WO2022213270A1

WO2022213270A1 - Method and apparatus for uplink transmission on unlicensed spectrum

Info

Publication number: WO2022213270A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/085680
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yu Zhang; Haipeng Lei
Original assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Current assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Priority date: 2021-04-06
Filing date: 2021-04-06
Publication date: 2022-10-13
Anticipated expiration: 2023-10-06

Abstract

The present application relates to a method and apparatus for uplink transmission on unlicensed spectrum. One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a first control information indicating a group of relations among a first set of sensing beams used by a base station (BS) to perform a listen before talk (LBT) procedure and a first set of uplink transmission beams; receiving one or more second control information, wherein each second control information is associated with a channel occupancy (CO) initiated by the BS; determining a second set of uplink transmission beams based on the group of relations and the one or more second control information, wherein the second set of uplink transmission beams are within a total spatial region of one or more COs; selecting, from the second set of uplink transmission beams, a third uplink transmission beam; and performing an uplink transmission with the third uplink transmission beam.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UPLINK TRANSMISSION ON UNLICENSED SPECTRUM

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present application generally relate to wireless communication technology, and especially to a method and apparatus for uplink transmission on unlicensed spectrum, e.g., for uplink transmission under 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G New Radio (NR) .

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For network of 3GPP 5G NR, technologies of data transmission on unlicensed spectrum are developed. When unlicensed spectrum is used for data transmission, channel access procedure (e.g., Listen-Before-Talk procedure, LBT procedure) may be required to be performed by transmitting device, for example base station (BS) . The LBT procedure is executed by performing energy detection on a certain channel. Only when the LBT procedure generates a success result can the transmitting device initiate transmission (s) on the certain channel, which is known as initiating a channel occupancy (CO) . Then the receiving device, for example user equipment (UE) , can also perform transmission (s) on the channel, which is known as sharing the CO. The CO refers to the transmissions on the channel by the transmitting device and the receiving device after completing the LBT procedure. These transmissions can occupy the channel for a duration of time, which is known as the time duration of the CO or a channel occupancy time (COT) and is up to a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) . The channel where the transmitting device performs the LBT procedure generating a success result is also known as the frequency location of the CO. Unless the LBT procedure generates a success result, the transmitting device cannot initiate any transmission (s) and will continue performing the LBT procedure until the LBT procedure generates a success result. To improve the probability of successful channel access and to enhance the spatial reuse, a directional LBT procedure, which is executed by performing energy detection with one or more sensing beams, is introduced. According to the one or more sensing beams, the transmitting device and the receiving device can determine a spatial region, which is known as the spatial region of the CO initiated by the transmitting device after completing a directional LBT procedure with the one or more sensing beams. A`transmission beam used by either the transmitting device or the receiving device to perform a transmission on the channel during the time duration of the CO should be within the spatial region of the CO.

There are multiple categories of LBT procedure, for example LBT Cat1, LBT Cat2, LBT Cat3 and LBT Cat4. LBT Cat1 means that no LBT procedure is performed by the transmitting device. LBT Cat2 means that a LBT procedure is performed without random back-off. LBT Cat3 means that a LBT procedure is performed with random back-off with a fixed contention window size. The transmitting device draws a random number N within a contention window, the size of which is specified by a minimum and maximum value of N. The size of the content window is fixed. The random number N is used to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting device transmits on the channel. LBT Cat4 means that a LBT procedure is performed with random back-off with a variable contention window size. Similarly, the transmitting device draws a random number M within a contention window, the size of which is specified by a minimum and maximum value of M. The transmitting device can vary the size of the contention window when drawing the random number M. The random number M is used in the LBT procedure to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting device transmits on the channel. The transmitting device can initiate a CO after completing a LBT Cat4 or a LBT Cat3. The receiving device can share the CO after completing a LBT Cat2 or a LBT Cat1.

For network of 3GPP 5G NR, a UE can be scheduled by a BS to perform an uplink (UL) transmission, for example, a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission, by an UL grant. The resource (s) in time domain and frequency domain used to transmit the UL transmission is/are indicated by the UL grant. The UL transmission beam used to transmit the UL transmission is also indicated by the UL grant. A`UE can also be configured by a BS to perform an UL transmission, for example, a PUSCH transmission, a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission, a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission or an Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, by a Higher Layer Signaling (HLS) . The resource (s) in time domain and frequency domain used to transmit the UL transmission is/are indicated by the HLS. The UL`transmission beam used to transmit the UL transmission is also indicated by the HLS. Only the UE determines that an uplink transmission is within the time duration and the frequency location of a CO initiated by the BS, the UE can share the CO.

When operating a network of 3GPP 5G NR in the Unlicensed Spectrum, a base station (BS) may initiate a CO after completing a directional LBT procedure with one or more sensing beams that may result in a situation where a UE determines that an uplink transmission is within the time duration and the frequency location of the CO, but the indicated uplink transmission beam (s) used by the UE to perform the UL transmission may not always be within a spatial region of the CO. Therefore, in order to share the CO, it is necessary for the UE to know the LBT-related information.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present application provide a method and an apparatus for uplink transmission on unlicensed spectrum.

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising: receiving a first control information indicating a group of relations among a first set of sensing beams used by a base station (BS) to perform listen before talk (LBT) procedure (s) and a first set of uplink transmission beams; receiving one or more second control information, wherein each second control information is associated with a channel occupancy (CO) initiated by the BS; determining a second set of uplink transmission beams based on the first control information and the one or more second control information, wherein the second set of uplink transmission beams are within a total spatial region of one or more COs; selecting, from the second set of uplink transmission beams, a third uplink transmission beam; and performing an uplink transmission with the third uplink transmission beam.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprising: determining whether the uplink transmission of the UE is within a duration in time domain of a CO, and within a location in frequency domain of the CO.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprising: determining whether the uplink transmission of the UE is within an intersection of durations in time domain of at least two COs, and within an intersection of locations in frequency domain of the at least two COs.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first control information is carried by a higher layer signaling.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the group of relations include one or more correspondences between one or more sensing beams and an uplink transmission beam.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first control information further indicates another group of relations among a first set of downlink transmission beams and the first set of uplink transmission beams.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the another group of relations include one or more correspondences among one or more downlink transmission beams and an uplink transmission beam.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each second control information is received in a group common-physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH) .

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each second control information includes an indicator indicating one or more relations from the group of relations.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each second control information includes an indicator indicating one or more relations from the group of relations and the another group of relations.

A`method performed by a base station (BS) , comprising: transmitting a first control information indicating a group of relations among a first set of sensing beams used by the BS to perform a listen before talk (LBT) procedure and a first set of uplink transmission beams; transmitting one or more second control information, wherein each second control information is associated with a channel occupancy (CO) initiated by the BS; determining a second uplink transmission beam; and receiving an uplink transmission from the UE with an uplink reception beam corresponding to the second uplink transmission beam.

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus, comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions; a receiving circuitry; a transmitting circuitry; and a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the receiving circuitry and the transmitting circuitry, wherein the computer-executable instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to implement the method performed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising: receiving a first control information indicating a group of relations among a first set of sensing beams used by a base station (BS) to perform listen before talk (LBT) procedure (s) and a first set of uplink transmission beams; receiving one or more second control information, wherein each second control information is associated with a channel occupancy (CO) initiated by the BS; determining a second set of uplink transmission beams based on the first control information and the one or more second control information, wherein the second set of uplink transmission beams are within a total spatial region of one or more COs; selecting, from the second set of uplink transmission beams, a third uplink transmission beam; and performing an uplink transmission with the third uplink transmission beam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which advantages and features of the application can be obtained, a description of the application is rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. These drawings depict only example embodiments of the application and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figs. 2A-2C illustrate scenarios for performing uplink transmission on unlicensed spectrum in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figs. 3A-3C illustrate other scenarios for performing uplink transmission on unlicensed spectrum in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart for performing uplink transmission on unlicensed spectrum in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of the appended drawings is intended as a description of preferred embodiments of the present application and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present application may be practiced. It should be understood that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present application.

While operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, persons skilled in the art will readily recognize that such operations need not be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results, sometimes one or more operations can be skipped. Further, the drawings can schematically depict one more example processes in the form of a flow diagram. However, other operations that are not depicted can be incorporated in the example processes that are schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the illustrated operations. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous.

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the present application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. To facilitate understanding, embodiments are provided under specific network architecture and new service scenarios, such as 3GPP 5G. It is contemplated that along with developments of network architectures and new service scenarios, all embodiments in the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems; and moreover, the terminologies recited in the present application may change, which should not affect the principle of the present application.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments of the present application.

As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes UE (s) 101 and BS (s) 102. In particular, the exemplary wireless communication system 100 includes three UEs 101 and three BSs 102 for illustrative purpose only. Even though a specific number of UEs 101 and BSs 102 are depicted in Fig. 1, one skilled in the art will recognize that any number of UEs 101 and BSs 102 may be included in the wireless communication system 100.

The UEs 101 may include computing devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , tablet computers, smart televisions (e.g., televisions connected to the Internet) , set-top boxes, game consoles, security systems (including security cameras) , vehicle on-board computers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, and modems) , or the like. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UEs 101 may include a portable wireless communication device, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a flip phone, a device having a subscriber identity module, a personal computer, a selective call receiver, or any other device that is capable of sending and receiving communication signals on a wireless network. In some embodiments, the UEs 101 include wearable devices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, optical head-mounted displays, or the like. Moreover, the UEs 101 may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile phone, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a user terminal, or any device described using other terminology used in the art. The UEs 101 may communicate directly with the BSs 102 via uplink communication signals.

The BSs 102 may be distributed over a geographic region. In certain embodiments, each of the BSs 102 may also be referred to as an access point, an access terminal, a base, a macro cell, a Node-B, an enhanced Node B (eNB) , a gNB, a Home Node-B, a relay node, or any device described using other terminology used in the art. The BSs 102 are generally part of a radio access network that may include one or more controllers communicably coupled to one or more corresponding BSs 102.

The wireless communication system 100 is compatible with any type of network that is capable of sending and receiving wireless communication signals. For example, the wireless communication system 100 is compatible with a wireless communication network, a cellular telephone network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) -based network, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) -based network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) -based network, an LTE network, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) -based network, a 3GPP 5G network, a satellite communications network, a high altitude platform network, and/or other communications networks.

In one embodiment, the wireless communication system 100 is compatible with the 5G NR of the 3GPP protocol, wherein the BSs 102 transmit data using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation scheme on the downlink and the UEs 101 transmit data on the uplink using Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) or Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) scheme. More generally, however, the wireless communication system 100 may implement some other open or proprietary communication protocols, for example, WiMAX, among other protocols.

In other embodiments, BS (s) 102 may communicate using other communication protocols, such as the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocols. Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the BS (s) 102 may communicate over licensed spectrums, whereas in other embodiments, the BS (s) 102 may communicate over unlicensed spectrums. The present application is not intended to be limited to the implementation of any particular wireless communication system architecture or protocol. In yet some embodiments of present application, BS (s) 102 may communicate with UE (s) 101 using the 3GPP 5G protocols.

In order to achieve high link gain and wide coverage, beamforming is used on the millimeter wave (mmWave) band, for example, the frequency band around 60GHz. However, in this case, omni-directional LBT may cause some issues. For example, omni-directional LBT used in License Assisted Access (LAA) , Enhanced License Assisted Access (eLAA) , Further Enhanced License Assisted Access (FeLAA) , or NR-Unlicensed (NR-U) specified in 3GPP Release 16 may have an issue of over protection. Directional LBT, which is executed by performing energy detection with one or more sensing beams, has the merit to improve the probability of successful channel access and enhance the spatial reuse. Therefore, directional LBT is utilized in the present disclosure. The sensing beams may also be referred to as LBT beams.

When operating a network of 3GPP 5G NR in Unlicensed Spectrum, a BS may initiate a CO and then a UE can share the CO after completing a LBT Cat1 or LBT Cat2. If the BS initiates the CO after completing a directional LBT procedure with one or more sensing beams that may result in a situation where the UE determines that an uplink transmission is within a time duration and a frequency location of the CO, but an uplink transmission beam indicated by an UL grant or a HLS for the UE performing the UL transmission may not always be within a spatial region of the CO. Therefore, in some cases, the UE lacks the information on whether the uplink transmission beam indicated by the uplink grant or HLS is within the spatial region of the CO initiated by the BS, and thus cannot determine whether the CO can be shared.

In view of the above problem, the present disclosure proposes some solutions for a UE to access the channel.

In Figs. 2A-2C, a BS may perform a LBT procedure with one or more downlink sensing beams, such as the downlink (DL) sensing beam 1, the downlink sensing beam 2, the downlink sensing beam 3, etc. The UE may perform an uplink transmission with the uplink (UL) transmission (Tx) beam 1, uplink transmission beam 2, uplink transmission beam 3, etc. Although Figs. 2A-2C only show downlink sensing beam 1, the downlink sensing beam 2, the downlink sensing beam 3, the uplink transmission beam 1, the uplink transmission beam 2, the uplink transmission beam 3, it should be noted that other downlink sensing beams and other uplink transmission beams may also be included.

In slot A, the UE is scheduled or configured by the BS to transmit an uplink transmission in slot C using an uplink transmission beam A`by an UL grant or a first HLS. The uplink transmission beam A`may be one of the uplink transmission beam 1, the uplink transmission beam 2, the uplink transmission beam 3, or other uplink transmission beams not shown in Figs. 2A-2C.

Then in slot B, which is a slot precedes slot C in time domain, the UE receives a group common physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH) . According to a DCI, which is carried by the GC-PDCCH and indicates the information of a corresponding CO, the UE determines that the CO has been initiated by the BS. Furthermore, according to the DCI, the UE can determine the time duration and the frequency location of the CO.

If the UE determines that i) the uplink transmission is within the determined time duration and frequency location of the CO, and ii) there is an uplink transmission beam B within the spatial region of the CO, in slot C, the UE can perform the uplink transmission using the determined uplink transmission beam B, that is, share the CO using the determined uplink transmission beam B, after completing a LBT Cat2 or without a LBT procedure (i.e. the LBT Cat1) .

In order to determine whether there is an uplink transmission beam within the spatial region of the CO, the present disclosure proposes several solutions for indicating a group of relations among a set of downlink sensing beams used by the BS to perform LBT procedure (s) , e.g., the downlink sensing beam 1, the downlink sensing beam 2, and the downlink sensing beam 3 shown in Figs. 2A-2C and a set of uplink transmission beams, e.g., the uplink transmission beam 1, the uplink transmission beam 2, the uplink transmission beam 3 shown in Figs. 2A-2C.

The group of relations between the set of downlink sensing beams and the set of uplink transmission beams may be included in a table carried by a second HLS , more specifically, each row of the table may include three columns, which respectively indicate : 1) a row index, 2) a downlink sensing beam included in the set of the downlink sensing beams, and 3) an uplink transmission beam included in the set of uplink transmission beams. According to one row of the table, the UE may determine that the uplink transmission beam is within the spatial region of the CO initiated by the BS after completing a LBT procedure with one or more downlink sensing beams including the downlink sensing beam.

For example, table 1-1 can be transmitted to the UE carried by a second HLS as follows, and the relations among the set of downlink sensing beams and the set of uplink transmission beams are shown in the Fig. 2A.

Table 1-1

According to table 1-1 and Fig. 2A, the first row with a row index "0" , suggests that the downlink sensing beam 1 corresponds to the uplink transmission beam 1, and the second row with a row index "1" , suggests that the downlink sensing beam 2 corresponds to the uplink transmission beam 2. In other words, if the BS initiates a CO after completing a LBT procedure with one or more downlink sensing beams including the downlink sensing beam 1, the UE may determine that the uplink transmission beam 1 is within a spatial region of the CO. If the BS initiates a CO after completing a LBT procedure with one or more downlink sensing beams including the downlink sensing beam 2, the UE may determine that the uplink transmission beam 2 is within a spatial region of the CO.

The DCI carried by the GC-PDCCH may include an indicator, which indicates one or more row indexes of the table. For example, if the indicator indicates a row index "0" , then the UE determines that the BS initiates the CO after completing a LBT procedure with the downlink sensing beam 1, and further determines the uplink transmission beam 1 is within the spatial region of the CO.

Therefore, according to the DCI carried by the GC-PDCCH and the table carried by the second HLS, the UE can determine the one or more downlink sensing beams used by the BS to perform the LBT procedure for initiating the CO, and whether there is an uplink transmission beam within the spatial region of the CO.

In one embodiment, there may not be an uplink transmission beam corresponding to a downlink sensing beam, in this case, "Null" may be indicated in a column of a row, of which a column indicates the downlink sensing beam. Although "Null" is used in this case, it should be noted that other symbols may also be used to indicate that no uplink transmission beam corresponds to a downlink sensing beam.

For example, in Fig. 2B, there is a UE which can only use the transmission beam 3 for uplink transmission. Then table 1-2 for this UE is presented as follows:

Table 1-2

According to the table 1-2, the UE can determine that there is no uplink transmission beam corresponds to the downlink transmission beam 1 and the downlink transmission beam 2.

In another embodiment, the UE may determine more than one uplink transmission beams within the spatial region of the CO, then the UE will select one of them for performing the uplink transmission, for example, the uplink transmission beam indicated in the row with the smallest row index. The selection is preconfigured, such that the UE and the BS would select the uplink transmission beam and the uplink reception beam which corresponds to each other.

For example, as shown in Fig. 2C and table 1-3, the BS initiates the CO (which has a spatial region within the dashed lines) after completing a LBT procedure with the downlink sensing beam 1 and the downlink sensing beam 2, according to table 1-3, the row index "0" and the row index "1" will be indicated to the UE by the DCI carried by the GC-PDCCH, the UE may determine that the uplink transmission beam 1 and uplink transmission beam 2 are within the spatial region of the CO. The UE will select one of the determined uplink transmission beams for performing the uplink transmission, for example, the uplink transmission beam 1 indicated in the row with the row index "0" .

Table 1-3

In some other embodiments, a downlink sensing beam may also correspond to one or more uplink transmission beams. For example, as shown in Fig. 2C and table 1-4 below, the downlink sensing beam 3 corresponds to the

uplink transmission beam

1, 2, and 3.

Table 1-4

In another scenario, the UE may receive more than one GC-PDCCHs, and the solution for this scenario is described as follows:

In slot A, a UE is scheduled or configured by a BS to transmit an uplink transmission in slot C using the uplink transmission beam A`by an UL grant or a first HLS.

Then in slot B ₁, which is a slot precedes slot C in time domain, the UE receives a first GC-PDCCH. According to a first DCI which is carried by the first GC-PDCCH and indicates the information of a corresponding CO, the UE determines that the first CO, CO ₁, has been initiated by the BS. Furthermore, according to the first DCI, the UE can determine the time duration and the frequency location of CO ₁. For example, in Fig. 3A, a spatial region of CO ₁ is shown within the dashed lines, and a downlink sensing beam 1 is used by the BS to perform a LBT procedure for initiating the CO ₁.

In slot B ₂, which is also a slot precedes slot C in time domain, the UE receives a second GC-PDCCH. According to a second DCI which is carried by the second GC-PDCCH and indicates the information of another corresponding CO, the UE determines that the second CO, CO ₂, has been initiated by the BS. Furthermore, according to the second DCI, the UE can determine the time duration and the frequency location of CO ₂. For example, in Fig. 3B, the spatial region of CO ₂ is shown within the dashed lines, and the downlink sensing beam 2 is used by the BS to perform a LBT procedure for initiating the CO ₂.

Similarly, in slot B _n, which is also a slot precedes slot C in time domain, the UE receives a n ^th GC-PDCCH. According to a n ^th DCI which is carried by the n ^th GC-PDCCH and indicates the information of a corresponding CO, the UE determines that the n ^th CO, CO _n, has been initiated by the BS. Furthermore, according to the n ^th DCI, the UE can determine the duration in time domain and the frequency location of CO _n.

Based on the above information, the UE is aware that the BS initiates at least n COs, if the UE determines that: 1) the uplink transmission is within an intersection of determined time durations and an intersection of frequency locations of the n COs and, 2) there is an uplink transmission beam B within a total spatial region of the n COs, in slot C, the UE can perform the uplink transmission, that is, share the CO, using the determined uplink transmission beam B after completing a LBT Cat2 or without a LBT procedure, i.e. LBT Cat1.

The uplink transmission beam is determined based on a table included in a second HLS, which indicates a group of relations between a set of downlink sensing beams used by the BS to perform LBT procedure (s) , e.g. the downlink sensing beam 1 and the downlink sensing beam 2 as shown in Figs. 3A-3C, and a set of uplink transmission beams, e.g., the uplink transmission beam 3 as shown in Figs. 3A-3C. One example is presented as follows:

Table 2-1

In table 2-1, each row of the table have three columns, the first column indicates a row index, the second column indicates one or more downlink sensing beams, and the third column indicates an uplink transmission beam, suggesting that the one or more downlink sensing beam correspond to the uplink transmission beam. In other words, according to one row of the table, the UE can determine that the uplink transmission beam is within a spatial region of a CO initiated by the BS after completing a LBT procedure with the one or more downlink sensing beams. According to one row of the table, the UE can further determine that the uplink transmission beam is within a total spatial region of the multiple COs, each of which is initiated by the BS after completing a LBT procedure with a downlink sensing beam included in the one or more downlink sensing beams. For example, if a first indicator in the first DCI indicates a row index "1" , which means that the BS initiate the CO ₁ after completing the LBT procedure with downlink sensing beam 1, and if a second indicator in the second DCI indicates a row index "2" , which means that the BS initiate the CO ₂ after completing the LBT procedure with downlink sensing beam 2, the UE determines that the uplink transmission beam 3 is within the total spatial region of the CO ₁ and CO ₂ because the row with row index "0" indicating that the downlink sensing beam 1 and downlink sensing beam 2 correspond to uplink transmission beam 3.

In some other embodiments, each row of the table may further include a column indicating one or more downlink transmission beams, so that the table further indicates another group of relations between a set of downlink transmission beams and a set of uplink transmission beams. For example, table 2-2 is presented as follows:

Table 2-2

In table 2-2, each row of the table has four columns. Compared with table 1-1, table 2-2 has an additional column which indicates one or more downlink transmission beams, suggesting that the one or more downlink transmission beams correspond to the uplink transmission beam. In other words, according to one row of the table 2-2, the UE can determine that the uplink transmission beam is within a spatial region of a CO initiated by the BS after completing a LBT procedure with one or more downlink sensing beam corresponding to the one or more downlink transmission beams. According to one row of the table 2-2, the UE can further determine that the uplink transmission beam is within a total spatial region of multiple COs, each of which is initiated by the BS after completing a LBT procedure with a downlink sensing beam corresponding to a downlink transmission beam included in the one or more downlink sensing beams. For example, if a first indicator in the first DCI indicates a row index "1" , which means that the BS initiate the CO ₁ after completing the LBT procedure with downlink sensing beam 1, and if a second indicator in the second DCI indicates a row index "2" , which means that the BS initiate the CO ₂ after completing the LBT procedure with downlink sensing beam 2, the UE determines that the uplink transmission beam 3 is within the total spatial region of the CO ₁ and CO ₂, because downlink sensing beam 1 corresponds to downlink transmission beam 1, downlink sensing beam 2 corresponds to downlink transmission beam 2, and the row with row index "0" indicates that the downlink beam 1 and the downlink beam 2 correspond to uplink transmission beam 3. Still, the symbol "Null" suggests that there is no other available uplink transmission beam corresponding to the downlink sensing beams or the one or more downlink transmission beams.

In some embodiments, the correspondence between a downlink sensing beam and a downlink transmission beam may be that the downlink sensing beam and the downlink transmission beam are indicated by the same Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. In some other embodiments, the correspondence between a downlink sensing beam and a downlink transmission beam may also be that the downlink sensing beam and the downlink transmission beam have the same Quasi Co-Location (QCL) information. It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above two correspondences, and other correspondences may also be included.

More specifically, Figs. 3A-3C describe a scenario of the UE receiving two GC-PDCCHs, each includes a DCI corresponding to a CO. The details are as described follows:

In Fig. 3A, the UE receives a first GC-PDCCH, which includes a first DCI indicating that a first CO, CO ₁, has been initiated by the BS. Furthermore, according to the first DCI, the UE can determine a time duration and a frequency location of the CO ₁. A`spatial region of CO ₁ is shown within the dashed lines, and the downlink sensing beam 1 is used by the BS to perform a LBT procedure for initiating the CO ₁.

In Fig. 3B, the UE further receives a second GC-PDCCH, which includes a second DCI indicating that a second CO, CO ₂, has been initiated by the BS. Furthermore, according to the second DCI, the UE can determine a time duration and a frequency location of CO ₂. The spatial region of CO ₂ is shown within the dashed lines, and the downlink sensing beam 2 is used by the BS to perform a LBT procedure for initiating the CO ₂.

The UE determines that the uplink transmission of the UE is within an intersection of determined time durations and an intersection of determined frequency locations of CO ₁ and CO ₂.

According to table 2-1 or table 2-2 above and the two DCIs, the UE determines that the uplink transmission beam 3 is within the total spatial region of the CO ₁ and CO ₂.

Fig. 4 illustrates a method performed by the UE and the BS for wireless communication according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure.

In operation 401, the BS transmits a first control information indicating a group of relations among a first set of sensing beams used by the BS to perform LBT procedure (s) and a first set of uplink transmission beams; correspondingly, at UE side, the UE receives the first control information. The first control information may be included in a first HLS. The first control information may be a table, such as table 1-1, 1-2, etc. The group of relations in the table may include one or more correspondences between one or more sensing beams and an uplink transmission beam. For example, in table 2-1, the first row with the row index "0" includes the correspondence between one or more downlink sensing beams (that is, DL sensing beam 1, and DL sensing beam 2) and the uplink transmission beam, UL Tx beam 3.

The first control information may further indicate another group of relations among a first set of downlink transmission beams and the first set of uplink transmission beams. The another group of relations may include one or more correspondences among one or more downlink transmission beams and an uplink transmission beam. For example, in table 3-1, the first row with the row index "0" includes the correspondence between one or more downlink transmission beams (that is, DL transmission beam 1 and DL`transmission beam 2) and an uplink transmission beam, the UL Tx beam 3.

In operation 402, the BS transmits one or more second control information, for example, one or more DCIs, each of which is carried by a GC-PDCCH, and each second control information is associated with a CO initiated by the BS. Correspondingly, at UE side, the UE receives the one or more second control information in operation 402. In some embodiments, each second control information may include an indicator indicating one or more relations from the group of relations. In some other embodiments, each second control information may include an indicator indicating one or more relations from the group of relations and the another group of relations. For example, the DCI may include an indicator, which indicates one or more row indexes in one of the tables of the present disclosure.

In operation 403, the UE determines a second set of uplink transmission beams based on the first control information and the one or more second control information, wherein the second set of uplink transmission beams are within a total spatial region of the one or more COs.

In operation 404, the UE selects, from the second set of uplink transmission beams, a third uplink transmission beam; and in operation 405, the UE perform an uplink transmission with the third uplink transmission beam. Correspondingly, at BS side, the BS receives the uplink transmission with an uplink reception beam corresponding to the third uplink transmission beam.

In some embodiment, the UE determines whether the uplink transmission is within a time duration of a CO, and within a frequency location of the CO. If the UE determines that the uplink transmission is within the time duration of the CO, and within the frequency location of the CO, the UE can share the CO, thus greatly improves the data transmission efficiency.

In some other embodiment, the UE determines whether the uplink transmission is within an intersection of time durations of at least two COs, and within an intersection of frequency locations of the at least two COs. If the uplink transmission of the UE is within an intersection of time durations of at least two COs, and within an intersection of frequency locations of the at least two COs, the UE can share the at least two COs, thus also greatly improves the data transmission efficiency.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 500 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 500 may include a receiving circuitry, a processor, a medium and a transmitting circuitry. In one embodiment, the apparatus 500 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium 503 having stored thereon computer-executable instructions; a receiving circuitry 501; a transmitting circuitry 504; and a processor 502 coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 503, the receiving circuitry 501 and the transmitting circuitry 504. The computer executable instructions can be programmed to implement a method (e.g. the method in Fig. 4) with the receiving circuitry 501, the transmitting circuitry 504 and the processor 502.

The method of the present disclosure can be implemented on a programmed processor. However, controllers, flowcharts, and modules may also be implemented on a general purpose or special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements, an integrated circuit, a hardware electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device, or the like. In general, any device that has a finite state machine capable of implementing the flowcharts shown in the figures may be used to implement the processing functions of the present disclosure.

While the present disclosure has been described with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, or substituted in other embodiments. Also, all of the elements shown in each Fig. are not necessary for operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, one skilled in the art of the disclosed embodiments would be capable of making and using the teachings of the present disclosure by simply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

In this disclosure, relational terms such as "first, " "second, " and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms "comprises, " "comprising, " or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by "a, " "an, " or the like does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Also, the term "another" is defined as at least a second or more. The terms "including, " "having, " and the like, as used herein, are defined as "comprising. "

Claims

A method performed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

receiving a first control information indicating a group of relations among a first set of sensing beams used by a base station (BS) to perform listen before talk (LBT) procedure (s) and a first set of uplink transmission beams;

receiving one or more second control information, wherein each second control information is associated with a channel occupancy (CO) initiated by the BS;

determining a second set of uplink transmission beams based on the first control information and the one or more second control information, wherein the second set of uplink transmission beams are within a total spatial region of the one or more COs;

selecting, from the second set of uplink transmission beams, a third uplink transmission beam; and

performing an uplink transmission with the third uplink transmission beam.
The method of Claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the uplink transmission of the UE is within a duration in time domain of a CO, and within a location in frequency domain of the CO.
The method of Claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the uplink transmission of the UE is within an intersection of durations in time domain of at least two COs, and within an intersection of locations in frequency domain of the at least two COs.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the first control information is carried by a higher layer signaling.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the group of relations include one or more correspondences between one or more sensing beams and an uplink transmission beam.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the first control information further indicates another group of relations among a first set of downlink transmission beams and the first set of uplink transmission beams.
The method of Claim 6, wherein the another group of relations include one or more correspondences among one or more downlink transmission beams and an uplink transmission beam.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the second control information is received in a group common-physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH) .
The method of Claim 1, wherein each second control information includes an indicator indicating one or more relations from the group of relations.
The method of Claim 1, wherein each second control information includes an indicator indicating one or more relations from the group of relations and the another group of relations.
A method performed by a base station (BS) , comprising:

transmitting a first control information indicating a group of relations among a first set of sensing beams used by the BS to perform listen before talk (LBT) procedure (s) and a first set of uplink transmission beams;

transmitting one or more second control information, wherein each second control information is associated with a channel occupancy (CO) initiated by the BS;

determining a second uplink transmission beam; and

receiving an uplink transmission from the UE with an uplink reception beam corresponding to the second uplink transmission beam.
The method of Claim 11, wherein the first control information further indicates another group of relations among a first set of downlink transmission beams and the first set of uplink transmission beams.
An apparatus, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions;

a receiving circuitry;

a transmitting circuitry; and

a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the receiving circuitry and the transmitting circuitry,

wherein the computer-executable instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to implement the method of any of Claims 1-12.