includes, for example, a touch sensor, button, or switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 930, and receives input actions or information from a user. The display device 930 includes, for example, an LCD or OLED display screen, and displays images of the navigation function or played content. The speaker 931 outputs sounds of the navigation function or played content.

[0120] The wireless communication interface 933 can support any cellular communication system (e.g., LTE and LTE-Advanced) and perform wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 933 typically includes, for example, a broadband processor 934 and an RF circuit 935. The broadband processor 934 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, as well as various types of signal processing used in wireless communication. At the same time, the RF circuit 935 can include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and can transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 937. The wireless communication interface 933 may be a single chip module on which the broadband processor 934 and the RF circuit 935 are integrated. As shown in FIG. 25, the wireless communication interface 933 may include multiple broadband processors 934 and multiple RF circuits 935. While FIG. 25 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 933 includes multiple broadband processors 934 and multiple RF circuits 935, the wireless communication interface 933 may include a single broadband processor 934 or a single RF circuit 935.

[0121] In addition to the cellular communication system, the wireless communication interface 933 may support other types of wireless communication systems, such as a short-range wireless communication system, a proximity communication system, and a wireless LAN system. In this case, the wireless communication interface 933 may include a BB processor 934 and an RF circuit 935 for each wireless communication system.

[0122] Each of the antenna switches 936 switches the connection destination of the antenna 937 between a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits used for different wireless communication methods) included in the wireless communication interface 933 .

[0123] Each of the antennas 937 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (for example, multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving radio signals via the wireless communication interface 933. As shown in Fig. 25, the car navigation device 920 may include multiple antennas 937. Although Fig. 25 shows an example in which the car navigation device 920 includes multiple antennas 937, the car navigation device 920 may include a single antenna 937.

[0124] The car navigation device 920 may include an antenna 937 for each wireless communication method. In this case, the antenna switch 936 may be omitted from the arrangement of the car navigation device 920.

[0125] 25. The battery 938 supplies power to each block of the car navigation device 920 shown in Fig. 25 via power supply lines, which are partially indicated by dotted lines in the drawing. The battery 938 stores the power provided by the vehicle.

[0126] 25 , the transceiver or transmission unit of the electronic devices 100 to 300 may be realized by the wireless communication interface 912. At least a part of the functions may be realized by the processor 901 or the auxiliary controller 919. For example, the processor 901 or the auxiliary controller 919 may realize competitive use of a channel for transmitting BFRQs for candidate beams by performing the functions of the determination unit 101, the generation unit 102, the detection unit 103, and the transmission unit 104, realize timely switching of candidate beams by performing the functions of the determination unit 201, the generation unit 202, and the first timer 203, and realize a dynamic time window mechanism for BFRR monitoring by performing the functions of the transmission unit 301, the monitor unit 302, and the second timer 203.

[0127] The technology of the present disclosure may be realized as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 940 including one or more blocks of a car navigation device 920, an in-vehicle network 941, and a vehicle module 942. The vehicle module 942 generates vehicle data (e.g., vehicle speed, engine speed, and failure information) and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 941.

[0128] The basic principles of the present invention have been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can understand that all or any of the steps or components of the method and apparatus of the present invention can be realized in the form of hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof in any computing device (including a processor, a storage medium, etc.) or a network of computing devices. This can be realized by those skilled in the art using their basic circuit design knowledge or basic programming skills upon reading the description of the present invention.

[0129] The present invention further provides a program product having machine-readable instruction codes stored thereon, which, when read and executed by a machine, can perform the above-described methods according to the embodiments of the present invention.

[0130] Correspondingly, the present disclosure also includes a storage medium carrying the above program product having machine-readable instruction codes stored therein, including, but not limited to, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, a memory stick, etc.

[0131] When realizing the present invention using software or firmware, the programs constituting the software are installed from a storage medium or a network onto a computer having a dedicated hardware configuration (e.g., a general computer 2600 shown in FIG. 26), and the computer can perform various functions when each program is installed.

[0132] 26, a central processing unit (CPU) 2601 executes various processes according to programs stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 2602 or programs loaded from a storage unit 2608 into a random access memory (RAM) 2603. The RAM 2603 stores data required when the CPU executes various processes, etc., as needed. The CPU 2601, ROM 2602, and RAM 2603 are interconnected via a bus 2604. An input / output interface 2605 is also connected to the bus 2604.

[0133] An input unit 2606 (including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.), an output unit 2607 (including, for example, a display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a speaker, etc.), a memory unit 2608 (including, for example, hardware), and a communication unit 2609 (including, for example, a network interface card such as a LAN card or a modem) are connected to the input / output interface 2605. The communication unit 2609 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. If necessary, a driver 2610 can also be connected to the input / output interface 2605. For example, a removable medium 2611 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory can be attached to the driver 2610 as needed, so that a computer program read from the removable medium 2606 can be installed in the memory unit 2608 as needed.

[0134] When the above series of processes are realized by software, the programs that make up the software are installed from a network such as the Internet or a storage medium such as the removable medium 2611 .

[0135] Such a storage medium is not limited to the removable medium 2611 shown in Figure 26, in which the program is stored and which is separately distributed to a device to provide the program to a user. Examples of removable medium 2611 include magnetic disks (including floppy disks (registered trademark)), optical disks (including optical disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs) and digital versatile disks (DVDs)), magneto-optical disks (including minidisks (MDs) (registered trademark)), and semiconductor memories. Alternatively, the storage medium may be ROM 2602, hardware included in storage unit 2608, etc., in which the program is stored and which is distributed to a user together with a device containing the program.

[0136] In addition, in the device, method, and system of the present invention, each component or each step may be decomposed and / or recombined. Such decomposition and / or recombination should be considered as equivalent solutions of the present invention. Furthermore, the steps for performing the above-described series of processes can naturally be performed in chronological order according to the order of description, but they do not necessarily have to be performed in chronological order. Some steps may be performed in parallel or independently of each other.

[0137] Finally, it should be clarified that the terms "comprehensive," "comprises," or any other variation thereof means a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a set of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed or inherent in such process, method, article, or device. Furthermore, in the absence of a greater limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one of..." does not exclude the process, method, article, or device comprising the element from including other identical elements.

[0138] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is limited by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. An electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: determining that a beam failure has occurred in the downlink of the unauthorized band and generating a beam failure recovery request; performing energy detection including a Category 4 (Cat. 4) Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) mechanism on a first channel of the selected candidate beam, and if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, transmitting the beam failure recovery request over the first channel based on the Cat. 4 LBT mechanism; starting a first timer simultaneously with the start of the energy detection; An electronic device including a processing circuit configured to, if the first timer expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is idle, reselect a candidate beam and perform energy detection on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a report message to notify an upper layer protocol if the number of times the candidate beam is reselected exceeds a predetermined number.

3. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: transmit the beam failure recovery request over the first channel and reset the first timer if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle before the first timer expires.

4. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to decrement the random number generated by the previous Cat. 4 LBT mechanism when performing Cat. 4 LBT on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam, and if the remaining random number obtained when the previous Cat. 4 LBT mechanism was terminated is not 0, use the remaining random number as the random number to be used in the current Cat. 4 LBT mechanism.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first channel is one of a physical random access channel, a physical uplink control channel, and a physical uplink shared channel.

6. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to obtain information about the length of the first timer and the predetermined number of times from a base station via radio resource control signaling.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to select a candidate beam based on a reference signal received power of the beam.

8. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to retransmit the beam failure recovery request after performing a random backoff if the transmitted beam failure recovery request collides with signaling or data transmitted by another user device on the selected candidate beam.

9. 1. An electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: generating a configuration for a beam failure recovery operation of a user equipment and providing the configuration to the user equipment in radio resource control signaling; a processing circuit configured to generate a beam failure recovery request response in response to a beam failure recovery request transmitted by the user device based on a Category 4 (Cat. 4) Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) mechanism; The configuration includes a length of a first timer for timing energy detection of a candidate beam, and a number of times to reselect a candidate beam for one beam failure; the energy detection includes the Cat. 4 LBT mechanism; The user device starts the first timer simultaneously with the start of the energy detection for the first channel of the candidate beam, and if the first timer expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is idle, reselects the candidate beam and performs energy detection for the first channel of the reselected candidate beam.

10. 1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: determining that a beam failure has occurred in a downlink link of an unlicensed band and generating a beam failure recovery request; performing energy detection including a Category 4 (Cat. 4) Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) mechanism on a first channel of a selected candidate beam, and if the energy detection indicates that the first channel is idle, transmitting the beam failure recovery request via the first channel based on the Cat. 4 LBT mechanism; starting a first timer simultaneously with the initiation of the energy detection; If the first timer expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is idle, reselecting a candidate beam and performing energy detection on the first channel of the reselected candidate beam.

11. 1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: generating a configuration for beam failure recovery operation of a user equipment and providing the configuration to the user equipment in radio resource control signaling; generating a beam failure recovery request response in response to a beam failure recovery request sent by the user device based on a Category 4 (Cat. 4) Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) mechanism; The configuration includes a length of a first timer for timing energy detection of a candidate beam, and a number of times to reselect a candidate beam for one beam failure; the energy detection includes the Cat. 4 LBT mechanism; The user device starts the first timer simultaneously with the start of the energy detection for the first channel of the candidate beam, and if the first timer expires but the energy detection does not indicate that the first channel is idle, reselects the candidate beam and performs energy detection for the first channel of the reselected candidate beam.

12. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, comprising: A computer-readable storage medium, the computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method for wireless communication according to claim 10 or 11.

13. A computer program product comprising computer programs / instructions, A computer program product for performing the steps of the method for wireless communication according to claim 10 or 11 when said computer program / instructions are executed by a processor.

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