阅读说明：本技术 用于传统网络和下一代网络之间动态频谱共享的方法、装置和系统 (Method, apparatus and system for dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy and next generation networks ) 是由 V.A.杰尔吉乌 P.加尔 J.蒙托霍 于 2020-05-02 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了用于无线通信的方法、系统和设备。在一方面,基站可以确定第一无线电接入技术(RAT)的配置,该第一无线电接入技术的配置包括与第一RAT的多个第一信道相关联的多个参数。该基站还可以发送与不同于第一RAT的第二RAT相关联的第二信道,第二信道与第一信道重叠。在另一方面,用户设备可以接收第一RAT的配置,该第一RAT包括与第一RAT的多个第一信道相关联的多个参数。该UE还可以接收与不同于第一RAT的第二RAT相关联的第二信道,该第二信道与第一信道重叠。(Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a base station may determine a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) that includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT. The base station may also transmit a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, the second channel overlapping the first channel. In another aspect, a user equipment may receive a configuration of a first RAT including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT. The UE may also receive a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, the second channel overlapping the first channel.)

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, at a User Equipment (UE), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) comprising a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and

receiving, at the UE, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps in a frequency domain with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters is associated with each of the plurality of first channels;

wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters comprises channel positioning, bandwidth, cell identification, number of antenna ports, or Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) configuration.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first RAT comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, and wherein the second RAT comprises a New Radio (NR) network.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a location of a Common Reference Signal (CRS) associated with each of the plurality of first channels based on the plurality of parameters; and

wherein receiving the second channel comprises receiving a second channel rate-matched around a position of the CRS.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second channel further comprises a portion that does not overlap with the plurality of first channels;

wherein receiving the second channel comprises receiving a portion of the second channel that is rate mismatched around the location of the CRS.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein Resource Blocks (RBs) of the second channel are aligned with Resource Blocks (RBs) of the plurality of first channels in the frequency domain.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein Resource Blocks (RBs) of the second channel are not aligned with Resource Blocks (RBs) of the plurality of first channels in the frequency domain.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining a location of a Common Reference Signal (CRS) associated with each first channel of the plurality of first channels based on the plurality of parameters; and

adapting rate matching around a location of the CRS based on a frequency offset between the second channel and each first channel when the RBs of the second channel are not aligned with the RBs of the plurality of first channels.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the configuration comprises receiving the configuration from a base station associated with the second RAT via at least one of a broadcast channel, a multicast channel, or a unicast channel.

10. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

determining, by a Base Station (BS), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) comprising a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and

transmitting, from a BS, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT in a frequency domain.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters is associated with each of the plurality of first channels;

wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters comprises channel positioning, bandwidth, cell identification, number of antenna ports, multicast broadcast single frequency network configuration, or uplink/downlink configuration.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first RAT comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, and wherein the second RAT comprises a New Radio (NR) network.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a location of a Common Reference Signal (CRS) associated with each first channel of the first RAT; and

mapping a signal to a second channel of the second RAT such that the signal is not mapped to resource elements corresponding to a location of the CRS.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein Resource Blocks (RBs) of the second channel are aligned with Resource Blocks (RBs) of the plurality of first channels in the frequency domain.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the second channel further comprises a portion that does not overlap with the plurality of first channels.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising mapping signals to all resource elements in the portion of the second channel.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising sending the configuration to one or more User Equipments (UEs) associated with the second RAT via at least one of a broadcast channel, a multicast channel, or a unicast channel.

18. A User Equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

a processor;

a memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

receiving a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) comprising a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and

receiving a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps in a frequency domain with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT.

19. The UE of claim 18, wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters is associated with each first channel of the plurality of first channels;

wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters comprises channel positioning, bandwidth, cell identification, number of antenna ports, multicast broadcast single frequency network configuration, or uplink/downlink configuration.

20. The UE of claim 18, wherein the first RAT comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, and wherein the second RAT comprises a New Radio (NR) network.

21. The UE of claim 18, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to determine a location of a Common Reference Signal (CRS) associated with each first channel of the plurality of first channels based on the plurality of parameters; and

wherein the instructions executable by the processor to receive the second channel are further executable by the processor to receive the second channel rate-matched around a position of the CRS.

22. The UE of claim 21, wherein the second channel further comprises a portion that does not overlap with the plurality of first channels;

wherein the instructions executable by the processor to receive the second channel are further executable by the processor to receive a portion of the second channel that is rate mismatched around the position of the CRS.

23. The UE of claim 18, wherein Resource Blocks (RBs) of the second channel are aligned with Resource Blocks (RBs) of the plurality of first channels in the frequency domain.

24. The UE of claim 18, wherein Resource Blocks (RBs) of the second channel are not aligned with Resource Blocks (RBs) of the plurality of first channels in the frequency domain.

25. The UE of claim 24, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to:

determining a location of a Common Reference Signal (CRS) associated with each first channel of the plurality of first channels based on the plurality of parameters; and

adapting rate matching around a location of the CRS based on a frequency offset between the second channel and each first channel when the RBs of the second channel are not aligned with the RBs of the plurality of first channels.

26. The UE of claim 18, wherein the instructions executable by the processor to receive the configuration are further executable by the processor to receive the configuration from a base station associated with the second RAT via at least one of a broadcast channel, a multicast channel, or a unicast channel.

27. A Base Station (BS) for wireless communication, comprising:

a processor;

a memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

determining a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) comprising a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and

transmitting a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in a frequency domain.

28. The BS of claim 27, wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters is associated with each of the plurality of first channels;

wherein at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters comprises channel positioning, bandwidth, cell identification, number of antenna ports, multicast broadcast single frequency network configuration, or uplink/downlink configuration.

29. The BS of claim 27, wherein the first RAT comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, and wherein the second RAT comprises a New Radio (NR) network.

30. The BS of claim 27, wherein Resource Blocks (RBs) of the second channel are aligned with Resource Blocks (RBs) of the plurality of first channels in the frequency domain.

Technical Field

The following relates generally to wireless communications and more particularly to methods, apparatuses and systems for dynamic spectrum sharing with multiple LTE channels.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may support communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, or New Radio (NR) systems). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include a number of base stations or access network nodes, each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices, which may otherwise be referred to as User Equipment (UE).

In certain deployments, an operator may wish to transition from a legacy network (e.g., an LTE network) to a next generation wireless network (e.g., an NR network) to provide more advanced functionality, such as enhanced bandwidth, reduced latency, and improved reliability. One of the challenges in achieving this transition is how to effectively repartition the spectrum between the LTE network and the NR network in order to provide wireless services to legacy devices on the LTE network and new devices on the NR network during the transition. Accordingly, improved techniques for dynamic spectrum sharing with multiple LTE channels may be needed.

Disclosure of Invention

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices and apparatus to support microsleep operation in a shared spectrum. In an aspect, a method for wireless communication includes receiving, at a User Equipment (UE), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT. The method also includes receiving, at the UE, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT. The second channel of the second RAT overlaps with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in the frequency domain.

In another aspect, a method for wireless communication includes determining, by a Base Station (BS), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT. The method also includes transmitting, from the BS, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT. The second channel of the second RAT overlaps with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in the frequency domain.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication includes a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to receive a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), wherein the configuration of the first radio access technology includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and receiving a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in a frequency domain.

In other aspects, a BS for wireless communication includes a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to determine a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), wherein the configuration of the first radio access technology includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and transmitting a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in a frequency domain.

In some other aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is provided. The code includes instructions executable to receive, at a User Equipment (UE), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), wherein the configuration of the first radio access technology includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and receiving, at the UE, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps in the frequency domain with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that stores code for wireless communication. The code includes instructions executable to determine, by a Base Station (BS), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), wherein the configuration of the first radio access technology includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and transmitting, from the BS, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in a frequency domain.

In other aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for receiving, at a User Equipment (UE), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), wherein the configuration of the first radio access technology includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and means for receiving, at the UE, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps in the frequency domain with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT.

In another aspect, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for determining, by a Base Station (BS), a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), wherein the configuration of the first radio access technology includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT; and means for transmitting, from the BS, a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, wherein the second channel of the second RAT overlaps with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in a frequency domain.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of an example in accordance with the present disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conception and specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The features of the concepts disclosed herein, their organization and method of operation, together with related advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description and not as a limitation of the claims.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a system for wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a system for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates radio frames employed by legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a spectrum diagram for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a diagram of Resource Block (RB) alignment between legacy carriers/channels and next generation carriers/channels, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates a resource grid for transmission of legacy signals and/or next generation signals, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates a diagram of Resource Block (RB) misalignment between legacy carriers/channels and next generation carriers/channels, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a configuration including multiple parameters associated with legacy carriers/channels in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9-12 illustrate block flow diagrams of methods for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 illustrates a block diagram of a system including a base station for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 illustrates a block diagram of a system including a UE for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for a thorough understanding of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every case and that in some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the description.

Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of a wireless communication system. Examples of techniques for long-term channel sensing are described herein. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described by device diagrams, system diagrams, flow charts, and appendices supporting various configurations of bandwidth portions in a shared spectrum.

Fig. 1 shows an example for a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a New Radio (NR) network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, or an LTE-advanced (LTE-a) network. In some cases, wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low cost and low complexity devices.

The base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UE115 via one or more base station antennas. The base station 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB or giga-NodeB (all of which may be referred to as a gNB), a home NodeB, a home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of base stations 105 and network devices, including macro enbs, small cell enbs, gnbs, relay base stations, and the like.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110, wherein communications with various UEs 115 are supported within the particular geographic coverage area 110. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmissions from the UEs 115 to the base stations 105 or downlink transmissions from the base stations 105 to the UEs 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 for a base station 105 can be divided into sectors that form only a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector can be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other type of cell, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile, thus providing communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-a or NR network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity for communicating with the base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing neighboring cells operating via the same or different carrier. In some examples, an operator may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of geographic coverage area 110 over which a logical entity operates.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE115 may be stationary or mobile. UE115 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client. The UE115 may also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE115 may also refer to a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, an internet of things (IoT) device, an internet of everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, among others, which may be implemented in various items such as appliances, vehicles, meters, or the like.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide for automatic communication between machines (e.g., communication via machine-to-machine (M2M)). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication techniques that allow devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communications or MTC may include communications from a device that integrates sensors or meters to measure or capture information and forward the information to a central server or application that may utilize the information or present the information to a human interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automatic behavior of a machine. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, device monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security awareness, physical access control, and transaction-based service charging. eMTC devices may build on top of MTC protocols and support lower uplink or downlink bandwidths, lower data rates, and reduced transmit power, ultimately extending battery life significantly (e.g., extending battery life for years). Reference to MTC may also refer to devices configuring eMTC.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communications via transmission or reception but not both). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for the UE115 include: enter a power-saving "deep sleep" mode when not engaged in active communication, or operate on a limited bandwidth (e.g., in accordance with narrowband communication). In some cases, the UE115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communication for these functions.

In some cases, the UE115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 (e.g., using a point-to-point (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocol). One or more UEs in the group of UEs 115 communicating with D2D may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some cases, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1: M) system, where each UE115 transmits to every other UE115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without the participation of base stations 105.

The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and may communicate with each other. For example, the base stations 105 may be connected with the core network 130 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., via S1 or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other over backhaul links 134 (e.g., via X2 or other interface) directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130).

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access permissions, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Core network 130 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) that may include at least one Mobility Management Entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions of the UE115 served by the base station 105 associated with the EPC, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management. User IP packets may be transmitted through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address assignment as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to the IP services of the network operator. The operator's IP services may include access to the internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) or Packet Switched (PS) streaming services.

At least some network devices, e.g., base stations 105, may include subcomponents, e.g., access network entities, which may be examples of Access Node Controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with UE115 through some other access network transmitting entity, which may be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, or a transmit/receive point (TRP). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or incorporated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300MHz to 300 GHz. Typically, the region from 300MHz to 3GHz is referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or the decimeter band because the wavelength range is from about 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by building and environmental features. However, the wave may penetrate the structure sufficiently for the macro cell to provide service to the UE115 located indoors. UHF-wave transmission can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100km) than transmission using smaller frequencies and longer waves for the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the ultra high frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band of 3GHz to 30GHz, also referred to as the centimeter frequency band. The SHF area includes the 5GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band, which can be used on-the-fly by devices that can tolerate interference from other users.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., 30GHz to 300GHz), also known as the millimeter-wave band. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communication between the UEs 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the various devices may be even smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases, this facilitates the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may experience greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter ranges than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the specified use of the frequency bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulatory body.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band (NR-U), such as the 5GHz ISM band. When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices such as base stations 105 and UEs 115 may employ a Listen Before Transmit (LBT) procedure to ensure that the frequency channel is clean before transmitting data. In some cases, operation in the unlicensed band may be based on Carrier Aggregation (CA) configuration in combination with Component Carriers (CCs) operating in the licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, point-to-point transmissions, or a combination thereof. Duplexing in the unlicensed spectrum may be based on Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), Time Division Duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

In some examples, a base station 105 or UE115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used for applications of techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. For example, a wireless communication system may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., UE 115), where the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers to increase spectral efficiency, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, multiple signals may be transmitted by a transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technology includes single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) in which a plurality of spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) in which a plurality of spatial layers are transmitted to a plurality of devices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating in a particular direction relative to the antenna array undergo constructive interference while other signals undergo destructive interference. The adjustment of the signal communicated via the antenna element may include: either the transmitting device or the receiving device applies an amplitude and phase offset to the signal carried via each of the antenna elements associated with that device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular direction (e.g., relative to an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or relative to some other direction).

In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays for beamforming operations for directional communication with the UEs 115. For example, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times in different directions by the base station 105, which may include signals transmitted according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmit directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify beam directions (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device, such as UE 115) for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the base station 105. Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by the base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as the UE 115). In some examples, a beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, the UE115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions, and the UE115 may report an indication to the base station 105 that it received the signal at the highest signal quality or otherwise acceptable signal quality. Although the techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by the base station 105 in one or more directions, the UE115 may employ similar techniques to transmit signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify beam directions for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115), or to transmit signals in a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

A receiving device (e.g., UE115, which may be an example of a millimeter wave receiving device) may attempt multiple receive beams when receiving various signals from base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may attempt multiple receive directions by: receiving via different antenna sub-arrays, receiving by processing received signals according to the different antenna sub-arrays, different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, or processing received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving data signals). The single receive beam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least in part on listening according to different receive beam directions (e.g., determined as the beam direction having the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio, or other acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening according to multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays, which may support MIMO operation, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located within an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array with multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UEs 115. Also, the UE115 may have one or more antenna arrays, which may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. In some cases, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate on logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority processing and multiplex logical channels into transmission channels. The MAC layer may also provide retransmissions at the MAC layer using hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections between the UE115 and the base station 105 or core network 130 that support radio bearers for user plane data. At the Physical (PHY) layer, the transmit channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, the UE115 and the base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood of successfully receiving the data. HARQ feedback is a technique that increases the likelihood of correctly receiving data over the communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve throughput at the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support HARQ feedback for the same slot, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a particular slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent time slot or according to some other time interval.

The time interval in LTE or NR may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit, e.g., a basic time unit may refer to T_sA sample period of 1/30,720,000 seconds. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames each 10 milliseconds (ms) in duration, where the frame period may be denoted as T_f＝307,200T_s. Can pass throughA System Frame Number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023 to identify a radio frame. Each frame may contain 10 subframes, numbered 0 to 9, and each subframe is 1ms in duration. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots, each slot having a duration of 0.5ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix preceding each symbol period). Each symbol period may contain 2048 sample periods in addition to a cyclic prefix. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). In other cases, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst transmission of a shortened tti (sTTI) or in a selected component carrier using an sTTI).

In some wireless communication systems, a slot may be further divided into a plurality of minislots including one or more symbols. In some cases, the symbol of the micro-slot or the micro-slot may be the minimum scheduling unit. For example, the duration of each symbol may vary depending on the subcarrier spacing or operating frequency band. Further, some wireless communication systems may implement time slot aggregation, where multiple time slots or minislots are aggregated together and used for communication between the UE115 and the base station 105.

The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications over the communication link 125. For example, the carrier of the communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio spectrum band operating according to physical layer channels for a given Radio Access Technology (RAT). Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. The carriers may be associated with predefined frequency channels (e.g., E-UTRA absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)) and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by UEs 115. The carriers may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in FDD mode), or configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode). In some examples, the signal waveform transmitted on a carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multicarrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM).

The organization of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE-A, NR, etc.). For example, communications over carriers may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling to support decoding of the user data. The carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling that coordinates operation of the carrier. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates other carrier operations.

The physical channels may be multiplexed on the carriers according to various techniques. For example, physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier using Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) techniques, Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, the control information sent in the physical control channel may be distributed between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces) in a cascaded manner.

The carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a carrier or "system bandwidth" of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of some predetermined bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80MHz) of the carrier for the particular radio access technology. In some examples, each served UE115 may be configured to operate over some or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type associated with a predefined portion or range within a carrier (e.g., a set of subcarriers or Resource Blocks (RBs)) (e.g., an "in-band" deployment of narrowband protocol types).

In a system employing MCM technology, a resource element may include one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely proportional. The number of bits carried by each resource element depends on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, if the UE115 receives more resource elements and the order of the modulation scheme is higher, the data rate of the UE115 may be higher. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate at which communications are made with the UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base stations 105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configured to support communication over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 and/or a UE115 that may support simultaneous communication via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth.

The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with UEs 115 over multiple cells or carriers, which may be referred to as CA or multi-carrier operation. According to a carrier aggregation configuration, a UE115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs. Carrier aggregation may be used with FDD and TDD component carriers.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an enhanced component carrier (eCC). An eCC may have one or more characteristics including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum or shared spectrum (e.g., in which multiple operators are allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC featuring a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by UEs 115 that may not monitor the entire carrier bandwidth or are otherwise configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to conserve power).

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other CCs, which may include using a reduced symbol duration compared to the symbol durations of the other CCs. A shorter symbol duration may be associated with an increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. A device utilizing an eCC (e.g., UE115 or base station 105) may transmit a wideband signal (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80MHz, etc.) at a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in an eCC may contain one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

Wireless communication systems, such as NR systems, may utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, or the like. Flexibility in eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow eCC to be used across multiple spectra. In some examples, NR sharing spectrum may improve spectrum utilization and spectrum efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical (e.g., in frequency) and horizontal (e.g., in time) resource sharing.

It may be desirable for operators currently providing wireless services via legacy networks, such as LTE networks, to transition to next generation RATs, such as NR. In this regard, dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR is a technique that achieves a smooth transition when the spectrum is repartitioned. In some scenarios, an operator may own multiple LTE channels and may wish to deploy NRs on these channels to provide advanced wireless services to new devices (e.g., NR UEs). Furthermore, it may be important to continue providing wireless service to its current legacy devices (e.g., LTE UEs) during the transition. Accordingly, techniques for dynamic spectrum sharing with multiple LTE channels within an NR network are disclosed in detail below.

Fig. 2 illustrates a system 200 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The system 200 may correspond to a portion of the wireless communication system 100 of fig. 1. The system 200 may include a next generation network (e.g., an NR network) overlaid on a legacy network (e.g., an LTE network). The NR network may include base stations 202 (e.g., gnbs) that provide wireless service to UEs 204 (e.g., NR UEs) within a coverage area 206. The base station 202 may communicate with the UE204 over a radio link 208 based on NR Radio Access Network (RAN) protocols. The LTE network may include a base station 212 (e.g., an eNB) that provides wireless service to UEs 214 (e.g., LTE UEs) within a coverage area 216. The base station 212 may communicate with the UE 214 over a radio link 218 based on LTE RAN protocols. The base stations 202, 212 may be substantially similar to the BS 105 in fig. 1, and the UEs 204, 214 may be substantially similar to the UE115 in fig. 1. For simplicity of discussion, while fig. 2 shows one base station and one UE in each network, it should be recognized that embodiments of the present disclosure may extend to more base stations and UEs per network.

In some deployments, the base stations 202, 212 may be co-located as shown. Operators may currently deploy legacy networks with base stations (e.g., base station 212) located within a geographic area. Since the infrastructure (e.g., towers, backhaul, etc.) may already be in place, the operator may add a next generation base station (e.g., base station 202) at substantially the same location as the legacy base station. Thus, the coverage areas 206, 216 may have overlapping areas. Further, the base stations 202, 212 may operate on the same frequency spectrum or at least overlapping frequency spectrums, which will be disclosed in more detail below. In an aspect, base station 202 may operate on one or more NR carriers (which may also be referred to as NR channels) that may have bandwidths of 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, 20MHz, 25MHz, 30 MHz. The base station 212 may operate on one or more LTE carriers (which may also be referred to as LTE channels), which may have a bandwidth of 1.4MHz, 3MHz, 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, or 20 MHz. In other deployments, the base stations 202, 212 may not be co-located, but may still have some overlapping coverage areas.

The operator may perform dynamic spectrum sharing between base stations 202 and 212 to achieve a smooth transition between LTE and NR RATs. In this regard, the operator may provide new advanced wireless services to the UE204 during the transition period and continue to provide wireless services to the UE 214. In an aspect, an operator may currently own multiple LTE carriers (or channels) used by the base station 212, and NR carriers (or channels) with wider bandwidths may be deployed over these LTE carriers, as will be disclosed in more detail below. The base station 202 may communicate with the UE204 using this NR carrier.

Fig. 3 illustrates a radio frame 300 employed by legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Radio frame 300 may be employed by system 100 and system 200. In an aspect, the legacy network comprises an LTE network and the next generation network comprises an NR network. For example, base stations such as base stations 105, 202, and 212 and UEs such as UEs 115, 204, and 214 may exchange data using radio frame 300. In fig. 3, the x-axis represents time in some constant units and the y-axis represents frequency in some constant units. The radio frame 300 includes N number of subframes 310 spanning in time and frequency. In an aspect, the radio frame 300 may span a time interval of approximately 10 milliseconds (ms). Each subframe 310 may include M slots 320. Each time slot 320 may include K multiple minislots 330. Each minislot 330 may include one or more symbols 340. N, M and K can be any suitable positive integer. The base station or the UE may transmit data in units of a subframe 310, a slot 320, or a minislot 330. In some aspects, the time slots 320 may not be aligned with the illustrated minislots 330. For example, a subframe 310 may include some minislots 330 with a variable number of symbols 340 (e.g., 2, 4, 7 symbols). It is understood that the slot and minislot definitions in NR may be different compared to LTE, as described below.

In NR, a variety of OFDM numbers are supported, such as 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and 240kHz, which specify subcarrier spacing (SCS) configurations for NR carriers. The SCS (and Cyclic Prefix (CP)) configured for NR carriers may determine the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per radio frame. For example, for 15kHz SCS (and normal CP), there are 14 OFDM symbols per slot, 1 slot per subframe, and 10 slots per radio frame. In another example, for 30kHz SCS (and normal CP), there are 14 symbols per slot, 2 slots per subframe, and 20 slots per radio frame. It is understood that for extended CP, the number of OFDM symbols per slot in NR may be different.

In LTE, 15kHz SCS is an OFDM number supported by normal CP, which can be defined as 7 OFDM symbols per slot, 2 slots per subframe, and 20 slots per radio frame. It is noted that other subcarrier spacings may be used for extended CP configurations, and the number of OFDM symbols per LTE slot may be different for extended CP. Thus, for LTE and NR carriers with 15kHz SCS (and normal CP), one NR slot may be equivalent to one LTE subframe (or two LTE slots).

Fig. 4 illustrates a spectrum diagram 400 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy network comprises an LTE network and the next generation network comprises an NR network. The spectrum diagram 400 may depict a frequency band 410 for wireless communication between a base station (e.g., base stations 202, 212 in fig. 2) and a UE (e.g., UE204, 214 in fig. 2). Frequency band 410 may be in the range of 300MHz to 300 GHz. Here, the frequency band 410 may include a plurality of LTE channels (or carriers), which may be denoted as a first LTE channel (F1)420, a second LTE channel (F2)430, and a third LTE channel (F3) 440. In an aspect, the F1 channel 420 may have a channel bandwidth of 10MHz, the F2 channel 430 may have a channel bandwidth of 20MHz, and the F3 channel 440 may have a channel bandwidth of 20 MHz. The LTE channels 420, 430, 440 may support downlink or uplink communications between a base station (e.g., base station 212 in fig. 2) and a UE (e.g., UE 214 in fig. 2).

Each LTE channel 420, 430, 440 may have a transmission bandwidth that is less than the specified channel bandwidth. In this regard, the bandwidth available for information transmission may be less than the channel bandwidth. For a 10MHz channel bandwidth, the transmit bandwidth may be specified as 9MHz (for 15kHz SCS) available for information transmission. For a20 MHz channel bandwidth, the transmit bandwidth may be specified as 18MHz (for 15kHz SCS) available for information transmission. Further, each LTE channel 420, 430, 440 may have guard bands (not shown) on either side or either side of the channel.

In some aspects, the frequency band 410 may also include NR channels (or carriers) 450 that overlap with F1 channels 420, F2 channels 430, and F3 channels 440 as shown. Here, the NR channel 450 may have a channel bandwidth of 50MHz and may be used for downlink or uplink communication between a base station (e.g., the base station 202 in fig. 2) and a UE (e.g., the UE204 in fig. 2). For a 50MHz channel bandwidth, the transmit bandwidth may be specified as 48.6MHz (for 15kHz SCS) available for information transmission. Further, the NR channel 450 may have guard bands (not shown) on either side or either side of the channel. In other aspects, there may be portions of the NR channel 450 that may not overlap with any of the LTE channels 420, 430, 440 based on the transmission bandwidth and guard band of the LTE channel.

It is to be appreciated that the particular channel bandwidths and transmission bandwidths of the NR and LTE channels disclosed in fig. 4 above are merely examples, and that aspects of the present disclosure are applicable to other bandwidth values as well. Further, the NR channel 450 may overlap with at least two or more LTE channels (e.g., two LTE channels, three LTE channels, four LTE channels, etc.). An operator may deploy such a configuration to support dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR. In order for a new UE to operate efficiently in such a deployment, the UE may need to obtain information about the LTE channels (or channels) and the signals transmitted over these channels. In addition, as will be disclosed in more detail below, the UE may implement techniques for utilizing this information to correctly decode the NR channel.

Fig. 5 illustrates a diagram 500 of resource block alignment between legacy carriers/channels and next generation carriers/channels in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy carriers/channels comprise LTE carriers/channels and the next generation carriers/channels comprise NR carriers/channels. In fig. 5, the x-axis represents frequency in some constant units. Diagram 500 shows a portion of an LTE channel (or carrier) 510 and a portion of an NR channel (or carrier) 520. The LTE channel 510 may correspond to one of the LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4. NR channel 520 may correspond to NR channel 450 in fig. 4. In an aspect, the LTE channel 510 may be divided into a plurality of Resource Blocks (RBs) 512, 514, 516, with a predefined number of subcarriers in the frequency domain. For 15kHz SCS and normal CP, each RB may include 12 subcarriers. Thus, each RB has a bandwidth of 180kHz and can be identified by an index in the frequency domain. The number of RBs available for transmission may depend on the transmission bandwidth of the LTE channel. For a 10MHz channel with 15kHz SCS and normal CP (e.g., LTE channel 420 in fig. 4), there are 50 RBs available for transmission, numbered 0 to 49 in index. For a20 MHz channel with 15kHz SCS and normal CP (e.g., LTE channels 430, 440 in fig. 4), there are 100 RBs available for transmission, numbered 0 to 99.

The NR channel 520 may be divided into a number of RBs 522, 524, 526 with a predefined number of subcarriers in the frequency domain. For 15kHz SCS and normal CP, each RB may include 12 subcarriers. Thus, each RB has a bandwidth of 180kHz and can be identified by an index in the frequency domain. The number of RBs available for transmission may depend on the transmission bandwidth of the NR channel. For a 50MHz channel (e.g., NR channel 450 in fig. 4) with 15kHz SCS and normal CP, there are 270 RBs available for transmission.

Here, the RBs 512, 514, 516 of the LTE channel 510 are substantially aligned in the frequency domain with the RBs 522, 524, 526 of the NR channel 520. More specifically, RB 514 may have boundaries 530, 540 that substantially align with respective boundaries 550, 560 of RB 524 in the frequency domain. Thus, there may be a one-to-one mapping of LTE RBs to NR RBs (e.g., LTE RB 514-NR RB 524).

Further, referring back to fig. 4, the NR channel may overlap with the plurality of LTE channels, and the RBs of the NR channel may be substantially aligned with the RBs of all of the plurality of LTE channels. Thus, the center frequency between LTE channels (e.g., LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4) may be an integer multiple of 180kHz (e.g., 15kHz SCS x 12 subcarriers).

Fig. 6 illustrates a resource grid 600 for transmission of legacy signals or next generation signals, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy signal comprises an LTE signal and the next generation signal comprises an NR signal. In fig. 6, the x-axis represents time in some constant units and the y-axis represents frequency in some constant units. In an aspect, the resource grid 600 may correspond to a 15kHz SCS and normal CP configuration, which illustrates 14 OFDM symbols (x-axis) and 12 subcarriers (y-axis) for ease of discussion. Resource grid 600 may correspond to one NR slot or two LTE slots. The size of the mesh may depend on the transmission bandwidth of the LTE channel or the NR channel. Resource grid 600 may be partitioned into a plurality of Resource Elements (REs) 610. Each RE 610 may be identified by (k, l), where k is an index in the frequency domain and l corresponds to a symbol location in the time domain. The resource grid 600 may be used by LTE channels or NR channels to transmit various signals such as reference signals, synchronization signals, control signals, data signals, and so on.

In LTE, there may be continuously or persistently transmitted signals in each LTE channel. For example, a cell-specific reference signal or Common Reference Signal (CRS) may be transmitted in each subframe and across the entire bandwidth of the LTE channel. Additionally, the CRS may be transmitted from one or more antenna ports. An LTE UE (e.g., UE 214 in fig. 2) may use CRS to determine channel quality, frequency and/or timing offset adjustments, measurement reports, and so on. Here, the CRS may be transmitted in the RE620 from one antenna port. The configuration (e.g., location, pattern, sequence, etc.) of the CRS may be determined based on various parameters associated with the LTE channel. In an aspect, the parameters may include one or more of a channel location, a bandwidth, a cell identification, a number of antenna ports, a Multicast Broadcast Signal Frequency Network (MBSFN) configuration, or an uplink/downlink (UL/DL) configuration.

As described above, the NR channel (e.g., NR channel 450 in fig. 4) and the LTE channel (e.g., LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4) may overlap in the frequency domain. Thus, NR signals such as PDCCH, PDSCH, etc. may be rate matched around LTE signals such as CRS to support dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR. In this regard, an NR base station (e.g., base station 202 in fig. 2) may map NR signals to REs 610 of REs 620 that are not occupied by CRSs. As will be discussed in more detail below, NR UEs (e.g., UE204 in fig. 2) may obtain a CRS configuration from an NR base station to correctly receive and decode NR signals. Further, an LTE UE (e.g., UE 214 in fig. 2) may receive CRS with minimal interference from NR signals and operate reliably within a wireless communication system (e.g., system 200 in fig. 2).

Although fig. 6 discloses LTE CRS, it should be understood that other LTE signals may also be applicable even if their transmission frequency is lower than CRS, such as channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals (e.g., Primary Synchronization Signals (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signals (SSS)).

Fig. 7 illustrates a diagram 700 of resource block non-alignment between legacy carriers/channels and next generation carriers/channels, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy carriers/channels comprise LTE carriers/channels and the next generation carriers/channels comprise NR carriers/channels. In fig. 7, the x-axis represents frequency in some constant units. The diagram 700 is similar to the diagram 500 disclosed in fig. 5, except that the RBs of the LTE channel may not be aligned with the RBs of the NR channel in the frequency domain. More specifically, diagram 700 shows a portion of an LTE channel (or carrier) 710 and a portion of an NR channel (or carrier) 720. The LTE channel 710 may correspond to one of the LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4. NR channel 720 may correspond to NR channel 450 in fig. 4. In an aspect, the LTE channel 710 may be divided into a plurality of Resource Blocks (RBs) 712, 714, 716, with a predefined number of subcarriers in the frequency domain. For 15kHz SCS and normal CP, each RB may include 12 subcarriers. Thus, each RB has a bandwidth of 180kHz and can be identified by an index in the frequency domain. The number of RBs available for transmission may depend on the transmission bandwidth of the LTE channel. For a 10MHz channel with 15kHz SCS and normal CP (e.g., LTE channel 420 in fig. 4), there are 50 RBs available for transmission, numbered 0 to 49 in index. For a20 MHz channel with 15kHz SCS and normal CP (e.g., LTE channels 430, 440 in fig. 4), there are 100 RBs available for transmission, numbered 0 to 99.

The NR channel 720 may be divided into a number of RBs 722, 724, 726, with a predefined number of subcarriers in the frequency domain. For 15kHz SCS and normal CP, each RB may include 12 subcarriers. Thus, each RB has a bandwidth of 180kHz and can be identified by an index in the frequency domain. The number of RBs available for transmission may depend on the transmission bandwidth of the NR channel. For a 50MHz channel (e.g., NR channel 450 in fig. 4) with 15kHz SCS and normal CP, there are 270 RBs available for transmission.

Here, the RBs 712, 714, 716 of the LTE channel 710 are not aligned in the frequency domain with the RBs 722, 724, 726 of the NR channel 720. More specifically, RB 714 may have a boundary 730 that is offset 750 in the frequency domain relative to boundary 740 of RB 724. The offset 750 may correspond to some subcarriers in the frequency domain. In some aspects, the NR UE may determine the offset 750 based on information received from the base station, which will be discussed in more detail below.

Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of a configuration 800 including a plurality of parameters 810 for legacy carriers/channels, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy carrier/channel comprises an LTE carrier/channel. As described above, an NR UE (e.g., UE204 in fig. 2) may obtain information associated with LTE channels (e.g., LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4) that overlap with an NR channel (e.g., NR channel 450 in fig. 4). Thus, a base station (e.g., base station 202 in fig. 2) sends configuration 800 thereto. In an aspect, the parameters 810 may include one or more of a channel location 820, a bandwidth 830, a cell identification 840, a number of antenna ports 850, a Multicast Broadcast Signal Frequency Network (MBSFN) configuration 860, or an uplink/downlink (UL/DL) configuration 870. The NR UE may determine the location (e.g., time-frequency resources) of the LTE signal transmitted in each of the LTE channels based on the parameters 810.

In some examples, channel position 820 may correspond to a position of an LTE channel within a frequency band (e.g., frequency band 410 in fig. 4). More specifically, each LTE channel may be associated with an EARFCN and may be positioned according to a channel raster.

In some examples, bandwidth 830 may correspond to a channel bandwidth of an LTE channel (e.g., 1.4MHz, 3MHz, 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, or 20 MHz).

In other examples, the cell identity 840 may correspond to a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) associated with the LTE channel.

In some examples, the number of antenna ports 850 may correspond to one or more antenna ports used to transmit LTE signals on an LTE channel. In one example, one antenna port is shown in fig. 6 for transmitting LTE CRS.

In some other examples, the MBSFN configuration 860 may correspond to a configuration of MBSFN subframes of an LTE channel. The configuration of LTE signals in MBSFN subframes may be different from the configuration of LTE signals in non-MBSFN subframes.

In some examples, UL/DL configuration 870 may correspond to a TDD frame structure used in LTE channels. In other words, the UL/DL configuration 870 may specify a subframe for UL (UL subframe) and a subframe for DL (DL subframe). Therefore, the temperature of the molten metal is controlled,

fig. 9-12 illustrate block flow diagrams of methods for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy network comprises an LTE network and the next generation network comprises an NR network. The method of fig. 9-12 may be described with reference to fig. 2-8, and the same reference numerals as in fig. 2-8 may be used for ease of discussion.

In fig. 9, a method 900 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR is provided. The operations of method 900 may be implemented by a UE115, 204 or components thereof, as described herein with reference to fig. 15-16. In some examples, the UE115, 204 may execute a set of codes to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE115, 204 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At block 910, the UE115, 204 may receive a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT. The operations of block 910 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In an aspect, the first RAT may include an LTE RAT that utilizes multiple LTE channels (e.g., LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4) for wireless communication. In some examples, the UE115, 204 may receive a configuration including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of LTE channels via a broadcast channel. For example, the broadcast channel may include PBCH, and the configuration may be included in system information, such as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI).

In other examples, the UE115, 204 may receive a configuration including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of LTE channels via a multicast channel. More specifically, the configuration may be transmitted in a group common downlink control channel (e.g., GC-PDCCH). The UEs 115, 204 may be included in a group of UEs that have been enabled to support dynamic spectrum sharing, and the configuration may be received in common control signaling.

In still other examples, the UE115, 204 may receive a configuration including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of LTE channels via a unicast channel. For example, the UE115, 204 may receive the configuration via RRC or higher layer signaling. In another example, the UE115, 204 may receive the configuration via a MAC control element transmitted in a downlink control channel.

In some examples, the plurality of parameters may be associated with each LTE channel (e.g., LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4). The parameters may correspond to the parameters 810 disclosed in fig. 8.

At block 920, the UE115, 204 may receive a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, the second channel of the second RAT overlapping the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in the frequency domain. The operations of block 920 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In an aspect, the second RAT may include an NR RAT that utilizes an NR channel (e.g., NR channel 450 in fig. 4).

In some examples, a UE115, 204 may operate in an NR channel that overlaps multiple LTE channels in the frequency domain. The NR channel and the LTE channel may be divided into a plurality of RBs. In an aspect, as shown in fig. 5, the RBs of the NR channels may be substantially aligned with the RBs of the LTE channels in the frequency domain. In another aspect, as shown in fig. 7, the RBs of the NR channel may not be aligned with the RBs of the LTE channel in the frequency domain.

In some examples, the NR channel may include one or more portions that do not overlap with the plurality of LTE channels. These portions may correspond to RBs that may be fully utilized by a base station (e.g., base station 202 in fig. 2) without any rate matching around LTE signals and/or transmissions.

In fig. 10, a method 1000 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR is provided. The operations of the method 1000 may be implemented by the UE115, 204 or components thereof, as described herein with reference to fig. 15-16. In some examples, the UE115, 204 may execute a set of codes to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE115, 204 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At block 1010, the UE115, 204 may determine a location of a Common Reference Signal (CRS) associated with each of a plurality of first channels of the first RAT based on the plurality of parameters. The operations of block 1010 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In an aspect, the UE115, 204 may determine an LTE signal that may be continuously or persistently transmitted based on a parameter (e.g., parameter 810 in fig. 8). For example, cell-specific or Common Reference Signals (CRS) may be transmitted in all subframes and across the entire bandwidth of each LTE channel. The UE115, 204 may determine the configuration of the CRS based on the parameters of each LTE channel. More specifically, the UE115, 204 may determine the location of CRS associated with each LTE channel (e.g., REs 620 in fig. 6).

At block 1020, the UE115, 204 may receive a second channel of a second RAT rate-matched around the location of the CRS. The operations of block 1020 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, the UE115, 204 may receive an NR channel or channels, such as a PDCCH or PDSCH, that is rate matched around the location of the CRS.

In other examples, the second channel of the second RAT may include one or more portions that do not overlap with the first channel of the first RAT. Accordingly, the UE115, 204 may receive one or more portions of the second channel that are rate mismatched around the location of the CRS.

In some other examples, as shown in fig. 7, the RBs of the LTE channel may not be aligned with the RBs of the NR channel in the frequency domain. Due to the non-alignment, the position of the CRS may be shifted in the frequency domain. Thus, the UE115, 204 may adapt the rate matching around the location of the CRS based on the frequency offset (e.g., offset 750 in fig. 7) between the second channel (e.g., NR channel 720 in fig. 7) and each first channel (e.g., LTE channel 710 in fig. 7).

In fig. 11, a methodology 1100 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR is provided. The operations of the method in fig. 11 may be implemented by the base station 105, 202 or components thereof as described herein with reference to fig. 13-14. In some examples, the base station 105, 202 may execute a set of codes to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station 105, 202 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At block 1110, the base station 105, 202 may determine a configuration of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) that includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT. The operations of block 1110 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein.

In some examples, the first RAT may include an LTE RAT that utilizes multiple LTE channels (e.g., LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4) for wireless communication. The base station 105, 202 may determine the configuration of the LTE channel from another base station (e.g., base station 212 in fig. 2) over the backhaul interface.

In some examples, the plurality of parameters may be associated with each LTE channel (e.g., LTE channels 420, 430, 440 in fig. 4). The parameters may correspond to the parameters 810 disclosed in fig. 8.

At block 1120, the base station 105, 202 may transmit a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT, the second channel of the second RAT overlapping the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in the frequency domain. The operations of block 1120 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the base station 105, 202 may send the configuration via a broadcast channel. More specifically, the broadcast channel may include PBCH, and the configuration may be included in system information, such as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI).

In other examples, the base station 105, 202 may send the configuration via a multicast channel. In such embodiments, the configuration may be sent in a group common downlink control channel (e.g., GC-PDCCH). The base station 105 may group some of its own UEs for micro-sleep operation and may send the configuration to the group of UEs in common control signaling.

In still other examples, the base station 105, 202 may send the configuration via a unicast channel. More specifically, the base station 105, 202 may send the configuration via RRC or higher layer signaling. Alternatively, the base station may transmit the configuration via a MAC control element transmitted in a downlink control channel.

In an aspect, the second RAT may include an NR RAT that utilizes an NR channel (e.g., NR channel 450 in fig. 4).

In some examples, the base station 105, 202 may operate in an NR channel that overlaps multiple LTE channels in the frequency domain. The NR channel and the LTE channel may be divided into a plurality of RBs. In an aspect, as shown in fig. 5, the RBs of the NR channels may be substantially aligned with the RBs of the LTE channels in the frequency domain. In another aspect, as shown in fig. 7, the RBs of the NR channel may not be aligned with the RBs of the LTE channel in the frequency domain.

In some examples, the NR channel may include one or more portions that do not overlap with the plurality of LTE channels. These portions may correspond to RBs that may be fully utilized by the base station 105, 202 without any rate matching around LTE signals and/or transmissions.

In fig. 12, a method 1200 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR is provided. The operations of the method in fig. 12 may be implemented by the base station 105, 202 or components thereof as described herein with reference to fig. 13-14. In some examples, the base station 105, 202 may execute a set of codes to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station 105, 202 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At block 1210, the base station 105, 202 may determine a location of a Common Reference Signal (CRS) associated with each of a plurality of first channels of a first RAT. The operations of block 1210 may be performed according to the methods described herein.

In some examples, the base station 105, 202 may determine the location of LTE signals that may be continuously or persistently transmitted in each LTE channel. For example, cell-specific or Common Reference Signals (CRS) may be transmitted in all subframes and across the entire bandwidth of each LTE channel. More specifically, the base station 105, 202 may determine the location of CRS (e.g., REs 620 in fig. 6) transmitted in each LTE channel.

At block 1220, the base station 105, 202 may map the data signal to a second channel of the second RAT such that the data signal is not mapped to resource elements corresponding to a location of the CRS. The operations of block 1220 may be performed according to the methods described herein.

In some examples, NR signals such as PDCCH, PDSCH, etc. may be rate matched around LTE signals such as CRS to support dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR. In this regard, the base station 105, 202 may map NR signals to resource elements (e.g., REs 610 in fig. 6) not occupied by CRSs (e.g., REs 620 in fig. 6). In other words, the NR signal is not mapped to resource elements corresponding to the position of the CRS. In some other examples, other LTE signals may be rate matched, such as channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals (e.g., Primary Synchronization Signals (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signals (SSS)), even though their transmission frequency is lower than CRS.

In some examples, the second channel may also include a portion that does not overlap with the first channel of the first RAT. In this regard, the base station 105, 202 may map the NR signal to all resource elements in the portion since no LTE signal is transmitted in the non-overlapping portion.

Fig. 13 shows a block diagram 1300 of a wireless device 1310 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy network comprises an LTE network and the next generation network comprises an NR network. The wireless device 1310 may be an example of aspects of the base stations 105, 202 described herein. Wireless device 1310 may include a receiver 1320, a spectrum 1330, and a transmitter 1340. The wireless device 1310 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1320 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various uplink channels such as PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Scheduling Request (SR), and so on. Information may be passed to other components of the device. The receiver 1320 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1435 described with reference to fig. 14. The receiver 1320 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

The spectrum manager 1330 may be an example of aspects of the spectrum manager 1415 described with reference to fig. 14.

The spectrum manager 1330 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions of the spectrum manager 1330 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure. The spectrum manager 1330, and/or at least some of its various subcomponents, may be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functionality are implemented by one or more physical devices at different physical locations. In some examples, the spectrum manager 1330 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be separate and distinct components, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In other examples, the spectrum manager 1330 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an I/O component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in this disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The spectrum manager 1330 can manage dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks, such as LTE, and next generation networks, such as NR, as described in various aspects and examples herein. In an aspect, the spectrum manager 1330 may be configured to determine a configuration of a first RAT that includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT, and transmit a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT. The second channel of the second RAT may overlap with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in the frequency domain.

Transmitter 1340 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device. In some examples, the transmitter 1340 can be collocated with the receiver 1320 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1340 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1035 described with reference to fig. 10. The transmitter 1340 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

The transmitter 1340 may transmit information such as packets, user data, or control information related to downlink signals/channels such as PSS/SSS, PBCH, PHICH, PDCCH, PDSCH, etc. In some examples, the transmitter 1340 may transmit.

Fig. 14 shows a diagram of a system 1400 including a device 1405 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy network comprises an LTE network and the next generation network comprises an NR network. The device 1405 may be an example of a wireless device 910, or a base station 105, 202, 212, or a component including a wireless device 910, or a base station 105, 202, 212, described herein. The device 1405 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a UE micro-sleep manager 1415, a processor 1420, a memory 1425, software 1430, a transceiver 1435, an antenna 1440, a network communications manager 1445, and an inter-station communications manager 1450. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1410. The device 1405 may communicate wirelessly with one or more User Equipments (UEs) 115, 204, 214.

The spectrum manager 1415 may manage dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks, such as LTE, and next generation networks, such as NR, as described in various aspects and examples herein. In an aspect, the spectrum manager 1415 may be configured to determine the parameters disclosed in fig. 8 and manage the procedures disclosed in fig. 11 and 12.

Processor 1420 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general processor, DSP, Central Processing Unit (CPU), microcontroller, ASIC, FPGA, programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1420 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1420. The processor 1420 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support long-term channel sensing in shared spectrum).

The memory 1425 can include Random Access Memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 1425 may store computer-readable, computer-executable software 1430 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1425 may contain a basic input/output system (BIOS), or the like, which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Software 1430 may include code for implementing aspects of the disclosure, including code for supporting microsleep operation in a shared spectrum. The software 1430 may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as system memory or other memory. In some cases, the software 1430 may not be directly executable by the processor, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein.

As described above, the transceiver 1435 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired links, or wireless links. For example, the transceiver 1435 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1435 may also include a modem to modulate packets, provide the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulate packets received from the antenna.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1440. In some cases, however, the device may have more than one antenna 1440 capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

The network communication manager 1445 may manage communication with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communication manager 1445 may manage the communication of data communications for a client device (e.g., one or more UEs 115).

The inter-station communication manager 1450 may manage communications with other base stations 105, 202, 212 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with the UEs 115, 204, 214 in cooperation with the other base stations 105, 202, 212. For example, the inter-station communication manager 1450 may coordinate scheduling of transmissions to UEs 115, 204, 212 for various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communication manager 1450 may provide an X2 interface within NR wireless communication network technologies to provide communication between the base stations 105, 202, 212.

Fig. 15 shows a block diagram 1500 of a wireless device 1505 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy and next generation networks, according to aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy network comprises an LTE network and the next generation network comprises an NR network. The wireless device 1505 may be an example of aspects of the UEs 115, 204 as described herein. The wireless device 1505 may include a receiver 1510, a channel configuration manager 1520, and a transmitter 1530. Wireless device 1505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 1510 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information related to downlink signals/channels such as PSS/SSS, PBCH, PHICH, PDCCH, PDSCH, etc. Information may be passed to other components of the device. The receiver 1510 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1635 described with reference to fig. 16. The receiver 1510 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

The channel configuration manager 1520 may be an example of aspects of the channel configuration manager 1615 described with reference to fig. 16.

The channel configuration manager 1520 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions of the channel configuration manager 1520 or at least some of its various subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure. The channel configuration manager 1520 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functionality are implemented by one or more physical devices at different physical locations. In some examples, the channel configuration manager 1520 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In other examples, the channel configuration manager 1520 and/or at least some of its various subcomponents may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an I/O component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

As described herein, the channel configuration manager 1520 may manage a configuration that includes a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of legacy channels, such as LTE carriers/channels, and next generation channels, such as NR carriers/channels for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing. The configuration may include a plurality of parameters associated with one or more LTE channels. In an aspect, the channel configuration manager 1520 may be configured to receive a configuration of a first RAT including a plurality of parameters associated with a plurality of first channels of the first RAT, and to receive a second channel associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT. The second channel of the second RAT may overlap with the plurality of first channels of the first RAT in the frequency domain.

Transmitter 1530 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device. In some examples, the transmitter 1530 may be collocated with the receiver 1510 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1530 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1635 described with reference to fig. 16. The transmitter 1530 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

Fig. 16 shows a diagram of a system 1600 that includes a device 1605 for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing between legacy networks and next generation networks, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the legacy network comprises an LTE network and the next generation network comprises an NR network. The device 1605 may be an example of a UE115, 204 or a component including a UE115, 204 described herein. Device 1605 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a channel configuration manager 1615, a processor 1620, a memory 1625, software 1630, a transceiver 1635, an antenna 1640, and an I/O controller 1645. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1610. The device 1605 may communicate wirelessly with one or more base stations 105.

The channel configuration manager 1615 may maintain configuration parameters and manage various procedures to support dynamic spectrum sharing between LTE and NR, as described herein. In an aspect, the channel configuration manager 1615 may be configured to maintain the parameters disclosed in fig. 8 and manage the procedures disclosed in fig. 9 and 10.

Processor 1620 may comprise intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 1620 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1620. The processor 1620 may be configured to execute computer readable instructions stored in memory to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support operations in shared spectrum using multiple BW portions).

Memory 1625 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1625 may store computer-readable, computer-executable software 1630 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1625 may also contain a BIOS or the like that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The software 1630 may include code for implementing aspects of the disclosure, including code for supporting multiple BW portions in a shared spectrum. The software 1630 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other memory. In some cases, the software 1630 may not be executed directly by the processor, but may cause the computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

As described above, the transceiver 1635 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, a wired link, or a wireless link. For example, the transceiver 1635 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1635 may also include a modem to modulate packets, provide the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulate packets received from the antenna.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1640. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1640 that is capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

I/O controller 1645 may manage the input and output signals of device 1605. I/O controller 1645 may also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 1605. In some cases, I/O controller 1645 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I/O controller 1645 may utilize an operating system, such as Or another known operating system. In other instances, I/O controller 1645 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or the like. In some cases, the I/O controller 1645 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1605 via I/O controller 1645 or via hardware components controlled by I/O controller 1645.

It should be noted that the above described methods describe possible embodiments and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other embodiments are possible. Further, various aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and others. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems may implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and the like. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000Releases are commonly referred to as CDMA 20001X, 1X, etc. IS-856(TIA-856) IS commonly referred to as CDMA 20001 xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as global system for mobile communications (GSM).

OFDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and the like. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A is a UMTS release using E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, NR, and GSM are described in documents of the organization entitled "third Generation partnership project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies as well as other systems and radio technologies. Although various aspects of an LTE or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE or NR terminology may be used in many of the descriptions, the techniques described herein may be applied beyond LTE or NR applications.

In LTE/LTE-a networks, including such networks described herein, the term evolved node b (enb) may be used generally to describe a base station. A wireless communication system or system described herein may include a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-a or NR network in which different types of enbs provide coverage for various geographic areas. For example, each eNB, next generation nodeb (gnb), or base station may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or other type of cell. The term "cell" can be used to describe a base station, a carrier or component carrier associated with a base station, or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier or base station, depending on the context.

The base station 105 may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a gNB, a home NodeB, a home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The geographic coverage area for a base station can be partitioned into sectors that form only a portion of the coverage area. The wireless communication system or systems described herein may include different types of base stations (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UEs described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of base stations and network devices, including macro enbs, small cell enbs, gbbs, relay base stations, and so forth. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas for different technologies.

The wireless communication system or systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frame timings, and the transmissions from the different base stations may not be aligned in time. It should be noted that the base station may be deployed by the same operator, or may be deployed by different operators. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operations.

The downlink transmissions described herein may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and the uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions. Each communication link described herein, including, for example, wireless communication system 100 and the systems of fig. 1 and 2, may include one or more carriers, where each carrier may be a signal (e.g., a waveform signal of a different frequency) made up of multiple subcarriers.

The description described herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and is not intended to represent all examples that may be practiced or within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "superior to other examples. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, the techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference label. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the other similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented by hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure and the following claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination thereof. Features that perform functions may also be physically located in various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented in different physical locations. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items beginning with a phrase such as "at least one" or "one or more") means an inclusive list. Thus, for example, a list of at least one of A, B or C represents A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed condition set. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition a" may be based on both condition a and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based, at least in part, on".

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Compact Disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the definition of medium includes coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The description set forth herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.