阅读说明：本技术 用于在未许可频谱上操作的新空口(nr)系统中的配置授权传输的nr时域资源分配 (NR time domain resource allocation for configuration-granted transmission in a new air interface (NR) system operating over unlicensed spectrum ) 是由 J·A·奥维多 S·塔拉里科 Y·李 郭龙准 于 2020-05-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：本文所讨论的技术可有利于确定未许可频谱(NR-U)中的新空口(NR)操作的上行链路(UL)资源。一个示例性实施方案是一种可由UE采用的装置,该装置包括一个或多个处理器,该一个或多个处理器被配置为：经由无线电资源控制(RRC)信令处理至少一个位图,其中该至少一个位图中的每个位图包括X位,其中X是大于1的整数；以及至少基于该至少一个位图,针对至少一个配置授权(CG)周期的每个时间资源,确定该时间资源是否被配置用于经由未许可载波进行上行链路(UL)传输,其中该至少一个CG周期中的每个CG周期包括P个时间资源,其中P是大于1的整数。(The techniques discussed herein may facilitate determining Uplink (UL) resources for a new air gap (NR) operation in an unlicensed spectrum (NR-U). One exemplary embodiment is an apparatus employable by a UE, the apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to: processing at least one bitmap via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, wherein each bitmap of the at least one bitmap comprises X bits, wherein X is an integer greater than 1; and determining, based at least on the at least one bitmap, for each time resource of at least one Configured Grant (CG) period, whether the time resource is configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier, wherein each CG period of the at least one CG period includes P time resources, wherein P is an integer greater than 1.)

1. An apparatus configured to be employed in a User Equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

processing at least one bitmap via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, wherein each bitmap of the at least one bitmap comprises X bits, wherein X is an integer greater than 1; and

determining, based at least on the at least one bitmap, for each time resource of at least one Configured Grant (CG) cycle, whether the time resource is configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier, wherein each CG cycle of the at least one CG cycle includes P time resources, wherein P is an integer greater than 1.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine, via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure, whether the unlicensed carrier is idle for a first time resource determined to be configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the one or more processors are further configured to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

4. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-3, wherein for an associated time resource of the at least one CG cycle, each bit of the X bits indicates whether the associated time resource is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein each time resource of the at least one CG cycle has a size based on a granularity indicated via one of higher layer signaling or Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the size is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, one subframe, or one radio frame.

6. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-3, wherein X is independent of a subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carriers.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein X is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carrier.

8. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein X is configured via one of RRC or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

9. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one bitmap is at least one same bitmap that repeats in the at least one CG cycle, where X is independent of P.

10. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, and wherein when X is greater than P, each of a first P bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of each of the at least one CG cycles are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

11. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, wherein the at least one CG cycle is n CG cycles and an integer n is greater than 1, and wherein when X is greater than (n-1) xP and less than nP and the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of each of the n CG cycles is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of the single bitmap followed by a first nP-X bit of the single bitmap.

12. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one bitmap is n bitmaps and an integer n is greater than 1, wherein the at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, and wherein when P is greater than (n-1) X X and less than nX and the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of the single CG cycle is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of a first n-1 of the n bitmaps followed by a first nX-P bit of an nth bitmap of the n bitmaps.

13. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap and the at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, wherein when P is greater than X, each bit of X bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of the single CG cycle are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier, and wherein one or more additional time resources of the single CG cycle without associated bits of the single bitmap are not configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein when P is greater than X, the at least one bitmap is two or more bitmaps, wherein a second bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted with respect to a first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each bitmap of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap is cyclically shifted by a common offset relative to the first bitmap.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine, for each of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap, a cyclic shift of the bitmap relative to the first bitmap based on at least one of RRC signaling, a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, or a locally stored table.

17. A UE comprising the apparatus of any of claims 1-3.

18. A machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a User Equipment (UE) to:

processing at least one bitmap via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, wherein each bitmap of the at least one bitmap comprises X bits, wherein X is an integer greater than 1; and

determining, based at least on the at least one bitmap, for each time resource of at least one Configured Grant (CG) cycle, whether the time resource is configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier, wherein each CG cycle of the at least one CG cycle includes P time resources, wherein P is an integer greater than 1.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) process for a first time resource determined to be configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

20. The machine readable medium of claim 19, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

21. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18-20, wherein for an associated time resource of the at least one CG cycle, each bit of the X bits indicates whether the associated time resource is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

22. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18-20, wherein each time resource of the at least one CG period has a size based on a granularity indicated via one of higher layer signaling or Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the size is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, one subframe, or one radio frame.

23. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18-20, wherein X is independent of a subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carriers.

24. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18-20, wherein X is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the unlicensed carrier.

25. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18-20, wherein X is configured via one of RRC or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

26. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18-20, wherein the at least one bitmap is at least one same bitmap that repeats in the at least one CG period, wherein X is independent of P.

27. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18-20, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, and wherein when X is greater than P, each of the first P bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of each of the at least one CG periods are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

28. The machine-readable medium of any of claims 18 to 20, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, wherein the at least one CG period is n CG periods and an integer n is greater than 1, and wherein when X is greater than (n-1) X P and less than nP and the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of each of the n CG periods is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of the single bitmap followed by a first nP-X bit of the single bitmap.

29. The machine-readable medium of any of claims 18 to 20, wherein the at least one bitmap is n bitmaps and an integer n is greater than 1, wherein the at least one CG period is a single CG period, and wherein when P is greater than (n-1) X and less than nX and the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of the single CG period is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of a first n-1 of the n bitmaps followed by a first nX-P bit of an nth bitmap of the n bitmaps.

30. The machine-readable medium of any of claims 18 to 20, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap and the at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, wherein when P is greater than X, each of the X bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of the single CG cycle are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier, and wherein one or more additional time resources of the single CG cycle without associated bits of the single bitmap are not configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

31. The machine readable medium of any of claims 18 to 20, wherein when P is greater than X, the at least one bitmap is two or more bitmaps, wherein a second bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted with respect to a first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps.

32. The machine-readable medium of claim 31, wherein each of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap is cyclically shifted by a common offset relative to the first bitmap.

33. The machine-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine, for each of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap, a cyclic shift of the bitmap relative to the first bitmap based on at least one of RRC signaling, a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, or a locally stored table.

34. An apparatus configured to be employed in a User Equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

processing a Configuration Grant (CG) of an unlicensed carrier via one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) or Downlink Control Information (DCI); and

determining, based at least on the CG, one or more time resources configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine, for a first time resource of the one or more time resources, whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the one or more processors are further configured to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

37. The apparatus of any of claims 34-36, wherein the configuration authorization comprises one or more parameters, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters.

38. The device of claim 37, wherein the one or more parameters comprise one or more of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start Symbol and Length Indicator Value (SLIV), or a number of repetitions (repK).

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the one or more parameters comprise the periodicity, the slot offset, the SLIV, and the repK.

40. The apparatus of any of claims 34-36, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets and a duration of consecutive slots applied to each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the duration of consecutive slots.

41. The device of claim 40, wherein the plurality of slot offsets are evenly spaced in time during a CG cycle.

42. The apparatus of any of claims 34-36, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets and an associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets has a time resource granularity of one of fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, two slots, or four slots.

44. The device of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the CG indicates the one or more time resources by indicating one or more resource sets, wherein the one or more resource sets are one of fixed or configured.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the CG is processed via DCI, and wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via a bitmap, wherein each resource set of the one or more resource sets is associated with a different bit of the bitmap.

47. The apparatus of any of claims 34-36, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets evenly spaced in time during a CG cycle, each slot offset having a fixed duration, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the fixed duration.

48. The apparatus of any of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more time resources have a total duration that is less than a CG cycle.

49. The apparatus of any of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on an entry in a locally stored table, wherein the entry is determined based at least on the CG.

50. A UE comprising the apparatus of any of claims 34-36.

51. A machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a User Equipment (UE) to:

processing a Configuration Grant (CG) of an unlicensed carrier via one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) or Downlink Control Information (DCI); and

determining, based at least on the CG, one or more time resources configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

52. The machine-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine, for a first time resource of the one or more time resources, whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) process.

53. The machine readable medium of claim 52, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

54. The machine readable medium of any of claims 51-53, wherein the configuration authorization comprises one or more parameters, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters.

55. The machine-readable medium of claim 54, wherein the one or more parameters comprise one or more of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start Symbol and Length Indicator Value (SLIV), or a number of repetitions (repK).

56. The machine-readable medium of claim 55, wherein the one or more parameters comprise the periodicity, the slot offset, the SLIV, and the repK.

57. The machine readable medium of any of claims 51-53, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets and a duration of consecutive slots applied to each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the duration of consecutive slots.

58. The machine-readable medium of claim 57, wherein the plurality of slot offsets are evenly spaced in time during a CG cycle.

59. The machine readable medium of any of claims 51-53, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets and an associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets.

60. The machine-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets has a time resource granularity of one of fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, two slots, or four slots.

61. The machine readable medium of any of claims 51-53, wherein the CG indicates the one or more time resources by indicating one or more resource sets, wherein the one or more resource sets are one of fixed or configured.

62. The machine-readable medium of claim 61, wherein the CG is processed via DCI, and wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

63. The machine-readable medium of claim 61, wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via a bitmap, wherein each resource set of the one or more resource sets is associated with a different bit of the bitmap.

64. The machine readable medium of any of claims 51-53, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets evenly spaced in time during a CG cycle, each slot offset having a fixed duration, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the fixed duration.

65. The machine readable medium of any of claims 51-53, wherein the one or more time resources have a total duration that is less than a CG cycle.

66. The machine readable medium of any of claims 51-53, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on an entry in a locally stored table, wherein the entry is determined based at least on the CG.

Background

The number of mobile devices connected to a wireless network has increased dramatically each year. To keep up with the demands of mobile data traffic, system requirements and capabilities are changed to be able to meet these requirements. To achieve this traffic increase is a larger bandwidth, lower latency and higher data rate for the three regions of enhancement.

One of the main limiting factors in wireless communications is the availability of spectrum. To alleviate this situation, unlicensed spectrum has been an area of intense interest to extend the availability of the third generation partnership project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE). In this context, one of the main enhancements of LTE in 3GPP release 13 (Rel-13) is to enable it to operate in unlicensed spectrum via Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), which extends the system bandwidth by leveraging the flexible Carrier Aggregation (CA) framework introduced by LTE-advanced systems (LTE-a).

Drawings

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of a system including a Core Network (CN), e.g., a fifth generation (5G) CN (5GC), in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of an infrastructure equipment device, such as a Base Station (BS), that can be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a User Equipment (UE) device that may be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system that facilitates NR-U operation based on time resources of one or more configurations for UL transmissions in accordance with various techniques discussed herein.

Fig. 5A is a pair of graphs illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) that can be repeated over time independently of a Configuration Grant (CG) periodicity (e.g., 16 (top graph) or 64 (bottom graph)) according to various embodiments discussed herein.

Fig. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) in which P time domain resource elements per CG period may be configured based on the first P elements of the length X bitmap for a CG period P < X, according to various embodiments discussed herein.

Fig. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) in which resource allocation follows the bitmap for each set of n CG cycles of length P, and the first nP-X time resource units of the bitmap are used if the resource units of the last cycle of each set are not covered by the bitmap, according to various embodiments discussed herein.

Fig. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) in which resource allocations are based on the bitmap, where any remaining time domain units are configured by repeating the bitmap in time until the end of the period, in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

Fig. 7 is a pair of graphs showing an exemplary representation of a bitmap that has been cyclically shifted by an offset (in an example, L-5) according to various embodiments discussed herein.

Fig. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) in which resource allocations are based on the bitmap, where any remaining time domain units are configured by repeating cyclically shifted versions of the bitmap in time until the end of the period, in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

Fig. 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of multiple slot offsets configured within a periodicity, each slot offset having a slot duration for which a UE may continuously perform its transmission in time, according to various embodiments discussed herein.

Fig. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method that may be employed at a UE to facilitate NR-U operation based on one or more configured time resources for UL transmissions in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures and devices are not necessarily drawn to scale. As used herein, the terms "component," "system," "interface," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component may be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, controller, or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet, and/or user equipment with a processing device (e.g., a mobile phone or other device configured to communicate via a 3GPP RAN, etc.). By way of example, an application running on a server and the server can also be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. A set of elements or a set of other components can be described herein, wherein the term "set" can be interpreted as "one or more" unless context indicates otherwise (e.g., "empty set," "set of two or more xs," etc.).

Further, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon, such as utilizing modules, for example. The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network, such as the internet, local area network, wide area network, or the like with other systems via the signal).

As another example, a component may be an apparatus having a particular function provided by a mechanical component operated by electrical or electronic circuitry operated by a software application or firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors may be internal or external to the apparatus and may execute at least a portion of a software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component may be a device that provides a particular function through an electronic component without the need for a mechanical component; the electronic components may include one or more processors therein to execute software and/or firmware that at least partially impart functionality to the electronic components.

The use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; x is B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing circumstances. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes," including, "" has, "" with, "or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term" comprising. Further, where one or more numbered items (e.g., "first X," "second X," etc.) are discussed, in general, the one or more numbered items can be different or they can be the same, but in some cases, the context can indicate that they are different or that they are the same.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, may be part of, or may include the following: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or the functions associated with, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, a circuit may comprise logic operable, at least in part, in hardware.

Various aspects discussed herein may relate to facilitating wireless communications, and the nature of such communications may vary.

It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be explicitly stated to the user.

The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 1 illustrates an architecture of a system 100 including a Core Network (CN)120 (first through twenty-fourth additional examples, e.g., a fifth generation (5G) CN (5GC)), according to various embodiments. The system 100 is shown as including: a UE 101, which may be the same as or similar to one or more other UEs discussed herein; a third generation partnership project (3GPP) radio access network (radio AN or RAN) or other (e.g., non-3 GPP) AN, (R) AN 210, which may include one or more RAN nodes, such as base stations (e.g., evolved node B (enb)), next generation node B (gNB, and/or other nodes), or other nodes or access points; and a Data Network (DN)203, which may be, for example, an operator service, internet access, or third party service; and a fifth generation core network (5GC) 120. The 5GC 120 may include one or more of the following functions and network components: an authentication server function (AUSF) 122; an access and mobility management function (AMF) 121; a Session Management Function (SMF) 124; a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 123; a Policy Control Function (PCF) 126; a Network Repository Function (NRF) 125; unified Data Management (UDM) 127; an Application Function (AF) 128; a User Plane (UP) function (UPF) 102; and a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 129.

The UPF 102 may serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point interconnecting to DN 103, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 102 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane part of policy rules, lawful intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, Uplink (UL)/Downlink (DL) rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 102 may include an uplink classifier for supporting the routing of traffic to a data network. DN 103 may represent various network operator services, internet access, or third party services. DN 103 may include or be similar to an application server. UPF 102 may interact with SMF 124 via an N4 reference point between SMF 124 and UPF 102.

The AUSF 122 may store data for authentication of the UE 101 and handle functions related to authentication. The AUSF 122 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. AUSF 122 may communicate with AMF 121 via an N12 reference point between AMF 121 and AUSF 122; and may communicate with UDM 127 via an N13 reference point between UDM 127 and AUSF 122. Additionally, the AUSF 122 may present an interface based on Nausf services.

The AMF 121 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering the UE 101, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, as well as access authentication and authorization. AMF 121 may be the termination point of the N11 reference point between AMF 121 and SMF 124. AMF 121 may provide transport for SM messages between UE 101 and SMF 124 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 121 may also provide for transmission of Short Message Service (SMS) messages between UE 101 and an SMSF (not shown in FIG. 1). The AMF 121 may serve as a security anchor function (SEAF), which may include interaction with the AUSF 122 and the UE 101 and/or receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 101 authentication process. In the case of using Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) based authentication, AMF 121 may retrieve the security material from AUSF 122. The AMF 121 may also include a Single Connectivity Mode (SCM) function that receives a key from the SEA for deriving an access network specific key. Further, AMF 121 may be a termination point of a RAN Control Plane (CP) interface, which may include or be AN N2 reference point between (R) AN 110 and AMF 121; and the AMF 121 may be a termination point of non-access stratum (NAS) (N1) signaling and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection.

The AMF 121 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 101 over a non-3 GPP (N3) interworking function (IWF) interface. An N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3IWF may be the termination point of the N2 interface between the (R) AN 110 and the AMF 121 of the control plane and may be the termination point of the N3 reference point between the (R) AN 110 and the UPF 102 of the user plane. Thus, AMF 121 may process N2 signaling from SMF 124 and AMF 121 for PDU sessions and QoS, encapsulate/decapsulate packets for Internet Protocol (IP) security (IPSec) and N3 tunneling, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and enforce QoS requirements corresponding to the marking of N3 packets, thereby taking into account the QoS requirements associated with such marking received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 via the N1 reference point between the UE 101 and the AMF 121, and uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 101 and the UPF 102. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 101. The AMF 121 may present a Namf service based interface and may be a termination point of an N14 reference point between two AMFs 121 and an N17 reference point between the AMF 121 and a 5G equipment identity register (5G-EIR) (not shown in fig. 1).

UE 101 may register with AMF 121 in order to receive network services. The Registration Management (RM) is used to register or deregister the UE 101 with or from the network (e.g., the AMF 121) and establish a UE context in the network (e.g., the AMF 121). The UE 101 may operate in the RM-REGISTRED state or the RM-DEREGISTRED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, the UE 101 is not registered with the network and the UE context in AMF 121 does not hold valid location or routing information for the UE 101, so AMF 121 cannot reach the UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 101 registers with the network, and the UE context in AMF 121 may hold valid location or routing information for the UE 101, so AMF 121 can reach the UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 101 may perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by the expiration of a periodic update timer (e.g., to notify the network that the UE 101 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, and so forth.

The AMF 121 may store one or more RM contexts for the UE 101, where each RM context is associated with a particular access to the network. The RM context may be a data structure, database object, etc. that indicates or stores, among other things, the registration status and periodic update timer for each access type. The AMF 121 may also store a 5GC Mobility Management (MM) context, which may be the same as or similar to the (enhanced packet system (EPS)) MM ((E) MM) context. In various embodiments, AMF 121 may store Coverage Enhancement (CE) mode B restriction parameters of UE 101 in an associated MM context or RM context. The AMF 121 may also derive values from the usage setting parameters of the UE already stored in the UE context (and/or MM/RM context) when needed.

A Connection Management (CM) may be used to establish and release signaling connections between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 over the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between UE 101 and CN 120 and includes a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., AN RRC connection for non-3 GPP access or a UE-N3IWF connection) and AN N2 connection of UE 101 between the AN (e.g., RAN 110) and AMF 121. The UE 101 may operate in one of two CM states (CM IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When the UE 101 is operating in the CM-IDLE state/mode, the UE 101 may not have AN NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 over the N1 interface, and there may be AN (R) AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., AN N2 and/or N3 connection) for the UE 101. When the UE 101 is operating in the CM-CONNECTED state/mode, the UE 101 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 over the N1 interface, and there may be AN (R) AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., AN N2 and/or N3 connection) for the UE 101. Establishing AN N2 connection between (R) AN 110 and AMF 121 may cause UE 101 to transition from CM-IDLE mode to CM-CONNECTED mode, and UE 101 may transition from CM-CONNECTED mode to CM-IDLE mode when N2 signaling between (R) AN 110 and AMF 121 is released.

SMF 124 may be responsible for Session Management (SM) (e.g., session establishment, modification, and publication, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address assignment and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of the UP function; configuring traffic steering of the UPF to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface towards the policy control function; a policy enforcement and QoS control part; lawful interception (for SM events and interface with Lawful Interception (LI) systems); terminate the SM portion of the NAS message; a downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM message sent to the AN through N2 via the AMF; and determines a Session and Service Continuity (SSC) pattern for the session. SM may refer to the management of PDU sessions, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 101 and a Data Network (DN)103 identified by a Data Network Name (DNN). The PDU session may be established at the request of the UE 101, modified at the request of the UEs 101 and 5GC 120, and released at the request of the UEs 101 and 5GC 120 using NAS SM signaling exchanged between the UE 101 and SMF 124 over the N1 reference point. The 5GC 120 may trigger a specific application in the UE 101 upon request from an application server. In response to receiving the trigger message, the UE 101 can communicate the trigger message (or a relevant portion/information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in the UE 101. The identified application in the UE 101 may establish a PDU session with a particular DNN. The SMF 124 may check whether the UE 101 request conforms to user subscription information associated with the UE 101. In this regard, SMF 124 may retrieve and/or request to receive update notifications from UDM 127 regarding SMF 124 tier subscription data.

SMF 124 may include the following roaming functions: processing local enforcement to apply QoS Service Level Agreements (SLAs) (visited public land mobile networks (VPLMNs)); a charging data acquisition and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (in VPLMN for SM events and interfaces to LI systems); and supporting interaction with the foreign DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization/authentication through the foreign DN. In a roaming scenario, an N16 reference point between two SMFs 124 may be included in the system 100, which may be located between an SMF 124 in a visited network and another SMF 124 in a home network. Additionally, SMF 124 may present an interface based on Nsmf services.

NEF 123 may provide a means for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure/re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 128), edge computing or fog computing systems, and the like. In such embodiments, NEF 123 may authenticate, authorize, and/or limit AF. NEF 123 may also translate information exchanged with AF 128 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 123 may convert between the AF service identifier and the internal 5GC information. NEF 123 may also receive information from other Network Functions (NFs) based on the exposed capabilities of the other network functions. This information may be stored as structured data at NEF 123 or at data store NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed to other NFs and AFs by NEF 123 and/or used for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF 123 may present an interface based on the Nnef service.

NRF 125 may support a service discovery function, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 125 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the term "instantiation" or the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. Additionally, NRF 125 may present an interface based on the Nnrf service.

PCF 126 may provide control plane functions to enforce their policy rules and may also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. PCF 126 may also implement a FE to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of UDM 127. PCF 126 may communicate with AMF 121 via an N15 reference point between PCF 126 and AMF 121, which may include PCF 126 in the visited network and AMF 121 in the case of a roaming scenario. PCF 126 may communicate with AF 128 via an N5 reference point between PCF 126 and AF 128; and communicates with SMF 124 via an N7 reference point between PCF 126 and SMF 124. The system 100 and/or the CN 120 may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF 126 (in the home network) and the PCF 126 in the visited network. In addition, PCF 126 may present an interface based on Npcf services.

UDM 127 may process subscription-related information to support processing of communication sessions by network entities and may store subscription data for UE 101. For example, subscription data may be communicated between UDM 127 and AMF 121 via the N8 reference point between UDM 127 and AMF. UDM 127 may comprise two parts: an application Function Entity (FE) and a Unified Data Repository (UDR) (FE and UDR are not shown in fig. 1). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for UDM 127 and PCF 126, and/or structured data for exposure and application data for NEF 123 (including Packet Flow Description (PFD) for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs 101). An interface based on the Nudr service can be presented by UDR 221 to allow UDM 127, PCF 126, and NEF 123 to access a particular set of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE that is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, and the like. In different transactions, several different FEs may serve the same user. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscription management. The UDR may interact with SMF 124 via the N10 reference point between UDM 127 and SMF 124. UDM 127 may also support SMS management, where an SMS-FE implements similar application logic as discussed elsewhere herein. Additionally, UDM 127 may present a numm service based interface.

The AF 128 may provide application impact on traffic routing, provide access to NEF 123, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. The 5GC 120 and AF 128 may provide information to each other via NEF 123, which may be used for edge computation implementations. In such implementations, network operator and third party services may be hosted near the UE 101 access point of the accessory to enable efficient service delivery with reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transport network. For edge calculation implementations, the 5GC may select a UPF 102 near the UE 101 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 102 to the DN 103 via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by the AF 128. In this way, the AF 128 may affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, the network operator may allow AF 128 to interact directly with the relevant NFs when AF 128 is considered a trusted entity. In addition, the AF 128 may present an interface based on the Naf service.

The NSSF 129 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 101. NSSF 129 may also appropriately determine allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and a mapping to a single NSSAI (S-NSSAI) of the subscription. The NSSF 129 may also determine the set of AMFs, or list of candidate AMFs 121, to be used to serve the UE 101 based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 125. Selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 101 may be triggered by AMF 121, where UE 101 registers by interacting with NSSF 129, which may cause AMF 121 to change. NSSF 129 may interact with AMF 121 via the N22 reference point between AMF 121 and NSSF 129; and may communicate with another NSSF 129 in the visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown in fig. 1). Additionally, NSSF 129 may present an interface based on the NSSF service.

As previously discussed, the CN 120 may include an SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification and relaying SM messages to and from the UE 101 from and to other entities, such as SMS-gateway mobile services switching center (GMSC)/inter-working msc (iwmsc)/SMS router. The SMSF may also interact with the AMF 121 and the UDM 127 for notification procedures that the UE 101 is available for SMS transmission (e.g., set a UE unreachable flag, and notify the UDM 127 when the UE 101 is available for SMS).

CN 120 may also include other elements not shown in fig. 1, such as a data storage system/architecture, 5G-EIR, Secure Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), and so forth. The data storage system may include a Structured Data Storage Function (SDSF), an Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF), and the like. Any NF may store or retrieve unstructured data into or from the UDSF (e.g., UE context) via the N18 reference point between any NF and the UDSF (not shown in fig. 1). The various NFs may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data, or the various NFs may each have their own UDSF located at or near the various NFs. Additionally, the UDSF may present an interface (not shown in fig. 1) based on the Nudsf service. The 5G-EIR may be a NF that checks the status of Permanent Equipment Identifiers (PEI) to determine whether to blacklist a particular equipment/entity from the network; and SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

Additionally, there may be more reference points and/or service-based interfaces between NF services in the NF; however, for clarity, fig. 1 omits these interfaces and reference points. In one example, the CN 120 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., a non-5G MME) and the AMF 121 to enable interworking between the CN 120 and the non-5G CN. Other exemplary interfaces/reference points may include an N5G-EIR service based interface presented by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between a Network Repository Function (NRF) in the visited network and an NRF in the home network; and an N31 reference point between the NSSF in the visited network and the NSSF in the home network.

Referring to fig. 2, exemplary components of an infrastructure equipment device 200 are shown, according to some embodiments. Infrastructure equipment 200 (or "system 200") may be implemented as a base station (e.g., an eNB, a gNB, etc.), a radio head, a RAN node (such as the node of RAN 110 shown and described previously), another Access Point (AP) or Base Station (BS), an application server, and/or any other element/device discussed herein. In other examples, system 200 may be implemented in or by a UE.

The system 200 includes: application circuitry 205, baseband circuitry 210, one or more Radio Front End Modules (RFEM)215, memory circuitry 220, Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC)225, power tee circuitry 230, network controller circuitry 235, network interface connector 240, satellite positioning circuitry 245, and user interface 250. In some embodiments, device 200 may include additional elements, such as memory/storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuitry may be included in more than one device for a CRAN, vbub, or other similar implementation, individually.

The application circuitry 205 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: low dropout regulator (LDO), interrupt controller, serial interface such as SPI, I2C, or a universal programmable serial interface module, Real Time Clock (RTC), timers (including interval timer and watchdog timer), universal input/output (I/O or IO), memory card controller such as Secure Digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar, Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) interface, and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuitry 205 may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various application programs or operating systems to run on the system 200. In some implementations, the memory/storage elements may be on-chip memory circuits that may include any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid state memory, and/or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

The processors of application circuitry 205 may include, for example, one or more processor Cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), one or more Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processors, one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more P's, one or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), one or more graphics processing units (FPGAs), one or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), one or more application circuits (FPGAs), one or more application circuits(s) and/or(s) for exampleLD, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuitry 205 may include or may be a dedicated processor/controller for operating in accordance with various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of the application circuitry 205 may include one or moreA processor,A processor; advanced Micro Devices (AMD)Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) orA processor; ARM-based processors authorized by ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A family of processors and the like provided by Cavium (TM), IncMIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, inc, such as MIPS Warrior class P processors; and so on. In some embodiments, the system 200 may not utilize the application circuitry 205 and may instead include a dedicated processor/controller to process IP data received, for example, from the EPC or 5 GC.

The user interface circuitry 250 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the system 200 or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral components to interact with the system 200. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio emitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, and so forth. The peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, and the like.

The components shown in fig. 2 may communicate with each other using interface circuitry that may include any number of bus and/or Interconnect (IX) technologies, such as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), extended ISA (eisa), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect extension (PCI), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietary bus, such as that used in SoC-based systems. Other bus/IX systems may be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus, among others.

Referring to fig. 3, an example of a platform 300 (or "device 300") according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 1400 may be adapted for use as the UE 101 and/or any other element/device discussed herein. Platform 300 may include any combination of the components shown in the examples. The components of platform 300 may be implemented as Integrated Circuits (ICs), portions of ICs, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in computer platform 300, or as components otherwise incorporated within the chassis of a larger system. The block diagram of FIG. 3 is intended to illustrate a high-level view of the components of computer platform 300. However, some of the illustrated components may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the illustrated components may occur in other implementations.

Application circuit 305 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of LDOs, interrupt controllers, serial interfaces (such as SPI), I2C or a universal programmable serial interface module, RTCs, timers (including interval timers and watchdog timers), universal I/O, memory card controllers (such as SD MMC or similar controllers), USB interfaces, MIPI interfaces, and JTAG test access ports. The processor (or core) of the application circuitry 305 may be coupled to or may include memory/storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various application programs or operating systems to run on the system 300. In some implementations, the memory/storage elements may be on-chip memory circuits that may include any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid state memory, and/or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

As an example, the one or more processors of the application circuit 305 may comprise a general-purpose or special-purpose processor, such as may be available fromInc, Cupertino, CA's series a processor (e.g., a13Bionic) or any other such processor. The processor of the application circuit 305 may also be one or more of the following: advanced Micro Devices (AMD)A processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); fromCore processor from incSnapdagon of Technologies, Inc^TMA processor, Texas Instruments,Open Multimedia Applications Platform(OMAP)^TMa processor; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, inc, such as MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs that obtain ARM Holdings, Ltd. And the like. In some implementations, the application circuit 305 may be part of a system on a chip (SoC), where the application circuit 305 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package.

Baseband circuitry 310 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single package integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

The platform 300 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) for interfacing external devices with the platform 300. External devices connected to the platform 300 via the interface circuit include a sensor circuit 321 and an electro-mechanical component (EMC)322, and a removable memory device coupled to the removable memory circuit 323.

The battery 330 may power the platform 300, but in some examples, the platform 300 may be installed deployed in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 330 may be a lithium ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, or the like. In some implementations, such as in a V2X application, the battery 330 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

Referring to fig. 4, a block diagram of a system 400 that can be employed at a UE (user equipment), next generation node B (gbob or gNB), or other BS (base station)/TRP (point of transmission/reception), or another component of a 3GPP (third generation partnership project) network (e.g., a 5GC (fifth generation core network) component or function, such as UPF (user plane function)) that facilitates NR-U operations based on one or more configured time resources for UL transmissions is illustrated in various embodiments in accordance with various techniques discussed herein. System 400 may include a processor 410, communication circuitry 420, and memory 430. Processor 410 (e.g., which may include one or more processors of fig. 2 or 3, etc.) may include processing circuitry and associated interfaces. The communication circuitry 420 may include, for example, circuitry for wired and/or wireless connections (e.g., radio front end module 215 or 315, etc.) that may include transmitter circuitry (e.g., associated with one or more transmit chains) and/or receiver circuitry (e.g., associated with one or more receive chains), where the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may employ common and/or different circuit elements, or a combination thereof. The memory 430 may include one or more memory devices (e.g., memory circuit 220 or 320, removable memory 323, local memory (e.g., including CPU registers of a processor as discussed herein), etc.) that may have any of a variety of storage media (e.g., volatile and/or non-volatile according to any of a variety of techniques/constructs, etc.) and that may store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of the processor 410 or transceiver circuit 420.

Particular types of implementations of system 400 (e.g., UE implementations) may be indicated via subscripts (e.g., system 400)_UEIncludes a processor 410_UECommunication circuit 420_UEAnd a memory 430_UE). In some embodiments, such as a BS embodiment (e.g., system 400)_gNB) And network component (e.g., UPF (user plane function), etc.) (e.g., system 400)_UPF) Processor 410_gNB(etc.), communication circuits (e.g., 420)_gNBEtc.) and memory (e.g., 430)_gNBEtc.) may be in a single apparatus or may be included in different devices, such as part of a distributed architecture. In embodiments, various embodiments of system 400 (e.g., 400)₁And 400₂) May be transmitted by the processor 410₁Generated by the communication circuit 420₁Transmitted over an appropriate interface or reference point (e.g., 3GPP air interfaces N3, N4, etc.), by communication circuitry 420₂Is received and processed by the processor 410₂And (6) processing. Depending on the type of interface, additional components (e.g., with system 400)₁And 400₂Associated antennas, network ports, etc.) may participate in the communication.

In various aspects discussed herein, signals and/or messages may be generated and output for transmission, and/or transmitted messages may be received and processed. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, outputting (e.g., by processor 410, etc.) for transmission may include one or more of the following: generating a set of associated bits indicative of a content of a signal or message, encoding (e.g., which may include adding a periodic redundancy check (CRC) and/or encoding by one or more of a turbo code, a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) code, a truncated convolutional code (TBCC), etc.), scrambling (e.g., based on a scrambling code seed), modulation (e.g., via one of Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), or some form of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), etc.), and/or resource mapping to one or more Resource Elements (REs) (e.g., a scheduled resource set, a set of time and frequency resources granted for uplink transmission, etc.), where each RE may span one subcarrier in the frequency domain and one symbol in the time domain (e.g., where a symbol may be according to any of a plurality of access schemes, e.g., Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc.). Depending on the type of signal or message received, processing (e.g., by processor 410, etc.) may include one or more of the following: identifying physical resources associated with the signal/message, detecting the signal/message, deinterleaving, demodulating, descrambling, and/or decoding the set of resource elements.

In various aspects, one or more of the information (e.g., system information, resources associated with signaling, etc.), features, parameters, etc. may be signaled (e.g., via the processor 410) from the gNB or other access point (e.g., via signaling, e.g., associated with one or more layers, such as L1 signaling or higher layer signaling (e.g., MAC, RRC, etc.))_gNBGenerating, generating by communication circuit 420_gNBTransmission, by communication circuit 420_UEIs received and processed by the processor 410_UEProcessed signaling) to the UE. The type of signaling employed and/or the exact details of the operations performed at the UE and/or the gNB in the processing (e.g., signaling structure, processing of PDUs/SDUs, etc.) may vary depending on the type, characteristics, parameters, etc. of the information. However, for convenience, such operations may be referred to herein as generating or processing configuration signaling, or via similar terminology, for UE configuration information/features/parameters/etc.

Since the main building blocks of the framework of NRs have been established, one potential enhancement is to allow NRs to also operate on unlicensed spectrum. Research to extend 5G NR to shared/unlicensed spectrum has begun and a new Work Item (WI) on "NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum" is approved in Technical Specification Group (TSG) Radio Access Network (RAN) conference # 82.

The objectives of this new WI include physical layer aspects including relating to RAN1(RAN WG1 (working group 1)), (a) a frame structure including single and multiple DL (downlink) to UL (uplink) and UL to DL switching points within a shared Continuity (COT) with associated identified LBT (listen before talk) behavior and/or requirements (3GPP Technical Report (TR)38.889, section 7.2.1.3.1), and (b) a UL data channel including an extension of PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) to support PRB (physical resource block) based frequency block interleaved transmission, supporting multiple PUSCH starting positions in one or more slots depending on LBT results (e.g., whether spectrum associated with unlicensed carrier is free (clear)), understanding that the ending positions are indicated by UL grants, designing a grant TBS (transport block size) that does not require the UE to change PUSCH transmission depending on the LBT results, where PUSCH enhancements are based on CP (cyclic prefix) -OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing), and where the suitability of sub-PRB frequency block interleaved transmission at 60kHz is decided by RAN 1.

Additional purposes of this WI include physical layer procedures including RAN1, RAN 2: (a) for LBT, a channel access mechanism compliant with protocols from the NR-U (NR unlicensed spectrum) research project (TR 38.889, section 7.2.1.3.1), where RAN1 performs specification work; (b) HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) operation where the NR HARQ feedback mechanism is a baseline with extended NR-U operation consistent with the protocol during the study phase (NR-U TR section 7.2.1.3.3), including a mechanism to immediately transmit HARQ A/N (ACK/NACK)/NACK (negative acknowledgement) for corresponding data in the same shared COT and to transmit HARQ A/N in a subsequent COT, and potentially support providing multiple and/or supplemental time and/or frequency domain transmission opportunities (RAN1), (c) scheduling multiple TTIs (transmission time intervals) of PUSCH protocol (TR 38.889, section 7.2.1.3.3) (RAN1) consistent with the study phase, (d) configuring grant operations where NR type 1 and type 2 configuring grant mechanisms are baselines with modified NR-U operation consistent with the protocol during the study phase (NR-U TR 7.2.1.3.4 section) (RAN1), and (e) accounting for LBT and channel access Data multiplexing aspect of priority (RAN1/RAN2) (for both UL and DL).

While the aforementioned WI is in its initial stage, aspects of a design that may be enhanced for NR when operating in unlicensed spectrum may be identified. One consideration in this case is that NR systems operating in unlicensed spectrum should maintain fair coexistence with other prior art techniques, and to this end (depending on the particular frequency band in which they may operate), some limitations may be taken into account in designing the system. For example, if operating in the 5GHz band, a Listen Before Talk (LBT) process is to be performed in some parts of the world to acquire the medium before transmission can occur.

One of the configurations of the configuration grant in the NR-U is the configuration of the time domain resources allowed for the feature. If this type of configuration is performed by RRC signaling, since the configuration grant may assume a periodic value, the RRC may have a variable length depending on the value of the periodicity, or may be a multiple integer of the periodicity itself. Furthermore, the Rel-15(3GPP Release 15) time domain allocation, which is the baseline of the time domain allocation for CG (configuration grant) operation in NR-U, provides only one uplink PUSCH transmission during each periodicity. Considering the LBT procedure in NR-U, the Rel-15 allocation method will not allow the UE to access the channel very efficiently, since it may not be able to access the channel in its single slot opportunity during the periodicity. Therefore, a method of allowing multiple channel access opportunities within a periodicity may facilitate efficient use of a channel. Various embodiments may employ one or more of the various techniques discussed herein that provide multiple channel access opportunities within a periodicity.

In order to enable configuration grant transmission in NRs operating on unlicensed spectrum, the time domain resources allowed for this configuration should be configured appropriately. If the configuration is performed by RRC signaling, since the configuration grant may assume a periodic value, the RRC may have a variable length, which may depend on the value of the periodicity or may be a multiple integer of the periodicity itself. Various embodiments may address this problem using one or more of the various techniques discussed herein.

In rel.15felaa (further enhanced grant assisted access) AUL (autonomous uplink), a RRC (radio resource control) configured bitmap of X ═ 40 bits is used to indicate the time domain resources allowed for subframe level AUL transmission. In various embodiments, a similar approach may be used for NR-U to configure time domain resources for Configuration Grant (CG) operations. However, the baseline design for CG in NR-U is the NR Rel-15 configuration grant design, which for time domain allocation includes the following parameters: { periodicity, slot offset, start Symbol and Length Indicator Value (SLIV), and repK [ number of transmissions (K) of TB within bundle of configured uplink grant ]. Thus, the temporal allocation of the Cgs in the NR-U may augment or replace the Rel-15 temporal allocation.

Enhancements to Rel-15 CG designs may include techniques such as re-interpreting Rel-15 parameters to make them more useful for unlicensed operation, adding new parameters on top of Rel-15 parameters, and/or replacing/disabling some of the current parameters. One option for enhancing or replacing the Rel-15 time domain allocation is to use a bitmap. In embodiments employing a bitmap, the various techniques discussed herein may clarify how the bitmap will preserve the functionality of the Rel-15 time domain allocation while increasing the efficiency of the UE's ability to use time resources. Thus, when the PUSCH repetition is greater than or equal to the length of the bitmap, the techniques discussed herein may define how to interpret the bitmap. Another problem is that if a fixed length bitmap is defined periodically for any desired CG of P units, the bitmap length of X units should be an integer multiple of P (or vice versa), e.g., where X satisfies the formula X mod P0 when X > P (or vice versa when X < P). This may mean that the selection of a fixed length bitmap of length X may be further enhanced to support the allocation of periodic time domain resources of the supported Rel-15 value of P.

Based on rel.15nr, the allowed configuration grant periodicity is: (a) for 15kHz, P may be 2, 7, or n x 14 symbols, where n ∈ {1,2,4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,128,160,320,640 }; (b) for 30kHz, P can be 2, 7, or n14 symbols, where n ∈ {1,2,4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,128,160,256,320,640,1280 }; and (c) for 60kHz with normal CP: p may be 2, 7, or n14 symbols, where n ∈ {1,2,4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,128,160,256,320,512,640,1280,2560 }.

Bitmap for replacement Rel-15 allocation

Various embodiments may employ techniques discussed herein in connection with the design of bitmap methods to replace the Rel-15 time domain allocation of CGs in NR-us.

In various embodiments, the time domain resources may be configured by RRC signaling via a bitmap. The bitmap may include X bits, where each bit corresponds to a time resource (e.g., a symbol, a slot, a subframe, a radio frame, etc.) and may indicate whether the time resource is associated with a configured grant of UL transmissions (e.g., in an unlicensed frequency band or otherwise). As one illustrative example, X may be 40, and each bit may correspond to a time slot. In some embodiments, the value of X may be the same regardless of the subcarrier spacing (SCS) used, while in other embodiments the value of X may be scaled based on subcarrier spacing (e.g., X-40 bits for 15KHz SCS, X-80 bits for 30KHz SCS, X-160 bits for 60KHz SCS, etc.).

In other embodiments, X may be constant and independent of SCS, and the granularity of the time resources of the signaling may be indicated by parameter G, where G may take several granularities to accommodate different services/traffic types. For example, G ∈ {2 OFDM Symbols (OS), 7 OSs, 1 slot, 2 slots, 4 slots }. In yet other embodiments, X may be variable, X and G may be independent of each other and SCS, and may be configured in CG activation.

In various embodiments, the bitmap may be mapped to CG periods using one or more of the following options.

In a first option, in some embodiments, regardless of the CG periodicity (P) used, the bitmap (of length X) may be repeated and its value may be interpreted accordingly. Referring to fig. 5A, a pair of schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a bitmap (example length X ═ 40) that can be repeated over time independently of Configuration Grant (CG) periodicity (e.g., 16 (top graph) or 64 (bottom graph)) according to various embodiments discussed herein is shown.

In a second option, in some embodiments, if the length of the time resource unit of each periodicity value (P) is less than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, then for each period the first P time unit resources of the bitmap may be used. Referring to fig. 5B, a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) is shown in which, for a CG periodicity P < X, the P time domain resource elements per CG period may be configured based on the first P elements of the length X bitmap, according to various embodiments discussed herein.

In a third option, in some embodiments, if the length of the time resource unit of each periodicity value (P) is less than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit for each set of time domain resources covered by N periods (each set of N × P time domain resources), where N is such that N × P ≧ X or (N × P > X and (N-1) × P < X) (e.g., N is the smallest integer such that N × P ≧ X), bitmap X is used, and the first (nP-X) time domain configurations of the bitmap are used to configure spare resources (if any) that are not covered by the length of the bitmap in the last period. Referring to fig. 6A, a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) is shown, where for each group of n CG cycles of length P, the resource allocation follows the bitmap, and if the resource units of the last cycle of each group are not covered by the bitmap, the first nP-X time resource units of the bitmap are used, according to various embodiments discussed herein.

In various embodiments, when P < X and X mod P ≠ 0, in general, a bitmap of length X may be designed with resource allocations such that the allocation pattern repeats every P time resources, regardless of bitmap length. However, if the periodic allocation would occur a total of N times such that NP > X, then N is the largest integer such that X-nP >0, and M is the smallest integer such that NP < MX (where the bitmap is applied M times in succession). In various embodiments, the second application of the bitmap may then be applied cyclically shifted to the left by L bits (e.g., where bits represent symbols, slots, subframes, etc.), after the first X bits, where L ═ X-nP. Similarly, for M-1, …, M, the mth bitmap may be cyclically shifted by (M-1) × L mod P bits.

In some embodiments employing cyclic shifting, the largest common factor between P and X may be used to reduce the indication of cyclic shifting. Let the maximum common factor between P and X be Q. The cyclic shift may then be indicated by a multiple of the Q time interval (e.g., symbol, slot, subframe, etc.). The second X bit will cause the bitmap to be applied with a cyclic shift to the left by L times Q slots, where LQ ═ X-nP. Then, for the mth bitmap application, the bitmap may be cyclically shifted by (M-1) × L mod P/Q bits for M ═ 1, …, M.

In a fourth option, in some embodiments, if the length of a time resource unit per period value (P) is greater than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, then for each period the first X time domain resources may be configured from the bitmap, while the remaining time resource units may be configured by repeating the bitmap (or a portion thereof if the full bitmap does not fit) in time until the end of the period. Referring to fig. 6B, a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (example length X ═ 40) is shown, where the resource allocation is based on the bitmap, where any remaining time domain units are configured by repeating the bitmap in time until the end of the period, in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

In a fifth option, in some embodiments, if the length of the time resource unit of each period value is greater than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, the first X resource units within the period are configured after the bitmap, while the remaining resources within the period are not used to configure the grant transmission. In some such embodiments, bitmap X and repeat Y may be configured, where X resource units are repeated Y times for configuring granted resources at the beginning of the cycle, while the remaining resources within the cycle are not used for configuring granted transmissions.

In a sixth option, in some embodiments, to increase flexibility in the way time domain resources may be configured when using a bitmap, when the period is greater than X, the bitmap may be repeated using an offset cyclic shift. Referring to fig. 7, a pair of graphs illustrating an exemplary representation of a bitmap that has been cyclically shifted by an offset (in an example, L-5) is shown, according to various embodiments discussed herein. In the top graph of fig. 7, the bitmap is represented as a circular array showing offsets 0 and 5, and in the bottom graph of fig. 7, the other bitmap is represented as a linear array of offsets 0 and 5. For each repetition, the new bitmap may be defined as the original X bits cyclically shifted by a value equal to the offset L. This operation is similar to circularly shifting array B as Y circshift (B, L), where B is the original bitmap, L is the offset, and Y is a circularly shifted version of B. In the top diagram of fig. 7, the circularly shifted bitmap is a bitmap of the same length as the original bitmap, with the starting point L (offset) bits clockwise from the starting point of the original (unshifted) bitmap. In the bottom graph, the circularly shifted bitmap is a bitmap of the same length as the original bitmap, with the starting point L (offset) bit to the right of the starting point of the original (unshifted) bitmap, with the first bit of the original bitmap after the last bit of the original bitmap, similar to the circular representation of the top graph.

Referring to fig. 8A, a diagram illustrating an example of a bitmap (exemplary length X ═ 40) is shown, where the resource allocation is based on the bitmap, where any remaining time domain units are configured by repeating cyclically shifted versions of the bitmap in time until the end of the period, in accordance with various aspects discussed herein. In some embodiments employing cyclically shifted bitmaps, the offset may be the same for all repetitions, while in other embodiments the offset may be different between repetitions (although some values may optionally be repeated in such embodiments). In some embodiments, L may be 0 for the first bitmap, and then a common offset or a different offset may be used for the other bitmaps.

In some embodiments, the offset value may be carried in a different RRC parameter than the bitmap, while in other embodiments, the offset value may be carried with the bitmap. One exemplary way to indicate the offset value with the bitmap is to extend the bitmap from X to X + M bits, where M is one of the MSB or LSB bits of the bitmap, and where MSB/LSB is used to signal the offset. In some such implementations, 2 or 3 bits are used to signal the common offset or each offset.

In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a table such that each entry in the table contains a bitmap allocation configuration comprising a bitmap, a cyclic shift, a granularity, and optionally one or more other parameters associated with the allocation. The UE may be assigned an index of an allocation entry, wherein the index is indicated in RRC for CG type 1 or in active Downlink Control Information (DCI) in CG type 2. In one embodiment, each UE is configured with multiple bitmaps based on traffic/service, and the UE decides to select one of them. In one embodiment, once the UE has selected one of the available bitmaps, the UE signals the used bitmap to the gNB by indicating the bitmap allocation index within the CG-UCI.

The options and techniques provided above are not mutually exclusive, such that various embodiments may employ one or more of the above options to map a bitmap or portion thereof to a CG cycle, and some embodiments may employ multiple options discussed above (e.g., a first option applied in the case where X > P in conjunction with a second option to be employed when X < P, etc.).

Enhancement of Rel-15 allocation

In various embodiments, instead of employing a bitmap, the Rel-15 time-domain allocation method (which is based on the parameters { periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, repK }) may be enhanced by reinterpreting some of these parameters and/or enabling more efficient time-domain allocation of new parameters for the CG in NR-U operation. Due to the lack of a contiguous time domain allocation within a periodicity when using a Rel-15 allocation, and multiple enabled channel access opportunities within the periodicity, various embodiments may employ enhancements to ensure that a UE may access a channel in multiple time resources (e.g., at multiple slot offsets, etc.), and for each offset, a configuration may enable multiple contiguous slots according to the available resources and periodicity.

In one embodiment, the UE may be configured with multiple slot offsets in the same manner as the Rel-15 allocation. In some such embodiments, there may be a maximum number of slot offsets N, and the UE may be configured with N slot offsets (K)_2,1,…,K_2,n) N is 1, …, N, where K_2,iE {0, …,5119}, i ═ 1, …, n. Value K_2,iMay be less than or equal to the periodicity P (P in slots). The duration of the consecutive time/micro-slots of each offset configuration may be determined by parametersThe number z is given, where z<Z, where Z is the maximum allowed slot/minislot transmission duration (e.g., in the presence of Maximum Channel Occupancy Time (MCOT)); for example, Z ≦ 8 to allow maximum configurable TB repetition or 8 TB transmissions. In some embodiments, nz if the configuration offset in the periodicity is n, each offset having a slot/minislot duration z, then nz<P such that there is always a slot/micro-slot gap between transmissions within the periodicity. In some embodiments, n and z are defined as new parameters, while in other embodiments they may be accommodated by reinterpreting existing fields. In some embodiments, when the system is operating on an unlicensed band, n and/or z may be signaled by reinterpreting one or more of the following parameters: periodicity, slot offset, SLIV and repK, and when the system is operating on licensed band, these parameters are interpreted as in rel.15 allocation.

In some embodiments, the UE may be configured by using two sequences (or equivalent sequences via pairs) of the same length n: one of these sequences may indicate n slot offsets (K)_2,1,…,K_2,n) N is 1, …, N, where K_2,iE {0, …,5119}, i ═ 1, …, n, and other sequences may indicate a contiguous number of resources allocated for configuration grants after the corresponding offset. In some embodiments, the number of resources may have a fixed granularity, or the granularity may be configured, e.g., the granularity may be G e {2 symbols, 7 symbols, 1 slot, 2 slots, 4 slots }. In some embodiments, the indication of the offset and continuous resources may be jointly indicated by providing a direct indication of the set of resources configured to configure the grant operation without decoupling the information into the offset and continuous sets of resources.

In one embodiment, the offset (K)_2,1,…,K_2,n)，K_2,i≠K_2,j(if i ≠ j) can be configured such that they can indicate any slot offset within the periodicity, and a slot offset relative to the System Frame Number (SFN) when CG type 1 is used, and a slot offset relative to the active DCI when CG type 2 is used. If referenced, toThe slot is time slot m, then the UE can be in time slot m + K_2,iThe LBT operation is performed at 1, …, n, which will occur in the first cycle of CG activation. The allocation may repeat every period thereafter until the CG is deactivated, so the UE may perform LBT to at time slot m + K_2,iThe channel is accessed at 1, …, L, where L is the periodic number until the CG is deactivated.

In one embodiment, given a parameter Z, which may have a value and/or granularity that may be fixed or configurable through RRC signaling, indicating the number of consecutive resources allocated for CG operation (e.g., the slot duration of CG operation), a set of 5120-Z +1 resources (e.g., symbols, slots, etc.) may be formed. In some embodiments, 13 bits may be used to indicate one of these resource sets via DCI. In some embodiments, multiple resource sets may be used, and may be configured via a bitmap (where the bitmap may be configured via RRC), which may indicate N elements in the resource set. In some embodiments, given a bitmap indicating multiple resource sets, a T bit may be used in DCI to indicate how many configured resource sets are used (e.g., to indicate whether a top or bottom 2 may be used or not)^TEach of which, etc.). In some embodiments, the slot duration z may be applied to the slot offset only if the UE successfully passes LBT in the configured slot offset occasion. In other embodiments, the slot duration may be applied to all slot offsets such that the UE may perform LBT for all consecutive LBT occasions at the slot duration for each slot offset. In some embodiments, the UE may attempt an LBT access channel for each slot offset, but transmit with only one slot offset per cycle once LBT is successful. In other embodiments, the UE may use as many slot offsets as its UL traffic needs regardless of periodicity.

In some embodiments, the n slot offsets may be individually configured in the same manner as Rel-15 signaling for a single slot offset. For CG type 1, the n slot offsets may be configured via RRC, and for CG type 2, the n slot offsets may each be configured via DCI via 13 bits, such that the slot offsets may take any of 0 to 5119The value is an integer. In one embodiment, candidate slot offset locations with periodicity are constrained to a smaller set of slots such that the signaling required for each offset is reduced. The reduced set may be a function of the periodicity P such that if the maximum slot/minislot duration for each offset is Z, the slot offset comes from the totalThe total possible time slot offset. Referring to fig. 8B, a diagram illustrating an example of multiple slot offsets configured within a periodicity, each slot offset having a slot duration for which a UE may continuously perform its transmission in time, according to various embodiments discussed herein, is shown. In various embodiments, the slot offset position may be signaled with full flexibility using the traditional Rel-15 approach of offsets from 0 to 5119, or may be from a subset of the Rel-15 offset set.

In some embodiments, given a reference starting slot m (e.g., where a slot refers to a full-length slot or a mini-slot), and given a value z indicating the number of consecutive resources to be used for CG operation and a fixed offset value n, resources within period P may be configured such that slots m + n (i-1) + { 0.. z-1} may be used to configure grant transmissions, where i ═ 2,3, … K, and K is selected such that m + n (K-1) + z-1< P. In various embodiments, m, z, and n may be configured via RRC or may be indicated by DCI by adding new fields or reinterpreting existing fields.

In another embodiment, the slot offset location may be derived (or fixed) deterministically from the legacy Rel-15 offset, periodicity P, and new parameters n and z indicated in the CG activation, where n is the number of total slot offsets configured, and z is the transmission slot/micro-slot duration. For example, if the Rel-15 slot offset indicates slot K from the beginning of the periodicity₂Then one possible function can be derived, and the slot offsets must then be such that there is at least K between each slot offset₂A gap of + z such that the periodicity, initial slot offset and transmission duration z are offset by an amount configured such that n ≦ min { P/(K)₂+ z), N }. However, due to a given large periodicity andk for maximum slot offset per periodicity₂The gap of + z may be too short, so in various embodiments there may be an additional slot gap g added at the end of the slot/micro-slot transmission duration. Thus, in such embodiments, the slot offset may occur in slot { K }₂,(I–1)(K₂+ z + g) }, i2, …, n, and the gap may be determined asFIG. 8A shows a specific example of such an embodiment, where K₂1, z 2, n2 and g 1.

In another embodiment, the slot offset may be emulated via a bitmap, which may configure certain slots via a bitmap of length X within the periodicity and bitmap time granularity y. For example, the bitmap may enable or disable slots/minislots in a granularity of y, where granularity y may be determined by X and P. In the case of short periodicity (e.g., 2OS, 7OS, 1 slot, etc.), the bitmap granularity may be constrained in some embodiments such that it fits the service/traffic type, and only the first X of the bitmap₁Bits are used for offset, and the rest of X-X₁The bit is set to zero. In the case of long periodicity, making the bitmap signaling duration shorter than the periodicity, in such embodiments, the bitmap indication may simply be repeated until it covers the entire duration of the periodicity. In addition, other options and/or techniques discussed herein in connection with bitmaps may be employed.

In some embodiments, the offset and duration may be provided by two different bitmaps/sequences, which may have the same length and may be configured by RRC. In some embodiments, X bits may be introduced within the DCI to signal specific elements contained in the RRC sequence, or the first or second 2^X1 element or group of elements to be used in configuring the grant transmission within the period P. In some embodiments, the value of X may determine a particular element of an RRC sequence, such as used in the examples below.

In some example embodiments, an element may be signaled. In one example, a given RRC sequence includes the following elements: n ═ 3,9,24,36,96,107,156, 200; z ═ 2,3,5,2,9,10,2,8], and given 3 bits in the DCI, these three bits can indicate which value of n or Z to use;

in some exemplary embodiments, front (or back) 2 may be signaled^X-1 element. In one example, a given RRC sequence includes the following elements: n ═ 3,9,24,36,96,107,156,200]；Z＝[2,3,5,2,9,10,2,8]And given the X (e.g., 3 in the example below) bits in the DCI, these three bits will indicate the first m elements to use. For example, if X is 001, only n ═ {3} and m ═ 2} are used. If X is 011, then n is {3,9,24} and m is {2,3,5} (last 2)^X1 element may be indicated in a similar manner).

In some example embodiments, a set of elements may be signaled. In one example, a look-up table (LUT) may be formed, and each element of X may correspond to a particular group of elements of n and z via the LUT.

In some embodiments, the CG UE may have a table, wherein each entry in the table may be associated with an offset configuration, wherein the slot offset configuration table may contain one offset format, wherein each offset format may correspond to one (or a combination) of the different embodiments discussed herein, and/or the like. In one example of such an embodiment, in an entry of the table with index j, the UE may be configured with n (j) slot offsets, and slot/micro-slot durations z (j), and these offsets and slot durations may be configured by higher layers. In another example of such an embodiment, an entry in index j of the table may have a slot offset of K_2,1(j),…,K_2,n(j) Where the total number of slot offsets n (j) may be different in each entry j. In some embodiments, each slot offset configuration in the table may have a sequence of slot offsets and an associated sequence of slot/minimum slot durations { z }₁(j),…,z_n(j)(j) And (4) dividing. In some embodiments, the table may be configured with a time slot bitmap indicating enabled or disabled time slots/minislots and a bitmap granularity parameter. In one example of such an embodiment, the bitmap in table index j may be longA vector x (j) of degrees x (j), and the granularity may be y (j). In some implementations, the total number of entries in the table may be M (e.g., M is some power of 2 (e.g., M-16) or other integer), and CG activation may be usedA bit to signal one of the offset configurations. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with an index from its table in its CG activation to indicate the slot offset to use, where it may be configured by the RRC of CG type 1 and by the gNB in the DCI activation of CG type 2. In other embodiments, the UE may autonomously select an index from the table according to its current traffic demand and may indicate the slot offset configuration (uplink control information) used in the CG-UCI.

In some embodiments, multiple legacy Rel-15 configurations may be supported (and/or repeated), where each configuration may support a particular service/traffic, and each configuration may be associated with independent activation and deactivation.

In various embodiments, one or a combination of the features, techniques, and/or options discussed herein may be used to enable time domain allocation of CG UEs using unlicensed operation of NR.

Additional embodiments

Referring to fig. 9, a flow diagram of an example method 900 that may be employed at a UE to facilitate NR-U operation based on one or more configured time resources for UL transmissions is illustrated, in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with the method 900, which when executed, may cause a UE to perform the actions of the method 900.

At 910, a Configuration Grant (CG) and/or bitmap associated with Uplink (UL) operation may be received on an NR unlicensed cell.

At 920, one or more time resources for UL operation may be determined based on the CG and/or the bitmap.

At 930, optionally (e.g., if the UE has UL data to transmit), the UE may perform an LBT operation in conjunction with at least one of the one or more time resources to determine whether the unlicensed cell is idle for UL transmission.

At 940, optionally (e.g., if the UE has UL data to transmit and the unlicensed cell is idle for UIL transmission), the UE may transmit the UL data via at least one of the one or more time resources.

Additionally or alternatively, method 900 may include one or more other acts described herein.

Examples herein may include subject matter, such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine readable medium comprising executable instructions that when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory (e.g., of devices/apparatuses 200, 300, 400, etc.), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform acts of a method or apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies in accordance with the described embodiments and examples.

Embodiment 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed in a User Equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors configured to: processing at least one bitmap via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, wherein each bitmap of the at least one bitmap comprises X bits, wherein X is an integer greater than 1; and determining, based at least on the at least one bitmap, for each time resource of at least one Configured Grant (CG) period, whether the time resource is configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier, wherein each CG period of the at least one CG period includes P time resources, wherein P is an integer greater than 1.

Embodiment 2 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, for a first time resource determined to be configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier, determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure.

Embodiment 3 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 2, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the one or more processors are further configured to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

Embodiment 4 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein each bit of the X bits indicates, for an associated time resource of at least one CG cycle, whether the associated time resource is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 5 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein each time resource of the at least one CG period has a size based on a granularity indicated via one of higher layer signaling or Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the size is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, one subframe, or one radio frame.

Embodiment 6 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein X is independent of a subcarrier spacing of unlicensed carriers.

Embodiment 7 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein X is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of an unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 8 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein X is configured via one of RRC or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

Embodiment 9 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the at least one bitmap is at least one same bitmap repeated within at least one CG period, wherein X is independent of P.

Embodiment 10 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, and wherein when X is greater than P, each of the first P bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of each of the at least one CG cycles are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 11 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, wherein the at least one CG cycle is n CG cycles, the integer n being greater than 1, and wherein when X is greater than (n-1) X P and less than nP, the integer n being greater than 1, whether each time resource of each of the n CG cycles is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of the single bitmap followed by a first nP-X bit of the single bitmap.

Embodiment 12 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the at least one bitmap is n bitmaps, the integer n is greater than 1, wherein the at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, and wherein when P is greater than (n-1) X and less than nX, the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of the single CG cycle is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of a first n-1 bitmap of the n bitmaps followed by a first nX-P bit of an nth bitmap of the n bitmaps.

Embodiment 13 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap and the at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, wherein when P is greater than X, each of the X bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of the single CG cycle are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier, and wherein one or more additional time resources of the single CG cycle without associated bits of the single bitmap are not configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 14 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein when P is greater than X, the at least one bitmap is two or more bitmaps, wherein a second bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted with respect to a first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps.

Embodiment 15 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 14, wherein each bitmap of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap is cyclically shifted relative to the first bitmap by a common offset.

Embodiment 16 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, for each of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap, determine a cyclic shift of the bitmap relative to the first bitmap based on at least one of RRC signaling, a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, or a locally stored table.

Embodiment 17 is a UE comprising the apparatus of any of embodiments 1-16.

Embodiment 18 is a machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a User Equipment (UE) to: processing at least one bitmap via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, wherein each bitmap of the at least one bitmap comprises X bits, wherein X is an integer greater than 1; and determining, based at least on the at least one bitmap, for each time resource of at least one Configured Grant (CG) period, whether the time resource is configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via an unlicensed carrier, wherein each CG period of the at least one CG period includes P time resources, wherein P is an integer greater than 1.

Embodiment 19 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure within a first time resource determined to be configured for UL transmissions via the unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 20 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 19, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle.

Embodiment 21 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 20, wherein each bit of the X bits indicates, for an associated time resource of at least one CG cycle, whether the associated time resource is configured for UL transmission via an unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 22 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 21, wherein the at least one time resource of the at least one CG period has a size based on a granularity indicated via one of higher layer signaling or Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the size is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, one subframe, or one radio frame.

Embodiment 23 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 22, wherein X is independent of subcarrier spacing of unlicensed carriers.

Embodiment 24 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 22, wherein X is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of an unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 25 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 24, wherein X is configured via one of RRC or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

Embodiment 26 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 24, wherein the at least one bitmap is at least one same bitmap repeated within at least one CG period, wherein X is independent of P.

Embodiment 27 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 24, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, and wherein when X is greater than P, each of the first P bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of each of the at least one CG cycles are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 28 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 24, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap, wherein the at least one CG cycle is n CG cycles, the integer n being greater than 1, and wherein when X is greater than (n-1) X P and less than nP, the integer n being greater than 1, whether each time resource of each of the n CG cycles is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of the single bitmap followed by a first nP-X bit of the single bitmap.

Embodiment 29 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiments 18 to 24, wherein the at least one bitmap is n bitmaps, the integer n is greater than 1, wherein the at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, and wherein when P is greater than (n-1) X and less than nX, the integer n is greater than 1, whether each time resource of the single CG cycle is configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier is indicated via an associated bit of a first n-1 bitmap of the n bitmaps followed by a first nX-P bit of an nth bitmap of the n bitmaps.

Embodiment 30 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 24, wherein the at least one bitmap is a single bitmap and the at least one CG cycle is a single CG cycle, wherein when P is greater than X, each of the X bits of the single bitmap indicates whether associated time resources of the single CG cycle are configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier, and wherein one or more additional time resources of the single CG cycle without associated bits of the single bitmap are not configured for UL transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 31 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 18 to 24, wherein when P is greater than X, the at least one bitmap is two or more bitmaps, wherein a second bitmap of the two or more bitmaps is cyclically shifted with respect to a first bitmap of the two or more bitmaps.

Embodiment 32 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiment 31, wherein each bitmap of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap is cyclically shifted relative to the first bitmap by a common offset.

Embodiment 33 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiment 31, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine, for each of the two or more bitmaps other than the first bitmap, a cyclic shift of the bitmap relative to the first bitmap based on at least one of RRC signaling, a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, or a locally stored table.

Embodiment 34 is an apparatus configured to be employed in a User Equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors configured to: processing a Configuration Grant (CG) for an unlicensed carrier via one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) or Downlink Control Information (DCI); and determining, based at least on the CG, one or more time resources configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 35 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 34, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine, for a first time resource of the one or more time resources, whether the unlicensed carrier is idle via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure.

Embodiment 36 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 35, wherein in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle, the one or more processors are further configured to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource.

Embodiment 37 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 34 to 36, wherein the configuration authorization includes one or more parameters, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters.

Embodiment 38 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 37, wherein the one or more parameters include one or more of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start Symbol and Length Indicator Value (SLIV), or a number of repetitions (repK).

Embodiment 39 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 38, wherein the one or more parameters comprise periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, and repK.

Embodiment 40 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates the plurality of slot offsets and durations of consecutive slots applied to each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the durations of the consecutive slots.

Embodiment 41 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 40, wherein the plurality of slot offsets are evenly spaced in time during the CG cycle.

Embodiment 42 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets and an associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets.

Embodiment 43 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 42, wherein the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets has a time resource granularity of one of fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, two slots, or four slots.

Embodiment 44 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates the one or more time resources via indicating one or more sets of resources, wherein the one or more sets are one of fixed or configured.

Embodiment 45 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 44, wherein the CG is processed via DCI, and wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

Embodiment 46 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 44, wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via a bitmap, wherein each resource set of the one or more resource sets is associated with a different bit of the bitmap.

Embodiment 47 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets evenly spaced in time during a CG cycle, wherein each slot offset has a fixed duration, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the fixed duration.

Embodiment 48 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the one or more time resources have a total duration that is less than a CG cycle.

Embodiment 49 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 34 to 39, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more time resources based at least on an entry in a locally stored table, wherein the entry is determined based at least on the CG.

Embodiment 50 is a UE comprising the apparatus of any of embodiments 34-49.

Embodiment 51 is a machine-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed cause a User Equipment (UE) to: processing a Configuration Grant (CG) for an unlicensed carrier via one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) or Downlink Control Information (DCI); and determining, based at least on the CG, one or more time resources configured for Uplink (UL) transmission via the unlicensed carrier.

Embodiment 52 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 51, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to determine whether the unlicensed carrier is idle within a first time resource of the one or more time resources via a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure.

Embodiment 53 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 52, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to generate UL data for transmission via the first time resource in response to determining that the unlicensed carrier is idle.

Embodiment 54 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 51 to 53, wherein the configuration authorization includes one or more parameters, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the one or more parameters.

Embodiment 55 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 54, wherein the one or more parameters comprise one or more of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start Symbol and Length Indicator Value (SLIV), or a number of repetitions (repK).

Embodiment 56 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiment 55, wherein the one or more parameters comprise periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, and repK.

Embodiment 57 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets and a duration of consecutive slots applied to each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the duration of the consecutive slots.

Embodiment 58 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 57, wherein the plurality of slot offsets are evenly spaced in time during the CG cycle.

Embodiment 59 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets and an associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets.

Embodiment 60 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 59, wherein the associated contiguous number of resources for each of the plurality of slot offsets has a time resource granularity of one of fixed or configured, wherein the granularity is one of two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, 7 OFDM symbols, one slot, two slots, or four slots.

Embodiment 61 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates the one or more temporal resources by indicating one or more sets of resources, wherein the one or more sets are one of fixed or configured.

Embodiment 62 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 61, wherein the CG is processed via DCI, and wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via 13 bits.

Embodiment 63 includes the subject matter of any variation of embodiment 61, wherein the CG indicates the one or more resource sets via a bitmap, wherein each resource set of the one or more resource sets is associated with a different bit of the bitmap.

Embodiment 64 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the CG indicates a plurality of slot offsets evenly spaced in time during the CG period, each slot offset having a fixed duration, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on the plurality of slot offsets and the fixed duration.

Embodiment 65 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the one or more time resources have a total duration less than a CG cycle.

Embodiment 66 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of embodiments 51 to 56, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the UE to determine the one or more time resources based at least on an entry in a locally stored table, wherein the entry is determined based at least on the CG.

Embodiment 67 includes an apparatus comprising means for performing any of the operations described for embodiments 1-66.

Embodiment 68 includes a machine-readable medium storing instructions for execution by a processor to perform any of the operations described in embodiments 1-66.

Embodiment 69 includes an apparatus comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry configured to: any of the operations described for embodiments 1 through 66 are performed.

Additional exemplary embodiments are as follows.

Embodiment a1 may include a method comprising: the CG operation in the NR unlicensed spectrum is used to configure the time domain allocation for the UE.

Embodiment a2 may include the method of embodiment a1 or some other embodiment, further including interpreting the configured time domain allocation based on a periodicity of the configuration or other Rel-15 parameters.

Embodiment A3 may include the method of embodiment a1 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising configuring the time domain resources through RRC signaling via a bitmap.

Embodiment a4 may include the method of embodiment A3 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the bitmap is comprised of X bits, wherein each bit corresponds to a symbol/slot/minislot/subframe or radio frame.

Embodiment a5 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the value of X is the same regardless of the subcarrier spacing (SCS) used.

Embodiment a6 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the value of X is scaled based on subcarrier spacing: for example, X is 40 bits for 15KHz SCS, 80 bits for 30KHz SCS, or 160 bits for 60KHz SCS.

Embodiment a7 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein X may be configured by higher layers or by the gNB via DCI, independent of SCS.

Embodiment A8 may include the method of embodiment a1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the granularity parameter G may be scaled with SCS, or it may be configured independently by higher layers, or configured by the gNB via DCI.

Embodiment a9 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the bitmap is repeated regardless of the periodicity of the CG used, and its value is interpreted accordingly.

Embodiment a10 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein if the length of a time resource unit per periodicity value is less than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, then for each period, the first P time unit resources of the bitmap are used.

Embodiment a11 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein if the length of a time resource unit of each periodicity value is less than the corresponding length of a bitmap X using the same time resource unit, then for each group of time domain resources covered by n periods, where n is such that nxP ═ X or (nxP > X and (n-1) xP < X, using the bitmap X, and using a previous (nP-X) time domain configuration of the bitmap to configure spare resources not covered by the length of the bitmap in the last period.

Embodiment a12 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein if the length of a time resource unit per period value is greater than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource unit, for each period, the first time domain resource is configured for a bitmap and the remaining time domain resources are configured by repeating the bitmap in time until the end of the period.

Embodiment a13 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein if the length of a time resource unit per period value is greater than the corresponding length of bitmap X using the same time resource units, then the first X resource units within the period are configured after the bitmap and the remaining resources within the period are not used to configure the grant transmission.

Embodiment a14 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein a bitmap X and repetition Y may be configured, wherein X resource units are repeated Y times at the beginning of a cycle for allocating configuration grant resources, and remaining resources within the cycle are not used for configuring grant transmissions.

Embodiment a15 may include the method of embodiment a4 or some other embodiment herein, wherein to increase flexibility in how time domain resources are configured when using bitmaps and with a period greater than X, the bitmaps are repeated using a cyclic shift of the offset (e.g., as shown in fig. 5).

Embodiment a16 may include the method of embodiment a15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the offset is the same for all repetitions. In one embodiment, the offset of each repetition is different.

Embodiment a17 may include the method of embodiment a15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein for a first bitmap L ═ 0, then a common or different offset is used.

Embodiment a18 may include the method of embodiment a17 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the offset values are carried in different RRC parameters. In one embodiment, the offset value is carried with the bitmap: this is done by enhancing the bitmap from X to X + M bits, where M is the MSB or LSB bit of the bitmap and they are used to signal the offset.

Embodiment a19 may include the method of embodiment a15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the UE contains multiple bitmap configurations, and an index of the configuration is signaled to the UE via a higher layer or the gNB in DCI activation, or the UE selects it and signals the index to the gNB via CG-UCI.

Embodiment a20 may include the method of embodiment a1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the time domain allocation for the UE is based on a Rel-15 allocation, using { periodicity, slot offset, SLIV, repK }.

Embodiment a21 may include the method of embodiment a20 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the time domain allocation configuration provides the UE with a plurality of slot offsets within a configured periodicity.

Embodiment a22 may include the method of embodiment a21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the maximum number N of configurable slot offsets is fixed, and the UE may be allocated any number of slot offsets between 1 and N.

Embodiment a23 may include the method of embodiment a21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the transmission duration parameter z indicates a number of consecutive slots/minislots that the UE may attempt to transmit, starting from a slot indicated by any one of the slot offsets.

Embodiment A24 may include the method of embodiment A23 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the duration parameter may be a reinterpretation of a Rel-15 parameter (such as repK), or a newly defined parameter not in Rel-15.

Embodiment a25 may include the method of embodiment a23 or some other example herein, wherein the parameter z may be constant over all slot offsets or may be configured differently for each slot offset.

Embodiment a26 may include the method of embodiment a22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the slot offsets are each separately signaled in the same manner as the slot offsets in Rel-15 slot offset signaling.

Embodiment a27 may include the method of embodiments a 20-a 22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the slot offset is signaled from a subset of a Rel-15 set of slot offsets.

Embodiment a28 may include the method of embodiments a 20-a 22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the slot offset is derived as a function of one slot offset indication, a duration parameter z, a periodicity, a selected number n of slot offsets, and any other parameter that may affect the slot offset position.

Embodiment A29 may include a method as in embodiment A27 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the parameter may be a Rel-15 parameter or a new parameter.

Embodiment a30 may include the method of embodiments a 20-a 22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the offsets occur evenly spaced apart and each offset has a fixed slot duration.

Embodiment a31 may include the method of embodiments a 20-a 22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the offset is emulated by a bitmap indicating which time resources within the periodicity are enabled.

Embodiment a32 may include the method of embodiment a30 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the bitmap may have a length proportional to the periodicity, or may be fixed regardless of the periodicity.

Embodiment A33 may include the method of embodiment A32 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the length X bitmap points to a length 2X-1 allocation table, such that the slot/micro-slot allocation length has a length of up to 2X-1.

Embodiment a34 may include the method of embodiment a23 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the slot offset positions and durations are each signaled in a separate sequence such that the corresponding indices form a pair.

Embodiment a35 may include the method of embodiment a23 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the aggregation of slot offset and duration is always less than the total slots in the periodicity.

Embodiment a36 may include the method of embodiment a23 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the slot offset in the first periodicity is relative to a reference slot, and the same slot offset allocation pattern within the first periodicity repeats itself for all subsequent periodicities until the CG is deactivated via type 1 RRC or type 2 DCI.

Embodiment a37 may include the method of embodiment a27 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the subset is derived from a subset of a Rel-15 slot offset set derived from a parameter such as slot duration.

Embodiment a38 may include the method of embodiment a37 or some other embodiment herein, wherein each UE has a slot configuration table such that multiple slot offset configurations may be allocated to the UE, each table indexing one slot offset configuration.

Embodiment a39 may include the method of embodiment a38 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the index of the table is signaled to the UE via an RRC of CG type 1 or by the gNB via an active DCI of CG type 2.

Embodiment a40 may include the method of embodiment a38 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the UE autonomously selects a configuration from its slot offset configuration table and signals to the gNB via the CG-UCI an index of the configuration used.

Embodiment Z01 can include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or relating to any one of embodiments a1 through a40, or any other method or process described herein.

Embodiment Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method as described in or relating to any one of embodiments a 1-a 40, or any other method or process described herein.

Embodiment Z03 may include an apparatus comprising logic, a module, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method as described in or relating to any one of embodiments a 1-a 40 or any other method or process described herein.

Embodiment Z04 can include a method, technique, or process, or a portion or component thereof, as described in or relating to any one of embodiments a1 through a 40.

Embodiment Z05 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique or process as described in or relating to any one of embodiments a 1-a 40, or a portion thereof.

Embodiment Z06 can include a signal as described in or relating to any one of embodiments a1 through a40, or a portion or component thereof.

Embodiment Z07 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, Protocol Data Unit (PDU) or message, or a part or component thereof, as described in or relating to any of embodiments a1 through a40, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Embodiment Z08 may include a signal encoded with data, or a part or a component thereof, as described in or relating to any of embodiments a1 through a40, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Embodiment Z09 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, Protocol Data Unit (PDU) or message, or a part or component thereof, as described in or relating to any of embodiments a 1-a 40, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Embodiment Z10 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer readable instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, described in or relating to any one of embodiments a1 through a 40.

Embodiment Z11 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique or process as described in or relating to any one of embodiments a1 through a40, or a portion thereof.

Embodiment Z12 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Embodiment Z13 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Embodiment Z14 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

Embodiment Z15 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, including what is described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Although specific embodiments of, and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.

In this regard, while the presently disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative or alternative function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.