WO2023283963A1

WO2023283963A1 - Methods, devices and computer storage media for communication

Info

Publication number: WO2023283963A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/106937
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gang Wang
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 2021-07-16
Filing date: 2021-07-16
Publication date: 2023-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 2024-01-16

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices and computer storage media for communication. The method comprises receiving, at a first device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between the first device and a second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and performing a first uplink transmission from the first device to the second device based on the indication. In this way, a mechanism of channel access and channel sharing between the gNB and the UE considering the gNB and the UE are operating in different LBT modes in mmWave shared spectrum can be proposed to achieve flexible and effective transmission in shared channel.

Description

METHODS, DEVICES AND COMPUTER STORAGE MEDIA FOR COMMUNICATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication, and in particular, to methods, devices and computer storage media for channel access in millimeter wave bands.

BACKGROUND

Mobile communication involves the transmissions between a terminal device and a network device. Before performing transmission (s) , the terminal device or the network device may evaluate the availability of a channel for performing transmissions with channel access procedures, such as a Listen-before-Talk (LBT) mechanism or a clear channel assessment (CCA) , to improve the transmission performance. Work is ongoing to introduce enhancements to achieve more flexible channel access procedures.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices and computer storage media for channel access in millimeter wave bands.

In a first aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises receiving, at a first device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between the first device and a second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and performing a first uplink transmission from the first device to the second device based on the indication.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises transmitting, at a second device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between a first device and the second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and performing a first downlink transmission from the second device to the first device based on the indication.

In a third aspect, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises a processor and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores instructions thereon. The instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the first device to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises a processor and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores instructions thereon. The instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the second device to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of the first and the second aspects.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrate an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIGs. 2A-2C illustrate time diagrams for the channel access according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGs. 3A-3D illustrate time diagrams for the channel access according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a time diagram for the channel access according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGs. 5A-5B illustrate time diagrams for the channel access according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of the channel access in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of the channel access in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an example embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish functionalities of various elements. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as fifth generation (5G) systems, Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the future fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR Next Generation NodeB (gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to Mobile Termination (MT) part of the integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (a.k.a. a relay node) . In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

Although functionalities described herein can be performed, in various example embodiments, in a fixed and/or a wireless network node, in other example embodiments, functionalities may be implemented in a user equipment apparatus (such as a cell phone or tablet computer or laptop computer or desktop computer or mobile IoT device or fixed IoT device) . This user equipment apparatus can, for example, be furnished with corresponding capabilities as described in connection with the fixed and/or the wireless network node (s) , as appropriate. The user equipment apparatus may be the user equipment and/or or a control device, such as a chipset or processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed therein. Examples of such functionalities include the bootstrapping server function and/or the home subscriber server, which may be implemented in the user equipment apparatus by providing the user equipment apparatus with software configured to cause the user equipment apparatus to perform from the point of view of these functions/nodes.

The term “circuitry” used herein may refer to hardware circuits and/or combinations of hardware circuits and software. For example, the circuitry may be a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware. As a further example, the circuitry may be any portions of hardware processors with software including digital signal processor (s) , software, and memory (memories) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In a still further example, the circuitry may be hardware circuits and or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software/firmware for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (s) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor (s) and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.

FIG. 1 shows an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The network 100 includes a network device 120 and terminal devices 110-1, 110-2…, 110-N served by the network device 120. The serving area of the network device 120 is called as a cell 102. The terminal devices 110-1, 110-2…, 110-N may be collectively referred to as “terminal device 110” .

It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the communication network 100, the network device 120 can communicate/transmit data and control information to the terminal device 110 and the terminal device 110 can also communicate/transmit data and control information to the network device 120. A link from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL) , while a link from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL) . DL may comprise one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) . UL may comprise one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) .

Depending on the communication technologies, the network 100 may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Address (TDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) network or any others. Communications discussed in the network 100 may use conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , CDMA2000, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and the like. Furthermore, the communications may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols. The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, certain aspects of the techniques are described below for LTE, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description below.

As used herein, the term “channel” may refer to a carrier or a part of a carrier consisting of a contiguous set of resource blocks (RBs) on which a channel access procedure is performed in shared spectrum.

As used herein, the term “channel access procedure” may refer to a procedure based on sensing that evaluates the availability of a channel for performing transmissions. The basic unit for sensing may be a sensing slot with a sensing slot duration T _sl. For example, the sensing slot duration T _sl may be considered to be idle if an eNB/gNB or a UE senses the channel during the sensing slot duration, and determines that the detected power for at least certain duration within the sensing slot duration (such as 4μs) is less than energy detection threshold X _thresh. Otherwise, the sensing slot duration T _sl may be considered to be busy.

As used herein, the term “LBT” , “Category 4 (Cat4) LBT” , “Category 2 (Cat2) LBT” , “clear channel assessment (CCA) ” or “enhanced clear channel assessment (eCCA) ” may refer to the channel access procedure described above. For example, the Cat 4 LBT procedure may be similar to the Type 1 UL/DL channel access procedure or Clear Channel Access (CCA) . As a further example, the Cat 2 LBT procedure may be similar to the Type 2/2A/2B/2C UL/DL channel access procedures.

As used herein, the term “channel occupancy” may refer to transmission (s) on channel (s) by eNB/gNB/UE (s) after performing the corresponding channel access procedures.

As used herein, the term “Channel Occupancy Time (COT) ” may refer to the total time for which eNB/gNB/UE and any eNB/gNB/UE (s) sharing the channel occupancy perform transmission (s) on a channel after an eNB/gNB/UE performs the corresponding channel access procedures described above. For example, for determining a Channel Occupancy Time, if a transmission gap is less than or equal to certain duration (such as 25μs) , the gap duration is counted in the channel occupancy time. A channel occupancy time may be shared for transmission between an eNB/gNB and the corresponding UE (s) .

For regions where LBT is not mandated, the gNB may indicate to the UE this gNB-UE connection is operating in LBT mode or no-LBT mode, namely, LBT is necessary for the operation in LBT mode, and LBT is unnecessary for the operation in no-LBT mode. For a frequency range in mmWave band under corresponding regulation in a certain region, the indication of operation mode may be per UE, per cell or per beam, and carried as part of system information, a L1 signaling or dedicated RRC signaling in an implicit or explicit way. The system information can be MIB and/or SIB1.

For the maximum re-use of the existing LBT based channel access design in NR/NR-Unlicensed spetrum (NR-U) , a mechanism for channel assess procedure and channel occupancy sharing in the case of semi-static and configured grant channel occupancy on mmWave shared spectrum may need to be discussed, wherein the gNB and the UE (s) may be operating in different LBT modes.

In the solution of the present invention, the gNB may transmit to the UE an indication that a time interval associated with occupancy of a channel between the gNB and the UE is allowed to be used by the gNB in a first channel access mode and by the UE in a second channel access mode. The second channel access mode is different from the first channel access mode. The gNB and the UE may perform the DL transmission and the UL transmission within the time interval based on the indication.

In this way, a mechanism of channel occupancy access and channel occupancy time sharing between the gNB and the UE considering the gNB and the UE are operating in different LBT modes on mmWave band (s) can be proposed to achieve flexible and effective channel occupancy.

Principle and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to FIGs. 2A-5B, which show time diagrams for the channel access in different scenarios according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter the process of the channel access may involve the UE 110 and the gNB 120 as shown in FIG. 1.

As describe above, for regions where LBT is not mandated, the gNB may indicate to the UE this gNB-UE connection is operating in LBT mode or no-LBT mode. The indication of operation mode may be per UE, per cell or per beam.

In some embodiments, the gNB 120 may transmit to the UE 110 an indication that a time interval associated with channel occupancy is allowed to be used by the gNB 120 in a first channel access mode and by the UE 110 in a second channel access mode. The second channel access mode is different from the first channel access mode.

It is to be understood that the indication associated with the channel access modes for the gNB and the UE can be integrated in a single indication or can be includes in two separate indications, respectively.

The indication may be provided as part of system information (such as MIB, SIB1 etc. ) , physical layer signal/signaling (such as DMRS, DCI, MSG2/4 etc. ) or dedicated RRC signalling in an implicit or explicit way.

In a case of semi-static channel occupancy, the time interval associated with the channel occupancy may be acquired by the gNB. In this case, the gNB may acquire the time interval associated with the DL transmission (s) and, if any, UL transmission (s) by performing a channel access procedure or without performing the channel access procedure.

For example, if the gNB in LBT mode acquires the time interval associated with the channel occupancy by performing a channel access procedure, the UE in no-LBT mode may not be required to perform the channel access procedure to share the time interval. By contrast, if the gNB in no-LBT mode acquires the time interval associated with the DL transmission (s) and, if any, UL transmission (s) without performing a channel access procedure, the UE in LBT mode may be required to perform the channel access procedure to share the time interval.

If a gNB provides the UE (s) with higher layer parameters ChannelAccessMode-r16 ='semistatic' by SIB1 or dedicated configuration, a periodic channel occupancy can be initiated by the gNB every T _x within every two consecutive radio frames, starting from the even indexed radio frame at i*T _x with a maximum channel occupancy time T _y=0.95T _x, where T _x=period in ms is a higher layer parameter provided in SemiStaticChannelAccessConfig and i= {0, 1, …, 20/T _x-1} .

In some embodiments, for the semi-static channel occupancy in mmWave shared spectrum, the channel occupancy can be initiated by a gNB for DL transmission, and can be shared with UE (s) for UL transmission (s) . If the gNB is operating in LBT mode, while UE(s) is operating in no-LBT mode, then the gNB shall transmit a DL transmission burst starting at the beginning of the channel occupancy time immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _sl=Nμs (number N may equal to 5 or 9) . If the channel is sensed to be busy, the gNB shall not perform any transmission during the current period.

The gNB may transmit a DL transmission burst (s) within the channel occupancy time immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _sl=Nμs if the gap between the DL transmission burst (s) and any previous transmission burst is more than Yμs , which may be a value in a set {8, 13, 18, 23} . It is to be understood that this action may not be necessary if Type 2/2A/2B/2C like channel access procedure is not introduced in mmWave band at least for this case.

Furthermore, the gNB may transmit DL transmission burst (s) after UL transmission burst (s) within the channel occupancy time without sensing the channel if the gap between the DL and UL transmission bursts is at most Yμs.

If a UE detected a DL transmission burst (s) wherein the channel occupancy time information may be indicated, the UE may transmit UL transmission burst (s) after the switching gap between the DL and UL transmission bursts within the channel occupancy time without sensing the channel.

Now the reference is made to FIGs. 2A-2C, which show time diagrams for the channel access in the semi-static state. In some embodiments, the indication of the time interval associated with the channel occupancy transmitted from the gNB 120 to the UE 110 may indicate that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the gNB 120 to use the time interval associated with the channel occupancy in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the UE 110 to use the time interval associated with the channel occupancy in the second channel access mode. In the scenario shown in the FIGs. 2A-2C, the channel occupancy can be initiated by the gNB 120 by performing the channel access procedure.

As shown in FIGs. 2A-2C, the gNB 120 may initiate time interval associated with the channel occupancy every T _x (for example, the time interval 210) within every two consecutive radio frames, starting from the even indexed radio frame at i*T _x with a maximum channel occupancy time T _y (for example, the time interval 220) . The gNB 120 may perform the channel access procedure at the end (for example, the time interval 230) of the last T _x.

After the channel access procedure performed by the gNB 120 is successful, the gNB 120 may perform the first DL transmission (for example, the first DL transmission 211 as shown in FIG. 2A, the first DL transmission 221 as shown in FIG. 2B and the first DL transmission 231 as shown in FIG. 2C) at the beginning of the time interval 220.

After receiving the first transmission from the gNB 120, the UE 110 may share the time interval 220 initiated by the gNB 120 for performing a first UL transmission (for example, the first UL transmission 212 as shown in FIG. 2A, the first UL transmission 222 as shown in FIG. 2B and the first UL transmission 232 as shown in FIG. 2C) . The sharing information of the time interval 220 may be transmitted from the gNB 120 to the UE 110.

In the time interval 220, there is a gap between the first DL transmission and the first UL transmission in the time domain. For example, there is a gap 201 between the first DL transmission 211 and the first UL transmission 212 as shown in FIG. 2A, there is a gap 203 between the first DL transmission 221 and the first UL transmission 222 as shown in FIG. 2B and there is a gap 205 between the first DL transmission 231 and the first UL transmission 232 as shown in FIG. 2C. As shown, in a case where the time interval 220 is initiated by the gNB 120 by performing the channel access procedure, the UE 110 may perform a first UL transmission within the time interval 220 after the first DL transmission without performing the channel access procedure regardless of the duration of the gap.

In some embodiments, it is also possible that the gNB 120 performs a second DL transmission within the time interval 220 after the first UL transmission 212.

For using the time interval, the gNB 120 may determine whether a channel access procedure is required before the second DL transmission based on the gap between the first UL transmission and the second DL transmission in the time domain.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2A, if the gNB 120 determines that the gap 202 fails to exceed a threshold, the gNB 120 may perform the second DL transmission 213 within the time interval after the first UL transmission 212 without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2B, if the gNB 120 determines that the gap 204 exceeds a threshold, the gNB 120 may perform the second DL transmission 223 within the time interval after the first UL transmission 222 without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2C, even if the gNB 120 determines that the gap 206 exceeds a threshold, the gNB 120 may also perform the second DL transmission 233 within the time interval after the first UL transmission 232 without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, for the semi-static channel occupancy in mmWave shared spectrum, the channel occupancy is initiated by a gNB for DL transmission, and can be shared with UE (s) for UL transmission (s) . If UE (s) is operating in LBT mode, while gNB is operating in no-LBT mode, then the gNB shall transmit a DL transmission burst (s) starting at the beginning of the certain period within the maximum channel occupancy time without sensing the channel and the gNB may transmit DL transmission burst (s) after any previous transmission burst (s) within the maximum channel occupancy time without sensing the channel.

Furthermore, after the first detection of a DL transmission burst (s) within the maximum channel occupancy time, a UE may transmit UL transmission burst (s) immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _sl=Nμs following the switching gap between the DL and UL transmission bursts. If the channel is sensed to be busy, the UE shall not perform any transmission during the current period.

Alternatively, the UE may transmit a UL transmission burst (s) immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _sl=Nμs in (or prior to) the switching gap between the DL and UL transmission bursts. If the channel is sensed to be busy, the UE shall not perform any transmission during the current period.

Then, the UE may transmit a UL transmission burst (s) within the channel occupancy time immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration Tsl=Nμs if the gap between the UL transmission burst (s) and any previous transmission burst is more than Yμs (such as Y=8, 13, 18/23) . It is to be understood that this action may not be necessary if Type 2/2A/2B/2C like channel access procedure is not introduced in mmWave band at least for this case.

The UE may transmit UL transmission burst (s) after DL transmission burst (s) within the channel occupancy time without sensing the channel if the gap between the DL and UL transmission bursts is at most Yμs.

Alternatively, a UE may be indicated by the gNB to transmit UL transmission burst (s) within the channel occupancy time without sensing the channel or after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _sl=Nμs with a Yμs interval ending immediately before transmission.

Now the reference is made to FIGs. 3A-3D, which show time diagrams for the channel access in the semi-static state. In some embodiments, the indication of the time interval associated with the DL transmission (s) and, if any, UL transmission (s) transmitted from the gNB 120 to the UE 110 may indicate that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the gNB 120 in the first channel access mode to use the time interval associated with the DL transmission (s) and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the UE 110 in the second channel access mode to use the time interval associated with the UL transmission burst (s) . In the scenario shown in the FIGs. 3A-3D, the DL transmission (s) can be initiated by the gNB 120 without performing the channel access procedure.

As shown in FIGs. 3A-3D, the gNB 120 may initiate the time interval associated with the DL transmission (s) and, if any, UL transmission (s) every T _x (for example, the time interval 320) within every two consecutive radio frames, starting from the even indexed radio frame at i*T _x with a maximum channel occupancy time T _y (for example, the time interval 330) .

The gNB 120 may acquire the time interval associated with the DL transmission (s) and, if any, UL transmission (s) without performing the channel access procedure. At the beginning of the time interval 330, the gNB 120 may perform the first DL transmission (for example, the first DL transmission 311 as shown in FIG. 3A, the first DL transmission 321 as shown in FIG. 3B, the first DL transmission 331 as shown in FIG. 3C and the first DL transmission 341 as shown in FIG. 3D) at the beginning of the time interval 220.

After receiving the first transmission from the gNB 120, the UE 110 may share the time interval 220 initiated by the gNB 120 for performing a first UL transmission (for example, the first UL transmission 312 as shown in FIG. 3A, the first UL transmission 322 as shown in FIG. 3B, the first UL transmission 332 as shown in FIG. 3C and the first UL transmission 342 as shown in FIG. 3D) . The sharing information of the time interval 220 can be transmitted from the gNB 120 to the UE 110.

There is a gap between the first DL transmission and the first UL transmission in the time domain. For example, there is a gap 301 between the first DL transmission 311 and the first UL transmission 312 as shown in FIG. 3A, there is a gap 303 between the first DL transmission 321 and the first UL transmission 322 as shown in FIG. 3B, there is a gap 306 between the first DL transmission 331 and the first UL transmission 332 as shown in FIG. 3C and there is a gap 308 between the first DL transmission 341 and the first UL transmission 342 as shown in FIG. 3D. As shown, in a case where the time interval 220 is initiated by the gNB 120 without performing the channel access procedure, the UE 110 may perform a first UL transmission within the time interval 220 after the first DL transmission by performing the channel access procedure regardless of the duration of the gap.

It is also possible that the UE 110 may perform at least one further UL transmission after the first UL transmission. In this case, for using the remaining time interval, the UE 110 may determine whether a channel access procedure is required before at least one further UL transmission based on the gap between a previous UL transmission and a subsequent UL transmission in the time domain.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, if the UE 110 determines that the gap 303 between the first UL transmission 322 and the second UL transmission 323 fails to exceed a threshold, the UE 110 may perform the second UL transmission 323 within the time interval after the first uplink transmission 322 without performing the channel access procedure.

If the UE 110 intends to perform a further UL transmission within the remaining time interval, for example, the UE 110 intends to perform a third UL transmission 423 after the second UL transmission, the UE 110 may also determine whether a channel access procedure is required before the third UL transmission 423. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, if the UE 110 determines that the gap 305 between the second UL transmission 324 and the third UL transmission 324 exceeds a threshold, the UE 110 may perform the channel access procedure before the third UL transmission 324. If the channel access procedure is successful, the UE 110 may perform the third UL transmission 324 within the time interval after the second UL transmission 323.

In some embodiments, even if the gap between the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission exceeds the threshold, the UE 110 may also perform the second UL transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, if the UE 110 determines that the gap 307 between the first UL transmission 332 and the second UL transmission 333 exceeds a threshold, the UE 110 may also perform the third UL transmission 324 within the time interval after the second UL transmission 323 without performing the channel access procedure.

It is also possible that the gNB 110 may perform a further DL transmission within the time interval after the first UL transmission. Since the gNB 120 is not required to perform the channel access procedure to acquire or use the time interval, the channel access procedure is not required before the further DL transmission either.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the gNB 120 may perform the second DL transmission 313 after the first UL transmission within the remaining time interval without performing the channel access procedure regardless of the duration of the gap 302.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 3D, the gNB 120 may perform the second DL transmission 343 after the first UL transmission 342 within the remaining time interval without performing the channel access procedure regardless of the duration of the gap 309.

If the UE 110 may perform a further UL transmission after the second DL transmission, the UE 110 may also determine whether a channel access procedure is required before the further UL transmission based on the gap between the second DL transmission and the further UL transmission in the time domain.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3D, if the UE 110 determines that the gap 310 between the second DL transmission 343 and the second UL transmission 344 exceeds a threshold, the UE 110 may perform the channel access procedure before the second UL transmission 344. If the channel access procedure is successful, the UE 110 may perform the second UL transmission 344 within the time interval after the second DL transmission 343.

In a case where the channel occupancy is initiated on the configure grant, the time interval associated with the channel occupancy may be acquired by the UE. In this case, the UE may acquire the time interval associated with the UL transmission (s) and, if any, DL transmission (s) by performing a channel access procedure or without performing the channel access procedure.

For example, if the UE acquires the time interval associated with the UL transmission (s) and, if any, DL transmission (s) by performing a channel access procedure, the gNB may not be required to perform the channel access procedure to share the time interval. By contrast, if the UE acquires the time interval associated with the UL transmission (s) and, if any, DL transmission (s) without performing a channel access procedure, the gNB may be required to perform the channel access procedure to share the time interval.

Specifically, for the configured grant Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission in mmWave shared spectrum, the channel occupancy can be initiated by a UE for UL transmission, and the channel occupancy can be shared with a gNB for DL transmission (s) . If UE (s) is operating in LBT mode, while gNB is operating in no-LBT mode, then the UE may use Type 1 like channel access procedures (with random deferral period) to initiate a channel occupancy for transmitting UL transmissions on configured UL resources.

Furthermore, The cyclic prefix extension (CPE) of the first OFDM symbol l allocated for a PUSCH transmission using configured grant can be represented by:

wherein the parameter Δ _i can be indicated with by a table with index i. The table may be represented as below.

Table 1: the parameter Δ _i and the corresponding index i

In this table, the umber n in the table may be 13, 12, 11, 10 corresponding to the case that number Y equals to 8, 13, 18, 23, respectively. Furthermore, the step size 5 is set to each index i.

For the case where a gNB in the first channel access mode shares a time interval initiated by a UE in the second channel access mode with configured grant PUSCH transmission, the gNB may transmit a transmission that follows the configured grant PUSCH transmission by the UE. The UE may not be expected to be provided with the higher layer parameter ul-toDL-COT-SharingED-Threshold-r16 which means the maximum energy detection threshold that the UE should use to share channel occupancy with gNB for DL transmission with length no longer than 2, 4, and 8 OFDM symbols for 15Khz, 30Khz, 60KHz SCS respectively.

If 'COT sharing information' in CG-UCI indicates '1' , the gNB can share the time interval initiated by UE and start the DL transmission X= cg-COT-SharingOffset-r16 symbols from the end of the slot where CG-UCI is detected. The parameter cg-COT-SharingOffset-r16 is provided by higher layer and carried in CG-UCI for indicating the offset from the end of the slot where the COT sharing indication in UCI is enabled where the offset in symbols is equal to 14*n, where n is the signaled value for cg-COT-SharingOffset.

Now the reference is made to FIG. 4, which shows a time diagram for the channel access on the configured grant. In some embodiments, the indication of the time interval associated with the UL transmission (s) and, if any, DL transmission (s) transmitted from the gNB 120 to the UE 110 may indicate that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the gNB 120 to use the time interval associated with the channel occupancy in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the UE 110 to use the time interval associated with the channel occupancy in the second channel access mode. In the scenario shown in the FIG. 4, the channel occupancy can be initiated by the UE 110 by performing the channel access procedure.

As shown in FIG. 4, the UE 110 may initiate the time interval 410 associated with the channel occupancy by performing the channel access procedure. The UE 110 may initiate the time interval 410 based on the CPE 411 for the first UL transmission 421.

After the channel access procedure is successful, the UE 110 may perform the first UL transmission 421 after the beginning of the time interval 410.

In this case, the gNB 120 may receive the sharing information associated with the time interval 410 from the UE 110, for example, via the Uplink Control Information (UCI) carried in PUCCH/PUSCH. If the 'COT sharing information' indicates '1' , the gNB 120 can share the UE channel occupancy, i.e., the time interval 410.

Since the gNB 120 is not required to perform the channel access procedure in this scenario, if the gNB 120 intends to share the time interval 410 for a DL transmission after the first UL transmission 421, the gNB 120 may perform the DL transmission within the time interval 410 without performing the channel access procedure.

The gNB 120 may obtain an offset value from the UCI, which may indicate an offset from a first location within the time interval where the sharing information associated with the time interval for DL transmission (s) is detected by the gNB 120 to a second location within this time interval where the first DL transmission is allowed to be initiated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, if the gNB 120 detects the sharing information associated with the time interval for DL transmission at the beginning of slot 430, based on the offset value 450, the first DL transmission 431 can be performed at the beginning of the slot 440.

For the configured grant PUSCH transmission in mmWave shared spectrum, the channel occupancy can be initiated by a UE for UL transmission, and can be shared with a gNB for DL transmission (s) . As another option, if UE (s) is operating in no-LBT mode, while gNB is operating in LBT mode, then the UE can transmit a UL transmission (s) on configured UL resources without sensing the channel. The UE is not expected to be provided with the higher layer parameter ul-toDL-COT-SharingED-Threshold-r16 which means the maximum energy detection threshold that the UE should use to share channel occupancy with gNB for DL transmission with length no longer than 2, 4, and 8 OFDM symbols for 15Khz, 30Khz, 60KHz SCS respectively.

Furthermore, if 'COT sharing information' in CG-UCI indicates '1' , the gNB shall use Type 1/2 like channel access procedures (with/without random deferral period) to initiate the channel occupancy for DL transmission (s) after X= cg-COT-SharingOffset-r16 symbols from the end of the slot where CG-UCI is detected, where cg-COT-SharingOffset-r16 is provided by higher layer and carried in CG-UCI for indicating the offset from the end of the slot where the COT sharing indication in UCI is enabled where the offset in symbols is equal to 14*n, where n is the signaled value for cg-COT-SharingOffset.

Now the reference is made to FIGs. 5A and 5B, which show time diagrams for the channel access on the configured grant. In some embodiments, the indication of the time interval associated with the UL transmission (s) and, if any, DL transmission (s) transmitted from the gNB 120 to the UE 110 may indicate that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the gNB 120 to use the time interval associated with the DL transmission (s) in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the UE 110 to use the time interval associated with the UL transmission (s) in the second channel access mode. In the scenario shown in the FIGs. 5A and 5B, the channel occupancy can be initiated by the UE 110 without performing the channel access procedure.

As shown in FIGs. 5A and 5B, the UE 110 may initiate the time interval 510 associated with the UL transmission (s) and, if any, DL transmission (s) by performing the channel access procedure. As shown in FIG. 5A, the UE 110 may perform the first UL transmission 511 at the beginning of the time interval 510. As shown in FIG. 5B, the UE 110 may perform the first UL transmission 521 at the beginning of the time interval 510.

In this case, the gNB 120 may receive the sharing information associated with the time interval 510 from the UE 110, for example, via the UCI. If the 'COT sharing information' indicates '1' , the gNB 120 can share time interval initiated by UE, i.e., the time interval 510.

Different channel access procedure type may be required for the gNB 120 to share the time interval 510. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the gNB 120 may perform a type 1 LBT for the channel access. If the channel access procedure is successful, the gNB 120 may perform the first DL transmission 513 within the time interval after the first UL transmission 511.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the gNB 120 may perform a type 2 LBT for the channel access. If the channel access procedure is successful, the gNB 120 may perform the first DL transmission 523 within the time interval after the first UL transmission 521.

For both case shown in FIGs. 5A and 5B, the gNB 120 may obtain an offset value from the UCI, which may indicate an offset from a first location within the time interval where the sharing information associated with the time interval for DL transmission (s) is detected by the gNB 120 to a second location within this time interval where the first DL transmission is allowed to be initiated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, if the gNB 120 detects the sharing information associated with the time interval for DL transmission at the beginning of slot 530, based on the offset value 551, the first DL transmission 513 can be performed at the beginning of the slot 540.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, if the gNB 120 detects the sharing information associated with the time interval for DL transmission at the beginning of slot 530, based on the offset value 552, the first DL transmission 523 can be performed at the beginning of the slot 540.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 can be implemented at a first device 110 as shown in FIG. 2. It is to be understood that the method 600 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 610, the first device receives an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between the first device and a second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode. The second channel access mode is different from the first channel access mode.

At block 620, the first device performs a first uplink transmission from the first device to the second device based on the indication

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the first device may receive a first downlink transmission from the second device within the time interval and perform the first uplink transmission within the time interval after the first downlink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the first device may receive a first downlink transmission from the second device within the time interval, perform the channel access procedure for using the time interval; and perform the first uplink transmission within the time interval after the first downlink transmission after the channel access procedure is successful.

In some embodiments, if the first device determines that a second uplink transmission is to be performed from the first device to the second device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, the first device may determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission in a time domain. If the first device determines that the gap fails to exceed a threshold, the first device may perform the second uplink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, if the first device determines that the gap exceeds the threshold, performing the second uplink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission after performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the channel access procedure for using the time interval is performed in or prior to the gap between the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

In some embodiments, if the first device determines that a second uplink transmission is to be performed from the first device to the second device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, the first device may determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission in a time domain. If the first device determines that the gap exceeds a threshold, the first device may perform second uplink transmission from the first device to the second device within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the first device may perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval, if the channel access procedure performed by the first device for the time interval in the configured grant is successful.

In some embodiments, the first device may initiate the occupancy of the channel based on a cyclic prefix extension for the first uplink transmission, wherein a length of the cyclic prefix extension for the first uplink transmission is determined based on a parameter, wherein the parameter is associated with a sensing interval for the channel access procedure and a step size associated with the sensing interval. The sensing interval is set to one of 8μs, 13μs, 18μs; or 23μs, and the step size is set to 5μs.

In some embodiments, the first device may receive an index corresponding to the parameter associated with the length of the cyclic prefix extension.

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the first device may perform the first uplink transmission within the time interval in a configured grant without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and wherein the second device comprises a network device.

FIG. 700 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 700 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 700 can be implemented at a second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. It is to be understood that the method 700 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 710, the second device transmits an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between a first device and the second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode. The second channel access mode is different from the first channel access mode.

At block 720, the second device performs a first downlink transmission from the second device to the first device based on the indication.

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the second device may perform the first downlink transmission at the beginning of the time interval after channel access procedure performed by the second device for the time interval is successful.

In some embodiments, the second device may receive a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval.

In some embodiments, if the second device determines that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, the second device may determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second downlink transmission in a time domain. If the second device determines that the gap fails to exceed a threshold, the second device may perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, if the second device determines that the gap exceeds a threshold, the second device may perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission by performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device may receive a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval. If the second device determines that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, the second device may determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second downlink transmission in a time domain. If the second device determines that the gap exceeds a threshold, the second device may perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the second device may perform the first downlink transmission at the beginning of the time interval without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device may receive a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval. If the second device determines that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, the second device may perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the second device may receive information associated with the time interval from the first device. If the second device determines, based on the information, that the time interval is allowed to be shared with the second device, the second device may perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, the second device may receiving information associated with the time interval from the first device. If the second device determines, based on the information, that the time interval is allowed to be shared with the second device, the second device may perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission by performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device may obtain an offset value from a first location within the time interval where the information associated with the time interval is detected by the second device to a second location within the time interval where the first downlink transmission is allowed to be initiated; and perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission based on the offset value.

Details for channel access in millimeter wave bands according to the present disclosure have been described with reference to FIGs. 1-7. Now an example implementation of the first device 110 will be discussed below. In some embodiments, the first device 110 comprises circuitry configured to: receive an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between the first device and a second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and perform a first uplink transmission from the first device to the second device based on the indication.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, receive a first downlink transmission from the second device within the time interval; and perform the first uplink transmission within the time interval after the first downlink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, receive a first downlink transmission from the second device within the time interval; perform the channel access procedure for using the time interval; and after the channel access procedure is successful, perform the first uplink transmission within the time interval after the first downlink transmission.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to in accordance with a determination that a second uplink transmission is to be performed from the first device to the second device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission in a time domain; and in accordance with a determination that the gap fails to exceed a threshold, perform the second uplink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds the threshold, perform the second uplink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission after performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to in accordance with a determination that a second uplink transmission is to be performed from the first device to the second device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission in a time domain; and in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds a threshold, perform a second uplink transmission from the first device to the second device within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, in accordance with a determination that the channel access procedure performed by the first device for the time interval in the configured grant is successful, perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to initiate the occupancy of the channel based on a cyclic prefix extension for the first uplink transmission, wherein a length of the cyclic prefix extension for the first uplink transmission is determined based on a parameter, wherein the parameter is associated with a sensing interval for the channel access procedure and a step size associated with the sensing interval, and wherein the sensing interval is set to one of 8μs, 13μs, 18μs; or 23μs, and the step size is set to 5μs.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to receive an index corresponding to the parameter associated with the length of the cyclic prefix extension.

In some embodiments, the first device 210 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, perform the first uplink transmission within the time interval in a configured grant without performing the channel access procedure.

Now an example implementation of the second device 120 will be discussed below. In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to: transmit, at a second device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between a first device and the second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and perform a first downlink transmission from the second device to the first device based on the indication.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, after channel access procedure performed by the second device for the time interval is successful, perform the first downlink transmission at the beginning of the time interval.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to receive a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval; in accordance with a determination that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second downlink transmission in a time domain; and in accordance with a determination that the gap fails to exceed a threshold, perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds a threshold, perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission by performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to receive a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval; and in accordance with a determination that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determine a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second downlink transmission in a time domain; and in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds a threshold, perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, perform the first downlink transmission at the beginning of the time interval without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to receive a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval; in accordance with a determination that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, perform the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, receive information associated with the time interval from the first device; and in accordance with a determination, based on the information, that the time interval is allowed to be shared with the second device, perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, receive information associated with the time interval from the first device; and in accordance with a determination, based on the information, that the time interval is allowed to be shared with the second device, perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission by performing the channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 comprises circuitry configured to obtain an offset value from a first location within the time interval where the information associated with the time interval is detected by the second device to a second location within the time interval where the first downlink transmission is allowed to be initiated; and in accordance with a determination that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, perform the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission based on the offset value.

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 can be considered as a further example implementation of the network device 120 or the terminal device 110 as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the device 800 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the network device 120 or the terminal device 110.

As shown, the device 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820 coupled to the processor 810, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 840 coupled to the processor 810, and a communication interface coupled to the TX/RX 840. The memory 810 stores at least a part of a program 830. The TX/RX 840 is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2 interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs, S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Serving Gateway (S-GW) and the eNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB and a terminal device.

The program 830 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 810, enable the device 800 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGs. 2 to 7. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 810 of the device 800, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 810 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 810 and memory 820 may form processing means 850 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 820 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 820 is shown in the device 800, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 800. The processor 810 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 800 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

The above program code may be embodied on a machine readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A method comprising:

receiving, at a first device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between the first device and a second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and

performing a first uplink transmission from the first device to the second device based on the indication.
The method of Claim 1, wherein in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first uplink transmission comprises:

receiving a first downlink transmission from the second device within the time interval; and

performing the first uplink transmission within the time interval after the first downlink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 1, wherein in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first uplink transmission comprises:

receiving a first downlink transmission from the second device within the time interval;

performing the channel access procedure for using the time interval; and

after the channel access procedure is successful, performing the first uplink transmission within the time interval after the first downlink transmission.
The method of Claim 3, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that a second uplink transmission is to be performed from the first device to the second device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determining a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission in a time domain; and

in accordance with a determination that the gap fails to exceed a threshold, performing the second uplink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 4, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds the threshold, performing the second uplink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission after performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 3, wherein the channel access procedure for using the time interval is performed in or prior to the gap between the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.
The method of Claim 1, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that a second uplink transmission is to be performed from the first device to the second device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determining a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission in a time domain; and

in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds a threshold, performing a second uplink transmission from the first device to the second device within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 1, wherein in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first uplink transmission comprises:

in accordance with a determination that the channel access procedure performed by the first device for the time interval in the configured grant is successful, performing the first downlink transmission within the time interval.
The method of Claim 8, further comprising:

initiating the occupancy of the channel based on a cyclic prefix extension for the first uplink transmission,

wherein a length of the cyclic prefix extension for the first uplink transmission is determined based on a parameter, wherein the parameter is associated with a sensing interval for the channel access procedure and a step size associated with the sensing interval, and wherein the sensing interval is set to one of the following:

8 μs,

13 μs,

18 μs; or

23 μs,

and wherein the step size is set to 5μs.
The method of Claim 7, further comprising:

receiving an index corresponding to the parameter associated with the length of the cyclic prefix extension.
The method of Claim 1, wherein in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first uplink transmission comprises:

performing the first uplink transmission within the time interval in a configured grant without performing the channel access procedure.
The method claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and wherein the second device comprises a network device.
A method comprising:

transmitting, at a second device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between a first device and the second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and

performing a first downlink transmission from the second device to the first device based on the indication.
The method of Claim 13, in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first downlink transmission comprises:

after channel access procedure performed by the second device for the time interval is successful, performing the first downlink transmission at the beginning of the time interval.
The method of Claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval;

in accordance with a determination that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determining a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second downlink transmission in a time domain; and

in accordance with a determination that the gap fails to exceed a threshold, performing the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 15, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds a threshold, performing the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission by performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval;

in accordance with a determination that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, determining a gap between the first uplink transmission and the second downlink transmission in a time domain; and

in accordance with a determination that the gap exceeds a threshold, performing the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 13, wherein in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first downlink transmission comprises:

performing the first downlink transmission at the beginning of the time interval without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a first uplink transmission from the first device within the time interval; and

in accordance with a determination that a second downlink transmission is to be performed from the second device to the first device after the first uplink transmission within the time interval, performing the second downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 13, in a case that a channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first downlink transmission comprises:

receiving information associated with the time interval from the first device; and

in accordance with a determination, based on the information, that the time interval is allowed to be shared with the second device, performing the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission without performing the channel access procedure.
The method of Claim 13, in a case that a channel access procedure is required to be performed for the second device to use the time interval in the first channel access mode and the channel access procedure is not required to be performed for the first device to use the time interval in the second channel access mode, performing the first downlink transmission comprises:

receiving information associated with the time interval from the first device; and

in accordance with a determination, based on the information, that the time interval is allowed to be shared with the second device, performing the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission by performing the channel access procedure.
The method of any of claims 19-21, wherein performing the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission comprises:

obtaining an offset value from a first location within the time interval where the information associated with the time interval is detected by the second device to a second location within the time interval where the first downlink transmission is allowed to be initiated; and

performing the first downlink transmission within the time interval after the first uplink transmission based on the offset value.
The method of Claim 13, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and wherein the second device comprises a network device.
A first device, comprising:

a processor configured to:

receive, at a first device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between the first device and a second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and

perform a first uplink transmission from the first device to the second device based on the indication.
A second device, comprising:

a processor configured to:

transmit, from at a second device, an indication that a time interval associated with an occupancy of a channel between a first device and the second device is allowed to be used by the second device in a first channel access mode and by the first device in a second channel access mode, the second channel access mode being different from the first channel access mode; and

perform a first downlink transmission from the second device to the first device based on the indication.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any of claims 1-12 or the method of any of claims 13-23.