communication equipment

Abstract

To provide a communication device that executes processing for executing a carrier sense before the start of a transmission.SOLUTION: In a radio communication system, a communication device 300 that may be a gNB or a UE, comprises: a communication part that performs a communication by using an unlicensed frequency band containing a first frequency band and a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band; and a control part that executes a channel access procedure in the unlicensed frequency band. The control part permits an adoption of first processing for executing a carrier sense at a predetermined timing in a fixed frame period in the case where a first condition is satisfied in the channel access procedure of the first frequency band, and executes second processing for executing the carrier sense at the predetermined timing in the fixed frame period in the case where a second condition is satisfied in the channel access procedure of the second frequency band.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device that performs wireless communication, and more particularly to a communication device that performs a process of performing carrier sensing before starting transmission. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed specifications for the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G, also known as New Radio (NR) or Next Generation (NG)), and is also developing specifications for the next generation, known as Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0003] 3GPP Release 15 and Release 16 (NR) specify operation in multiple frequency ranges, specifically bands including FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz).

[0004] Additionally, studies are underway on NR, which supports frequencies above 52.6 GHz and up to 71 GHz (Non-Patent Document 1). Furthermore, Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G (Release-18 and later) aims to support frequency bands above 71 GHz. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] "Study on supporting NR from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz", RP-193259, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #86, 3GPP, December 2019 Summary of the Invention

[0006] Incidentally, in unlicensed frequency bands, a process of performing carrier sensing before starting transmission (hereinafter referred to as LBT; Listen Before Talk) is applied. Examples of such LBT include LBE (Load Based Equipment) processing and FBE (Frame Based Equipment) processing. In LBE processing, carrier sensing is performed according to demand until a carrier that does not interfere with other communication devices is found. In FBE processing, carrier sensing is performed at a predetermined timing in a fixed frame period. For example, FBE processing is applied when it is guaranteed that there are no communication methods other than those specified by 3GPP (e.g., WiFi, etc.).

[0007] Under these circumstances, the possibility of applying FBE processing to high frequency bands such as those exceeding 52.6 GHz has not been considered. After careful consideration, the inventors have found the usefulness of applying FBE processing to a second frequency band (e.g., a high frequency band exceeding 52.6 GHz) that is higher than the first frequency band.

[0008] Therefore, the following disclosure has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and aims to provide a communication device that can realize appropriate application of FBE processing in a second frequency band that is higher than the first frequency band.

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a communication device including a control unit that executes a channel access procedure in an unlicensed frequency band that includes a first frequency band and a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band, wherein the control unit allows application of a first process that executes carrier sense at a predetermined timing in a fixed frame period when a first condition is satisfied in the channel access procedure in the first frequency band, and executes a second process that executes carrier sense at a predetermined timing in a fixed frame period when a second condition is satisfied in the channel access procedure in the second frequency band. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall schematic configuration of a wireless communication system 10. As shown in FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing frequency ranges used in the wireless communication system 10. As shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a radio frame, a subframe, and a slot used in the radio communication system 10. As shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the communication device 300. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the channel access procedure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of operation. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of operation. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a channel access procedure according to the first modification. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of operation according to the third modification. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the communication device 300. As shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or similar reference numerals are used to designate the same functions or configurations, and descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0012] [Embodiment] (1) Overall configuration of wireless communication system 1 is a schematic diagram of an overall configuration of a wireless communication system 10 according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system conforming to 5G New Radio (NR), and includes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network 20 (hereinafter, NG-RAN 20) and a terminal 200 (hereinafter, UE 200).

[0013] The wireless communication system 10 may be a wireless communication system conforming to a system called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0014] The NG-RAN 20 includes a radio base station 100A (hereinafter, gNB100A) and a radio base station 100B (hereinafter, gNB100B). Note that the specific configuration of the radio communication system 10, including the number of gNBs and UEs, is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] The NG-RAN 20 actually includes multiple NG-RAN nodes, specifically, gNBs (or ng-eNBs), and is connected to a 5G-compliant core network (5GC, not shown). The NG-RAN 20 and the 5GC may also be simply referred to as a "network."

[0016] The gNB100A and gNB100B are radio base stations conforming to 5G, and perform 5G radio communication with the UE 200. The gNB100A, gNB100B, and UE 200 are capable of supporting Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), which generates a more directional beam BM by controlling radio signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements, Carrier Aggregation (CA), which aggregates and uses multiple component carriers (CCs), and Dual Connectivity (DC), which simultaneously communicates on two or more transport blocks between the UE and each of two NG-RAN nodes.

[0017] The wireless communication system 10 also supports a plurality of frequency ranges (FR).

[0018] 2, the wireless communication system 10 supports FR1 and FR2. The frequency bands of each FR are as follows:

[0019] FR1: 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz FR2: 24.25 GHz~52.6 GHz FR1 may use a Sub-Carrier Spacing (SCS) of 15, 30, or 60 kHz and a bandwidth (BW) of 5 to 100 MHz. FR2 is a higher frequency than FR1, and may use an SCS of 60 or 120 kHz (including 240 kHz) and a bandwidth (BW) of 50 to 400 MHz.

[0020] Note that SCS may be interpreted as numerology, which is defined in 3GPP TS38.300 and corresponds to one subcarrier spacing in the frequency domain.

[0021] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 also supports frequency bands higher than the FR2 frequency band. Specifically, the wireless communication system 10 supports frequency bands exceeding 52.6 GHz up to 114.25 GHz. For convenience, such high frequency bands may be referred to as "FR2x."

[0022] To solve this problem, when using a band above 52.6 GHz, Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) / Discrete Fourier Transform - Spread (DFT-S-OFDM) with a larger Sub-Carrier Spacing (SCS) may be applied.

[0023] The wireless communication system 10 uses an unlicensed frequency band Fu different from the frequency band allocated for the wireless communication system 10 in addition to the frequency band allocated for the wireless communication system 10. Specifically, the wireless communication system 10 is capable of implementing New Radio-Unlicensed (NR-U), which expands the available frequency band by using the spectrum of the unlicensed frequency band.

[0024] The frequency band allocated for the wireless communication system 10 is a frequency band included in the frequency ranges such as FR1 and FR2 described above, and is based on administrative license allocation.

[0025] Unlicensed frequency bands (Fu) are frequency bands that do not require government license allocation and are not restricted to specific telecommunications carriers. For example, there are frequency bands used for wireless LAN (WLAN) (such as the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands).

[0026] In the unlicensed frequency band Fu, wireless stations can be installed regardless of the specific telecommunications carrier, but it is undesirable for signals from nearby wireless stations to interfere with each other and significantly degrade communication performance.

[0027] For this reason, for example, in Japan, as a requirement for wireless systems using the unlicensed frequency band Fu (e.g., the 5 GHz band), the gNB100 performs carrier sensing before starting transmission, and only after confirming that the channel is not being used by other nearby systems, the Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) mechanism is applied, which allows transmission within a specified period of time. Carrier sensing is a technology that checks whether the frequency carrier is being used for other communications before emitting radio waves.

[0028] The band for LBT in NR-U (LBT sub-band) can be provided within the unlicensed frequency band Fu and may be expressed as a band for checking whether or not the unlicensed frequency band Fu is in use. The LBT sub-band may be, for example, 20 MHz, half of that, 10 MHz, or one-quarter of that, 5 MHz.

[0029] In the embodiment, the unlicensed frequency band Fu includes a first frequency band (for example, the 2.4 GHz band or the 5.0 GHz band) and a second frequency band (for example, the 60 GHz band) higher than the first frequency band. The first frequency band may be included in FR1. The second frequency band may be included in FR2x. Note that the unlicensed frequency band Fu shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a radio frame, a subframe, and a slot used in the radio communication system 10. In FIG.

[0031] As shown in Figure 3, one slot consists of 14 symbols, and the larger (wider) the SCS, the shorter the symbol period (and slot period). The SCS is not limited to the interval (frequency) shown in Figure 3. For example, 480 kHz, 960 kHz, etc. may be used.

[0032] Also, the number of symbols constituting one slot does not necessarily have to be 14 (for example, 28 or 56 symbols). Furthermore, the number of slots per subframe may differ depending on the SCS.

[0033] The time direction (t) shown in Fig. 3 may be called a time domain, a symbol period, or a symbol time, etc. The frequency direction may be called a frequency domain, a resource block, a subcarrier, a bandwidth part (BWP), etc.

[0034] (2) Functional block configuration of wireless communication system Next, a functional block configuration of the wireless communication system 10 will be described. Specifically, a functional block configuration of the communication device 300 will be described. The communication device 300 may be a gNB 100 or a UE 200. As shown in FIG. 4 , the communication device 300 includes a communication unit 310 and a control unit 320.

[0035] The communication unit 310 performs communication using a licensed frequency band. The communication using the licensed frequency band includes communication using channels defined by 3GPP. The channels include a control channel and a data channel.

[0036] The control channels include a DCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), a PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), a RACH (Random Access Channel), Downlink Control Information (DCI) including a Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH).

[0037] The data channel includes a PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) and a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel). Data refers to data transmitted via the data channel. The data channel may be read as a shared channel.

[0038] The communication unit 310 performs communication using the unlicensed frequency band Fu. As described above, the unlicensed frequency band Fu includes a first frequency band and a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band. Communication using the unlicensed frequency band Fu may be used in combination with communication using a licensed frequency band. In other words, carriers in the licensed frequency band and carriers in the unlicensed frequency band Fu may be bundled together. Such a technique may be referred to as LAA (Licensed-Assisted Access).

[0039] The control unit 320 controls the communication device 300. In the embodiment, the control unit 320 executes a channel access procedure in the unlicensed frequency band Fu. The channel access procedure includes a process of performing carrier sensing before starting transmission (hereinafter referred to as LBT; Listen Before Talk). Examples of LBT include LBE (Load Based Equipment) processing and FBE (Frame Based Equipment) processing. In the LBE processing, carrier sensing is performed according to demand until a carrier that does not interfere with other communication devices is found. In the FBE processing, carrier sensing is performed at a predetermined timing in a fixed frame period.

[0040] Here, when a first condition is satisfied in the channel access procedure for the first frequency band, the control unit 320 allows application of a first process of performing carrier sensing at a predetermined timing in a fixed frame period. The first process is an example of an FBE process. The first condition is that it is guaranteed that no other technology (e.g., WiFi) different from the wireless communication system 10 exists in the first frequency band. The control unit 320 may perform an LBE process instead of an FBE process even when the first condition is satisfied.

[0041] On the other hand, when a second condition is satisfied in the channel access procedure for the second frequency band, the control unit 320 executes a second process of performing carrier sensing at a predetermined timing in a fixed frame period. The second process is an example of an FBE process. The second condition is different from the first condition. For example, the second condition may be the following condition:

[0042] First, the second condition may be that it is predetermined that FBE processing is applied as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band. For example, the second condition may be that it is specified in a standard such as 3GPP that FBE processing is applied as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band. In other words, FBE processing may be applied as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band without applying LBE processing.

[0043] Second, the second condition may be that it is confirmed that no other technology (e.g., WiFi) different from the wireless communication system 10 exists in the second frequency band. Here, the "confirmation" of the second condition is a different concept from the "guarantee" of the first condition, and may include a concept that the impact of other technologies is small. The second condition may be that it is notified that no other technology exists in the second frequency band. Such notification may be performed by the gNB 100 or by an upper node of the gNB 100 (e.g., OAM; Operation, Administration and Maintenance).

[0044] Third, the second condition may be that the FBE process is configured to be applied as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band. The application of the FBE process may be configured in the SIM, by the MAC CE, or by the RRC.

[0045] (3) Channel Access Procedure Next, a channel access procedure will be described, which will be the FBE process described above.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 5, in the FBE process, a fixed frame period (FFP) is defined. For example, possible values ​​of FFP are 1 ms, 2 ms, 2.5 ms, 4 ms, 5 ms, and 10 ms. In the FBE process, carrier sensing is performed at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing includes at least the timing immediately before the FFP. The predetermined timing may also include the timing immediately before the channel occupancy time (hereinafter, COT).

[0047] Possible channel access procedures used in the FBE process include Type 2A, Type 2B, and Type 2C. Type 2A is a process in which the time interval (hereinafter referred to as the gap) between other transmissions and the target transmission is 25 μs. Type 2B is a process in which the gap between other transmissions and the target transmission is 16 μs. Type 2C is a process in which the gap between other transmissions and the target transmission is shorter than 16 μs. Type 2A and Type 2B are processes in which channel sensing is performed in the gap. Type 2C is a process in which channel sensing is not performed in the gap. For example, Type 2C is used when the gNB 100 and the UE 200 share the COT (for example, §4.1.2 "Type 2 DL Channel access procedure" and §4.2.1.2 "Type 2 UL channel access procedure" of 3GPP TS37.213 V16.1.0).

[0048] For example, "A" in FIG. 5 shows a case where LBT idle is confirmed by Type 2A or Type 2B carrier sense and downlink (DL) transmission is performed. "B" in FIG. 5 shows a case where LBT idle is confirmed by Type 2C carrier sense and uplink (UL) transmission is performed. "C" and "D" in FIG. 5 show cases where LBT idle is confirmed by Type 2A or Type 2B carrier sense and downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmission are performed. LBT idle means that the channel is not occupied by other communication devices 300. MCOT is the maximum channel occupation time.

[0049] 5 shows a case where LBT Busy is confirmed by Type 2A or Type 2B carrier sense, and downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmission is performed. Note that LBT Busy means that the channel is occupied by another communication device 300.

[0050] "F" in Figure 5 shows a case where LBT Idle is confirmed by Type 2A or Type 2B carrier sense and downlink (DL) transmission is performed. "G" in Figure 5 shows a case where uplink (UL) transmission is performed without performing carrier sense due to COT sharing.

[0051] Here, the content of the second process, which is the FBE process applied in the second frequency band (e.g., 60 GHz band), may be the same as the content of the first process, which is the FBE process applied in the first frequency band (e.g., 5 GHz band). For example, the second process may use the same FFP as that used in the first process. That is, the communication device 300 (control unit 320) may use the same FFP in the second process as that used in the first process.

[0052] (4) Example of operation An example of the operation of the channel access procedure for the second frequency band will be described below. Here, the case will be described in which the NG-RAN 20 (gNB 200) performs carrier sensing of the FBE process (Type 2A or Type 2B) before DL transmission, and the UE 200 performs carrier sensing of the FBE process (Type 2A or Type 2B) before UL transmission.

[0053] First, a case where it is predetermined that the FBE process is to be applied as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band will be described.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 6, in step S10, the NG-RAN 20 performs carrier sensing at a predetermined timing in the FFP.

[0055] In step S11, the NG-RAN 20 performs DL transmission when the result of carrier sensing is LBT Idle. Note that the NG-RAN 20 does not perform DL transmission when the result of carrier sensing is LBT Busy.

[0056] In step S12, the UE 200 performs carrier sensing at a predetermined timing in the FFP.

[0057] In step S13, the UE 200 performs UL transmission when the result of carrier sensing is LBT Idle. Note that the UE 200 does not perform UL transmission when the result of carrier sensing is LBT Busy.

[0058] In Fig. 6, a case where it is predetermined to apply the FBE process as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band is illustrated. However, the sequence shown in Fig. 6 may be applied to a case where it is confirmed that no other technology exists in the second frequency band. The sequence shown in Fig. 6 may also be applied to a case where it is notified that no other technology exists in the second frequency band.

[0059] Second, a case where FBE processing is set to be applied as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band will be described. In Fig. 7, the same steps as those in Fig. 6 are assigned the same step numbers, and therefore the description of the same steps as those in Fig. 6 will be omitted.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 7, in step S20, the NG-RAN 20 transmits to the UE 200 a setting to apply the FBE process as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band.

[0061] FIG. 7 illustrates an example in which the FBE process is applied. However, the sequence illustrated in FIG. 7 may also be applied to a case in which the LBE process is applied. In such a case, in step S20, the NG-RAN 20 transmits to the UE 200 a configuration indicating that the LBE process is applied as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band. In steps S10 and S12, carrier sensing based on the LBE process may be performed. Carrier sensing based on the LBE process may be referred to as Type 1 (e.g., §4.1.1 "Type 1 DL Channel access procedure" and §4.2.1.1 "Type 1 UL channel access procedure" of 3GPP TS37.213 V16.1.0).

[0062] (5) Action and effect In the embodiment, attention is focused on a new finding that, while there is a high probability that other technologies (e.g., WiFi compliant with IEEE802.11a / g / n) different from the wireless communication system 10 will coexist in the first frequency band, there is a low probability that other technologies (e.g., WiFi compliant with IEEE802.11ad / ay) different from the wireless communication system 10 will coexist in the second frequency band. Based on this new finding, the communication device 300 performs FBE processing in a second frequency band of the unlicensed frequency band Fu that is higher than the first frequency band when a second condition different from the first condition for applying FBE processing in the first frequency band is satisfied. With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately apply FBE processing in the second frequency band that is higher than the first frequency band.

[0063] [Change Example 1] Modification 1 of the embodiment will be described below, with differences from the embodiment being described below.

[0064] In the embodiment, the content of the second process, which is the FBE process applied in the second frequency band (e.g., 60 GHz band), may be the same as the content of the first process, which is the FBE process applied in the first frequency band (e.g., 5 GHz band). In contrast, in Modification Example 1, the content of the second process, which is the FBE process applied in the second frequency band, is different from the content of the first process, which is the FBE process applied in the first frequency band. For example, the second process may use an FFP that is shorter than the FFP used in the first process.

[0065] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 8, the FFP of the second process applied in the second frequency band (lower part of Fig. 8) is shorter than the FFP of the first process applied in the first frequency band (upper part of Fig. 8). For example, the FFP of the first process may have a value of 1 ms, 2 ms, 2.5 ms, 4 ms, 5 ms, or 10 ms. In contrast, the FFP of the second process may have a value of 0.5 ms, 1 ms, 1.25 ms, 2 ms, 2.5 ms, or 5 ms.

[0066] As described above, the communication device 300 (control unit 320) may use an FFP in the second process that is shorter than the FFP in the first process.

[0067] In such a case, the FFP used in the second process may be predetermined. Alternatively, the FFP used in the second process may be a value obtained by scaling the FFP used in the first process by a scaling factor α. The scaling factor α may be a predetermined value, a value set in the SIM, a value set by the MAC CE or RRC, or a value associated with the SCS.

[0068] In the first modification, attention is paid to the fact that the SCS of the second frequency band is wider (larger) than the SCS of the first frequency band. Based on this attention, the FFP used in the second frequency band is made shorter than the FFP used in the first frequency band, thereby realizing early channel access.

[0069] [Change Example 2] The following describes Modification 2 of the embodiment, focusing on differences from the embodiment.

[0070] In the second modification, the communication device 300 performs carrier sensing on a frequency (e.g., LBT sub-band) basis in the first process applied in the first frequency band. In contrast, the communication device 300 may perform carrier sensing on a beam basis in the second process applied in the second frequency band.

[0071] In the second modification, attention is paid to the fact that in the second frequency band, which is higher than the first frequency band, a large bandwidth and a large propagation loss are both accommodated, and therefore a narrower beam needs to be generated using a massive antenna having many antenna elements. Based on this attention, by performing carrier sense on a beam basis, it is possible to realize a clear channel assessment (CCA) that is aligned with the actual transmission beam. Furthermore, it is possible to suppress interference with other communication devices 300, and to obtain many transmission opportunities.

[0072] [Change Example 3] The third modification of the embodiment will be described below, focusing on differences from the embodiment.

[0073] The second condition includes a condition that the UE 200 that can constitute the communication device 300 has the capability to execute the second process. In such a case, the UE 200 transmits, to the NG-RAN 20 (gNB 100), an information element that indicates whether or not the UE 200 has the capability to execute the second process, as an information element included in the UE Capability.

[0074] For example, as shown in Fig. 9, in step S30, the UE 200 transmits a capability indicating that it has the capability to execute the second process to the NG-RAN 20. In Fig. 9, the same processes as those in Fig. 6 are assigned the same step numbers, and therefore a description of the same processes as those in Fig. 6 will be omitted.

[0075] 9 illustrates an example in which the UE 200 has the capability to perform the second process. However, the sequence illustrated in FIG. 9 may also be applied to a case in which the UE 200 does not have the capability to perform the second process. In such a case, in step S30, the UE 200 transmits a capability to the NG-RAN 20 indicating that the UE 200 does not have the capability to perform the second process. In a case in which notification or setting has been made to apply the second process (FBE process) in the second frequency band, and the UE 200 does not have the capability to perform the second process, communication using the second frequency band may not be performed.

[0076] In the third modification, the case where the capability of the UE 200 to perform the second process is an optional feature has been exemplified. However, the capability of the UE 200 to perform the second process may be a mandatory feature. In such a case, the process of S30 shown in FIG. 9 may be omitted.

[0077] [Other embodiments] The present invention has been described above in accordance with the embodiments, but it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to these descriptions and that various modifications and improvements are possible.

[0078] In the embodiments, a case where FBE processing is applied in a channel access procedure of a second frequency band higher than a first frequency band has been mainly described. However, the embodiments are not limited to this. For example, in a case where it is not confirmed that other technologies do not exist in the second frequency band, a case where it is not notified that other technologies do not exist in the second frequency band, or a case where application of FBE processing as a channel access procedure for the second frequency band is not set, a process other than FBE processing may be applied in the channel access procedure of the two frequency bands. The process other than FBE processing may include LBE processing and ATPC (Automatic Transmission Power Control).

[0079] The block diagram (FIG. 4) used in the description of the above-described embodiment shows functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are connected directly or indirectly (for example, by wire, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining the single device or multiple devices with software.

[0080] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, regard, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how each is implemented.

[0081] Furthermore, the above-described communication device 300 (the device) may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the device. As shown in Fig. 10, the device may be configured as a computer including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0082] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the apparatus may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0083] Each functional block of the device (see FIG. 4) is realized by any hardware element of the computer device or a combination of the hardware elements.

[0084] In addition, each function of the device is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication via communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0085] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system, and may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control unit, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like.

[0086] The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-mentioned embodiments. Furthermore, the various processes described above may be executed by one processor 1001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0087] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store a program (program code), a software module, etc., that can execute a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0088] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disc), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned recording medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0089] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

[0090] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize, for example, at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).

[0091] The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (for example, a touch panel).

[0092] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected to a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0093] Furthermore, the device may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0094] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0095] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of a system using Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, a 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), a 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable system, and a next-generation system extended based on these. Furthermore, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G) may also be applied.

[0096] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0097] In the present disclosure, a specific operation described as being performed by a base station may be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by at least one of the base station and another network node other than the base station (for example, but not limited to, an MME or an S-GW). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station, a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW) may also be used.

[0098] Information and signals (information, etc.) may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), and may be input and output via multiple network nodes.

[0099] The input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be sent to another device.

[0100] The determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0101] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Furthermore, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., by not notifying the predetermined information).

[0102] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0103] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0104] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0105] Note that terms explained in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0106] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0107] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0108] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0109] In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0110] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can be provided with communication service by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head: RRH)).

[0111] The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or all of the coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage area.

[0112] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0113] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a 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.

[0114] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

[0115] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a mobile station (user terminal, the same applies hereinafter). For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a mobile station is replaced with communication between multiple mobile stations (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the mobile station may be configured to have the functions of a base station. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as uplink channel and downlink channel may be read as side channel.

[0116] Similarly, a mobile station in the present disclosure may be interpreted as a base station, in which case the base station may have the functions of a mobile station.

[0117] A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain, each of which may be called a subframe.

[0118] A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain, and may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0119] Numerology may be a communication parameter applied to at least one of transmission and reception of a signal or channel, such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame structure, specific filtering operations performed by a transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing operations performed by a transceiver in the time domain.

[0120] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol). A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0121] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0122] The radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals, and may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol.

[0123] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0124] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) to each user terminal in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0125] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0126] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0127] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

[0128] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

[0129] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may also be determined based on numerology.

[0130] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0131] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, or the like.

[0132] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0133] A Bandwidth Part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth) may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a given BWP and numbered within that BWP.

[0134] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

[0135] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0136] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc. may be changed in various ways.

[0137] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0138] The reference signal may also be abbreviated as Reference Signal (RS), and may also be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0139] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0140] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0141] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0142] When used in this disclosure, the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0143] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0144] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0145] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0146] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0147] 10. Wireless communication systems 20 NG-RAN 100 gNB 200 UE 300 Communication Equipment 310 Communications Department 320 Control Unit 1001 processor 1002 memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication equipment 1005 Input Device 1006 Output Device 1007 Bus

Claims

1. a communication unit that communicates using an unlicensed frequency band including a first frequency band and a second frequency band that is a frequency band higher than the first frequency band; a control unit that performs carrier sense at a fixed frame period using the unlicensed frequency band; Equipped with The control unit performing the carrier sense using the first frequency band when a first condition is satisfied, and performing the carrier sense using the second frequency band when a second condition different from the first condition is satisfied; performing the carrier sense using the second frequency band at a fixed frame period that is shorter than that of the carrier sense using the first frequency band; Communication equipment.

2. the control unit performs the carrier sense using the second frequency band on a beam basis. The communication device according to claim 1 .

3. the second condition includes a condition that a terminal constituting the communication device has the capability to perform the carrier sense using the second frequency band. The communication device according to claim 1 .

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