Consistent-listen-before-talk-failure (c-LBT-f)-aware sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resource selection and transmission

Abstract

A method of performing wireless positioning performed by a UE may comprise determining that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state. The UE may also send, to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state. The UE may also receive, from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

Description

CONSISTENT-LISTEN-BEFORE-TALK-FAILURE (C-LBT-F)-AWARE SIDELINK POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SL-PRS) RESOURCE SELECTION AND TRANSMISSIONRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Greek Application No. 20240100151, filed March 1, 2024, entitled “CONSISTENT-LISTEN-BEFORE-TALK-FAILURE (C- LBT-F)-AWARE SIDELINK POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SL-PRS) RESOURCE SELECTION AND TRANSMISSION,” which is assigned to the assignee hereof, and incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.BACKGROUND Field of Disclosure

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and specifically relate to techniques, apparatuses, and methods associated with multichannel partial sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission in sidelink- unlicensed (SL-U). Description of Related Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various services that may include carrying voice, text, messaging, video, data, and / or other traffic. The services may include unicast, multicast, and / or broadcast services, among other examples. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access radio access technologies (RATs) capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (for example, time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources, and / or device transmit power, among other examples). Examples of such multiple-access RATs include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0004] These multiple-access RATs have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless communicationdevices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, or global level. An example telecommunication standard is New Radio (NR). NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR (and other mobile broadband evolutions beyond NR) may be designed to better support Internet of things (loT) and reduced capability device deployments, industrial connectivity, millimeter wave (mmWave) expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, non-terrestrial network (NTN) deployment, sidelink and other device-to-device direct communication technologies (for example, cellular vehicle-to-everything (CV2X) communication), massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), disaggregated network architectures and network topology expansions, multiple-subscriber implementations, high-precision positioning, and / or radio frequency (RF) sensing, among other examples. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in NR may be implemented, and other radio access technologies such as 6G may be introduced, to further advance mobile broadband evolution.BRIEF SUMMARY

[0005] An example method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), according to this disclosure, may include determining that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT- F) state. The method may also include sending, from the UE to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state. The method may furthermore include receiving, at the UE from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

[0006] An example user equipment (UE), according to this disclosure, may include one or more transceivers, one or more memories, and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories. The one or more processors may be configured to determine that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a may include listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state. The one or more processors further may be configured to send,via the one or more transceivers to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state. The one or more processors may also be configured to receive, via the one or more transceivers from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

[0007] An example apparatus, according to this disclosure, may include means for determining that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a may include listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state. The apparatus may also include means for sending, to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state. The apparatus may furthermore include means for receiving, from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

[0008] This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings, and each claim. The foregoing, together with other features and examples, will be described in more detail below in the following specification, claims, and accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The appended drawings illustrate some aspects of the present disclosure, but are not limiting of the scope of the present disclosure because the description may enable other aspects. Each of the drawings is provided for purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims. The same or similar reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0010] FIG. l is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example network node in communication with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of sidelink communications, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating examples of sidelink communications in different coverage scenarios, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an unlicensed radio frequency band and a licensed radio frequency band, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sidelink slot structure and consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) determination that may be used in sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) positioning in unlicensed spectrum, in accordance with the present disclosure, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 7A is an example message-flow diagram of a process that may be used to determine an SL-PRS configuration in the presence of RB sets in a C-LBT-F state, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication in accordance with the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Various aspects of the present disclosure are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not to be construed as limited to any specific aspect illustrated by or described with reference to an accompanying drawing or otherwise presented in this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art may appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example,an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using various combinations or quantities of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover an apparatus having, or a method that is practiced using, other structures and / or functionalities in addition to or other than the structures and / or functionalities with which various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein may be practiced. Any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0020] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques. These methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, or algorithms (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0021] There are various scenarios where sidelink communication can be used to expand or otherwise improve positioning accuracy, including challenging environments such as dense urban areas and / or tunnels, or for certain applications that may demand more robust and precise positioning (e.g., lane-level positioning, proximity-based services detection, and / or vehicular ranging services, among other examples). For example, in some cases, sidelink positioning may be based on transmission and reception of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) over a sidelink resource pool. For example, in access link communication, a positioning reference signal (PRS) is a downlink reference signal specifically designed to deliver high accuracy, coverage, and interference avoidance and suppression. In particular, a PRS used in access link communication typically has a large delay spread range, because the PRS is often received from potentially distant neighboring network nodes for position estimation, where the large delay spread is achieved by covering a large bandwidth and by transmitting the PRS over multiple symbols that can be aggregated to accumulate power. Furthermore, in a given PRS symbol, a subcarrier density (referred to as a comb size) can be configured to cover various subcarriers in a frequency domain, whereby different network nodes can transmit the PRS in different sets of subcarriers to avoid interference and / or reducelatency. Furthermore, the PRS signal(s) from one or more network nodes can be muted at a given time according to a muting pattern, further reducing the potential interference, and / or transmitted using multiple repetitions to improve detection in scenarios with a higher transmission loss (e.g., in macro cell deployments).

[0022] Accordingly, in a sidelink communication scenario, an SL-PRS can be used to exploit more line-of-sight opportunities for ranging between devices, in addition to or instead of the PRS that is transmitted over the access link interface. For example, when two or more user equipments (UEs) communicate on a sidelink over licensed spectrum, the SL-PRS may have a bandwidth up to 100 megahertz (MHz), which is generally sufficient for sidelink deployments that typically have a bandwidth that is significantly smaller than 100 MHz. However, ranging resolution and / or accuracy, and therefore positioning performance, is generally limited with an SL-PRS bandwidth of 100 MHz or less. Accordingly, in some cases, sidelink positioning may be supported over shared (e.g., unlicensed) spectrum in order to exploit the large available bandwidth in shared spectrum for ultra-high bandwidth (or wideband) SL-PRS transmissions (e.g., greater than 100 MHz) and thereby improve sidelink positioning performance. However, sidelink unlicensed (SL-U) operation (and / or other operation in shared spectrum) generally lacks support for channel access mechanisms that would support SL-PRS transmissions over a large bandwidth.

[0023] For example, in a shared or unlicensed frequency band, a transmitting device (e.g., a transmitting UE) has to contend against other devices for channel access before transmitting on a shared or unlicensed channel (e.g., to a receiving UE) to reduce and / or prevent collisions on the shared or unlicensed channel. To contend for channel access, the transmitting device may perform a channel access procedure, such as a listen-before- talk (LBT) procedure or another type of channel access procedure, for shared or unlicensed frequency band channel access. The channel access procedure may be performed to determine whether the physical channel (e.g., the radio resources of the channel) are free to be used or are busy (e.g., in use by another device). The channel access procedure may include sensing or measuring the physical channel during a channel access gap (which may also be referred to as a contention window) and determining whether the shared or unlicensed channel is free or busy based on the signals sensed or measured on the physical channel (e.g., based on whether the measurement satisfies a threshold). If the transmitting device determines that the channel access procedure wassuccessful (e.g., the channel is sensed to be idle, free, or otherwise available), the transmitting device may perform one or more transmissions on the shared or unlicensed channel during a transmission opportunity, which may extend for a COT. Otherwise, if the transmitting device determines that the channel is busy (e.g., the channel access procedure failed), the transmitting device is not allowed to transmit and needs to continue sensing until the channel access procedure is successful.

[0024] Accordingly, as described herein, challenges may arise when a transmitting UE attempts to transmit an SL-PRS in SL-U, because a shared or unlicensed sidelink channel is typically defined as a set of contiguous frequencies spanning approximately 20 MHz, which is much smaller than the bandwidth of a wideband SL-PRS. In particular, in cases where SL-U operation is performed over a band that exceeds 20 MHz, the band is typically partitioned into non-overlapping channels (or resource block (RB) sets, referring to a set of RBs that span the 20 MHz bandwidth of an SL-U channel), and a transmission spanning a frequency of more than one RB set (e.g., an SL-PRS transmission) is considered a multi-channel or wideband SL-U transmission. In a location services (LCS) session, potentially involving more than one transmitting (TX) UE configured to use more than one RB set for transmitting SL-PRS in a positioning procedure, there is currently no standardized way in which consistent LBT failures (C- LBT-F) are treated or reported to a serving entity.

[0025] Embodiments herein address these and other issues by providing procedures by which a TX UE may determine one or more RB sets in a C-LBT-F state and report such RB sets to a serving entity that determines wireless resources for the TX UE to use for transmitting SL-PRS in a positioning procedure. The serving entity may further make this determination for other TX UEs, thereby optimizing the transmission of SL-PRS among a group of UEs participating in a positioning procedure in the presence of one or more RB sets in a C-LBT-F state. Additionally, according to some embodiments, a TX UE may provide LBT information regarding one or more RB sets not in a C-LBT-F state, thereby enabling the serving entity to make intelligent decisions regarding whether or not to utilize these one or more RB sets for transmitting SL-PRS. Further, some embodiments may enable the reselection of resources for SL-PRS if the TX UE determines that the resources for SL-PRS originally determined by the serving entity include one or more RB sets that subsequently entered a C-LBT-F state.

[0026] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by providing C-LBT-F information from a TX UE to a serving entity, the described techniques can be used to optimize sidelink positioning by avoiding the transmission of SL-PRS on busy channels / RB sets. In some examples, by providing the reselection of resources after the serving entity provides a TX UE with an initial SL-PRS configuration, embodiments can allow sidelink positioning to adapt to dynamic changes in the RF environment that may impact the efficacy and / or quality of a sidelink positioning result. These and other advantages will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art in view of the embodiments provided herein. Embodiments follow a brief summary of relevant technologies.

[0027] Multiple-access radio access technologies (RATs) have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal, enterprise, national, regional, or global level. For example, 5GNew Radio (NR) is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G NR supports various technologies and use cases including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), millimeter wave (mmWave) technology, beamforming, network slicing, edge computing, Internet of Things (loT) connectivity and management, and network function virtualization (NFV).

[0028] As the demand for broadband access increases and as technologies supported by wireless communication networks evolve, further technological improvements may be adopted in or implemented for 5G NR or future RATs, such as 6G, to further advance the evolution of wireless communication for a wide variety of existing and new use cases and applications. Such technological improvements may be associated with new frequency band expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, overlapping spectrum use, small cell deployments, non-terrestrial network (NTN) deployments, disaggregated network architectures and network topology expansion, device aggregation, advanced duplex communication, sidelink and other device-to-device direct communication, loT (including passive or ambient loT) networks, reduced capability (RedCap) UE functionality, industrial connectivity, multiple-subscriber implementations, high- precision positioning, radio frequency (RF) sensing, and / or artificial intelligence ormachine learning (AI / ML), among other examples. These technological improvements may support use cases such as wireless backhauls, wireless data centers, extended reality (XR) and metaverse applications, meta services for supporting vehicle connectivity, holographic and mixed reality communication, autonomous and collaborative robots, vehicle platooning and cooperative maneuvering, sensing networks, gesture monitoring, human-brain interfacing, digital twin applications, asset management, and universal coverage applications using non-terrestrial and / or aerial platforms, among other examples. The methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques described herein may enable one or more of the foregoing technologies and / or support one or more of the foregoing use cases.

[0029] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network 100 in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless communication network 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (or NR) network or a 6G network, among other examples. The wireless communication network 100 may include multiple network nodes 110, shown as a network node (NN) 110a, a network node 110b, a network node 110c, and a network node HOd. The network nodes 110 may support communications with multiple UEs 120, shown as a UE 120a, a UE 120b, a UE 120c, a UE 120d, and a UE 120e.

[0030] The network nodes 110 and the UEs 120 of the wireless communication network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided by frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, carriers, or channels. For example, devices of the wireless communication network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In some aspects, multiple wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless communication network 100 may support a particular RAT (which may also be referred to as an air interface) and may operate on one or more carrier frequencies in one or more frequency ranges. Examples of RATs include a 4G RAT, a 5G / NR RAT, and / or a 6G RAT, among other examples. In some examples, when multiple RATs are deployed in a given geographic area, each RAT in the geographic area may operate on different frequencies to avoid interference with one another.

[0031] Various operating bands have been defined as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz through 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz through 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125GHz through 24.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz through 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz through 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz through 300 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in some documents and articles. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in some documents and articles, despite being different than the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz through 300 GHz), which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies, which include FR3. Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. Thus, “sub-6 GHz,” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6 GHz, that are within FR1, and / or that are included in mid-band frequencies. Similarly, the term “millimeter wave,” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are included in mid-band frequencies, that are within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, or FR5, and / or that are within the EHF band. Higher frequency bands may extend 5G NR operation, 6G operation, and / or other RATs beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, each of FR4a, FR4-1, FR4, and FR5 falls within the EHF band. In some examples, the wireless communication network 100 may implement dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), in which multiple RATs (for example, 4G / LTE and 5G / NR) are implemented with dynamic bandwidth allocation (for example, based on user demand) in a single frequency band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (for example, FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) may be modified, and techniques described herein may be applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0032] A network node 110 may include one or more devices, components, or systems that enable communication between a UE 120 and one or more devices, components, or systems of the wireless communication network 100. A network node 110 may be, may include, or may also be referred to as an NR network node, a 5G network node, a 6G network node, a Node B, an eNB, a gNB, an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a mobility element, a core, a network entity, a network element, a network equipment, and / or another type of device, component, or system included in a radio access network (RAN).

[0033] A network node 110 may be implemented as a single physical node (for example, a single physical structure) or may be implemented as two or more physical nodes (for example, two or more distinct physical structures). For example, a network node 110 may be a device or system that implements part of a radio protocol stack, a device or system that implements a full radio protocol stack (such as a full gNB protocol stack), or a collection of devices or systems that collectively implement the full radio protocol stack. For example, and as shown, a network node 110 may be an aggregated network node (having an aggregated architecture), meaning that the network node 110 may implement a full radio protocol stack that is physically and logically integrated within a single node (for example, a single physical structure) in the wireless communication network 100. For example, an aggregated network node 110 may consist of a single standalone base station or a single TRP that uses a full radio protocol stack to enable or facilitate communication between a UE 120 and a core network of the wireless communication network 100.

[0034] Alternatively, and as also shown, a network node 110 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station), meaning that the network node 110 may implement a radio protocol stack that is physically distributed and / or logically distributed among two or more nodes in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations. For example, a disaggregated network node may have a disaggregated architecture. In some deployments, disaggregated network nodes 110 may be used in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) (such as a network configuration in compliance with the O-RAN Alliance), or in a virtualized radio access network (vRAN), also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN), to facilitate scaling by separating base station functionality into multiple units that can be individually deployed.

[0035] The network nodes 110 of the wireless communication network 100 may include one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), and / or one or more radio units (RUs). A CU may host one or more higher layer control functions, such as radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, and / or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, among other examples. A DU may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and / or one or more higher physical (PHY) layers depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as a functional split defined by the3GPP. In some examples, a DU also may host one or more lower PHY layer functions, such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT), an inverse FFT (iFFT), beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, and / or scheduling of resources for one or more UEs 120, among other examples. An RU may host RF processing functions or lower PHY layer functions, such as an FFT, an iFFT, beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, among other examples, according to a functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, each RU can be operated to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 120.

[0036] In some aspects, a single network node 110 may include a combination of one or more CUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more RUs. Additionally or alternatively, a network node 110 may include one or more Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) and / or one or more Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RICs. In some examples, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU may be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), among other examples. A virtual unit may be implemented as a virtual network function, such as associated with a cloud deployment.

[0037] Some network nodes 110 (for example, a base station, an RU, or a TRP) may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the 3 GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a network node 110 or to a network node 110 itself, depending on the context in which the term is used. A network node 110 may support one or multiple (for example, three) cells. In some examples, a network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (for example, several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (for example, a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs 120 having association with the femto cell (for example, UEs 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. A network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or an in-home network node. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary. For example, the geographic area of the cell may move according to thelocation of an associated mobile network node 110 (for example, a train, a satellite base station, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or an NTN network node).

[0038] The wireless communication network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes network nodes 110 of different types, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, aggregated network nodes, and / or disaggregated network nodes, among other examples. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the network node 110a may be a macro network node for a macro cell 130a, the network node 110b may be a pico network node for a pico cell 130b, and the network node 110c may be a femto network node for a femto cell 130c. Various different types of network nodes 110 may generally transmit at different power levels, serve different coverage areas, and / or have different impacts on interference in the wireless communication network 100 than other types of network nodes 110. For example, macro network nodes may have a high transmit power level (for example, 5 to 40 watts), whereas pico network nodes, femto network nodes, and relay network nodes may have lower transmit power levels (for example, 0.1 to 2 watts).

[0039] In some examples, a network node 110 may be, may include, or may operate as an RU, a TRP, or a base station that communicates with one or more UEs 120 via a radio access link (which may be referred to as a “Uu” link). The radio access link may include a downlink and an uplink. “Downlink” (or “DL”) refers to a communication direction from a network node 110 to a UE 120, and “uplink” (or “UL”) refers to a communication direction from a UE 120 to a network node 110. Downlink channels may include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. A downlink control channel may be used to transmit downlink control information (DCI) (for example, scheduling information, reference signals, and / or configuration information) from a network node 110 to a UE 120. A downlink data channel may be used to transmit downlink data (for example, user data associated with a UE 120) from a network node 110 to a UE 120. Downlink control channels may include one or more physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs), and downlink data channels may include one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). Uplink channels may similarly include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. An uplink control channel may be used to transmit uplink control information (UCI) (for example, reference signals and / or feedback corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions) from a UE 120 to a network node 110. An uplink data channel may be used to transmit uplink data (forexample, user data associated with a UE 120) from a UE 120 to a network node 110. Uplink control channels may include one or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs), and uplink data channels may include one or more physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs). The downlink and the uplink may each include a set of resources on which the network node 110 and the UE 120 may communicate.

[0040] Downlink and uplink resources may include time domain resources (frames, subframes, slots, and / or symbols), frequency domain resources (frequency bands, component carriers, subcarriers, resource blocks, and / or resource elements), and / or spatial domain resources (particular transmit directions and / or beam parameters). Frequency domain resources of some bands may be subdivided into bandwidth parts (BWPs). A BWP may be a continuous block of frequency domain resources (for example, a continuous block of resource blocks) that are allocated for one or more UEs 120. A UE 120 may be configured with both an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP (where the uplink BWP and the downlink BWP may be the same BWP or different BWPs). A BWP may be dynamically configured (for example, by a network node 110 transmitting a DCI configuration to the one or more UEs 120) and / or reconfigured, which means that a BWP can be adjusted in real-time (or near-real-time) based on changing network conditions in the wireless communication network 100 and / or based on the specific requirements of the one or more UEs 120. This enables more efficient use of the available frequency domain resources in the wireless communication network 100 because fewer frequency domain resources may be allocated to a BWP for a UE 120 (which may reduce the quantity of frequency domain resources that a UE 120 is required to monitor), leaving more frequency domain resources to be spread across multiple UEs 120. Thus, BWPs may also assist in the implementation of lower-capability UEs 120 by facilitating the configuration of smaller bandwidths for communication by such UEs 120.

[0041] As described above, in some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be, may include, or may be included in, an IAB network. In an IAB network, at least one network node 110 is an anchor network node that communicates with a core network. An anchor network node 110 may also be referred to as an IAB donor (or “IAB- donor”). The anchor network node 110 may connect to the core network via a wired backhaul link. For example, an Ng interface of the anchor network node 110 may terminate at the core network. Additionally or alternatively, an anchor network node 110 may connect to one or more devices of the core network that provide a core access andmobility management function (AMF). An IAB network also generally includes multiple non-anchor network nodes 110, which may also be referred to as relay network nodes or simply as IAB nodes (or “lAB-nodes”). Each non-anchor network node 110 may communicate directly with the anchor network node 110 via a wireless backhaul link to access the core network, or may communicate indirectly with the anchor network node 110 via one or more other non-anchor network nodes 110 and associated wireless backhaul links that form a backhaul path to the core network. Some anchor network node 110 or other non-anchor network node 110 may also communicate directly with one or more UEs 120 via wireless access links that carry access traffic. In some examples, network resources for wireless communication (such as time resources, frequency resources, and / or spatial resources) may be shared between access links and backhaul links.

[0042] In some examples, any network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay network node, a relay station, or simply as a relay. A relay may receive a transmission of a communication from an upstream station (for example, another network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmit the communication to a downstream station (for example, a UE 120 or another network node 110). In this case, the wireless communication network 100 may include or be referred to as a “multi-hop network.” In the example shown in FIG. 1, the network node 1 lOd (for example, a relay network node) may communicate with the network node 110a (for example, a macro network node) and the UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. Additionally or alternatively, a UE 120 may be or may operate as a relay station that can relay transmissions to or from other UEs 120. A UE 120 that relays communications may be referred to as a UE relay or a relay UE, among other examples.

[0043] The UEs 120 may be physically dispersed throughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 120 may be, may include, or may be included in an access terminal, another terminal, a mobile station, or a subscriber unit. A UE 120 may be, include, or be coupled with a cellular phone (for example, a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (for example, a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, and / or smartjewelry, such as a smart ring or a smart bracelet), an entertainment device (for example, a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio), an XR device, a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter or sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) device (such as a Global Positioning System device or another type of positioning device), a UE function of a network node, and / or any other suitable device or function that may communicate via a wireless medium.

[0044] A UE 120 and / or a network node 110 may include one or more chips, system- on-chips (SoCs), chipsets, packages, or devices that individually or collectively constitute or comprise a processing system. The processing system includes processor (or “processing”) circuitry in the form of one or multiple processors, microprocessors, processing units (such as central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), neural processing units (NPUs) and / or digital signal processors (DSPs)), processing blocks, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “processors” or collectively as “the processor” or “the processor circuitry”). One or more of the processors may be individually or collectively configurable or configured to perform various functions or operations described herein. A group of processors collectively configurable or configured to perform a set of functions may include a first processor configurable or configured to perform a first function of the set and a second processor configurable or configured to perform a second function of the set, or may include the group of processors all being configured or configurable to perform the set of functions.

[0045] The processing system may further include memory circuitry in the form of one or more memory devices, memory blocks, memory elements or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry, each of which may include tangible storage media such as random-access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “memories” or collectively as “the memory” or “the memory circuitry”). One or more of the memories may be coupled (for example, operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, or electrically coupled) with one or more of the processors and may individually or collectively store processor-executable code (such as software) that, when executed by one or more of the processors, may configure one or more of theprocessors to perform various functions or operations described herein. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, one or more of the processors may be preconfigured to perform various functions or operations described herein without requiring configuration by software. The processing system may further include or be coupled with one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (for example, IEEE compliant) modem or a cellular (for example, 3GPP 4G LTE, 5G, or 6G compliant) modem). In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the modems. The processing system may further include or be coupled with multiple radios (collectively “the radio”), multiple RF chains, or multiple transceivers, each of which may in turn be coupled with one or more of multiple antennas. In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the radios, RF chains or transceivers. The UE 120 may include or may be included in a housing that houses components associated with the UE 120 including the processing system.

[0046] Some UEs 120 may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) UEs, evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC), UEs, further enhanced eMTC (feMTC) UEs, or enhanced feMTC (efeMTC) UEs, or further evolutions thereof, all of which may be simply referred to as “MTC UEs”). An MTC UE may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with a robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle or drone, a remote device, a sensor, a meter, a monitor, and / or a location tag. Some UEs 120 may be considered loT devices and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband loT) devices. An loT UE or NB-IoT device may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with an industrial machine, an appliance, a refrigerator, a doorbell camera device, a home automation device, and / or a light fixture, among other examples. Some UEs 120 may be considered Customer Premises Equipment, which may include telecommunications devices that are installed at a customer location (such as a home or office) to enable access to a service provider's network (such as included in or in communication with the wireless communication network 100).

[0047] Some UEs 120 may be classified according to different categories in association with different complexities and / or different capabilities. UEs 120 in a first category may facilitate massive loT in the wireless communication network 100, and may offer low complexity and / or cost relative to UEs 120 in a second category. UEs 120 in a second category may include mission-critical loT devices, legacy UEs, baseline UEs,high-tier UEs, advanced UEs, full-capability UEs, and / or premium UEs that are capable of URLLC, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and / or precise positioning in the wireless communication network 100, among other examples. A third category of UEs 120 may have mid-tier complexity and / or capability (for example, a capability between UEs 120 of the first category and UEs 120 of the second capability). A UE 120 of the third category may be referred to as a reduced capacity UE (“RedCap UE”), a mid-tier UE, an NR-Light UE, and / or an NR-Lite UE, among other examples. RedCap UEs may bridge a gap between the capability and complexity of NB-IoT devices and / or eMTC UEs, and mission-critical loT devices and / or premium UEs. RedCap UEs may include, for example, wearable devices, loT devices, industrial sensors, and / or cameras that are associated with a limited bandwidth, power capacity, and / or transmission range, among other examples. RedCap UEs may support healthcare environments, building automation, electrical distribution, process automation, transport and logistics, and / or smart city deployments, among other examples.

[0048] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (for example, shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly with one another using sidelink communications (for example, without communicating by way of a network node 110 as an intermediary). As an example, the UE 120a may directly transmit data, control information, or other signaling as a sidelink communication to the UE 120e. This is in contrast to, for example, the UE 120a first transmitting data in an UL communication to a network node 110, which then transmits the data to the UE 120e in a DL communication. In various examples, the UEs 120 may transmit and receive sidelink communications using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication protocols, device-to-device (D2D) communication protocols, vehicle-to- everything (V2X) communication protocols (which may include vehi cl e-to- vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, and / or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), and / or mesh network communication protocols. In some deployments and configurations, a network node 110 may schedule and / or allocate resources for sidelink communications between UEs 120 in the wireless communication network 100. In some other deployments and configurations, a UE 120 (instead of a network node 110) may perform, or collaborate or negotiate with one or more other UEs to perform, scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations for sidelink communications.

[0049] In various examples, some of the network nodes 110 and the UEs 120 of the wireless communication network 100 may be configured for full-duplex operation in addition to half-duplex operation. A network node 110 or a UE 120 operating in a halfduplex mode may perform only one of transmission or reception during particular time resources, such as during particular slots, symbols, or other time periods. Half-duplex operation may involve time-division duplexing (TDD), in which DL transmissions of the network node 110 and UL transmissions of the UE 120 do not occur in the same time resources (that is, the transmissions do not overlap in time). In contrast, a network node 110 or a UE 120 operating in a full-duplex mode can transmit and receive communications concurrently (for example, in the same time resources). By operating in a full-duplex mode, network nodes 110 and / or UEs 120 may generally increase the capacity of the network and the radio access link. In some examples, full-duplex operation may involve frequency-division duplexing (FDD), in which DL transmissions of the network node 110 are performed in a first frequency band or on a first component carrier and transmissions of the UE 120 are performed in a second frequency band or on a second component carrier different than the first frequency band or the first component carrier, respectively. In some examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a UE 120 but not for a network node 110. For example, a UE 120 may simultaneously transmit an UL transmission to a first network node 110 and receive a DL transmission from a second network node 110 in the same time resources. In some other examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a network node 110 but not for a UE 120. For example, a network node 110 may simultaneously transmit a DL transmission to a first UE 120 and receive an UL transmission from a second UE 120 in the same time resources. In some other examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for both a network node 110 and a UE 120.

[0050] In some examples, the UEs 120 and the network nodes 110 may perform MIMO communication. “MIMO” generally refers to transmitting or receiving multiple signals (such as multiple layers or multiple data streams) simultaneously over the same time and frequency resources. MIMO techniques generally exploit multipath propagation. MIMO may be implemented using various spatial processing or spatial multiplexing operations. In some examples, MIMO may support simultaneous transmission to multiple receivers, referred to as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). Some RATs may employ advanced MIMO techniques, such as mTRP operation (includingredundant transmission or reception on multiple TRPs), reciprocity in the time domain or the frequency domain, single-frequency-network (SFN) transmission, or non-coherent joint transmission (NC-JT).

[0051] In some aspects, the UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may perform a multi-channel access procedure for one or more RB sets in a shared spectrum; and transmit a partial SL-PRS over the one or more RB sets based at least in part on the one or more RB sets being associated with a successful multi-channel access procedure that occupies a first number of RB sets that is less than a second number of RB sets of a wideband SL-PRS, wherein the one or more RB sets used to transmit the partial SL-PRS are a subset of a plurality of nominal RB sets associated with the wideband SL-PRS. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0052] As indicated above, FIG. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 1.

[0053] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example network node 110 in communication with an example UE 120 in a wireless network.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 2, the network node 110 may include a data source 212, a transmit processor 214, a transmit (TX) MIMO processor 216, a set of modems 232 (shown as 232a through 232t, where t > 1), a set of antennas 234 (shown as 234a through 234v, where v > 1), a MIMO detector 236, a receive processor 238, a data sink 239, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, a communication unit 244, a scheduler 246, and / or a communication manager 150, among other examples. In some configurations, one or a combination of the antenna(s) 234, the modem(s) 232, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the transmit processor 214, and / or the TX MIMO processor 216 may be included in a transceiver of the network node 110. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 240, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 242, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, and / or operations described herein. In some aspects, the network node 110 may include one or more interfaces, communication components, and / or other components that facilitate communication with the UE 120 or another network node.

[0055] The terms “processor,” “controller,” or “controller / processor” may refer to one or more controllers and / or one or more processors. For example, reference to “a / the processor,” “a / the controller / processor,” or the like (in the singular) should be understood to refer to any one or more of the processors described in connection with FIG. 2, such as a single processor or a combination of multiple different processors. Reference to “one or more processors” should be understood to refer to any one or more of the processors described in connection with FIG. 2. For example, one or more processors of the network node 110 may include transmit processor 214, TX MIMO processor 216, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, and / or controller / processor 240. Similarly, one or more processors of the UE 120 may include MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, and / or controller / processor 280.

[0056] In some aspects, a single processor may perform all of the operations described as being performed by the one or more processors. In some aspects, a first set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a first operation described as being performed by the one or more processors, and a second set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a second operation described as being performed by the one or more processors. The first set of processors and the second set of processors may be the same set of processors or may be different sets of processors. Reference to “one or more memories” should be understood to refer to any one or more memories of a corresponding device, such as the memory described in connection with FIG. 2. For example, operation described as being performed by one or more memories can be performed by the same subset of the one or more memories or different subsets of the one or more memories.

[0057] For downlink communication from the network node 110 to the UE 120, the transmit processor 214 may receive data (“downlink data”) intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs that includes the UE 120) from the data source 212 (such as a data pipeline or a data queue). In some examples, the transmit processor 214 may select one or more MCSs for the UE 120 in accordance with one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120. The network node 110 may process the data (for example, including encoding the data) for transmission to the UE 120 on a downlink in accordance with the MCS(s) selected for the UE 120 to generate data symbols. The transmit processor 214 may process system information (for example, semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and / or control information (for example, CQI requests,grants, and / or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and / or control symbols. The transmit processor 214 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (for example, a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS)) and / or synchronization signals (for example, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signals (SSS)).

[0058] The TX MIMO processor 216 may perform spatial processing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, T output symbol streams) to the set of modems 232. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 232. Each modem 232 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ((OFDM)) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a time domain downlink signal. The modems 232a through 232t may together transmit a set of downlink signals (for example, T downlink signals) via the corresponding set of antennas 234.

[0059] A downlink signal may include a DCI communication, a MAC control element (MAC-CE) communication, an RRC communication, a downlink reference signal, or another type of downlink communication. Downlink signals may be transmitted on a PDCCH, a PDSCH, and / or on another downlink channel. A downlink signal may carry one or more transport blocks (TBs) of data. A TB may be a unit of data that is transmitted over an air interface in the wireless communication network 100. A data stream (for example, from the data source 212) may be encoded into multiple TBs for transmission over the air interface. The quantity of TBs used to carry the data associated with a particular data stream may be associated with a TB size common to the multiple TBs. The TB size may be based on or otherwise associated with radio channel conditions of the air interface, the MCS used for encoding the data, the downlink resources allocated for transmitting the data, and / or another parameter. In general, the larger the TB size, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted in a single transmission, which reduces signaling overhead. However, larger TB sizes may be moreprone to transmission and / or reception errors than smaller TB sizes, but such errors may be mitigated by more robust error correction techniques.

[0060] For uplink communication from the UE 120 to the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 may be received by an antenna 234, may be processed by a modem 232 (for example, a demodulator component, shown as DEMOD, of a modem 232), may be detected by the MIMO detector 236 (for example, a receive (Rx) MIMO processor) if applicable, and / or may be further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and / or control information. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 (which may be a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or another type of data sink) and provide the decoded control information to a processor, such as the controller / processor 240.

[0061] The network node 110 may use the scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink or uplink communications. In some aspects, the scheduler 246 may use DCI to dynamically schedule DL transmissions to the UE 120 and / or UL transmissions from the UE 120. In some examples, the scheduler 246 may allocate recurring time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources that the UE 120 may use to transmit and / or receive communications using an RRC configuration (for example, a semi-static configuration), for example, to perform semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or to configure a configured grant (CG) for the UE 120.

[0062] One or more of the transmit processor 214, the TX MIMO processor 216, the modem 232, the antenna 234, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, and / or the controller / processor 240 may be included in an RF chain of the network node 110. An RF chain may include one or more filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, analog-to- digital converters (ADCs), and / or other devices that convert between an analog signal (such as for transmission or reception via an air interface) and a digital signal (such as for processing by one or more processors of the network node 110). In some aspects, the RF chain may be or may be included in a transceiver of the network node 110.

[0063] In some examples, the network node 110 may use the communication unit 244 to communicate with a core network and / or with other network nodes. The communication unit 244 may support wired and / or wireless communication protocols and / or connections, such as Ethernet, optical fiber, common public radio interface (CPRI), and / or a wired or wireless backhaul, among other examples. The network node110 may use the communication unit 244 to transmit and / or receive data associated with the UE 120 or to perform network control signaling, among other examples. The communication unit 244 may include a transceiver and / or an interface, such as a network interface.

[0064] The UE 120 may include a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a through 252r, where r > 1), a set of modems 254 (shown as modems 254a through 254u, where u > 1), a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a data sink 260, a data source 262, a transmit processor 264, a TX MIMO processor 266, a controller / processor 280, a memory 282, and / or a communication manager 140, among other examples. One or more of the components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing 284. In some aspects, one or a combination of the antenna(s) 252, the modem(s) 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be included in a transceiver that is included in the UE 120. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 280, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 282, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, or operations described herein. In some aspects, the UE 120 may include another interface, another communication component, and / or another component that facilitates communication with the network node 110 and / or another UE 120.

[0065] For downlink communication from the network node 110 to the UE 120, the set of antennas 252 may receive the downlink communications or signals from the network node 110 and may provide a set of received downlink signals (for example, R received signals) to the set of modems 254. For example, each received signal may be provided to a respective demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use the respective demodulator component to condition (for example, filter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use the respective demodulator component to further demodulate or process the input samples (for example, for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the set of modems 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (for example, decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260 (which may include a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on theUE 120), and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280.

[0066] For uplink communication from the UE 120 to the network node 110, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data (“uplink data”) from a data source 262 (such as a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on the UE 120) and control information from the controller / processor 280. The control information may include one or more parameters, feedback, one or more signal measurements, and / or other types of control information. In some aspects, the receive processor 258 and / or the controller / processor 280 may determine, for a received signal (such as received from the network node 110 or another UE), one or more parameters relating to transmission of the uplink communication. The one or more parameters may include a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RS SI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, a CQI parameter, or a transmit power control (TPC) parameter, among other examples. The control information may include an indication of the RSRP parameter, the RS SI parameter, the RSRQ parameter, the CQI parameter, the TPC parameter, and / or another parameter. The control information may facilitate parameter selection and / or scheduling for the UE 120 by the network node 110.

[0067] The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals, such as an uplink DMRS, an uplink SRS, and / or another type of reference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, if applicable, and further processed by the set of modems 254 (for example, for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM). The TX MIMO processor 266 may perform spatial processing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, U output symbol streams) to the set of modems 254. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 254 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain an uplink signal.

[0068] The modems 254a through 254u may transmit a set of uplink signals (for example, R uplink signals or U uplink symbols) via the corresponding set of antennas 252. An uplink signal may include a UCI communication, a MAC-CE communication, an RRC communication, or another type of uplink communication. Uplink signals may be transmitted on a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and / or another type of uplink channel. An uplink signal may carry one or more TBs of data. Sidelink data and control transmissions (that is, transmissions directly between two or more UEs 120) may generally use similar techniques as were described for uplink data and control transmission, and may use sidelink-specific channels such as a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0069] One or more antennas of the set of antennas 252 or the set of antennas 234 may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings), a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, or one or more antenna elements coupled with one or more transmission or reception components, such as one or more components of FIG. 2. As used herein, “antenna” can refer to one or more antennas, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays. “Antenna panel” can refer to a group of antennas (such as antenna elements) arranged in an array or panel, which may facilitate beamforming by manipulating parameters of the group of antennas. “Antenna module” may refer to circuitry including one or more antennas, which may also include one or more other components (such as filters, amplifiers, or processors) associated with integrating the antenna module into a wireless communication device.

[0070] In some examples, each of the antenna elements of an antenna 234 or an antenna 252 may include one or more sub-elements for radiating or receiving radio frequency signals. For example, a single antenna element may include a first sub-element cross-polarized with a second sub-element that can be used to independently transmit cross-polarized signals. The antenna elements may include patch antennas, dipole antennas, and / or other types of antennas arranged in a linear pattern, a two-dimensional pattern, or another pattern. A spacing between antenna elements may be such that signals with a desired wavelength transmitted separately by the antenna elements may interact orinterfere constructively and destructively along various directions (such as to form a desired beam). For example, given an expected range of wavelengths or frequencies, the spacing may provide a quarter wavelength, a half wavelength, or another fraction of a wavelength of spacing between neighboring antenna elements to allow for the desired constructive and destructive interference patterns of signals transmitted by the separate antenna elements within that expected range.

[0071] The amplitudes and / or phases of signals transmitted via antenna elements and / or sub-elements may be modulated and shifted relative to each other (such as by manipulating phase shift, phase offset, and / or amplitude) to generate one or more beams, which is referred to as beamforming. The term “beam” may refer to a directional transmission of a wireless signal toward a receiving device or otherwise in a desired direction. “Beam” may also generally refer to a direction associated with such a directional signal transmission, a set of directional resources associated with the signal transmission (for example, an angle of arrival, a horizontal direction, and / or a vertical direction), and / or a set of parameters that indicate one or more aspects of a directional signal, a direction associated with the signal, and / or a set of directional resources associated with the signal. In some implementations, antenna elements may be individually selected or deselected for directional transmission of a signal (or signals) by controlling amplitudes of one or more corresponding amplifiers and / or phases of the signal(s) to form one or more beams. The shape of a beam (such as the amplitude, width, and / or presence of side lobes) and / or the direction of a beam (such as an angle of the beam relative to a surface of an antenna array) can be dynamically controlled by modifying the phase shifts, phase offsets, and / or amplitudes of the multiple signals relative to each other.

[0072] Different UEs 120 or network nodes 110 may include different numbers of antenna elements. For example, a UE 120 may include a single antenna element, two antenna elements, four antenna elements, eight antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. As another example, a network node 110 may include eight antenna elements, 24 antenna elements, 64 antenna elements, 128 antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. Generally, a larger number of antenna elements may provide increased control over parameters for beam generation relative to a smaller number of antenna elements, whereas a smaller number of antenna elements may be less complex to implement and may use less power than a larger number of antenna elements. Multiple antenna elements may support multiple-layer transmission, in which a first layerof a communication (which may include a first data stream) and a second layer of a communication (which may include a second data stream) are transmitted using the same time and frequency resources with spatial multiplexing.

[0073] In some aspects, the controller / processor 280 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may generally be a system or a series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes the inputs to produce a set of outputs (which may be passed to other systems or components of, for example, the UE 120). For example, a processing system of the UE 120 may be a system that includes the various other components or subcomponents of the UE 120.

[0074] The processing system of the UE 120 may interface with one or more other components of the UE 120, may process information received from one or more other components (such as inputs or signals), or may output information to one or more other components. For example, a chip or modem of the UE 120 may include a processing system, a first interface to receive or obtain information, and a second interface to output, transmit, or provide information. In some examples, the first interface may be an interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and a receiver, such that the UE 120 may receive information or signal inputs, and the information may be passed to the processing system. In some examples, the second interface may be an interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and a transmitter, such that the UE 120 may transmit information output from the chip or modem. A person having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the second interface also may obtain or receive information or signal inputs, and the first interface also may output, transmit, or provide information.

[0075] In some aspects, the controller / processor 240 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may generally be a system or a series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes the inputs to produce a set of outputs (which may be passed to other systems or components of, for example, the network node 110). For example, a processing system of the network node 110 may be a system that includes the various other components or subcomponents of the network node 110.

[0076] The processing system of the network node 110 may interface with one or more other components of the network node 110, may process information received fromone or more other components (such as inputs or signals), or may output information to one or more other components. For example, a chip or modem of the network node 110 may include a processing system, a first interface to receive or obtain information, and a second interface to output, transmit, or provide information. In some examples, the first interface may be an interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and a receiver, such that the network node 110 may receive information or signal inputs, and the information may be passed to the processing system. In some examples, the second interface may be an interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and a transmitter, such that the network node 110 may transmit information output from the chip or modem. A person having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the second interface also may obtain or receive information or signal inputs, and the first interface also may output, transmit, or provide information.

[0077] The network node 110, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the UE 120, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or any other component(s) of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 may implement one or more techniques or perform one or more operations associated with multi-channel partial SL-PRS transmission in SL-U, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or any other component(s) (or combinations of components) of FIG. 2, may perform or direct operations of, for example, process 800 of FIG. 8 or other processes as described herein (alone or in conjunction with one or more other processors). The memory 242 may store data and program codes for the network node 110. The memory 282 may store data and program codes for the UE 120. In some examples, the memory 242 or the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions (for example, code or program code) for wireless communication. The memory 242 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types). The memory 282 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types). For example, the set of instructions, when executed (for example, directly, or after compiling, converting, or interpreting) by one or more processors of the network node 110 or the UE 120, may cause the one or more processors to perform process 800 of FIG. 8 or other processes as described herein. In some examples,executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and / or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.

[0078] In some aspects, the UE 120 includes means for performing a multi-channel access procedure for one or more RB sets in a shared spectrum; and / or means for transmitting a partial SL-PRS over the one or more RB sets based at least in part on the one or more RB sets being associated with a successful multi-channel access procedure that occupies a first number of RB sets that is less than a second number of RB sets of a wideband SL-PRS, wherein the one or more RB sets used to transmit the partial SL-PRS are a subset of a plurality of nominal RB sets associated with the wideband SL-PRS. The means for the UE 120 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller / processor 280, or memory 282.

[0079] While blocks in FIG. 2 are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0080] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example 300 of sidelink communications, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 3, a first UE 305-1 may communicate with a second UE 305-2 (and one or more other UEs 305) via one or more sidelink channels 310. The UEs 305-1 and 305-2 may communicate using the one or more sidelink channels 310 for P2P communications, D2D communications, V2X communications (e.g., which may include V2V communications, V2I communications, and / or V2P communications) and / or mesh networking. In some aspects, the UEs 305 (e.g., UE 305-1 and / or UE 305-2) may correspond to one or more other UEs described elsewhere herein, such as UE 120. In some aspects, the one or more sidelink channels 310 may use a PC5 interface and / or may operate in a high frequency band (e.g., the 5.9 GHz band). Additionally, or alternatively, the UEs 305 may synchronize timing of transmission time intervals (TTIs) (e.g., frames, subframes, slots, or symbols) using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) timing.

[0082] As further shown in FIG. 3, the one or more sidelink channels 310 may include a PSCCH 315, a PSSCH 320, and / or a PSFCH 325. The PSCCH 315 may be used to communicate control information, similar to a PDCCH and / or a PUCCH used for cellular communications with a network node 110 via an access link or an access channel. The PSSCH 320 may be used to communicate data, similar to a PDSCH and / or a PUSCH used for cellular communications with a network node 110 via an access link or an access channel. For example, the PSCCH 315 may carry sidelink control information (SCI) 330, which may indicate various control information used for sidelink communications, such as one or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, and / or spatial resources) where a TB 335 may be carried on the PSSCH 320. The TB 335 may include data. The PSFCH 325 may be used to communicate sidelink feedback 340, such as HARQ feedback (e.g., acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) information), transmit power control (TPC), and / or a scheduling request (SR).

[0083] Although shown on the PSCCH 315, in some aspects, the SCI 330 may include multiple communications in different stages, such as a first stage SCI (SCI-1) and a second stage SCI (SCI-2). The SCI-1 may be transmitted on the PSCCH 315. The SCI- 2 may be transmitted on the PSSCH 320. The SCI-1 may include, for example, an indication of one or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, and / or spatial resources) reserved for future transmissions with the PSSCH 320, information for decoding sidelink communications on the PSSCH, a quality of service (QoS) priority value, a resource reservation period, a PSSCH DMRS pattern, an SCI format for the SCI- 2, a beta offset for the SCI-2, a quantity of PSSCH DMRS ports, and / or an MCS. The SCI-2 may include information associated with data transmissions on the PSSCH 320, such as a HARQ process ID, a new data indicator (NDI), a source identifier, a destination identifier, and / or a CSI report trigger.

[0084] In some aspects, the one or more sidelink channels 310 may use resource pools. For example, the PSCCH 315 (e.g., with resource reservation included in SCI 330) may be transmitted with the PSSCH 320 (e.g., with data transmission) in a selected resource (e.g., a slot in time and a number of sub-channels in frequency).

[0085] In some aspects, a UE 305 may operate using a first resource allocation mode (e.g., mode 1, which may be referred to herein as a centralized scheduling mode or a network-controlled scheduling mode) in which resource selection and / or scheduling isperformed by a network node 110. For example, in the centralized or network-controlled scheduling mode, the UE 305 may receive a grant (e.g., in downlink control information (DCI) for indicating resources with sidelink dynamic grant or for activating resources with sidelink configured grant type 2 or in an RRC message for configuring resources with sidelink configured grant type 1) from the network node 110 for sidelink channel access and / or scheduling. In some aspects, a UE 305 may operate using a second resource allocation mode (e.g., mode 2, which may be referred to herein as a distributed scheduling mode or an autonomous scheduling mode) in which resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by the UE 305 (e.g., rather than a network node 110). In some aspects, the UE 305 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling in the distributed or autonomous scheduling mode by sensing resource availability for transmissions. For example, the UE 305 may decode the SCIs associated with various sidelink communications and exclude the resources reserved in the SCIs, or may measure an SL RSSI parameter (e.g., a sidelink-RSSI (S-RSSI) parameter), an SL RSRP parameter (e.g., a sidelink PSCCH-RSRP or sidelink PSSCH-RSRP parameter) and / or an SL RSRQ parameter (e.g., a sidelink PSCCH-RSRQ or sidelink PSSCH-RSRQ parameter) associated with various resources (e.g., used with various sidelink communications) and exclude the resources based on the associated measurement (e.g., SL RSSI measurement is above a threshold), and may select a resource (e.g., after excluding the resources) for transmission of a sidelink communication based at least in part on the measurement(s).

[0086] Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 305 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling in the distributed or autonomous scheduling mode using SCI 330 received in the PSCCH 315, which may indicate reserved resources and / or channel parameters. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 305 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with various sidelink resources, which may be used for rate control (e.g., by indicating a maximum number of resource blocks that the UE 305 can use for a particular set of subframes).

[0087] In the distributed or autonomous scheduling mode, where resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by a UE 305, the UE 305 may generate sidelink grants, and may transmit the grants in SCI 330. A sidelink grant may indicate, for example, one or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission, such as one or more resource blocks to be used for the upcoming sidelink transmission on the PSSCH 320 (e.g., for TBs 335), one or more slots to be used for theupcoming sidelink transmission, and / or an MCS to be used for the upcoming sidelink transmission. In some aspects, a UE 305 may generate a sidelink grant that indicates one or more parameters for SPS, such as a periodicity of a sidelink transmission. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 305 may generate a sidelink grant for event-driven scheduling, such as for an on-demand sidelink message.

[0088] As indicated above, FIG. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 3.

[0089] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating examples of sidelink communications in different coverage scenarios 400, 410, 420, in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates an example of sidelink communications in an in-coverage scenario 400, an example of sidelink communications in a partial coverage scenario 410, and an example of sidelink communications in an out-of-coverage scenario 420.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 4, in the in-coverage scenario 400, a Tx / Rx UE 402 and an Rx / Tx UE 404 may communicate with one another via a sidelink (e.g., a PC5 interface), as described above in connection with FIG. 3, and a network node 110 may communicate with the Tx / Rx UE 402 via a first access link and with the Rx / Tx UE 404 via a second access link (e.g., respective Uu interfaces). As shown, in the in-coverage scenario 400, the Tx / Rx UE 402 and the Rx / Tx UE 404 are both within the coverage of the network node 110, whereby sidelink communication between the Tx / Rx UE 402 and the Rx / Tx UE 404 may be performed in a centralized or network-controlled scheduling mode (e.g., mode 1) where sidelink resources are scheduled by the network node 110, or in a distributed or autonomous scheduling mode (e.g., mode 2) where the UEs 402 / 404 autonomously select sidelink resources from a configured sidelink resource pool based on a resource sensing mechanism.

[0091] As further shown in FIG. 4, in the in-coverage scenario 410, a Tx / Rx UE 402 is within the coverage area of a network node 110, and an Rx / Tx UE 404 is outside the coverage area of the network node 110. In the in-coverage scenario 410, the Tx / Rx UE 402 and the Rx / Tx UE 404 may communicate with one another via a sidelink (e.g., a PC5 interface), and the network node 110 may communicate with the Tx / Rx UE 402 via an access link (e.g., a Uu interface). Accordingly, in the in-coverage scenario 410, the network node 110 may enable either the centralized scheduling mode or the distributed scheduling mode for the Tx / Rx UE 402 within the coverage area of the network node 110,and the Rx / Tx UE 404 that is out-of-coverage may use only the distributed scheduling mode. Furthermore, in the out-of-coverage scenario 420, the Tx / Rx UE 402 and the Rx / Tx UE 404 are outside the coverage area of any network node. Accordingly, in the out-of-coverage scenario 420, only the distributed scheduling mode can be used to enable sidelink communication between the Tx / Rx UE 402 and the Rx / Tx UE 404.

[0092] As described herein, when a UE is to perform a sidelink transmission, the sidelink transmission may be performed according to one or more sidelink procedures and / or using one or more transmission parameters that are configured to streamline a channel access scheme that sidelink UEs follow either in the centralized or network- controlled scheduling mode or in the distributed or autonomous scheduling mode. In general, all communication parameters (e.g., transmission parameters such as transmit power and / or DMRS pattern, and procedural parameters indicating whether certain sidelink features and / or procedures are enabled or disabled) are centrally selected or otherwise controlled by the network in the centralized scheduling mode (e.g., mode 1). For example, in the centralized scheduling mode, a network node is aware of congestion, traffic conditions, interference, load, and / or other factors that may impact performance of the network node and the UEs within the coverage area of the network node, and the network node configures the sidelink communication parameters accordingly to optimize overall sidelink and / or cellular performance and / or per-UE performance.

[0093] On the other hand, in the distributed scheduling mode, various sidelink communication parameters are independently or autonomously selected by a Tx UE. For example, in the distributed scheduling mode, sidelink communication parameters may include preconfigured or configured parameters with fixed values (e.g., a number of subchannels, a bandwidth of the subchannels, and / or a slot duration, among other examples) and locally configured parameters whose selection is left to the Tx UE. For example, the locally configured parameters may include an MCS, a DMRS pattern, a transmit power, a maximum number of retransmissions for a given TB, a groupcast option 1 NACK distance (e.g., a distance over which a receiving UE can send a NACK for a sidelink transmission), and / or a beta parameter (e.g., related to coding associated with a transmitted waveform), among other examples. In some cases, the Tx UE may select the locally configured parameters independently, possibly restricted over a set of allowed or permitted values, with the locally configured parameters having values that are selected by the UE in order to optimize performance of the UE with respect to one or more metricsthat are typically application-dependent. For example, a Tx UE may select an MCS and a maximum number of HARQ retransmissions to maximize packet reliability, maximize throughput, and / or minimize latency, among other examples. Furthermore, the transmitting UE may select the locally configured parameters according to a preconfigured scheme (e.g., using a default value that may be application-dependent, such as a default value for a basic safety message (BSM)) and / or using more sophisticated techniques based on on-the-fly (e.g., current or instantaneous) measurements such as a CBR or perceived congestion on a sidelink channel.

[0094] As indicated above, FIG. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 4.

[0095] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of an unlicensed radio frequency band and a licensed radio frequency band, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0096] To accommodate increasing traffic demands, there have been various efforts to improve spectral efficiency in wireless networks and thereby increase network capacity (e.g., via use of higher order modulations, advanced MIMO antenna technologies, and / or multi-cell coordination techniques). Another way to potentially improve network capacity is to expand system bandwidth. However, as shown by the licensed RF band 550, available spectrum in lower frequency bands that have traditionally been licensed or otherwise allocated to mobile network operators has become very scarce. Accordingly, various technologies have been developed to enable a cellular RAT to operate in unlicensed or other shared spectrum. For example, Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA) uses carrier aggregation on a downlink to combine LTE in a licensed frequency band with LTE in an unlicensed frequency band (e.g., the 2.4 and / or 5 GHz bands already populated by wireless local area network (WLAN) or “Wi-Fi” devices). In other examples, Enhanced LAA (eLAA) and Further Enhanced LAA (feLAA) technologies enable both uplink and downlink LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum, MulteFire is an LTE-based technology that operates in unlicensed and shared spectrum in a standalone mode, NR unlicensed (NR-U) enables NR operation in unlicensed spectrum, and SL-U enables sidelink communication in unlicensed spectrum. In some examples, a UE 120 may have a set of UE capabilities for communication in unlicensed spectrum that are different from a set of UE capabilities of the UE 120 for communication in licensed spectrum.

[0097] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, and by reference number 505, an unlicensed RF band, such as a 6 GHz unlicensed RF band, may span a frequency range and may utilize FDD. In an FDD system, a first band (e.g., a first sub-band of the unlicensed RF band) may be used for downlink communication, as shown by reference number 510, and a second band (e.g., a second sub-band of the unlicensed RF band) may be used for uplink communication, as shown by reference number 515. Downlink communication may refer to communication from a control node to a node (e.g., that is controlled, configured, and / or scheduled by the control node), such as from a network node to a UE, and / or from a WLAN access point to a WLAN station, among other examples. Uplink communication may refer to communication from the node to the control node, such as from a UE to a network node, and / or from a WLAN station to a WLAN access point, among other examples.

[0098] As further shown in FIG. 5, and by reference number 520, the downlink band may be divided into multiple downlink channels, sometimes referred to as downlink frequency channels. Similarly, as shown by reference number 525, the uplink band may be divided into multiple uplink channels, sometimes referred to as uplink frequency channels. As shown by reference number 530, each downlink channel may correspond to a single uplink channel. This may be referred to as channel pairing, where a downlink channel is paired with an uplink channel. In this configuration, a control node and a node may use a particular downlink channel for downlink communication, and may use a particular uplink channel, that is paired with or corresponds to the particular downlink channel, for uplink communication. In example 500, downlink channel 1 is paired with uplink channel 1, downlink channel 2 is paired with uplink channel 2, downlink channel 3 is paired with uplink channel 3, and so on.

[0099] While the example 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 shows an unlicensed RF band that utilizes FDD, in some cases, an unlicensed communication channel may utilize TDD. For example, in an unlicensed communication channel that utilizes TDD, uplink and downlink transmissions may be separated in time and conducted on the same frequency channel. However, unlike TDD in licensed spectrum, a subframe, slot, and / or symbol, among other examples, is not restricted to being configured for uplink communication or downlink communication, and may be configured for downlink transmissions by a network node or for uplink transmissions by a UE. Furthermore, unlicensed communication may support dynamic TDD, where an uplink-downlink allocation maychange over time to adapt to traffic conditions. For example, to enable dynamic TDD, a wireless device (e.g., a network node, a UE, or another device) may determine when to transmit and in which resource to transmit according to an indication of a channel occupancy time structure. In general, the channel occupancy time may include multiple transmission intervals (e.g., multiple slots), and each transmission interval may include one or more downlink resources, and / or one or more uplink resources, one or more flexible resources, among other examples. In this way, the channel occupancy time structure reduces power consumption, and / or channel access delay, among other examples.

[0100] As indicated above, FIG. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 5.

[0101] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 of a sidelink slot structure and consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) determination that may be used in SL-PRS positioning in unlicensed spectrum, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0102] More particularly, as described herein, there are various scenarios where sidelink communication can be used to expand or otherwise improve positioning accuracy, including challenging environments such as dense urban areas and / or tunnels, or for certain applications that may demand more robust and precise positioning (e.g., lane-level positioning, proximity-based services detection, and / or vehicular ranging services, among other examples). For example, in some cases, sidelink positioning may be based on transmission and reception of an SL-PRS over a sidelink resource pool. For example, an SL-PRS may be transmitted in a shared resource pool that supports SL-PRS transmission in addition to PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH transmission, or in a dedicated resource pool that supports only an SL-PRS transmission and an associated PSCCH transmission. For example, reference number 610 in FIG. 6 depicts an example of a sidelink slot structure that supports an SL-PRS transmission in a shared resource pool, where the SL-PRS is transmitted along with a PSCCH and PSSCH.

[0103] Accordingly, in a sidelink communication scenario, an SL-PRS can be used to exploit more line-of-sight opportunities for ranging between devices, in addition to or instead of the PRS that is transmitted over the access link interface. For example, when two or more UEs communicate on a sidelink over licensed spectrum, the SL-PRS may have a bandwidth up to 100 MHz, which is generally sufficient for sidelink deploymentsthat typically have a bandwidth that is significantly smaller than 100 MHz. However, ranging resolution and / or accuracy, and therefore positioning performance, is generally limited with an SL-PRS bandwidth of 100 MHz or less. Accordingly, in some cases, sidelink positioning may be supported over unlicensed spectrum to exploit the large available bandwidth in unlicensed spectrum for ultra-high bandwidth (or wideband) SL- PRS transmissions (e.g., greater than 100 MHz) and thereby improve sidelink positioning performance. However, SL-U operation generally lacks support for channel access mechanisms that would support SL-PRS transmissions over a large bandwidth.

[0104] For example, in a shared or unlicensed frequency band, a transmitting device (e.g., a transmitting UE) has to contend against other devices for channel access before transmitting on a shared or unlicensed channel (e.g., to a receiving UE) to reduce and / or prevent collisions on the shared or unlicensed channel. To contend for channel access, the transmitting device may perform a channel access procedure, such as a listen-before- talk (LBT) procedure or another type of channel access procedure, for shared or unlicensed frequency band channel access. The channel access procedure may be performed to determine whether the physical channel (e.g., the radio resources of the channel) are free to be used or are busy (e.g., in use by another device). The channel access procedure may include sensing or measuring the physical channel during a channel access gap (which may also be referred to as a contention window), which may last for a time interval of a preconfigured duration, and determining whether the shared or unlicensed channel is free or busy based on the signals sensed or measured on the physical channel (e.g., based on whether the measurement satisfies a threshold). If the transmitting device determines that the channel access procedure was successful, the transmitting device may perform one or more transmissions on the shared or unlicensed channel during a transmission opportunity, which may extend for a channel occupancy time (COT). Otherwise, if the transmitting device determines that the channel is busy (e.g., the channel access procedure failed), the transmitting device is not allowed to transmit and needs to continue sensing until the channel access procedure is successful.

[0105] Accordingly, due to the need to perform a channel access procedure (e.g., an LBT procedure) in unlicensed spectrum, challenges may arise when a transmitting UE attempts to transmit an SL-PRS in SL-U, because an unlicensed sidelink channel is typically defined as a set of contiguous frequencies spanning approximately 20 MHz, which is much smaller than the bandwidth of a wideband SL-PRS. In particular, in caseswhere SL-U operation is performed over a band that exceeds 20 MHz, the band is typically partitioned into non-overlapping channels (or resource block (RB) sets, referring to a set of RBs that span the 20 MHz bandwidth of an SL-U channel), and a transmission spanning a frequency of more than one RB set (e.g., an SL-PRS transmission) is considered a multi-channel or wideband SL-U transmission. If a transmitting UE determines, using an LBT procedure, that there is activity over an RB set (e.g., energy in the RB set above a threshold), the RB set may be considered to be in an LBT failure (LBT-F) or “channel busy” state, and transmissions on the RB set may not be allowed. This means that, in unlicensed (shared) spectrum operation, a contiguous full bandwidth transmission is not always possible because one or more RB sets of a resource pool may experience LBT failure (channel busy) at the time of transmission.

[0106] There are two types of LBT-F states that an RB set may experience. The first is an occasional or sporadic LBT-F state, occurring when the frequency of LBT-F occurrences is relatively low. The second is a consistent LBT-F (C -LBT-F) state that occurs when the frequency of LBT-F occurrences is relatively high, typically when the RB set is heavily congested. A sensing node (e.g., UE) typically will not even attempt to transmit over an RB set if it is in a C-LBT-F state because it knows the chances of LBT failing are high.

[0107] Reference number 620 in FIG. 6 depicts an example timeline of how a C-LBT- F state may be triggered and canceled. In the illustration, a UE (e.g., an anchor UE for sidelink positioning) determines that an RB set experiences LBT-F at various times 630-1, 630-2, 630-3, and 630-4. Each of these times triggers a respective reset of a failure detection timer: 635-1, 635-2, 635-3, and 635-4. Generally put, if an LBT-F determination occurs prior to the expiration of the failure detection timer, an LBT counter value is increased and the failure detection timer is reset. (It can be noted that arrows 635-1, 635-2, 635-3, 635-4, and 635-5 show the full length of the failure detection timer, for illustrative purposes. However, only a single failure detection timer may be used and reset, as described herein.) If the LBT counter value reaches a threshold number prior to the expiration of the failure detection timer, a C-LBT-F state may be triggered, which may trigger a reset of the failure detection timer (shown by arrow 635-5). The RB set may remain in the C-LBT-F state until a C-LBT-F timer 635-5 (the failure detection timer during a C-LBT-F state) lapses. In FIG. 6, a transmitting UE determines LBT-F at times 630-1, 630-2, 630-3, 630-4, and 640. After an initial failure detection timer 635-1 is setby the initial LBT-F determination as time 630-1, each successive LBT-F determination occurs while a failure detection timer is running, thereby increasing an LBT counter value. At the final time 640, the LBT counter value reaches a threshold value (five, in this example), at which point the UE flags the RB set as being in a C-LBT-F state. The RB set remains in that state during a C-LBT-F timer (failure detection timer 635-5). If no other LBT-F determinations occurred during the C-LBT-F timer, the C-LBT-F flag is removed at time 650, once the C-LBT-F timer lapses, at which point the RB set may be considered for use in RF transmissions (including SL-PRS for sidelink positioning), subject to LBT checking to help ensure the RB set is available for use in the RF transmissions.

[0108] As indicated above, FIG. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 6.

[0109] The fact that one or more RB sets intended for use for SL-PRS transmission in sidelink positioning may be in a C-LBT-F state might call for solutions that are different than those that may be used for RB sets that are experiencing occasional or sporadic LBT-F. This is because RB-sets experiencing C-LBT-F may be likely to remain unavailable for a period of time in the future, at least until a timer (e.g., 635-5) expires (due to apparent medium congestion), at least in principle. Thus, it may make no sense to consider RB sets in a C-LBT-F state as part of future SL-PRS TX resources for sidelink positioning.

[0110] Embodiments described below may be implemented with the recognition that coordination between SL-PRS TX and RX UEs may be needed for determining an appropriate SL-PRS frequency allocation for sidelink positioning in the presence of RB sets experiencing C-LBT-F. Thus, according to some embodiments, RB sets in a C-LBT- F state may be identified (e.g., to a serving entity, such as a serving UE, base station (gNB), the location server (e.g., LMF, if connected with a cellular network) that coordinates the transmissions) to enable the determination of SL-PRS resources that may be used for the transmission of SL-PRS, or even canceling the transmission of the SL- PRS altogether if, for example, the set of available RB-sets is deemed incapable of supporting positioning requirements for sidelink positioning.

[0111] FIG. 7A is a message-flow diagram of a process 700 that may be used to determine a SL-PRS configuration in the presence of RB sets in a C-LBT-F state,according to some embodiments. As with other figures herein, FIG. 7A is illustrated only as a nonlimiting example. Alternative embodiments may add, remove, combine, and / or rearrange operations, as needed for various applications. The process 700 may be performed as part of a positioning session that includes the TX UE and is coordinated by a serving entity (e.g., serving UE), and operations and / or communications illustrated in process 700 may be combined and / or integrated into other operations and / or communications related to the positioning session. As described in more detail below, dashed lines represent optional functionality. Here, a serving entity (e.g., a UE, base station (gNB), or location server (if connected to a cellular network)) coordinating a sidelink positioning procedure using SL-PRS is illustrated as communicating with a single TX UE, for simplicity. It should be noted, however, that the serving entity may communicate with multiple UEs, which may include one or more additional TX UEs and / or RX UEs participating in the positioning procedure. It may be further noted that the process 700 may be particularly applicable in situations where no network coverage is available. That said, the process 700 is not necessarily limited to such situations.

[0112] The process 700 may begin with the operation illustrated at block 705, in which the TX UE determines a C-LBT-F status of one or more RB sets. This may be done, for example, using LBT procedures, which may be defined in applicable standards (e.g., SL-U). This determination may be based on prior transmission attempts and / or performing sensing of RB sets for potential LBT transmissions. According to some embodiments, such sensing may be responsive to a request by the serving entity (not shown in FIG. 7A) to perform the sensing, or a similar triggering event.

[0113] As illustrated by arrow 710, the TX UE may then provide C-LBT-F information to the serving entity. This may be provided as assistance data (e.g. in a provideAssistanceData SLPP message), for example. The C-LBT-F information may include a list of one or more RB sets in a C-LBT-F state. Optionally, according to some embodiments, the C-LBT-F information may include a time remaining until the C-LBT- F state expires, which can help the serving entity determine whether the C-LBT-F state is likely to continue during the positioning procedure (including the transmission of SL PRS).

[0114] Optionally, additional LBT information may accompany the C-LBT-F information. This LBT information may include information with respect to other RB setsnot in a C-LBT-F state, which may help the serving entity determine whether any of these RB sets is likely to enter a C-LBT-F state during the potential transmission of SL-PRS. This LBT information may include the identity of each RB set monitored by the TX UE that is not in a C-LBT-F state. According to some embodiments, the LBT information may further include, for each of these RB sets, the current respective LBT counter value and the respective failure detection timer. (In some embodiments, the failure detection timer may not be part of a cell-specific configuration and may therefore not be known to the serving entity.) The length of the failure detection timer may be indicative of the “sensitivity” of the TXUE’s determination of C-LBT-F RB sets, and may give the serving entity some insight regarding the likelihood of whether one of the use RB sets may enter a C-LBT-F state during a positioning procedure.

[0115] Additionally, or alternatively, the LBT information for each RB set monitored by the TX UE that is not in a C-LBT-F state may include a binary value indicating how likely the RB-set is to experience C-LBT-F in the “near future.” The value of this indicator could be based on some pre-configured rule (e.g., mapping the current LBT counter value and C-LBT-F timer) or up to UE implementation. Here, the “near future” may correspond with a time interval starting at the time the LBT information is provided and ending after a predetermined time interval. The duration of this time interval may be (pre-)configured, indicated by higher-layer signaling (e.g., SLPP), or up to UE implementation.

[0116] At block 715, the serving entity may then determine an SL-PRS configuration for the TX UE based at least in part on the C-LBT-F information provided at arrow 710. This determination at block 715 may be made after the serving entity receives other C- LBT-F information (and other information relevant to the positioning procedure), enabling the serving entity to coordinate SL-PRS configurations across multiple TX UEs participating in the positioning procedure. Based on this information, the serving entity may then allocate resources for the transmission of SL-PRS by the TX UE, and include the allocation of these resources in an SL-PRS configuration provided to the TX UE, as indicated at arrow 720. In some instances (e.g., when C-LBT-F information indicates that insufficient RB sets are available for the positioning procedure), the serving entity may exclude the TX UE from the positioning procedure. If the TX UE is not dropped from the positioning procedure, the TX UE may then proceed to transmit SL PRS for the positioning procedure, as indicated at block 725.

[0117] As illustrated, the TX UE optionally may perform additional functionality. That is, according to some embodiments, the TX UE may determine C-LBT-F status of one or more RB sets of the SL-PRS configuration, as indicated at block 730. That is, according to some embodiments, after the TX UE has been allocated / assigned one or more resources for its SL-PRS transmission, and prior to that transmission, one or more RB-sets of the one or more resources might enter a C-LBT-F state. This may be more likely to occur, for example, in situations in which there is a relatively long period of time between the determination of the SL PRS configuration at block 715 and the transmission of SL PRS at block 725. Additionally or alternatively, an SL-PRS configuration may result in a plurality of transmissions by the TX UE, in which case the TX UE may make the determination at block 730 after one or more of the transmissions, but before at least another one of the transmissions.

[0118] According to some embodiments, the determination of one or more RB-sets of the one or more resources entering a C-LBT-F state may trigger an action, such as SL- PRS resource reselection, an example of which is illustrated by operations 732, 734, and 736 of FIG. 7A. At arrow 732, the TX UE provides the serving entity with a C-LBT-F report in which the TX UE indicates one or more RB sets of the one or more resources that will be used to transmit SL-PRS is experiencing C-LBT-F. This indication may include, for example, a number of RB sets experiencing C-LBT-F and / or an identity of each of the RB sets experiencing C-LBT-F. According to some embodiments, a single C- LBT-F report may contain information about the C-LBT-F states of more than one future SL-PRS TX resources. Additionally or alternatively, the C-LBT-F reporting by the TX UE may be enabled / disabled, and this enabling / disabling of the C-LBT-F reporting may be included in the SL-PRS configuration and / or another message sent to the TX UE by the serving entity. This enabling / disabling may be conveyed, for example, using higher layers (e.g., SLPP).

[0119] It can be noted that the inclusion of RB sets in the C-LBT-F report at arrow 732 may be contingent on a determination of whether certain factors are met with respect to the C-LBT-F statuses of the RB sets. This can help potentially avoid declaring an RB- set as being in a C-LBT-F state for purposes of the C-LBT-F report (at arrow 732) if the C-LBT-F state may have a chance to be canceled by the time of the one or more SL-PRS resources start. The factors for determining whether to include an RB set in the C-LBT-F report at arrow 732 may include, for example, a C-LBT-F state has been triggered for thatRB-set, and its failure detection timer will terminate after the start time of the one or more resources for transmitting the SL PRS. Additional details regarding the timing involved in these considerations are illustrated in FIG. 7B, described below.

[0120] FIG. 7B is an example timeline of events for determining whether to include an RB set in a C-LBT-F report (e.g., as shown by arrow 732 in FIG. 7A). Here, events shown on the timeline include the receipt of the SL PRS configuration at time 750 (e.g., corresponding to the TX UE’s receipt of the SL-PRS configuration at arrow 720 in FIG. 7A) and the start time of the one or more resources for transmitting the SL PRS at time 755 (e.g., corresponding with the (possible) transmission of SL-PRS at block 725 of FIG. 7A).

[0121] According to embodiments, a time prior to the start time of the one or more resources for transmitting the SL PRS may be established as a final time by which a C- LBT-F report (e.g., arrow 732 of FIG. 7A) may be provided by the TX UE to the serving entity. In FIG. 7B, this time 760 is established as a length of time T prior to the start time of the one or more resources at time 755. The length of time T is shown in FIG. 7B as arrow 765. As indicated above, the TX UE may include an RB set in the C-LBT-F report at arrow 732 if, as shown in FIG. 7B, the TX UE identifies the RB set as being in a C- LBT-F state at a time 770 before time 760 (established as being time T before the start time of the one or more resources for transmitting the SL PRS). As an additional factor, according to some embodiments, the TX UE may not indicate such RB sets as being in a C-LBT-F state unless the RB set further has a C-LBT-F timer (arrow 775) that expires at a time 780 after the start time of the one or more resources for transmitting the SL PRS.

[0122] The length of time T may be determined and / or communicated in any of a variety of ways, depending on desired functionality. For example, according to some embodiments, time T is (pre-)configured per bandwidth part (BWP) or per resource pool (RP), is indicated by higher layers (e.g., SLPP), determined based on desired UE implementation, equal to the (LBT) failure detection timer, or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, time T may potentially depend on the subcarrier spacing (SCS) used by sidelink devices, similar to other sidelink timers. According to some embodiments, the TX UE may (or may not) be allowed to evaluate the resources prior to T (and potentially report C-LBT-F, as shown by arrow 732 of FIG. 7A). Theenabling / disabling of this functionality may be based on a configuration received by the TX UE (e.g., by the serving entity), according to some embodiments.

[0123] It can be noted that, even when implementing the resource reselection operations (e.g., operations shown by items 730, 732, 734, and 736 of FIG. 7A) the TX UE may still end up finding itself transmitting over nominal SL-PRS resources for which one or more RB set are experiencing C-LBT-F and are therefore unlikely to be available. According to some embodiments, situations such as this in which a TX UE is about to transmit SL-PRS over a resource of which one or more RB sets are in a C-LBT-F state may be addressed by the TX UE by either (i) transmitting (or attempting to transmit) a partial SL-PRS signal (e.g., by utilizing type A or type B LBT as defined in SL-U) over the remaining available RB-sets that are not in a C-LBT-F state, or (ii) refraining from transmitting the SL-PRS TX altogether (e.g., no attempt to transmit the SL-PRS, even on the RB-sets that are not in a C-LBT-F state). In the latter case, the TX UE may inform one or more other devices (e.g., the serving entity) of having refrained from transmitting the SL-PRS in a follow-up transmission, according to some embodiments, this follow-up transmission may be included in ProvideAssistanceData or ProvideLocationlnformaton SLPP message, as part of a sidelink positioning session. The determination of whether to (i) transmit a partial SL-PRS signal or whether to (ii) refrain from transmitting the SL- PRS may be based on evaluating conditions related to the number / pattern of available RB sets (and how they compare to the nominal number / pattern of RB sets), the priority of SL-PRS TX, and / or other such conditions.

[0124] As indicated above, FIGS. 7A and 7B are provided as examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to FIGS. 7A and 7B.

[0125] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example method 800 of wireless positioning performed by UE, according to an embodiment. An example means / structure (hardware and / or software components of the UE) that may be capable of performing the operations of method 800 can be found in FIG. 9, described in more detail below. Here, the UE may correspond with a TX UE, as described in the embodiments above. Moreover, the method 800 may describe some aspects of TX UE functionality as previously described with respect to FIG. 7A. Some or all of the functionality illustrated in the method 800 may be performed while the UE is not within coverage of a wireless cellular network. As noted previously, a serving entity may comprise another UE, or a base station (e.g., gNB).

[0126] At block 810, the functionality comprises determining that one or more RB sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state. As previously noted, this determination may be made by LBT as part of prior transmissions / transmission attempts and / or may be made in response to a request (e.g., by a serving entity) to do so. This functionality may correspond with the determination made at block 705 of FIG. 7A.

[0127] At block 820, the functionality comprises sending, from the UE to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state. According to some aspects, this functionality may correspond with the functionality of arrow 710 of FIG. 7A, described above. As noted, this indication may be provided the via SLPP communication between the UE and the serving entity. More specifically, according to some embodiments the sending of the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state may comprise including the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state in a provideAssistanceData sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) message.

[0128] As noted, according to some embodiments, the UE may provide information regarding one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state. Some embodiments of the method 800, for example, may further comprise determining that one or more RB sets in the shared spectrum are not in the C-LBT-F state, and sending, from the UE to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state. Such embodiments may further comprise sending, from the UE to a serving entity, LBT information. For each RB set of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state, the LBT information may comprise a respective current LBT counter value and a respective failure detection timer, or a respective binary value indicative of a likelihood that the RB set will enter the C-LBT-F state within a threshold amount of time.

[0129] At block 830, the functionality comprises receiving, at the UE from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting SL-PRS in the shared spectrum for a SL positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS. This functionality may, for example, correspond with the functionality illustrated by arrow 720 of FIG. 7A, described above.

[0130] As previously noted, some embodiments may allow for subsequent C-LBT-F reporting and resource reselection. For example, some embodiments of the method 800may further comprise, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL- PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource, determining one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, and sending a report from the UE to the serving entity indicative of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state. In such embodiments, the report may indicate, for example, a total number of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, an identity of each of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, or any combination thereof. Additionally, or alternatively, sending the report may be based at least in part on a determination that, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, a respective C-LBT-F state will not terminate prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource . According to some embodiments, determining the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state occurs by a time T prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource, wherein the time T is: configured per bandwidth part (BWP) or resource pool (RP), indicated to the UE by SLPP, determined by the UE, equal to an LBT failure detection timer, or any combination thereof.

[0131] As also noted herein, embodiments may provide for alternative functionality if the UE determines that one or more RB sets have entered a C-LBT-F state subsequent to receiving the SL-PRS configuration., For example, some embodiments of the method 800 may comprise, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL-PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource determining one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state; and either (i) transmitting the SL-PRS using one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have not entered the C-LBT-F state, or (ii) not transmitting the SL-PRS.

[0132] As indicated above, FIG. 8 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 8.

[0133] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example apparatus 900 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 900 may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus 900. In some aspects, the apparatus 900 includes a reception component 902, a transmission component 904, and / or a communication manager 906,which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). In some aspects, the communication manager 906 is the communication manager 140 described in connection with FIG. 1. As shown, the apparatus 900 may communicate with another apparatus 908, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station), using the reception component 902 and the transmission component 904.

[0134] In some aspects, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with FIGS. 6-7B. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 800 of FIG. 8. In some aspects, the apparatus 900 and / or one or more components shown in FIG. 9 may include one or more components of the UE described in connection with FIG. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in FIG. 9 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with FIG. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.

[0135] The reception component 902 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 908. The reception component 902 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 900. In some aspects, the reception component 902 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 900. In some aspects, the reception component 902 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with FIG. 2.

[0136] The transmission component 904 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 908. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 900 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 904 for transmission to the apparatus 908. In some aspects, the transmission component 904 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 908. In some aspects, the transmission component 904 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with FIG. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 904 may be co-located with the reception component 902 in one or more transceivers.

[0137] The communication manager 906 may support operations of the reception component 902 and / or the transmission component 904. For example, the communication manager 906 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 902 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 904. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 906 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 902 and / or the transmission component 904 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.

[0138] The communication manager 906 may perform a multi-channel access procedure for one or more RB sets in a shared spectrum. The transmission component 904 may transmit a partial SL-PRS over the one or more RB sets based at least in part on the one or more RB sets being associated with a successful multi-channel access procedure that occupies a first number of RB sets that is less than a second number of RB sets of a wideband SL-PRS, wherein the one or more RB sets used to transmit the partial SL-PRS are a subset of a plurality of nominal RB sets associated with the wideband SL- PRS.

[0139] The reception component 902 may receive configuration information indicating one or more conditions for transmitting the partial SL-PRS within a resource pool that includes the one or more RB sets, wherein the partial SL-PRS is transmitted in accordance with the configuration information.

[0140] The reception component 902 may receive, from a network entity, signaling that enables or disables transmission of the partial SL-PRS for a current LCS session, wherein the transmission component 904 is configured to transmit the partial SL-PRS based at least in part on the signaling enabling transmission of the partial SL-PRS for the current LCS session.

[0141] The reception component 902 may receive, from a network entity, signaling that enables or disables transmission of the partial SL-PRS for all LCS sessions within a resource pool that includes the one or more RB sets, wherein the transmission component 904 is configured to transmit the partial SL-PRS based at least in part on the signaling enabling transmission of the partial SL-PRS for all LCS sessions within the resource pool that includes the one or more RB sets.

[0142] The transmission component 904 may transmit, to one or more of a scheduling node or a receiving node, information related to a capability to transmit the partial SL- PRS, wherein the partial SL-PRS is transmitted over the one or more RB sets in accordance with the information related to the capability to transmit the SL-PRS.

[0143] The reception component 902 may receive, from one or more of a scheduling node or a receiving node, information related to a capability to receive or process the partial SL-PRS, wherein the partial SL-PRS is transmitted over the one or more RB sets in accordance with the information related to the capability to receive or process the SL- PRS.

[0144] The transmission component 904 may transmit, in SCI accompanying the partial SL-PRS, information indicating that the partial SL-PRS is being transmitted.

[0145] The transmission component 904 may transmit, in SCI accompanying the partial SL-PRS, information indicating that the partial SL-PRS is being transmitted and information indicating one or more parameters associated with the partial SL-PRS.

[0146] The transmission component 904 may transmit, after the partial SL-PRS, information indicating one or more parameters associated with the partial SL-PRS.

[0147] The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 9 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in FIG. 9. Furthermore, two or more components shown in FIG. 9 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in FIG. 9 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in FIG. 9 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in FIG. 9.

[0148] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used and / or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed.

[0149] In view of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0150] Clause 1 : A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state; sending, from the UE to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state; and receiving, at the UE from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

[0151] Clause 2: The method of Clause 1, wherein the UE is not within coverage of a wireless cellular network.

[0152] Clause 3 : The method of Clause 1 or Clause 2, wherein sending the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state comprises including the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state in a provideAssistanceData sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) message.

[0153] Clause 4: The method of any one of Clauses 1-3, further comprising: determining that one or more RB sets in the shared spectrum are not in the C-LBT-F state; and sending, from the UE to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state.

[0154] Clause 5: The method of Clause 4, further comprising sending, from the UE to a serving entity, listen-before-talk (LBT) information, wherein, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state, the LBT information comprises: a respective current LBT counter value and a respective failure detection timer, or a respective binary value indicative of a likelihood that the RB set will enter the C-LBT-F state within a threshold amount of time.

[0155] Clause 6: The method of any one of Clauses 1-5, further comprising, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL-PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource: determining one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state; and sending a report from the UE to the serving entity indicative of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state.

[0156] Clause 7 : The method of Clause 6, wherein the report indicates: a total number of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C- LBT-F state , an identity of each of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state , or any combination thereof.

[0157] Clause 8: The method of any one of Clauses 6-7, wherein sending the report is based at least in part on a determination that, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, a respective C-LBT-F state will not terminate prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource.

[0158] Clause 9: The method of any one of Clauses 1-8, wherein determining the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state occurs by a time T prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource , wherein the time T is: configured per bandwidth part (BWP) or resource pool (RP), indicated to the UE by SLPP, determined by the UE, equal to an LBT failure detection timer, or any combination thereof.

[0159] Clause 10: The method of any one of Clauses 1-9, further comprising, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL-PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource: determining one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state; and either: (i) transmitting the SL-PRS using one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have not entered the C-LBT-F state, or (ii) not transmitting the SL-PRS.

[0160] Clause 11 : The method of any one of Clauses 1-10, wherein the serving entity comprises another UE or a base station.

[0161] Clause 12: A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to: determine that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state; send, via the one or more transceivers to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state; and receive, via the one or more transceivers from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

[0162] Clause 13: The UE of Clause 12, wherein, to send the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state, the one or more processors are configured to include the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state in a provideAssistanceData sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) message.

[0163] Clause 14: The UE of Clause 12 or Clause 13, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to: determine that one or more RB sets in the shared spectrum are not in the C-LBT-F state; and send, via the one or more transceivers to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state.

[0164] Clause 15: The UE of any one of Clauses 12-14, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to send, via the one or more transceivers to a serving entity, listen-before-talk (LBT) information, wherein, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state, the LBT information comprises: a respective current LBT counter value and a respective failure detection timer, or a respective binary valueindicative of a likelihood that the RB set will enter the C-LBT-F state within a threshold amount of time.

[0165] Clause 16: The UE of any one of Clauses 12-15, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL-PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource: determine one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state; and send a report via the one or more transceivers to the serving entity indicative of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state.

[0166] Clause 17: The UE of Clause 16, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to include, in the report, an indication of: a total number of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, an identity of each of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, or any combination thereof.

[0167] Clause 18: The UE of any one of Clauses 16-17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to send the report based at least in part on a determination that, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, a respective C-LBT-F state will not terminate prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource.

[0168] Clause 19: The UE of any one of Clauses 16-18, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource have entered the C-LBT-F state occurs by a time T prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource, wherein the time T is: configured per bandwidth part (BWP) or resource pool (RP), indicated to the UE by SLPP, determined by the UE, equal to an LBT failure detection timer, or any combination thereof.

[0169] Clause 20: A device comprising: means for determining that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state; means for sending, to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state; and means for receiving, from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at leastin part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

[0170] Clause 21 : An apparatus having means for performing the method of any one of Clauses 1-11.

[0171] Clause 22: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising code for performing the method of any one of Clauses 1-11.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state; sending, from the UE to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state; and receiving, at the UE from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is not within coverage of a wireless cellular network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state comprises including the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state in a provideAssistanceData sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that one or more RB sets in the shared spectrum are not in the C-LBT-F state; and sending, from the UE to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising sending, from the UE to a serving entity, listen-before-talk (LBT) information, wherein, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state, the LBT information comprises: a respective current LBT counter value and a respective failure detection timer, or a respective binary value indicative of a likelihood that the RB set will enter the C-LBT-F state within a threshold amount of time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL-PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource: determining one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state; and sending a report from the UE to the serving entity indicative of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the report indicates: a total number of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, an identity of each of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, or any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein sending the report is based at least in part on a determination that, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, a respective C-LBT-F state will not terminate prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein determining the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state occurs by a time T prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource, wherein the time T is: configured per bandwidth part (BWP) or resource pool (RP), indicated to the UE by SLPP, determined by the UE, equal to an LBT failure detection timer, or any combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL-PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource: determining one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state; and either:(i) transmitting the SL-PRS using one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have not entered the C-LBT-F state, or(ii) not transmitting the SL-PRS.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the serving entity comprises another UE or a base station.

12. A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to: determine that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state; send, via the one or more transceivers to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state; and receive, via the one or more transceivers from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

13. The UE of claim 12, wherein, to send the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state, the one or more processors are configured to include the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state in a provideAssistanceData sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) message.

14. The UE of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to: determine that one or more RB sets in the shared spectrum are not in the C-LBT-F state; and send, via the one or more transceivers to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state.

15. The UE of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to send, via the one or more transceivers to a serving entity, listen- before-talk (LBT) information, wherein, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets not in the C-LBT-F state, the LBT information comprises: a respective current LBT counter value and a respective failure detection timer, or a respective binary value indicative of a likelihood that the RB set will enter the C-LBT-F state within a threshold amount of time.

16. The UE of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to, subsequent to receiving the configuration for transmitting the SL-PRS and prior to a start time of the at least one wireless resource: determine one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state; and send a report via the one or more transceivers to the serving entity indicative of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors further are configured to include, in the report, an indication of: a total number of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, an identity of each of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, or any combination thereof.

18. The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are configured to send the report based at least in part on a determination that, for each RB set of the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resource that have entered the C-LBT-F state, a respective C-LBT-F state will not terminate prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource.

19. The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more RB sets in the at least one wireless resourcehave entered the C-LBT-F state occurs by a time T prior to the start time of the at least one wireless resource, wherein the time T is: configured per bandwidth part (BWP) or resource pool (RP), indicated to the UE by SLPP, determined by the UE, equal to an LBT failure detection timer, or any combination thereof.

20. A device comprising: means for determining that one or more resource block (RB) sets in a shared spectrum are in a consistent listen-before-talk failure (C-LBT-F) state; means for sending, to a serving entity, an indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state; and means for receiving, from the serving entity, a configuration for transmitting sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) in the shared spectrum for a sidelink (SL) positioning procedure, the configuration based at least in part on the indication of the one or more RB sets in the C-LBT-F state and indicative of at least one wireless resource with which to transmit the SL-PRS.

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