Dynamic spectrum sensor–to–GNB interface to enable radar coexistence

Abstract

Methods implementable by a wireless-network node such as a gNB are described. Methods may include receiving spectrum information from a sensor external to the wireless network node; determining an interference mitigation technique based on the spectrum information; and implementing the interference mitigation technique. Methods may also include receiving an interference mitigation technique from the sensor based on the spectrum information. Wireless communication systems performing the described methods are also described.

Description

DYNAMIC SPECTRUM SENSOR-TO-GNB INTERFACE TO ENABLE RADAR COEXISTENCECROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This PCT application claims priority to provisional U S. patent application 63 / 585,033 filed September 25, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.SUMMARY

[0002] In embodiments, a method implemented by a wireless-network node may include: receiving spectrum information from a sensor external to the wireless network node; determining an interference mitigation technique based on the spectrum information; and implementing the interference mitigation technique. Additionally / alternatively, the spectrum information may include information related to a RADAR signal. Additionally / alternatively, the spectrum information may include at least one of: carrier frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, dwell time, angle of arrival (AoA), and power spectral density (PSD) of an interfering signal. Additionally / alternatively, the method may include at least one of: applying sensing gaps, clearing physical resource blocks (PRBS), reducing transmission power, applying beam nulling and adjusting transmission power in at least one PRB. Additionally / alternatively, the method may include receiving an indication from the sensor to cease implementation of the interference mitigation technique. Additionally, alternatively, the wireless network node is a gNB.

[0003] In further embodiments, A method implemented by a wireless-network node, may include: receiving spectrum information from a sensor external to the wireless-network node; receiving an interference mitigation technique from the sensor based on the spectrum information; and implementing the interference mitigation technique. Additionally / alternatively, the spectrum information may include information related to a RADAR signal. Additionally / alternatively, the spectrum information may include at least one of carrier frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, dwell time, AoA, and PSD of an interfering signal. Additionally / alternatively, the method may include at least one of: applying sensing gaps, clearing PRBS, reducing transmission power, applying beam nulling and adjusting transmission power in at least one PRB. Additionally / alternatively, the method may include: receiving an indication from the sensor to cease implementation of the interference mitigation technique.

[0004] In embodiments, a wireless communication system may include: a wireless network node, and an interference sensor, the sensor being configured to transmit spectrum information the wireless-network node; the wireless node being configured to determine an interference mitigation technique based on the spectrum information and to implement the interference mitigation technique. Additionally / alternatively, the spectrum information may include information related to a RADAR signal. Additionally / alternatively, the spectrum information may include at least one of: carrier frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, dwell time, angle of AoA, and PSD of an interfering signal. Additionally / alternatively, the interference mitigation technique may include at leastone of: applying sensing gaps, clearing physical resource blocks (PRBS), reducing transmission power, applying beam nulling and adjusting transmission power in at least one PRB. Additionally / alternatively, the sensor is further configured to transmit an indication to cease implementation of the interference mitigation technique.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals in the figures indicate like elements, and wherein:

[0006] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0007] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0008] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (GN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0009] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example ON that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a system diagram for a wireless communication system;

[0011] FIG. 3A is an example frequency diagram for normal 5G communication;

[0012] FIG. 3B is an example frequency diagram for 5G communication in the presence of an interfering signal ;

[0013] FIG. 3C is an example frequency diagram for modified 5G communication scenario to avoid an interfering signal;

[0014] FIG. 3D is an example frequency diagram for a further modified 5G communication scenario to avoid an interfering signal;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a gNB-to-Sensor Registration Indication message, according to embodiments;

[0016] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a gNB-to-Sensor Status Indication message, according to embodiments;

[0017] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a Sensor-to-gNB-Sensing-Gap-Request message and of a gNB-to- Sensor-Sensing-Gap Response message, according to embodiments;

[0018] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a SENSOR-to-gNB-Incumbent-User-Detection-lndication message, according to embodiments;

[0019] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of SENSOR-to-gNB-Set-Radio-Channel and gNB-to-SENSOR-Set-Radio- Channel-Response messages, according to embodiments;

[0020] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of SENSOR-to-gNB-Resume-Normal-Operation and gNB-to-SENSOR- Resume-Normal-Operation-Response messages, according to embodiments;

[0021] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of SENSOR-to-gNB-Power-State-Request and gNB-to-SENSOR-Power- State-Response messages, according to embodiments;

[0022] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of SENSOR_GNB_APPLY_BEAM_NULLING_MESSAGE and GNB_SENSOR_APPLY_BEAM_NULLING_RESPONSE messages, according to embodiments;

[0023] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of SENSOR_GNB_APPLY_POWER_CONTROL and GNB_SENSOR_APPLY_POWER_CONTROL_RESPONSE messages, according to embodiments;

[0024] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of SENSOR_GNB_PRB_CONTROL_REQUEST and GNB_SENSOR_PRB_CONTROL_RESPONSE messages, according to an embodiment; and

[0025] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram for a process according to embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC- FDMA), zero-tail unique-word discrete Fourier transform Spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DFT-S-OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network (ON) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though itwill be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a station (STA), may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in anindustrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0028] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNode B (eNB), a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a next generation NodeB, such as a gNode B (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0029] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0030] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0031] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0032] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0033] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using NR.

[0034] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g , an eNB and a gNB).

[0035] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS- 2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0036] The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106.

[0037] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the CN 106, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like The CN 106 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 and / or the CN 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANsthat employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0038] The CN 106 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

[0039] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1 A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellularbased radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0040] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102 As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0041] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0042] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receiveIR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0043] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1 B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ Ml MO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0044] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example.

[0045] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit) The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0046] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0047] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment

[0048] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and / or Augmented Reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors. The sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, a humidity sensor and the like.

[0049] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and DL (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e g., for transmission) or the DL (e g., for reception)).

[0050] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0051] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0052] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0053] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While the foregoing elements aredepicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0054] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA

[0055] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0056] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0057] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers

[0058] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0059] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0060] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic in to and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0061] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0062] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0063] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two noncontiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0064] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11 af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac. 802.11 af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11 ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine- Type Communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g , only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0065] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802 11n, 802.11ac, 802.11 at, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11 ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode) transmitting to the AP, all available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the available frequency bands remains idle.

[0066] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0067] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0068] The RAN 104 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0069] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing a varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0070] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non- standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0071] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, DC, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0072] The CN 106 shown in FIG 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0073] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and the like The AMF 182a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0074] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 106 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 106 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0075] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0076] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local DN 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0077] In view of FIGs. 1A-1D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a- c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0078] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0079] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0080] Demand for higher data rates has drastically increased over time and growth is expected to continue in the future. This increase in demand triggers the need for wireless technologies to operate at higher frequency ranges and utilize increased amounts of bandwidth. Transition to higher frequency bands can pose a risk to systems that are already operating in these bands. For instance, commercial wireless systems (e.g., 5G) may operate in bands that overlap with frequency bands used for RADAR operations. This overlap may create interference with RADAR that potentially could impact the operation and / or accuracy of RADAR. On the other hand, RADAR transmit power, which typically is significantly higher than the transmit powers of wireless devices (e.g., WTRUs such as smart phones, gNBs), may have detrimental impact on the commercial wireless system as the latter may not be designed to handle excessive amounts of interference. Furthermore, interference from RADAR may be dynamically changing because of factors that may include shifting center frequency, bandwidth, radiation pattern, and the like.

[0081] FIG. 2 shows a communication system, which may be a 5G wireless system. The system comprises a plurality of base stations (gNBs) 212, 214; a plurality of WTRUs 210; an interference sensor, which may be a RADAR interference sensor 230; and an interface 220, which may be a dynamic spectrum access interface (DS A).

[0082] Figures 3A-3D show an example high-level RADAR coexistence procedure, according to embodiments. The procedure may include the following phases: FIG. 3A shows an normal 100MHz bandwidth 5G frequency spectrum 300. FIG. 3B, depicts a RADAR signal 310 overlaid on the illustrated frequency band 300. FIG. 3C depicts a first embodiment for RADAR coexistence wherein the 5G system stops operation in the frequency band 310 occupied by the radar and operates on the remaining portions 302, 304 of the original 100MHz frequency band. FIG. 3D depicts further embodiment where the 5G system uses the frequency band occupied by the radar in a limited matter based on sensor information. Embodiments may include the application of beam nulling by the 5G system and reduced power transmissions bases on the sensor information.

[0083] The example system shown in FIG. 2 may be operable to provide RADAR signal characterization and RADAR coexistence with 5G communication systems. A sensor 230 (which may be a spectrum sensor) located in an operating range of one or more GNBs 212, 213 may determine interferer characteristics such as carrier frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, dwell time, angle of arrival (AoA), and power spectral density (PSD). Theinterferer may be a RADAR. The gNB(s) may receive information from the sensor 230 via an interface node 220 characterizing the operation of a RADAR. Based on the received information, the gNB may enable or disable interference mitigation enhancements. In embodiments the sensor may determine mitigation algorithms to apply and instruct the gNB to activate them. Interference mitigation enhancements may triggered based on feedback from the external sensor. In further embodiments, the gNB may determine which interference mitigation techniques to apply. In embodiments, the gNB may activate corresponding mitigation algorithms and send confirmation to the external sensor 230.

[0084] A wireless communication system (e.g., 5G) is assumed to be in normal operation if no RADAR signal is detected. When RADAR is present and active, the embodiments described herein may be applied to enable commercial wireless systems (e.g. 5G systems) to coexist with RADAR.

[0085] Communication between the sensor and the gNB is carried out via interface / adapter software. The sensor may be connected to only one gNB or may be connected to multiple gNBs to cover a geographical area as shown, for example, in FIG. 2 Although embodiments described herein are contemplated for coexistence of 5G with a RADAR, such embodiments also may be applied for scenarios where coexistence of other types of interference with other types of wireless network is required.

[0087] In embodiments, a dynamic spectrum sensing sensor-to-gNB interface or adapter software, may enable a gNB to be instructed by an external entity to execute and to manage algorithms for RADAR coexistence. These algorithms may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: Rx / Tx Beam Nulling; PRB Blanking; and / or UL / DL Power Control The external entity may correspond to a spectrum sensor or to a GUI that interfaces with the gNB. The interface between the gNB and the external entity may be implemented via messages that are exchanged between the gNB and the external entity. The sensor software may reside in any hardware module such as in a separate PC, a sensor, or in a 5G base station. A separate translator software module may translate the sensor messages to a format that is understandable by a particular vendor gNB. This translator software may reside in the same hardware where sensor software resides.

[0088] In embodiments, a sensor to-gNB message API may be defined as follows.

[0089] {SOURCE}_{DESTINATION}_{MSGTYPE} _{REQUEST|RESPONSE|INDICATION}

[0090] The first word of the message is the source and the second word is the destination. In embodiments, the communications protocol used may be via a long-life TCP connection. The sensor may host the server using either a static IP address or DNS name. Network-connection drops may be detected via TCP keepalive or periodic status messages. Messages may be signed by the initiator and validated prior to processing of the message. Example sensor-gNB API control messages are defined as shown below in Table 1. Table 1 describes one or more autonomous periodic messages that do not need to be requested and messages that are not periodic.TABLE 1

[0091] In embodiments of a sensor -to-gNB message format, each sensor API message may include a generic header, followed by a message body, a version, a message type ID, a length field, a transaction ID, a checksum field, and a message body. Numeric values may be in network byte order ( / .e., big endian). An example message format is shown in Table 2.TABLE 2

[0092] In embodiments of a gNB-to-sensor-registration indication: (GNB_SENSOR_REGISTRATION_INDICATION), a registration message may be triggered by the gNB following power up / reboot. After successful registration with the sensor, the gNB may be configured to operate normally in accordance with the parameters described in the message below.TABLE 3

[0093] FIG. 4 is an example flow diagram of a gNB-to-Sensor-Registration-lndication message, according to an embodiment. At 410, the distributed unit (DU) the central unit (CU) and remote unit (RU) or units are started up and configured. At 412, the GNB 20 sends a GNB_SENSOR_REGISTRATIONJNDICATION to the sensor hardware 10. In embodiments, the GNB_SENSOR_REGISTRATION_INDICATION may be as described above in Table 3.

[0094] The gNB-to-SENSOR-Status Indication (GNB_SENSOR_STATUSJNDICATION) may be used to indicate the status of the gNB to the sensor. In an embodiment, the following message is defined for the Status Indication from the gNB to the sensor.TABLE 4

[0095] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a gNB-to-Sensor Status Indication message, according to an embodiment. In embodiments, the gNB 20 may send 512 the GNB_SENSOR_STATUS_INDICATION to the sensor 10 periodically, for example when a periodic status timer expires 510.

[0096] The sensor may request the gNB to vacate a certain band to perform its channel measurements via a Sensor-to-gNB-Sensing-Gap Request (SENSOR_GNB_SENSING_GAP_REQUEST). The request may be periodic or for a single time. The duration of the gap and the periodicity may be defined by the sensor. An example message is defined in Table 5 for the sensing gap request from the sensor to the gNB.TABLE 5

[0097] Regarding the gNB-to-SENSOR-Sensing-Gap Response(GNB_SENSOR_SENSING_GAP_RESPONSE), an example message is defined in Table 6 for the Sensing Gap response from the gNB to the SENSOR.TABLE 6

[0098] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a Sensor-to-gNB-Sensing-Gap Request message and of a gNB-to-Sensor-Sensing-Gap Response message, according to an embodiment. At 610, the sensor 10 determines that it needs the 5G gNB to create sensing gaps. At 612 the sensor 10 sends a SENSOR_GNB_SENSING_GAP_REQUEST 612, which may be as described in Table 5, to the gNB. At 614,the gNB may modify its schedule and place gaps in the positions requested by the sensor. At 618, the gNB may send a GNB_SENSOR_SENSING_GAP_RESPONSE, which may be as described in Table 6.

[0099] Regarding a Sensor-to-gNB-Incumbent-User-Detection Indication(SENSOR_GNB_INCUMBENT_USER_DETECTIONJNDICATION), in embodiments, the sensor may indicate the detection of incumbent users (e.g., RADARs) to the gNB via the following messageTABLE 7

[0100] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of aSENSOR-to-gNB-Incumbent-User-Detection-lndication message, according to an embodiment. At 710, the sensor 10 determines that there is an incumbent user present in the frequency band used by the gNB. At 712, the senor sends to the gNB 20 aSENSOR_GNB_INCUMBENT_USER_DETECTION_INDICATION message, which may be as described in Table 7. At 714, the sensor asks the gNB to clear out PRBs where the incumbent user, which may be a RADAR was detected. At 716, the sensor may receive further information about the incumber user. Based on the further information at 718, the sensor may send a subsequentSENSOR_GNBJNCUMBENT_USER_DETECTIONJNDICATION message to the gNB.

[0112] Regarding a SENSOR-to-gNB-Set-Radio-Channel-Message (SENSOR_GNB_SET_RADIO_CHANNEL_MESSAGE), in embodiments, the sensor may set new wireless channels where the gNB needs to switch to via the message described in Table 8.TABLE 8

[0102] In embodiments, SENSOR_SetRadioChannelDescriptorExternal_t may be a message as described in Table 9.TABLE 9

[0103] Regarding the gNB-to-SENSOR-Set-Radio-Channel Response (GNB_SENSOR_SET_RADIO_CHANNEL_RESPONSE), in embodiments, the gNB may respond to the SENSOR’s request to switch to a different radio channel with the message as described in Table 10.TABLE 10

[0104] FIG. 8 is an example flow diagram of SENSOR-to-gNB-Set-Radio-Channel and gNB-to-SENSOR- Set-Radio-Channel-Response messages, according to an embodiment. At 810, the sensor 10 determines that a 5G system cannot remain in the current channel due to presence of an interfering entity, which may be a RADAR.. At 812, the sensor determines that there is a better channel available for the 5G system to switch to in order to avoid the interfering entity. At 814, the sensor sends aSENSOR_GNB_SET_RADIO_CHANNEL_MESSAGE message to the gNB 20, which may be a message as described in Tables 8 and 9. At 816, the gNB performs the indicated channel change and moves all affected WTRUs to the new channel. At 818 the gNB sends a response to the sensor, which may be a GNB_SENSOR_SET_RADIO_CHANNEL_RESPONSE message as described in Table 10.

[0105] Regarding the SENSOR-to-gNB-Resume-Normal-Operation Message (SENSOR_GNB_RESUME_NOMRAL_MESSAGE), in embodiments, the sensor may request the gNB to resume its normal operation ( / .e., to disable all interference coexistence enhancements) via the message as described in Table 11.TABLE 11

[0106] Regarding a gNB-to-SENSOR-Resume-Normal-Operation-Response(GNB_SENSOR_RESUME_NORMAL_RESPONSE), in embodiments, the gNB may respond to Resume Normal Request with a message as described in Table 12TABLE 12

[0107] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of example SENSOR-to-gNB-Resume-Normal-Operation and gNB-to- SENSOR-Resume-Normal-Operation-Response messages, according to an embodiment. At 910, based on sensor reports the sensor may determine that the interfering entity, which may be a RADAR, is no longer present in the frequency band where enhancements need to be applied. At 912, the sensor 10 may send aSENSOR_GNB_RESUME_NOMRAL_MESSAGE message, which may be as described in Table 11 to the gNB 20. re At 914, the gNB may cease performing enhancements and resume default operation. After resuming default operation, at 916, the gNB may send to the senor a response message which may be a message a described in Table 12.

[0108] Regarding the SENSOR-to-gNB-Power-State-Request (SENSOR_GNB_POVVER_STATE_REQUEST), in embodiments, the sensor may indicate to the gNB whether the gNB needs to shut off its Tx and / or Rx via a message as described, for example, in Table 13.TABLE 13

[0109] Regarding a gNB-to-SENSOR-Power-State-Response(GNBJSENSOR POWER STATE RESPONSE), in embodiments, the gNB may respond to the power state request message with a message as described, for example, in Table 14.TABLE 14

[0110] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of SENSOR-to-gNB-Power-State-Request and gNB-to-SENSOR-Power- State-Response messages, according to an embodiment. At 1010 the sensor 10 determines the gNB should modify its Tx and / or Rx state per RU. At 1012, the sensor sends a request message to the gNB, which may be a message as described in Table 13. At 1014, the gNB 20 applies the requested change in state to Tx andRx per RU. At 1016, the gNB sends a response message to the sensor, which may be a message as described in Table 14.

[0111] Regarding a SENSOR-to-gNB-Apply-Beam-Nulling-Request,

[0112] In embodiments, 5G systems may employ beamforming to increase system performance. If the angles of arrival of interference are known, then a 5G system can create nulls in the transmitter and receiver beam-forming array patterns to mitigate the interference. These angles of arrival (AoA) and Zenith of Arrival (ZoA) are indicated to the 5G gNB to implement null creation, and gNB can perform both receive and transmit beamforming with null creation in the directions of radar to mitigate interference. Regarding a SENSOR-to- gNB-Apply-Beam-Nulling-Request, in embodiments, the following beam nulling request message described in Table 15 may be sent the from the SENSOR to the gNB.TABLE 15

[0113] Regarding a gNB-to-SENSOR-Apply-Beam-Nulling-Response(GNB_SENSOR_APPLY_BEAM_NULLING_RESPONSE), in embodiments the message described in Table 16 may be sent from the gNB to the SENSOR.TABLE 16

[0114] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of SENSOR_GNB_APPLY_BEAM_NULLING_MESSAGE and GNB_SENSOR_APPLY_BEAM_NULLING_RESPONSE messages, according to an embodiment At 1110, the sensor determines that the gNB should apply beam nulling in a specific direction. At 1112, the sensor 10 sends a beam nulling request message to the gNB 20, which may be a message as described in Table 15. At 1114, the gNB applies beam nulling in the direction indicated by the sensor in the request message. At 1116, the gNB sends a response message to the sensor, which may be a message as described in Table 16

[0115] In embodiments, rather than a binary decision of avoiding or using the time-frequency resources ( / .e., PRB blanking) experiencing radar interference or resources that may cause interference to RADAR when the RADAR is listening, a lower-than-nominal maximum per RB power may be assigned to the RBs within the RADAR bandwidth to the extent that the aggregate interference from gNB to RADAR is acceptable. In embodiments, a message as defined for example in Table 17 may be used to send a power-control request from SENSOR to gNB.TABLE 17

[0116] Regarding a gNB-to-SENSOR-Apply-Power-Control-Response (GNB_SENSOR_APPLY_POWER_CONTROL_RESPONSE), in embodiments, a response message as defined, for example, in Table 18 may be sent from a gNB to a sensor.TABLE 18

[0117] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of SENSOR_GNB_APPLY_POWER_CONTROL and GNB_SENSOR_APPLY_POWER_CONTROL_RESPONSE messages, according to an embodiment. In embodiments, at 1210, the sensor determines that the gNB should change its transmit power to a specified value. At 1212, the sensor 10, sends a power control message, which may be a message as shown in Table 17, to the gNB 20. At 1214, the gNB sets its transmit power to the value specified in the message be sensor. At 1216, the gNB sends a response message to the sensor, which may be a response message as defined in Table 18.

[0118] Regarding a SENSOR-to-gNB-PRB-Control-Request (SENSOR_GNB_PRB_CONTROL_REQUEST), in embodiment, one way to reduce interference to the RADAR is for a 5G system to avoid using the time-frequency resources when the RADAR is actively transmitting or listening for return pulses. This is known as PRB Blanking and is typically applied cell-wide, also known as cell specific PRB blanking. Based on the estimates of RADAR rotation timing and the power spectral density, the time-frequency interference region is evaluated and the 5G scheduler avoids allocating the resource blocks for uplink or downlink traffic. In embodiments, a message as defined, for example in Table 19may be used for a PRB control request from the sensor to a gNB.TABLE 19

[0119] Regarding a gNB-to-SENSOR-PRB-Control-Response, (GNB_SENSOR_PRB_CONTROL_RESPONSE), in embodiments, a message as defined, for example in Table 20, may be uses for sending a PRB control response from gNB to SENSOR.TABLE 20

[0120] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of SENSOR_GNB_PRB_CONTROL_REQUEST and GNB_SENSOR_PRB_CONTROL_RESPONSE messages, according to an embodiment. At 1310, a sensor determines that a gNB should schedule PRBs with respective specified transmit powers. At 1312, the sensor 10, sends a request message, which may be a message as shown in Table 19, to the gNB 20. At 1314, the gNB modifies its PRB schedule based on parameters in the request message. At 1316, the gNB may send a response message to the sensor, which may be a message as described, for example, in Table 20

[0121] FIG. 14 is an example process according to embodiments described herein. At 1410, a sensor detects an interfering signal, which may be a RADAR signal, in the presence of a 5G system’s operating bandwidth. At 1412, the sensor instructs the system’s gNB to avoid a RADAR occupied portion of its operating bandwidth. At 1414, the gNB modifies operation in accordance with the sensor instructions. At 1416, the sensor may refine the RADAR signal characteristics and send additional information and / or instructions to the gNB. At 1418, the gNB may operate in accordance with the additional instructions and / or information send by the sensor. At 1420, the sensor may detect the absence of interfering RADAR and instruct the gNB to resume normal operation. At 1422 the gNB resumes normal operation.

[0122] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is Claimed:

1. A method implemented by a wireless-network node, the method comprising: receiving spectrum information from a sensor external to the wireless network node; determining an interference mitigation technique based on the spectrum information; and implementing the interference mitigation technique.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spectrum information includes information related to a RADAR signal3. The method of either claim 1 or 2, wherein the spectrum information includes at least one of carrier frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, dwell time, angle of arrival (AoA), and power spectral density (PSD) of an interfering signal.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the interference mitigation technique includes at least one of: applying sensing gaps, clearing at least one physical resource block (PRB), reducing transmission power, applying beam nulling and adjusting transmission power in at least one PRB.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4 further comprising: receiving an indication from the sensor to cease implementation of the interference mitigation technique.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the wireless network node is a gNB.

7. A method implemented by a wireless-network node, the method comprising: receiving spectrum information from a sensor external to the wireless-network node; receiving an interference mitigation technique from the sensor based on the spectrum information; and implementing the interference mitigation technique.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the spectrum information includes information related to a RADAR signal9. The method of either claim 7 or 8, wherein the spectrum information includes at least one of: carrier frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, dwell time, angle of arrival (AoA), and power spectral density (PSD) of an interfering signal.

10. The method of any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the mitigation technique includes at least one of: applying sensing gaps, clearing at least one physical resource block (PRB), reducing transmission power, applying beam nulling and adjusting transmission power in at least one PRB.

11. The method of any of claims 7 to 10 further comprising: receiving an indication from the sensor to cease implementation of the interference mitigation technique.

12. A wireless communication system comprising: a wireless network node, and an interference sensor, the sensor being configured to transmit spectrum information the wireless-network node;the wireless node being configured to determining an interference mitigation technique based on the spectrum information and to implement the interference mitigation technique.

13. The wireless communication system of claim 12, wherein the spectrum information includes information related to a RADAR signal14. The wireless communication system of either claim 12 or 13, wherein the spectrum information includes carrier frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, dwell time, angle of arrival (AoA), and / or power spectral density (PSD) of an interfering signal.

15. The wireless communication system of any of claims 12 to 14, wherein the interference mitigation technique includes at least one of: applying sensing gaps, clearing at least one physical resource block (PRB), reducing transmission power, applying beam nulling and adjusting transmission power in at least one PRB.

16. The wireless communication system of any of claims 12 to 15 wherein the sensor is further configured to transmit an indication to cease implementation of the interference mitigation technique.

Images