Reserved signal for communications above 52.6 GHz

Abstract

An apparatus for use in a UE includes processing circuitry and memory. To configure the UE to operate in an unlicensed spectrum at carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz in a 5G NR system, the processing circuitry is configured to perform a CCA procedure to evaluate occupancy of a communication channel in the unlicensed spectrum. A reservation signal is encoded for transmission on the communication channel when the CCA procedure is successful. The reservation signal occupies a time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of an uplink transmission opportunity. A data PUSCH is encoded for transmission to a base station during and after transmission of the reservation signal.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 058,843, filed July 30, 2020, and entitled "RESERVATION SIGNAL FOR UNLICENSED OPERATION FOR ABOVE 52.6 GHz," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] Wireless Communication Aspects Some aspects relate to wireless networks, including 5G networks, including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A (LTE Advanced) networks, (MultiFire, LTE-U), and 5G (fifth-generation) NR (new radio) (or 5G-NR) networks, 5G-LTE networks such as 5G NR unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) networks, and other unlicensed networks, such as Wi-Fi, CBRS (OnGo), etc. Other aspects are directed to the configuration and utilization of reservation signals in wireless networks, including reservation signals for unlicensed operation in frequencies above 52.6 GHz. [Background technology]

[0003] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated, integrated communications platforms. The proliferation of different types of devices communicating with various network devices has led to increased adoption of 3GPP LTE systems. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment, or UE) in modern society has continued to drive demand for a variety of network-connected devices in many diverse environments. Fifth-generation (5G) wireless systems are on the horizon and are expected to enable greater speeds, connectivity, and usability. Next-generation 5G networks (or NR networks) are expected to improve throughput, coverage, and robustness, while reducing latency and operational and capital expenditures. 5G-NR networks will continue to evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with seamless wireless connectivity solutions that deliver high-speed, rich content and services. As current cellular network frequencies become saturated, higher frequencies, such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies, may be beneficial due to their higher bandwidth.

[0004] Possible LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum includes (but is not limited to) LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum via DC (dual connectivity) or DC-based LAA, and standalone LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum, whereby LTE-based technology operates solely in unlicensed spectrum without the need for an "anchor" in the unlicensed spectrum, called MulteFire. MulteFire combines the performance advantages of LTE technology with Wi-Fi-like deployment simplicity.

[0005] Future releases and 5G systems are expected to enable further enhanced operation of LTE and NR systems in licensed spectrum as well as unlicensed spectrum, including techniques for the establishment and use of reserved signals in wireless networks, including reserved signals for unlicensed operation in frequencies above 52.6 GHz. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] In the figures, the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, but like numbers may depict like elements in different views of each other. Like numbers with different suffix letters may represent different instances of like components. The figures generally illustrate, by way of example, and not by way of limitation, various aspects discussed in this document. [Figure 1A] 1 illustrates an example network architecture, according to some aspects. [Figure 1B] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects. [Figure 1C] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects. [Figure 2] Illustrated are various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 3] Illustrated are various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 4] Illustrated are various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram of a reservation channel when a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure is successful before a transmission opportunity or before the first symbol / slot scheduled for uplink (UL) transmission, according to an example embodiment. [Figure 6]1 is a diagram of a reservation channel when a CCA procedure is successful after a transmission opportunity or after the first symbol / slot scheduled for UL transmission, according to an example embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device, such as an evolved Node-B, a next generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an access point (AP), a radio station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The following description and drawings sufficiently illustrate aspects to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other aspects may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some aspects may be included in or substituted for those of other aspects. Aspects outlined in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0008] 1A illustrates a network architecture according to some aspects. Network 140A is shown to include user devices (UEs) 101 and 102. UEs 101 and 102 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handset, a drone, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface. UEs 101 and 102 may be collectively referred to herein as UEs 101, which may be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0009] The wireless links described herein (eg, as used in network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any example wireless communication technology and / or standard.

[0010] LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for high-speed data wireless communications for UEs, such as mobile phones. In LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technique that may carry communications for a single UE using multiple carrier signals operating at different frequencies, thereby increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation may be used when one or more component carriers operate in unlicensed frequencies.

[0011] The aspects described herein may be used in any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or (licensed) shared spectrum (such as LSA (Licensed Shared Access) at 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and above, or SAS (Spectrum Access System) at 3.55-3.7 GHz and above).

[0012] The aspects described herein can also be applied to different single carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, Filter Bank Based Multi-Carrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), particularly 3GPP New Radio (NR), by allocating OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0013] In some aspects, either of the UEs 101 and 102 may comprise an Internet of Things (IoT) UE or a Cellular IoT (CIoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. In some aspects, either of the UEs 101 and 102 may comprise a Narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., an enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and a Further Enhanced NB-IoT (FeNB-IoT) UE). The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), a proximity-based service (ProSe), or a device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be machine-initiated data exchange. An IoT network includes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include embedded computing devices that are uniquely identifiable (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. IoT UEs may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate IoT network connectivity.

[0014] In some aspects, either UE 101 or UE 102 may comprise an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE or a further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UE.

[0015] UE 101 and UE 102 may be configured to connect, e.g., communicatively couple, with, for example, a radio access network (RAN) 110. RAN 110 may be, for example, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively (discussed further below), each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer. In this example, connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as air interfaces that enable communication coupling and may be consistent with cellular communication protocols such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a 5th Generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, etc.

[0016] In one aspect, the UE 101 and the UE 102 may also directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface that includes one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0017] UE 102 is shown configured to access access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. Connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, whereby AP 106 may include a Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) router. In this example, AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet without connecting to a core network of a wireless system (described further below).

[0018] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), Next Generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN network nodes, etc., and may include earth stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic region (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmission / reception points (TRPs). In instances when the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within the communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing a macrocell, such as a macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing a femtocell or picocell (e.g., a cell with a smaller coverage area, lower user capacity, or larger bandwidth compared to a macrocell), such as a low power (LP) RAN node 112 or an unlicensed spectrum-based secondary RAN node 112.

[0019] Either RAN node 111 or RAN node 112 may terminate air interface protocols and may be the first point of contact for UE 101 and UE 102. In some aspects, either RAN node 111 or RAN node 112 may perform various logical functions for RAN 110, including, but not limited to, radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, data packet scheduling, and radio network controller (RNC) functions such as mobility management. In one example, either node 111 and / or node 112 may be a new generation Node-B (gNB), an evolved Node-B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

[0020] The RAN 110 is shown communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In an aspect, the CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1B-1C ). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is split into two parts: an S1-U interface 114 that carries user traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and a service gateway (S-GW) 122, and an S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 115 that is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and an MME 121.

[0021] In this aspect, the CN 120 includes an MME 121, an S-GW 122, a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) 123 (PDN), and a home subscriber server (HSS) 124. The MME 121 may be functionally similar to the control plane of a legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME 121 may manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 may include a database for network users, including subscriber-related information to support network entity processing of communication sessions. The CN 120 may include one or more HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capabilities, network organization, etc. For example, the HSS 124 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0022] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. Additionally, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0023] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface to the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 120 and external networks (alternatively referred to as application functions (AFs)), such as a network including an application server 184, via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also communicate data with other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. In general, the application server 184 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources in conjunction with a core network (e.g., a UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, an LTE PS data service, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. The application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0024] The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. A Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is a policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0025] In some aspects, the communication network 140A may be an IoT network or a 5G network, including a 5G new radio network that uses communication in licensed (5G NR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrums. One of the current enablers of IoT is narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT).

[0026] The NG system architecture may include a RAN 110 and a 5G network core (5GC) 120. The NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes, such as a gNB and an NG-eNB. The core network 120 (e.g., a 5G core network or 5GC) may include an access and mobility function (AMF) and / or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNB and the NG-eNB via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNB and the NG-eNB may be connected to the AMF by an NG-C interface and to the UPF by an NG-U interface. The gNB and the NG-eNB may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0027] In some aspects, the NG system architecture may use reference points between various nodes as provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, 2018-12). In some aspects, each of the gNB and NG-eNB may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, a RAN network node, etc. In some aspects, in a 5G architecture, the gNB may be a master node (MN) and the NG-eNB may be a secondary node (SN). In some aspects, the master / primary node may operate in a licensed spectrum and the secondary node may operate in an unlicensed spectrum.

[0028] FIG. 1B illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects. Referring to FIG. 1B, a 5G system architecture 140B in a reference point representation is illustrated. More specifically, a UE 102 can communicate with a RAN 110, as well as one or more other 5G Core (5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, a session management function (SMF) 136, a policy control function (PCF) 148, an application function (AF) 150, a user plane function (UPF) 134, a network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, an authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and a unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide connectivity to a data network (DN) 152, which may include, for example, operator services, internet access, or third-party services. The AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility and can also include network slice selection functionality. The SMF 136 can be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to network policies. The UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type. The PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to a PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communication system).

[0029] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as an IP multimedia subsystem 168B and a call session control function (CSCF). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF that can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162B, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not illustrated in FIG. 1B), or an interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 166B. The P-CSCF 162B can be configured to be the first point of contact for the UE 102 within the IM subsystem 168B. The S-CSCF 164B can be configured to handle session state within the network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certain aspects of the emergency session, such as routing the emergency request to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B may be configured to act as a contact point within the network of the network operator for all IMS connections directed to subscribers of that network operator or roaming subscribers currently located within the network operator's service area. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B may be connected to another IP multimedia network 170E, e.g., an IMS operated by another network operator.

[0030] In some aspects, UDM / HSS 146 may be coupled to an application server 160E, which may include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS). AS 160B may be coupled to IMS 168B via S-CSCF 164B or I-CSCF 166B.

[0031] 1B shows the reference points N1 (between the UE 102 and the AMF 132), N2 (between the RAN 110 and the AMF 132), N3 (between the RAN 110 and the UPF 134), N4 (between the SMF 136 and the UPF 134), N5 (between the PCF 148 and the AF 150, not shown), N6 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152), N7 (between the SMF 136 and the PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between two UPFs 134, not shown), N10 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), N11 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152, not shown), N14 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), N15 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152, not shown), N16 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152, not shown), N17 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N18 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N19 (between two UPFs 134, not shown), N20 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), N21 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152 1B , not shown), N11 (between the AMF 132 and the SMF 136), N12 (between the AUSF 144 and the AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between the AUSF 144 and the UDM 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs, not shown), N15 (between the PCF 148 and the AMF 132 in a non-roaming scenario, and between the PCF 148 and the visited network and the AMF 132 in a roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between the AMF 132 and the NSSF 142, not shown). Other reference point representations not shown in FIG. 1B may also be used.

[0032] 1C illustrates a 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation. In addition to the network entities illustrated in FIG. 1B, the system architecture 140C may also include a network publication function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based, and interactions between network functions may be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points N i or as service-based interfaces.

[0033] In some aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 1C , a service-based representation may be used to represent network functions in the control plane that allow other authorized network functions to access those services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C may include service-based interfaces, namely Namf 158H (a service-based interface presented by the AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (a service-based interface presented by the SMF 136), Nnef 158B (a service-based interface presented by the NEF 154), Npcf 158D (a service-based interface presented by the PCF 148), Nudm 158E (a service-based interface presented by the UDM 146), NaF 158f (a service-based interface presented by the AF 150), Nnrf 158C (a service-based interface presented by the NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (a service-based interface presented by the NSSF 142), Nausf 158G (a service-based interface presented by the AUSF 144). Other service-based interfaces not shown in FIG. 1C (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) may also be used.

[0034] 2, 3, and 4 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

[0035] 2 illustrates a wireless network 200 in accordance with various embodiments. Network 200 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems.

[0036] The network 200 may include a UE 202, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with the RAN 204 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 202 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment device, an in-car entertainment device, an instrument cluster, a head-up display device, an on-board diagnostic device, a dash-top mobile device, a mobile data terminal, an electronic engine management system, an electronic / engine control unit, an electronic / engine control module, an embedded system, a sensor, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system, a networked appliance, a machine-type communication device, an M2M or D2D device, an IoT device, etc.

[0037] In some embodiments, the network 200 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, the PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, and PSFCH.

[0038] In some embodiments, the UE 202 may additionally communicate with the AP 206 via an over-the-air connection. The AP 206 may manage a wireless LAN connection, which helps offload some / all network traffic from the RAN 204. The connection between the UE 202 and the AP 206 may conform to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, and the AP 206 may be a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) router. In some embodiments, the UE 202, the RAN 204, and the AP 206 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (e.g., LWA / LWIP). Cellular WLAN aggregation may involve the UE 202 being configured by the RAN 204 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0039] The RAN 204 may include one or more access nodes, such as the access node (AN) 208. The AN 208 may terminate air interface protocols for the UE 202 by providing access stratum protocols, including RRC, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 208 may enable data / voice connectivity between the core network (CN) 220 and the UE 202. In some embodiments, the AN 208 may be implemented as a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, sometimes referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool. The AN 208 may be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. The AN 208 may be a macrocell base station or a low-power base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, lower user capacity, or larger bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0040] In embodiments where the RAN 204 includes multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (if the RAN 204 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 204 is a 5G RAN). The X2 / Xn interface, which may be separated into a control / user plane interface in some embodiments, may allow the ANs to communicate information related to handover, data / context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

[0041] Each AN of the RAN 204 may manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc. to provide the UE 202 with an air interface for network access. The UE 202 may simultaneously connect to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 204. For example, the UE 202 and the RAN 204 may use carrier aggregation to enable the UE 202 to connect to multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a PCell or an SCell. In a dual connectivity scenario, a first AN may be a master node providing an MCG, and a second AN may be a secondary node providing an SCG. The first / second ANs may be any combination of eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc.

[0042] The RAN 204 may provide an air interface via a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, a node may use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA techniques using PCells / Scells. Before accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the node may perform a medium / carrier sensing operation, for example, based on a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0043] In a V2X scenario, the UE 202 or AN 208 may be or act as a roadside unit (RSU), which refers to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in a suitable AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU,” an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU,” a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU,” etc. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicular UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry that stores intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low-latency communications necessary for high-speed events such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. The components of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller that provides a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or backhaul network.

[0044] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an LTE RAN 210 having an eNB, such as eNB 212. The LTE RAN 210 may provide an LTE air interface with characteristics such as a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), a CP-OFDM waveform for the downlink (DL) and an SC-FDMA waveform for the uplink (UL), turbo codes for data and TBCC for control, etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management, PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation, and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate in sub-6 GHz bands.

[0045] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an NG-RAN 214 having a gNB, e.g., gNB 216, or an ng-eNB, e.g., ng-eNB 218. The gNB 216 may connect to a 5G-enabled UE using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 216 may connect to a 5G core via an NG interface, including an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 218 may also connect to the 5G core via an NG interface, but may connect to a UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB 216 and the ng-eNB 218 may connect via an Xn interface.

[0046] In some embodiments, the NG interface may be split into two parts: an NG User Plane (NG-U) interface (e.g., N3 interface), which carries traffic data between nodes in the NG-RAN 214 and the UPF 248, and an NG Control Plane (NG-C) interface (e.g., N2 interface), which is a signaling interface between nodes in the NG-RAN 214 and the AMF 244.

[0047] The NG-RAN 214 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with a variable SCS, CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL, polar, repetitive, simple, and Reed-Muller codes for control, and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS and PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS, similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use CRS and may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation, PTRS for PDSCH phase tracking, and tracking reference signals for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate in sub-6 GHz bands, including the 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz band, or FR1 bands, including FR2 bands. The 5G-NR air interface may include SSB, which is an area of ​​the downlink resource grid that includes PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0048] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize bandwidth parts (BWPs) for various purposes. For example, BWPs can be used for dynamic SCS adaptation. For example, a UE 202 can be configured with multiple BWPs, each BWP configuration having a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 202, the SCS of the transmission is changed as well. Another example use case of BWPs relates to power conservation. In particular, multiple BWPs can be configured for a UE 202 with different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic load scenarios. A BWP with a smaller number of PRBs can be used for data transmission with a small traffic load while enabling power savings at the UE 202 and possibly at the gNB 216. A BWP with a larger number of PRBs can be used for scenarios with a higher traffic load.

[0049] The RAN 204 is communicatively coupled to the CN 220, which includes network elements for providing various functions to support data and communication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 202). The components of the CN 220 may be implemented in a single physical node or separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN 220 onto physical computing / storage resources, such as servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of the CN 220 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 220 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

[0050] In some embodiments, the CN 220 may be connected to an LTE wireless network as part of an Enhanced Packet System (EPS) 222, which may also be referred to as the EPC (or enhanced packet core). The EPC 222 may include an MME 224, an SGW 226, an SGSN 228, an HSS 230, a PGW 232, and a PCRF 234 coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of each element of the EPC 222 may be briefly introduced as follows:

[0051] The MME 224 may implement mobility management functions that track the current location of the UE 202 to facilitate paging, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

[0052] The SGW 226 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the EPC 222. Additionally, the S-GW 226 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0053] The SGSN 228 may track the location of the UE 202 and perform security functions and access control. Additionally, the SGSN 228 may perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks, PDN and S-GW selection specified by the MME 224, MME selection for handover, etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 224 and the SGSN 228 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle / active state.

[0054] The HSS 230 may include a database for network users, including subscriber-related information to support the network entity's processing of communication sessions. The HSS 230 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependency, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 230 and the MME 224 may enable the transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the LTE CN 220.

[0055] The PGW 232 may terminate an SGi interface toward a data network (DN) 236, which may include an application / content server 238. The PGW 232 may route data packets between the LTE CN 222 and the data network 236. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the SGW 226 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 232 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF). Additionally, the SGi reference point between the PGW 232 and the data network 236 may be an operator-external public or private PDN, or an operator-intra packet data network, for example, to provide IMS services. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the PCRF 234 via a Gx reference point.

[0056] The PCRF 234 is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN 222. The PCRF 234 may be communicatively coupled to the application / content server 238 to determine the appropriate QoS and charging parameters for a service flow. The PCRF 232 may provide the relevant rules to the PCEF (over the Gx reference point) along with the appropriate TFT and QCI.

[0057] In some embodiments, CN 220 may be 5GC 240. 5GC 240 may include AUSF 242, AMF 244, SMF 246, UPF 248, NSSF 250, NEF 252, NRF 254, PCF 256, UDM 258, and AF 260 coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of each element of 5GC 240 may be briefly introduced as follows.

[0058] The AUSF 242 may store data and process authentication-related functionality for authentication of the UE 202. The AUSF 242 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 240 via reference points as shown, the AUSF 242 may present a Nausf service-based interface.

[0059] The AMF 244 may enable other functions of the 5GC 240 to communicate with the UE 202 and the RAN 204 and subscribe to notifications regarding mobility events for the UE 202. The AMF 244 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., to register the UE 202), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 244 provides transport for SM messages between the UE 202 and the SMF 246 and acts as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 244 may also provide transport for SMS messages between the UE 202 and the SMSF. The AMF 244 may interact with the AUSF 242 and the UE 202 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Additionally, the AMF 244 may be the termination point of the RAN CP interface, which may include or be the N2 reference point between the RAN 204 and the AMF 244, and the AMF 244 may be the termination point of the NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. The AMF 244 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 202 via the N3 IWF interface.

[0060] The SMF 246 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between the UPF 248 and the AN 208), UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization), selection and control of UP functions, configuring traffic steering in the UPF 248 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, terminating the interface towards the policy control function, controlling policy enforcement, charging, and parts of QoS, lawful interception (for SM events and the interface to the LI system), terminating the SM portion of NAS messages, downlink data notification, initiating AN-specific SM information sent via N2 to the AMF 244 to the AN 208, and determining the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 202 and the data network 236.

[0061] The UPF 248 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnecting to the data network 236, and a branching point for supporting multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 248 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane portion of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic validation (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), mark transport-level packets in the uplink and downlink, buffer downlink packets, and perform downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 248 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to the data network.

[0062] The NSSF 250 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 202. The NSSF 250 may also determine the mapping to enabled NSSAIs and subscribed S-NSSAIs, if necessary. The NSSF 250 may also determine a list of candidate AMFs by querying the NRF 254, if possible, based on the AMF set used to serve the UE 202 or a preferred configuration. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 202 may be triggered by the AMF 244 to which the UE 202 is registered by interacting with the NSSF 250, which may lead to an AMF change. The NSSF 250 may interact with the AMF 244 via the N22 reference point and may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). Additionally, the NSSF 250 may present an Nnssf service-based interface.

[0063] The NEF 252 may securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to third parties, internal publication / republication, AFs (e.g., AF 260), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF 252 may authenticate, authorize, or restrict AFs. The NEF 252 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 260 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 252 may translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 252 may also receive information from other NFs based on the other NFs' published capabilities. This information may be stored in the NEF 252 as structured data or in a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be republished by the NEF 252 to other NFs and AFs, or used for other purposes, such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 252 may present an NEF service-based interface.

[0064] The NRF 254 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information about discovered NF instances to the NF instances. The NRF 254 also maintains information about available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms "instance," "instantiation," and the like refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" may refer to a specific occurrence of an object, such as may occur during the execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 254 may present an Nnrf service-based interface.

[0065] The PCF 256 may provide policy rules to control plane functions for their enforcement and may support a unified policy framework for governing network behavior. The PCF 256 may also implement a front end for accessing subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDRs of the UDM 258. In addition to communicating with functions via reference points as shown, the PCF 256 exposes an Npcf service-based interface.

[0066] The UDM 258 may process subscription-related information to support the processing of communication sessions for network entities and may store subscription data for the UE 202. For example, the subscription data may be communicated via the N8 reference point between the UDM 258 and the AMF 244. The UDM 258 may include two parts: an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store structured data (including PFD for application discovery, application requirement information for multiple UEs) for subscription data and policy data for the UDM 258 and the PCF 256, and / or public and application data for the NEF 252. A Numeric service-based interface may be exposed by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM 258, the PCF 256, and the NEF 252 to access specific sets of stored data and to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of associated data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE responsible for credential processing, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points as shown, the UDM 258 may present a Nudm service-based interface.

[0067] The AF 260 may provide application influence over traffic routing, provide access to the NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0068] In some embodiments, the 5GC 240 may enable edge computing by selecting an operator / third-party service geographically closer to the point where the UE 202 attaches to the network. This may reduce latency and load on the network. To provide an edge computing implementation, the 5GC 240 may select a UPF 248 close to the UE 202 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 248 to the data network 236 via the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 260. In this way, the AF 260 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when the AF 260 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator may allow the AF 260 to interact directly with associated NFs. Additionally, the AF 260 may present a NAF service-based interface.

[0069] Data network 236 may represent various network operator services, internet access, or third party services that may be provided by one or more servers, including, for example, application / content server 238 .

[0070] 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless network 300 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 300 may include a UE 302 in wireless communication with an AN 304. The UE 302 and the AN 304 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

[0071] The UE 302 may be communicatively coupled to the AN 304 via a connection 306. The connection 306 is illustrated as an air interface for enabling the communicative coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating in mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

[0072] The UE 302 may include a host platform 308 coupled to a modem platform 310. The host platform 308 may include application processing circuitry 312, which may be coupled to protocol processing circuitry 314 of the modem platform 310. The application processing circuitry 312 may run various applications for the UE 302 that source / sink application data. The application processing circuitry 312 may further implement one or more layer operations that send / receive application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0073] The protocol processing circuitry 314 may implement one or more layer operations to facilitate transmission or reception of data over the connection 306. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0074] The modem platform 310 may further include digital baseband circuitry 316 that may implement one or more layer operations that are "lower" layer operations in a network protocol stack performed by the protocol processing circuitry 314. These operations include, for example, PHY operations including one or more HARQ-ACK operations, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding / decoding, which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency, or spatial coding, reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0075] The modem platform 310 may further include transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, and an RF front end (RFFE) 324, which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels 326. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 318 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 320 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 322 may include low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, power tracking components, etc.; and the RFFE 324 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of components in the transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and antenna panel 326 (commonly referred to as "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, such as whether communications are TDM or FDM, mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit / receive chains, may be located on the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0076] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) that provides control functions for the transmit / receive components.

[0077] UE reception may be established by and through the antenna panel 326, RFFE 324, RF circuitry 322, receive circuitry 320, digital baseband circuitry 316, and protocol processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, the antenna panel 326 may receive transmissions from the AN 304 by way of receive beamforming signals that are received by multiple antennas / antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 326.

[0078] UE transmissions may be established by and through protocol processing circuitry 314, digital baseband circuitry 316, transmit circuitry 318, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and antenna panel 326. In some embodiments, components of UE 304 may apply spatial filters to data to form transmit beams emitted by antenna elements of antenna panel 326.

[0079] Similar to the UE 302, the AN 304 may include a host platform 328 coupled to a modem platform 330. The host platform 328 may include application processing circuitry 332 coupled to the protocol processing circuitry 334 of the modem platform 330. The modem platform may further include digital baseband circuitry 336, transmit circuitry 338, receive circuitry 340, RF circuitry 342, RFFE circuitry 344, and an antenna panel 346. The components of the AN 304 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components of the UE 302. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, the components of the AN 308 may perform various logical functions, including RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

[0080] 4 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of hardware resources 400 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory / storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 440 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 402 may be running to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 400.

[0081] Processor 410 may include, for example, processor 412 and processor 414. Processor 410 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0082] The memory / storage device 420 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 420 may include any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0083] Communications resources 430 may include interconnect or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 404, one or more databases 406, or other network elements via network 408. For example, communications resources 430 may include wired communications components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communications components, NFC components, Bluetooth (or Bluetooth Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi components, and other communications components.

[0084] The instructions 450 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code for causing at least one of the processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 450 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 410 (e.g., in the processor's cache memory), the memory / storage devices 420, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 450 may be transferred to the hardware resources 400 from any combination of the peripheral devices 404 or the database 406. Thus, the memory of the processor 410, the memory / storage devices 420, the peripheral devices 404, and the database 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0085] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components outlined in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as outlined in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc., as described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures, may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the example section.

[0086] The term "application" may refer to a complete, deployable package or environment for achieving certain functionality in an operating environment. The term "AI / ML application" or the like may refer to an application that includes several artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) models and application-level descriptions. In some embodiments, an AI / ML application may be used to configure or implement one or more of the disclosed aspects.

[0087] The terms "machine learning" or "ML" refer to the use of a computer system implementing algorithms and / or statistical models to perform specific tasks, relying on patterns and inference without explicit instructions. ML algorithms build or infer mathematical models (e.g., referred to as "ML models") based on sample data (e.g., "training data," "model training information," etc.) to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. In general, an ML algorithm is a computer program that learns from experience with some task and some performance measure, and an ML model may be any object or data structure created after an ML algorithm is trained on one or more training datasets. After training, an ML model may be used to make predictions on new datasets. The term "ML algorithm" refers to a different concept from the term "ML model," but the terms discussed herein may be used interchangeably for purposes of this disclosure.

[0088] The terms "machine learning model," "ML model," and the like may also refer to ML methods and concepts used by an ML-assisted solution. An "ML-assisted solution" is a solution that uses ML algorithms in operation to address a specific use case. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), decision tree algorithms, support machine vectors, Bayesian algorithms, ensemble algorithms, etc.), unsupervised learning (e.g., K-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA)), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-arm band learning, deep RL, etc.), neural networks, etc. Depending on the implementation, a particular ML model may have many submodels as components, and the ML model may train all the submodels together. Separately trained ML models may be chained together in an ML pipeline during inference. An "ML pipeline" is a set of functionality, features, or functional entities specific to an ML-assisted solution, and the ML pipeline may include one or more data sources in a data pipeline, a model training pipeline, a model evaluation pipeline, and actors. An "actor" is an entity that hosts an ML-assisted solution using the output of ML model inference. The term "ML training host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts the training of a model. The term "ML inference host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts a model during inference mode (this includes both model execution and online learning, if applicable). The ML host informs the actor of the output of the ML algorithm, and the actor decides on an action (an "action" is performed by the actor as a result of the output of the ML-assisted solution). The term "model inference information" refers to information used as input to an ML model to determine an inference; while the data used to train an ML model and the data used to determine an inference may overlap, "training data" and "inference data" refer to different concepts.

[0089] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated, integrated communications platforms. The next-generation wireless communications system, 5G, or NR (new radio), provides access to information and data sharing by various users and applications anywhere, anytime. NR is expected to be an integrated network / system that aims to meet very different, and sometimes conflicting, performance dimensions and services. Such diverse multi-dimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. In general, 5G will continue to evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional possible new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, simpler, and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR may enable wireless communications and deliver high-speed, rich content and services.

[0090] To further improve NR capabilities, the disclosed technology may be used to enable NR in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz communications band, including implementing modifications to NR using downlink (DL) / uplink (UL) NR waveforms to support 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz operation. Other considerations when using the disclosed technology include applicable numerology studies, including subcarrier spacing, channel bandwidth (including maximum BW), and their impact on Frequency Range 2 (FR2) physical (PHY) layer design to support system functionality, considering actual radio frequency (RF) impairments and identifying potential criticality, if any, to the physical signal / channel. Further considerations when using the disclosed technology include studying channel access mechanisms that consider potential interference with other nodes, assuming beam-based operation that complies with regulatory requirements applicable to unlicensed spectrum for frequencies between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz. In some aspects, if potential interference impacts are identified, the disclosed technology may further include interference mitigation solutions as part of the channel access mechanism.

[0091] In some embodiments, the disclosed technology is used to enable NR to operate in unlicensed bands available worldwide in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. For example, for regions belonging to ITU Region 1, additional guidance for conformance testing and compliance with regulatory requirements is available in the ETSI BRAN EN302 567(2017) specification, which is part of a harmonized standard created under a standardization request from the European Commission. Within the scope of this disclosure, Listen before talk (LBT) may be used at all times and under all circumstances.

[0092] In some embodiments, the LBT procedure may be performed as follows.

[0093] (A) Prior to a single transmission or a burst of transmissions on an operating channel, the device (eg, UE) initiating the transmission may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) check on the operating channel.

[0094] (B) If the UE detects that an operating channel is occupied, the UE refrains from transmitting on that channel and does not allow other devices to transmit on that channel. If the CCA procedure determines that the channel is no longer occupied and transmission has been postponed for a certain number of empty slots defined by the CCA check procedure, the UE may resume transmission or allow other devices to transmit on this channel.

[0095] (C) The device initiating a transmission shall perform a CCA check using an "energy detection" technique. If the energy level in the channel exceeds a threshold corresponding to the power level given in step (G) below, the operating channel may be considered occupied for a 5 μs slot time. The UE may observe the operating channel for the duration of the CCA observation time measured by multiple slot times.

[0096] (D) CCA Check Definition:

[0097] (a) The CCA check begins at the end of the operating channel occupancy slot time.

[0098] (b) A transmission deferral may occur upon observing that the operating channel is unoccupied for at least 8 μs.

[0099] (c) The transmission deferral may last for a minimum random number (0 to Max number) of empty slot periods.

[0100] (d) The maximum number shall not be less than three.

[0101] (E) The total time that a device initiating transmission utilizes the operating channel is defined as the Channel Occupancy Time (COT), which may be less than 5 ms, after which it shall perform a new CCA check as described in steps (A) through (C) above.

[0102] (F) Upon successfully receiving a packet intended for this device (whether or not it has initiated transmission), the device may skip the CCA check and proceed immediately with transmission in response to the received frame. Without a new CCA check, no consecutive transmission sequence by the device shall exceed the 5 ms COT defined in step (E) above.

[0103] (G) The energy detection threshold for the CCA check may be -47 dBm + 10 x log10 (PMAX / Pout) (Pmax and Pout in W EIRP), where Pout is the RF output power (EIRP) and Pmax is the RF output power limit.

[0104] Given that the slot or symbol granularity of NR above 52.6 GHz does not match the granularity of the CCA slot (e.g., 8 us and 5 us), there may be a gap between the time the CCA procedure succeeds and the nearest slot or symbol boundary. If the gap is long enough for a device simultaneously competing on the channel to evaluate whether the channel is idle, the device may evaluate the channel as actually idle, but instead, it is already occupied by another device. To prevent this scenario, once the CCA procedure is successful, the device can transmit a reservation signal until a closer transmission opportunity appears, when the channel will be occupied by any other neighboring devices competing on the same medium. The disclosed technology provides details related to reserved channels, including how this can be signaled.

[0105] Reservation signaling for UL scheduled transmission and signaling

[0106] When the UE is the initiating device, it may perform a CCA procedure to evaluate whether the channel is idle and may transmit only in this case. In this case, the UE may perform a CCA procedure similar to CAT-4 and consisting of a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure with a random backoff variable size of the contention window. In this case, as mentioned above, the instance when the CCA procedure is successful may not perfectly align with the scheduled resources dedicated for UL transmission, and the UE may end up with a successful CCA earlier or later than a particular transmission opportunity based on channel contention, as follows:

[0107] (a) In some embodiments, if a CCA procedure succeeds earlier than a particular transmission opportunity and no immediate transmission is performed by the UE, another device may potentially assess the channel as occupied, which may lead to potential interference. The time interval between the instance of the successful CCA procedure and the start of the transmission opportunity is T (e.g., in FIGS. 5 and 6). ext In one embodiment, the UE receives the ext A reservation signal may be sent within the

[0108] In one option, the reservation signal may be in the form of a cyclic prefix, the cyclic prefix corresponding to the first OFDM symbol l allocated for PUCCH or PUSCH transmission.

number

number

number

[0109] FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 of a reservation channel when a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure is successful before a transmission opportunity or before the first symbol / slot scheduled for uplink (UL) transmission, in accordance with an example embodiment.

[0110] (b) In some embodiments, if CCA succeeds later than a certain opportunity, the UE may lock the channel, prevent any other devices from using the channel, and enable LBT to succeed by transmitting a reservation signal until the next transmission opportunity. The reservation signal may be in the form of a cyclic prefix or a data transmission with a payload of all 0s or 1s.

[0111] The interval between when the UE succeeds in the CCA procedure and the next transmission opportunity is T ext If the reservation signal is in the form of a cyclic prefix of the first OFDM symbol l allocated for PUCCH or PUSCH transmission in a subsequent transmission opportunity, then the interval

number

number

number

[0112] FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 of a reservation channel when a CCA procedure is successful after a transmission opportunity or after the first symbol / slot scheduled for UL transmission, in accordance with an example embodiment.

[0113] In some embodiments, when the UE is acting as a responding device and the scheduled resource is within the gNB's shared COT, the UE may transmit directly without performing a CCA procedure, or in some cases (e.g., when directional LBT is used at the gNB or when acquiring the channel to transmit synchronization signal blocks) may be required to perform a "single-shot LBT" (e.g., a gap of 8 us, 13 us (i.e., 8 + 5 us), or 23 us (8 + 15 us) for single-shot LBT). In this case, it is important for the gNB to indicate to the UE which LBT type to use, and in order to maintain channel occupancy, the scheduled resource may allow for a gap for the UE to perform single-shot LBT, and reservation signaling may be used to fill any gap before the symbol boundary l at which the scheduled UL resource starts.

[0114] In one embodiment, the reservation signal is in the form of a cyclic prefix of the first OFDM symbol l allocated for PUCCH or PUSCH transmission, with interval

number

number

number

[0115] In some embodiments, T ext denotes the interval between the end of the single-shot LBT and the first symbol l where the scheduled UL resource starts. ext may be calculated as follows:

[0116]

number

number

[0117] In one embodiment, for DL ​​to UL switching, Δ i =13 10 -6 +T TA , Δ i =8 10 -6 +T TA , or Δ i =23 10 -6 +T TA and T TA is the time advance adjustment, μ denotes the subcarrier spacing (SC), and C i may be fixed or RRC configured.

[0118] In one embodiment, C i is Δ i =13 10 -6 +T TA , you can choose from the following set based on your specific SCS:

[0119] (a) For μ=3, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 120 kHz, {2,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0120] (b) For μ=4, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 240 kHz, {3,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0121] (c) For μ=5, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480 kHz, {6,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0122] (d) For μ=6, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 960 kHz, {12,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0123] (e) For μ=7, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 1920 kHz, {24,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0124] In one embodiment, C i is Δ i =13 10 -6 +T TA , you can choose from the following set based on your specific SCS:

[0125] (a) For μ=3, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 120 kHz, {2,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0126] (b) For μ=4, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 240 kHz, {5,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0127] (c) For μ=5, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480 kHz, {10,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0128] (d) For μ=6, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 960 kHz, {20,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0129] (e) For μ=7, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 1920 kHz, {40,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 56, for example, or any other value.

[0130] In one embodiment, C i is Δ i =8 10 -6 +T TA , you can choose from the following set based on your specific SCS:

[0131] (a) For μ=3, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 120 kHz, {1,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0132] (b) For μ=4, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 240 kHz, {2,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0133] (c) For μ=5, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480 kHz, {4,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0134] (d) For μ=6, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 960 kHz, {8,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0135] (e) For μ=7, corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 1920 kHz, {15,....,X}, where X is a predefined integer and can be equal to 28, for example, or any other value.

[0136] In another embodiment, in the case of a UL to UE switch within a shared COT of a gNB, Δ i=13 10 -6 or Δ i =8 10 -6 where μ denotes the subcarrier spacing (SC), and C i may be a fixed value, in which case the following settings may be used:

[0137] Δ i =13 10 -6 In the case of C i can be selected as follows:

[0138] (a) For μ=3 corresponding to 120 kHz SCS, C i =2

[0139] (b) For μ=4, which corresponds to a 240 kHz SCS, C i =3

[0140] (c) For μ=5, which corresponds to a 480 kHz SCS, C i =6

[0141] (d) For μ=6 corresponding to 960 kHz SCS, C i =12

[0142] (e) For μ=7 corresponding to 1920 kHz SCS, C i =24

[0143] Δ i =23 10 -6 In the case of C i can be selected as follows:

[0144] (a) For μ=3 corresponding to 120 kHz SCS, C i =2

[0145] For μ=4, which corresponds to a 240 kHz SCS, C i =5

[0146] For μ=5, which corresponds to a 480kHz SCS, C i =10

[0147] For μ=6, which corresponds to a 960kHz SCS, C i =20

[0148] For μ=7, which corresponds to 1920kHz SCS, C i =40

[0149] Δ i =8 10 -6 In the case of C i can be selected as follows:

[0150] (a) For μ=3 corresponding to 120 kHz SCS, C i =1

[0151] (b) For μ=4, which corresponds to a 240 kHz SCS, C i =2

[0152] (c) For μ=5, which corresponds to a 480 kHz SCS, C i =4

[0153] (d) For μ=6 corresponding to 960 kHz SCS, C i =8

[0154] (e) For μ=7 corresponding to 1920 kHz SCS, C i =15

[0155] Another option is to use LBT with a backoff counter, where Δ i =0, and C i = 0. Another option is Δ i =0 and C i =0 is used regardless of the type of LBT.

[0156] In one embodiment, both DCI formats 0_0 and / or 1_0 carry information related to channel access type and / or CP extension. In particular,

[0157] (a) If only LBT with back-off counter is supported and single-shot LBT is not supported, DCI0_0 and 1_0 carry a single bit field, which indicates to the UE whether to use no LBT or LBT with back-off counter. This field may also indicate whether the gNB COT is shared.

[0158] (b) If both LBT with back-off counter and single-shot LBT are supported, DCI0_0 and 1_0 carry a 2-bit field that indicates to the UE the LBT type to be used (e.g., no LBT, LBT with back-off counter, or single-shot LBT) as well as the length of the reservation signal according to the above embodiment. An example of how to interpret these 2-bit fields is provided in Table 1 below, which is an example of a bit field interpretation that carries information related to channel access type and reservation signal length. [Table 1]

[0159] In some aspects, when a 1-bit field for channel access type and / or CP extension is included in DCI formats 0_0 and / or 1_0, this field may use 1 LSB or MSB of the existing field "Channel Access-CPext." Unused bits may be reserved or used for another field.

[0160] In one embodiment, gNB COT sharing is supported between msg2 and msg3 for a four-step RACH procedure. In this case, the RAR UL grant may be modified by repurposing some of its bits or adding additional bits to include new fields indicating information related to the channel access type and / or CP extension that the UE may use to transmit msg3. In particular, the channel access type and / or CP extension may be explicitly included in the RAR UL grant, while the msg3 PUSCH frequency-domain resource allocation field may be reduced from 14 bits to 12 bits.

[0161] In some embodiments, in case of gNB COT sharing for two-step RACH, the channel access type and / or CP extension may be included in the fallbackRAR UL grant and successRAR. In particular, the following operations may be configured:

[0162] (a) If only LBT with back-off counter is supported and single-shot LBT is not supported, the RAR UL grant, fallbackRAR UL grant, or successRAR may use a single bit field, which indicates to the UE whether to use no LBT or LBT with back-off counter. This field may also indicate whether the gNB's COT is shared.

[0163] (b) If both LBT with back-off counter and single-shot LBT are supported, the RAR UL grant carries a 2-bit field that indicates to the UE the LBT type to be used (e.g., no LBT, LBT with back-off counter, or single-shot LBT) as well as the length of the reservation signal according to the above embodiment. In this case, in one example, these bits can be interpreted as shown in Table 1.

[0164] In some embodiments, for the above options, when a 1-bit field for channel access type and / or CP extension is included in the RAR or fallbackRAR UL Grant and successRAR, this field may use 1 LSB or MSB of the existing field "Channel Access-CPext". Unused bits may be reserved or used for another field. In one example, the PUSCH frequency domain resource allocation field may be extended from 12 bits to 13 bits.

[0165] In one embodiment, DCI formats 0_1 and / or 0_2 may carry information related to channel access type and / or CP extension. In particular, the following operations may be configured:

[0166] (a) If only LBT with back-off counter is supported and single-shot LBT is not supported, the bit field may indicate to the UE whether to use LBT without back-off counter or LBT with back-off counter. Additionally, if LBT with back-off counter is characterized by a channel access priority class, this information may also be indicated. For example, if four CAPCs are defined for LBT with back-off counter, this bit field may indicate one of the entries in Tables 2 to 5 below. [Table 2] [Table 3] [Table 4] [Table 5]

[0167] (b) If both LBT with back-off counter and single-shot LBT are supported, a bit field is carried to indicate to the UE the LBT type to be used (e.g., no LBT, LBT with back-off counter, or single-shot LBT) and the length of the reservation signal according to the above embodiment. Additionally, if LBT with back-off counter is characterized by a channel access priority class, this information may also be indicated. Some examples of how to perform this indication when four CAPCs are defined are provided in Tables 6 to 9 below. [Table 6] [Table 7] [Table 8] TIFF0007765418000020.tif83169 [Table 9]

[0168] In one embodiment, the size of this field may be fixed or RRC configured. In this last case, the RRC parameters may indicate a set of values, and the size of this field may be:

number

[0169] In one embodiment, DCI formats 1_1 and / or 1_2 may carry information related to channel access type and / or CP extension. In particular,

[0170] (a) If only LBT with back-off counter is supported and single-shot LBT is not supported, the bit field may indicate to the UE whether to use no LBT or LBT with back-off counter. For example, entry index 0 of 0 indicates the channel access type of LBT with back-off counter, and entry index 1 of 1 indicates the channel access type of no LBT.

[0171] (b) If both LBT with back-off counter and single-shot LBT are supported, the bit field indicates to the UE the LBT type to be used (e.g., no LBT, LBT with back-off counter, or single-shot LBT) as well as the length of the reservation signal according to the above-mentioned embodiment. Some examples of how this indication can be done are provided in Tables 10-11 below. [Table 10] [Table 11]

[0172] Reserved signal for UL Configured Grant (CG) transmission

[0173] In some embodiments, to reduce mutual blocking between cell group (CG)-UEs and other devices, the intra-symbol starting positions defined for Rel. 16 may be used, the CCA slot for frequencies above 52.6 GHz is no longer 9 us for sub-6 GHz frequencies but is 5 us, and the previously defined values ​​may be modified to take into account that the LBT gap may be 8 us, 16 us or 23 us.

[0174] In one embodiment, for PUSCH transmission using a configured grant, if or when single-shot LBT is required or supported at the UE side within the shared COT of the gNB:

number

[0175] Option 1: [Table 12]

[0176] Option 2: [Table 13]

[0177] Option 3: [Table 14]

[0178] Option 4: [Table 15]

[0179] Option 5: [Table 16]

[0180] Option 6: [Table 17]

[0181] In some embodiments, option 7 may be set such that Tables 12-17 above may be bounded and may include only the first or last N elements, where N may be, for example, 7 or 8.

[0182] In one embodiment, if single-shot LBT is not supported or required and the UE operates as a responding device within the shared COT of the gNB, for PUSCH transmission using a configured grant, the UE may transmit without first having to perform a CCA procedure. ext =0, and no intra-symbol starting position is required.

[0183] 7 illustrates a block diagram of a communications device, such as an evolved Node-B, a next generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an access point (AP), a radio station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE), that performs one or more of the techniques disclosed herein, according to some aspects. In alternative aspects, communications device 700 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communications devices.

[0184] Circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry) is a collection of circuitry implemented in tangible entities of device 700, including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuitry membership may be flexible over time. A circuit includes elements that, when operational, may perform specified operations, either alone or in combination. In one example, circuitry hardware may be invariably designed (e.g., hardwired) to perform specific operations. In one embodiment, circuitry hardware may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) that include machine-readable media that have been physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, a movable arrangement of invariable mass particles, etc.) to encode instructions for specific operations.

[0185] When connecting physical components, the underlying electrical properties of the hardware components are changed, for example, from insulator to conductor, or vice versa. The instructions enable the embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or loading mechanism) to create circuitry elements in the hardware through the variable connections to perform certain portions of the operations during operation. Thus, in one example, a machine-readable medium element is part of a circuitry or is communicatively coupled to other components of a circuitry when the device is operating. In one example, any of the physical components may be used in multiple elements of multiple circuits. For example, during operation, an execution unit may be used in a first circuit of a first circuitry at one time and reused by a second circuit in the first circuitry or a third circuit in the second circuitry at a different time. Additional examples of these components for device 700 are as follows:

[0186] In some aspects, device 700 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, communications device 700 may operate as a server communications device, a client communications device, or both in a server-client network environment. In one example, communications device 700 may act as a peer communications device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Communications device 700 may be a UE, eNB, PC, tablet PC, STB, PDA, mobile phone, smartphone, web appliance, network router, switch, or bridge, or any communications device capable of executing instructions (sequentially or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by the communications device. Furthermore, while only a single communications device is illustrated, the term “communications device” shall be interpreted to include any collection of communications devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

[0187] As described herein, examples may include or operate on logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) that can perform a particular operation and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In one example, a circuit may be arranged as a module in a particular way (e.g., internally or relative to external entities such as other circuits). In one example, one or more computer systems (e.g., standalone, client, or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured, in whole or in part, by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application portions, or applications) as modules that operate to perform particular operations. In one example, software may reside on a communication device-readable medium. In one example, software, when executed by the underlying hardware of a module, causes the hardware to perform particular operations.

[0188] Thus, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity, i.e., an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transiently) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a particular manner or to perform some or all of any of the operations described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one time. For example, if the modules include a general-purpose hardware processor configured with software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as different modules at different times. Thus, the software may configure the hardware processor, for example, to configure a particular module at one time instance and a different module at a different time instance.

[0189] A communications device (e.g., a UE) 700 may include a hardware processor 702 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 704, a static memory 706, and a storage device 707 (e.g., a hard drive, a tape drive, a flash storage device, or other block or storage device), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., a bus) 708.

[0190] The computer system 700 may further include a display device 710, an alphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 714 (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the display device 710, the input device 712, and the UI navigation device 714 may be touchscreen displays. The communication device 700 may additionally include a signal generating device 718 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 720, and one or more sensors 721, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or another sensor. The communication device 700 may include an output controller 728, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection, to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0191] The storage device 707 may include a communication device-readable medium 722 on which are stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions (e.g., software) embodied in or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In some aspects, the registers of the processor 702, the main memory 704, the static memory 706, and / or the storage device 707 may be or include (completely or at least partially) the device-readable medium 722 on which are stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 724 embodied in or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In one example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 702, the main memory 704, the static memory 706, or the mass storage 716 may constitute the device-readable medium 722.

[0192] As used herein, the term “device-readable medium” is interchangeable with “computer-readable medium” or “machine-readable medium.” While the communication device-readable medium 722 is illustrated as a single medium, the term “communications device-readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 724. The term “communications device-readable medium” encompasses the terms “machine-readable medium” or “computer-readable medium” and may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions (e.g., instructions 724) for execution by the communication device 700 and causing the communication device 700 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure or storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of communication device-readable media may include solid-state memory, optical media, and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device readable media may include non-volatile memory such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, random access memory (RAM), and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, communication device readable media may include non-transitory communication device readable media. In some examples, communication device readable media may include communication device readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

[0193] The instructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 726 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 720 utilizing any one of a number of transport protocols. In one example, the network interface device 720 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas for connecting to the communications network 726. In one example, the network interface device 720 may include multiple antennas for wireless communication using at least one of single-input-multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input-single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device 720 may communicate wirelessly using multiple-user MIMO techniques.

[0194] The term "transmission medium" shall be interpreted to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by a machine, including digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media for facilitating the communication of such software. In this regard, transmission media in the context of this disclosure are device-readable media.

[0195] Exemplary Embodiments

[0196] Below are some additional exemplary aspects related to the disclosed technology and FIGS. 1A-7.

[0197] Example 1 is an apparatus for user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a 5G NR system, the apparatus including: processing circuitry configured to: perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to assess occupancy of a communication channel in an unlicensed spectrum at a carrier frequency above 52.6 GHz to configure the UE to operate in the unlicensed spectrum; and, upon successful completion of the CCA procedure, encode a reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel, the reservation signal occupying a time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of an uplink (UL) transmission opportunity; and encode a data physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for transmission to a base station during the UL transmission opportunity and after transmission of the reservation signal; and a memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the UL data.

[0198] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes subject matter wherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from transmitting on the communication channel for a duration of at least 5 us when the CCA procedure fails.

[0199] In Example 3, the subject matter of Examples 1-2 includes the subject matter where the reservation signal includes a cyclic prefix.

[0200] In Example 4, the subject matter of Example 3 includes subject matter where the cyclic prefix corresponds to a prefix of a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol allocated to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or a PUSCH transmission during the UL transmission opportunity.

[0201] In Example 5, the subject matter of Example 4 includes subject matter where a duration of the time interval is equal to a duration of a symbol preceding the first OFDM symbol allocated to the PUCCH transmission or the PUSCH transmission.

[0202] In Example 6, the subject matter of Examples 1-5 includes subject matter where the reservation signal includes a UL data transmission having a random payload.

[0203] In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 1-6 includes subject matter where the reservation signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission.

[0204] In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1-7 includes subject matter wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: determine after the UL transmission opportunity that the CCA procedure was successful; and encode the reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel, the reservation signal occupying a second time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of a subsequent uplink UL transmission opportunity.

[0205] In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 1-8 includes subject matter where the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the UL transmission opportunity is within a channel occupation time (COT) of the base station and encode the UL data for transmission to the base station during the UL transmission opportunity without performing the CCA procedure.

[0206] In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 1-9 includes subject matter further including a transceiver circuit coupled to the processing circuitry; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

[0207] Example 11 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions causing the UE to perform operations including: configuring the UE to operate in an unlicensed spectrum in a 5G NR system at a carrier frequency above 52.6 GHz; performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to assess occupancy of a communication channel in the unlicensed spectrum; when the CCA procedure is successful, encoding a reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel, the reservation signal occupying a time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of an uplink (UL) transmission opportunity; and encoding a data physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for transmission to a base station during the UL transmission opportunity and after transmission of the reservation signal.

[0208] In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 11 includes the subject matter where the reservation signal includes a cyclic prefix.

[0209] In Example 13, the subject matter of Example 12 includes subject matter wherein the cyclic prefix corresponds to a prefix of a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol allocated to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or a PUSCH transmission during the UL transmission opportunity.

[0210] In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 includes subject matter wherein a duration of the time interval is equal to a duration of a symbol preceding the first OFDM symbol assigned to the PUCCH transmission or the PUSCH transmission.

[0211] In Example 15, the subject matter of Examples 11-14 includes subject matter where the reservation signal includes a UL data transmission having a random payload.

[0212] In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 11-15 includes subject matter configured to, by executing the instructions, cause the UE to: determine that the CCA procedure was successful after the UL transmission opportunity; and encode the reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel, the reservation signal occupying a second time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of a subsequent uplink UL transmission opportunity.

[0213] Example 17 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station configured to operate in a 5G NR system, the instructions causing the base station to perform operations including: configuring the base station to operate in an unlicensed spectrum at a carrier frequency above 52.6 GHz; performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to assess occupancy of a communication channel in the unlicensed spectrum; when the CCA procedure is successful, encoding a reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel, the reservation signal occupying a time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of a downlink (DL) transmission opportunity; and encoding a data physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for transmission to a user equipment (UE) during the DL transmission opportunity and after transmission of the reservation signal.

[0214] In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 includes the subject matter where the reservation signal includes a cyclic prefix.

[0215] In Example 19, the subject matter of Example 18 includes subject matter wherein the cyclic prefix corresponds to a prefix of a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol allocated to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission or a PDSCH transmission during the DL transmission opportunity.

[0216] Example 20 includes the subject matter of example 19, wherein the duration of the time interval is equal to the duration of a symbol preceding the first OFDM symbol assigned to the PDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission.

[0217] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0218] A twenty-second embodiment is an apparatus including means for implementing any one of the first to twentieth embodiments.

[0219] Example 23 is a system that implements any of Examples 1 to 20.

[0220] Example 24 is a method for implementing any of Examples 1 to 20.

[0221] While certain embodiments have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. This detailed description, therefore, is not to be construed in a limiting sense, and the scope of the various embodiments is defined solely by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

1. An apparatus for user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a 5G NR system, comprising: processing circuitry for configuring the UE to operate in unlicensed spectrum at carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz; performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to assess occupancy of communication channels in the unlicensed spectrum; encoding a reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel when the CCA procedure is successful, the reservation signal occupying a time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of an uplink (UL) transmission opportunity; encoding a data Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) for transmission to a base station during the UL transmission opportunity and after transmission of the reservation signal; and a memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the data PUSCH; The processing circuitry includes: determining that the CCA procedure was successful after the UL transmission opportunity; and encoding the reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel, the reservation signal occupying a second time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of a subsequent uplink UL transmission opportunity.

2. The processing circuitry includes:

10. The apparatus of claim 1, configured to refrain from transmitting on the communication channel for a duration of at least 5 us when the CCA procedure fails.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the reservation signal includes a cyclic prefix.

4. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the cyclic prefix corresponds to a prefix of a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol allocated to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or a PUSCH transmission during the UL transmission opportunity.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the duration of the time interval is equal to the duration of a symbol preceding the first OFDM symbol allocated to the PUCCH transmission or the PUSCH transmission.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the reservation signal comprises an UL data transmission with a random payload.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the reservation signal comprises a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

8. The processing circuitry includes: determining that the UL transmission opportunity is within a channel occupation time (COT) of the base station; and encoding UL data for transmission to the base station during the UL transmission opportunity without performing the CCA procedure.

9. The apparatus of any preceding claim, further comprising: a transceiver circuit coupled to the processing circuitry; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

10. 1. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions configuring the UE to operate in an unlicensed spectrum in a 5G NR system at a carrier frequency above 52.6 GHz, and causing the UE to: performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to assess occupancy of communication channels in the unlicensed spectrum; encoding a reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel when the CCA procedure is successful, the reservation signal occupying a time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of an uplink (UL) transmission opportunity; encoding a data Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) for transmission to a base station during the UL transmission opportunity and after transmitting the reservation signal; Executing the instructions causes the UE to: determining that the CCA procedure was successful after the UL transmission opportunity; A computer-readable storage medium that further causes the computer to perform an operation including: encoding the reservation signal for transmission on the communication channel, the reservation signal occupying a second time interval between completion of the CCA procedure and a start symbol of a subsequent uplink UL transmission opportunity.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the reservation signal includes a cyclic prefix.

12. 12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the cyclic prefix corresponds to a prefix of a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol allocated to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or a PUSCH transmission during the UL transmission opportunity.

13. 13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the duration of the time interval is equal to the duration of a symbol preceding the first OFDM symbol allocated to the PUCCH transmission or the PUSCH transmission.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the reservation signal comprises an UL data transmission with a random payload.

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