Patent Description:
Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functionalities.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is currently the technology of choice for the majority of wireless network operators worldwide, providing mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base. LTE was first proposed in <NUM> and was first standardized in <NUM>. Since then, as usage of wireless communication systems has expanded exponentially, demand has risen for wireless network operators to support a higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users. Thus, in <NUM> study of a new radio access technology began and, in <NUM>, a first release of Fifth Generation New Radio (<NUM> NR) was standardized.

<NUM>-NR, also simply referred to as NR, provides, as compared to LTE, a higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users, while also supporting device-to-device, ultra-reliable, and massive machine type communications with lower latency and/or lower battery consumption. Further, NR may allow for more flexible UE scheduling as compared to current LTE. Consequently, efforts are being made in ongoing developments of <NUM>-NR to take advantage of higher throughputs possible at higher frequencies.

Embodiments relate to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatuses and methods for clear channel access (CCA) power signaling during channel occupancy time (COT) sharing, e.g., in <NUM> NR systems and beyond.

For example, in some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE), such as UE <NUM>, may be configured to operate according to the method as defined in appended claim <NUM>.

The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial controllers (UACs), a UTM server, base stations, access points, cellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and any of various other computing devices.

While the features described herein may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications and alternatives falling within the scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims.

The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:
Memory Medium - Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include an installation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memory or random-access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash, magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may include other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located in a second different computer system which connects to the first computer system over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., in different computer systems that are connected over a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computer programs) that may be executed by one or more processors.

Computer System (or Computer) - any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or "UE Device") - any of various types of computer systems devices which are mobile or portable and which performs wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), and so forth. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

Processing Element (or Processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such as a user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example: processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations of the above.

Wi-Fi - The term "Wi-Fi" (or WiFi) has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication network or RAT that is serviced by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and which provides connectivity through these access points to the Internet.

3GPP Access - refers to accesses (e.g., radio access technologies) that are specified by 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, GSM/GPRS, LTE, LTE-A, and/or <NUM> NR. In general, 3GPP access refers to various types of cellular access technologies.

Non-3GPP Access - refers any accesses (e.g., radio access technologies) that are not specified by 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, WiMAX, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and/or fixed networks. Non-3GPP accesses may be split into two categories, "trusted" and "untrusted": Trusted non-3GPP accesses can interact directly with an evolved packet core (EPC) and/or a <NUM> core (5GC) whereas untrusted non-3GPP accesses interwork with the EPC/5GC via a network entity, such as an Evolved Packet Data Gateway and/or a <NUM> NR gateway. In general, non-3GPP access refers to various types on non-cellular access technologies.

Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by the user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation.

Various components may be described as "configured to" perform a task or tasks.

The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may be referred to as a "cell. " The base station 102A and the UEs <NUM> may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), <NUM> new radio (<NUM> NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately be referred to as an 'eNodeB' or 'eNB'. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of <NUM> NR, it may alternately be referred to as 'gNodeB' or 'gNB'.

In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a <NUM> New Radio (<NUM> NR) base station, or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs).

Note that a UE <NUM> may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE <NUM> may be configured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, <NUM> NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). The UE <NUM> may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB-H), and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

<FIG> illustrates user equipment <NUM> (e.g., one of the devices 106A through 106N) in communication with a base station <NUM> and an access point <NUM>, according to some embodiments. The UE <NUM> may be a device with both cellular communication capability and non-cellular communication capability (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and so forth) such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.

The UE <NUM> may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD), LTE/LTE-Advanced, or <NUM> NR using a single shared radio and/or GSM, LTE, LTE-Advanced, or <NUM> NR using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. In general, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE <NUM> may share one or more parts of a receive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above.

The network port <NUM> may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices <NUM>, access to the telephone network as described above in <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates an example block diagram of a server <NUM>, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the server of <FIG> is merely one example of a possible server. As shown, the server <NUM> may include processor(s) <NUM> which may execute program instructions for the server <NUM>.

The server <NUM> may be configured to provide a plurality of devices, such as base station <NUM>, UE devices <NUM>, and/or UTM <NUM>, access to network functions, e.g., as further described herein.

In some embodiments, the server <NUM> may be part of a radio access network, such as a <NUM> New Radio (<NUM> NR) radio access network. In some embodiments, the server <NUM> may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network.

As described further subsequently herein, the server <NUM> may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor <NUM> of the server <NUM> may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor <NUM> of the server <NUM>, in conjunction with one or more of the other components <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM> may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

<FIG> illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a communication device <NUM>, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the block diagram of the communication device of <FIG> is only one example of a possible communication device. According to embodiments, communication device <NUM> may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a UAV controller (UAC) and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communication device <NUM> may include a set of components <NUM> configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components <NUM> may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components <NUM> may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device <NUM>.

Note that the term "SIM" or "SIM entity" is intended to include any of various types of SIM implementations or SIM functionality, such as the one or more UICC(s) cards <NUM>, one or more eUICCs, one or more eSIMs, either removable or embedded, etc. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include at least two SIMs. Each SIM may execute one or more SIM applications and/or otherwise implement SIM functionality. Thus, each SIM may be a single smart card that may be embedded, e.g., may be soldered onto a circuit board in the UE <NUM>, or each SIM <NUM> may be implemented as a removable smart card. Thus, the SIM(s) may be one or more removable smart cards (such as UICC cards, which are sometimes referred to as "SIM cards"), and/or the SIMs <NUM> may be one or more embedded cards (such as embedded UICCs (eUICCs), which are sometimes referred to as "eSIMs" or "eSIM cards"). In some embodiments (such as when the SIM(s) include an eUICC), one or more of the SIM(s) may implement embedded SIM (eSIM) functionality; in such an embodiment, a single one of the SIM(s) may execute multiple SIM applications. Each of the SIMs may include components such as a processor and/or a memory; instructions for performing SIM/eSIM functionality may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include a combination of removable smart cards and fixed/non-removable smart cards (such as one or more eUICC cards that implement eSIM functionality), as desired. For example, the UE <NUM> may comprise two embedded SIMs, two removable SIMs, or a combination of one embedded SIMs and one removable SIMs. Various other SIM configurations are also contemplated.

As noted above, in some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include two or more SIMs. The inclusion of two or more SIMs in the UE <NUM> may allow the UE <NUM> to support two different telephone numbers and may allow the UE <NUM> to communicate on corresponding two or more respective networks. For example, a first SIM may support a first RAT such as LTE, and a second SIM <NUM> support a second RAT such as <NUM> NR. Other implementations and RATs are of course possible. In some embodiments, when the UE <NUM> comprises two SIMs, the UE <NUM> may support Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA) functionality. The DSDA functionality may allow the UE <NUM> to be simultaneously connected to two networks (and use two different RATs) at the same time, or to simultaneously maintain two connections supported by two different SIMs using the same or different RATs on the same or different networks. The DSDA functionality may also allow the UE <NUM> to simultaneously receive voice calls or data traffic on either phone number. In certain embodiments the voice call may be a packet switched communication. In other words, the voice call may be received using voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology and/or voice over NR (VoNR) technology. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may support Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) functionality. The DSDS functionality may allow either of the two SIMs in the UE <NUM> to be on standby waiting for a voice call and/or data connection. In DSDS, when a call/data is established on one SIM, the other SIM is no longer active. In some embodiments, DSDx functionality (either DSDA or DSDS functionality) may be implemented with a single SIM (e.g., a eUICC) that executes multiple SIM applications for different carriers and/or RATs.

As shown, the SOC <NUM> may include processor(s) <NUM>, which may execute program instructions for the communication device <NUM> and display circuitry <NUM>, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display <NUM>. The processor(s) <NUM> may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) <NUM>, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) <NUM> and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory <NUM>, read only memory (ROM) <NUM>, NAND flash memory <NUM>) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry <NUM>, short to medium range wireless communication circuitry <NUM>, cellular communication circuitry <NUM>, connector I/F <NUM>, and/or display <NUM>. The MMU <NUM> may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU <NUM> may be included as a portion of the processor(s) <NUM>.

As noted above, the communication device <NUM> may be configured to communicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. The communication device <NUM> may be configured to perform methods for CCA power signaling during COT sharing, e.g., in <NUM> NR systems and beyond, as further described herein.

As described herein, the communication device <NUM> may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features for a communication device <NUM> to communicate a scheduling profile for power savings to a network. The processor <NUM> of the communication device <NUM> may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor <NUM> may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor <NUM> of the communication device <NUM>, in conjunction with one or more of the other components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry <NUM> and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry <NUM> may each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in cellular communication circuitry <NUM> and, similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in short to medium range wireless communication circuitry <NUM>. Thus, cellular communication circuitry <NUM> may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry <NUM>. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry <NUM>. Similarly, the short to medium range wireless communication circuitry <NUM> may include one or more ICs that are configured to perform the functions of short to medium range wireless communication circuitry <NUM>. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of short to medium range wireless communication circuitry <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellular communication circuitry, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of <FIG> is only one example of a possible cellular communication circuit. According to embodiments, cellular communication circuitry <NUM>, which may be cellular communication circuitry <NUM>, may be included in a communication device, such as communication device <NUM> described above. As noted above, communication device <NUM> may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices.

The cellular communication circuitry <NUM> may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 435a-b and <NUM> as shown (in <FIG>). In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry <NUM> may include dedicated receive chains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly. For example, as shown in <FIG>, cellular communication circuitry <NUM> may include a modem <NUM> and a modem <NUM>. Modem <NUM> may be configured for communications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, and modem <NUM> may be configured for communications according to a second RAT, e.g., such as <NUM> NR.

In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry <NUM> may be configured to perform methods for CCA power signaling during COT sharing, e.g., in <NUM> NR systems and beyond, as further described herein.

As described herein, the modem <NUM> may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features or for time division multiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations, as well as the various other techniques described herein. The processors <NUM> may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor <NUM> may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor <NUM>, in conjunction with one or more of the other components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

As described herein, the modem <NUM> may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features for communicating a scheduling profile for power savings to a network, as well as the various other techniques described herein. The processors <NUM> may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor <NUM> may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor <NUM>, in conjunction with one or more of the other components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In some embodiments, the <NUM> core network (CN) may be accessed via (or through) a cellular connection/interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communication architecture/protocol) and a non-cellular connection/interface (e.g., a non-3GPP access architecture/protocol such as Wi-Fi connection). <FIG> illustrates an example of a <NUM> network architecture that incorporates both 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access to the <NUM> CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., such as UE <NUM>) may access the <NUM> CN through both a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB <NUM>, which may be a base station <NUM>) and an access point, such as AP <NUM>. The AP <NUM> may include a connection to the Internet <NUM> as well as a connection to a non-3GPP inter-working function (N3IWF) <NUM> network entity. The N3IWF may include a connection to a core access and mobility management function (AMF) <NUM> of the <NUM> CN. The AMF <NUM> may include an instance of a <NUM> mobility management (<NUM> MM) function associated with the UE <NUM>. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB <NUM>) may also have a connection to the AMF <NUM>. Thus, the <NUM> CN may support unified authentication over both connections as well as allow simultaneous registration for UE <NUM> access via both gNB <NUM> and AP <NUM>. As shown, the AMF <NUM> may include one or more functional entities associated with the <NUM> CN (e.g., network slice selection function (NSSF) <NUM>, short message service function (SMSF) <NUM>, application function (AF) <NUM>, unified data management (UDM) <NUM>, policy control function (PCF) <NUM>, and/or authentication server function (AUSF) <NUM>). Note that these functional entities may also be supported by a session management function (SMF) 606a and an SMF 606b of the <NUM> CN. The AMF <NUM> may be connected to (or in communication with) the SMF 606a. Further, the gNB <NUM> may in communication with (or connected to) a user plane function (UPF) 608a that may also be communication with the SMF 606a. Similarly, the N3IWF <NUM> may be communicating with a UPF 608b that may also be communicating with the SMF 606b. Both UPFs may be communicating with the data network (e.g., DN 610a and 610b) and/or the Internet <NUM> and Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem/IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) core network <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a <NUM> network architecture that incorporates both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and <NUM> NR) access and non-3GPP access to the <NUM> CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., such as UE <NUM>) may access the <NUM> CN through both a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB <NUM> or eNB <NUM>, which may be a base station <NUM>) and an access point, such as AP <NUM>. The AP <NUM> may include a connection to the Internet <NUM> as well as a connection to the N3IWF <NUM> network entity. The N3IWF may include a connection to the AMF <NUM> of the <NUM> CN. The AMF <NUM> may include an instance of the <NUM> MM function associated with the UE <NUM>. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB <NUM>) may also have a connection to the AMF <NUM>. Thus, the <NUM> CN may support unified authentication over both connections as well as allow simultaneous registration for UE <NUM> access via both gNB <NUM> and AP <NUM>. In addition, the <NUM> CN may support dual-registration of the UE on both a legacy network (e.g., LTE via eNB <NUM>) and a <NUM> network (e.g., via gNB <NUM>). As shown, the eNB <NUM> may have connections to a mobility management entity (MME) <NUM> and a serving gateway (SGW) <NUM>. The MME <NUM> may have connections to both the SGW <NUM> and the AMF <NUM>. In addition, the SGW <NUM> may have connections to both the SMF 606a and the UPF 608a. As shown, the AMF <NUM> may include one or more functional entities associated with the <NUM> CN (e.g., NSSF <NUM>, SMSF <NUM>, AF <NUM>, UDM <NUM>, PCF <NUM>, and/or AUSF <NUM>). Note that UDM <NUM> may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function and the PCF may also include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). Note further that these functional entities may also be supported by the SMF606a and the SMF 606b of the <NUM> CN. The AMF <NUM> may be connected to (or in communication with) the SMF 606a. Further, the gNB <NUM> may in communication with (or connected to) the UPF 608a that may also be communication with the SMF 606a. Similarly, the N3IWF <NUM> may be communicating with a UPF 608b that may also be communicating with the SMF 606b. Both UPFs may be communicating with the data network (e.g., DN 610a and 610b) and/or the Internet <NUM> and IMS core network <NUM>.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-described network entities may be configured to perform methods to improve security checks in a <NUM> NR network, including mechanisms for CCA power signaling during COT sharing, e.g., in <NUM> NR systems and beyond, e.g., as further described herein.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE (e.g., such as UE <NUM>), according to some embodiments. The baseband processor architecture <NUM> described in <FIG> may be implemented on one or more radios (e.g., radios <NUM> and/or <NUM> described above) or modems (e.g., modems <NUM> and/or <NUM>) as described above. As shown, the non-access stratum (NAS) <NUM> may include a <NUM> NAS <NUM> and a legacy NAS <NUM>. The legacy NAS <NUM> may include a communication connection with a legacy access stratum (AS) <NUM>. The <NUM> NAS <NUM> may include communication connections with both a <NUM> AS <NUM> and a non-3GPP AS <NUM> and Wi-Fi AS <NUM>. The <NUM> NAS <NUM> may include functional entities associated with both access stratums. Thus, the <NUM> NAS <NUM> may include multiple <NUM> MM entities <NUM> and <NUM> and <NUM> session management (SM) entities <NUM> and <NUM>. The legacy NAS <NUM> may include functional entities such as short message service (SMS) entity <NUM>, evolved packet system (EPS) session management (ESM) entity <NUM>, session management (SM) entity <NUM>, EPS mobility management (EMM) entity <NUM>, and mobility management (MM)/ GPRS mobility management (GMM) entity <NUM>. In addition, the legacy AS <NUM> may include functional entities such as LTE AS <NUM>, UMTS AS <NUM>, and/or GSM/GPRS AS <NUM>.

Thus, the baseband processor architecture <NUM> allows for a common <NUM>-NAS for both <NUM> cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note that as shown, the <NUM> MM may maintain individual connection management and registration management state machines for each connection. Additionally, a device (e.g., UE <NUM>) may register to a single PLMN (e.g., <NUM> CN) using <NUM> cellular access as well as non-cellular access. Further, it may be possible for the device to be in a connected state in one access and an idle state in another access and vice versa. Finally, there may be common <NUM>-MM procedures (e.g., registration, de-registration, identification, authentication, as so forth) for both accesses.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-described functional entities of the <NUM> NAS and/or <NUM> AS may be configured to perform methods for CCA power signaling during COT sharing, e.g., in <NUM> NR systems and beyond, e.g., as further described herein.

In current implementations, e.g., as defined by EN <NUM><NUM>, adaptivity (medium access protocol) is a mechanism designed to facilitate sharing of a spectrum among devices in a wireless network. The mechanism requires a listen before talk (LBT) procedure to facilitate sharing of the spectrum. The LBT procedure requires that a device initiating transmission perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) check in an operating channel before any transmission or burst of transmissions on the operating channel. Note that when the device finds the operating channel occupied, it may not transmit in that channel and it may not enable other devices to transmit in that channel. Note further that when the CCA check determines the channel to be no longer occupied and transmission was deferred for a number of empty slots defined by the CCA check, the device may resume transmissions and/or enable other devices to transmit on the channel. Additionally, the LBT procedure specifies that a device that initiates transmission will perform the CCA check using an energy detection mechanism and the operating channel will be considered occupied for a slot time of five microseconds if an energy level in the operating channel exceeds a threshold corresponding to a power level as defined in EN <NUM><NUM>. In addition, the device will observe the operating channel for a duration of a CCA observation time measured by multiple slot times.

EN <NUM><NUM> further defines that a CCA check is initiated at an end of an operating channel occupied slot time and upon observing that the operating channel was not occupied for a minimum of eight microseconds, transmission deferring will occur, where the transmission deferring will last for a minimum of random (<NUM> to Max number) number of empty slots periods. Note that the Max number may not be lower than <NUM>.

EN <NUM><NUM> also defines that a total time a device initiating transmission makes use of an operating channel is defined as the Channel Occupancy Time (COT). The (COT) will be less than five milliseconds, after which a new CCA check will be required. Note that a device, upon correct reception of a packet which was intended for the device, can skip a CCA Check and immediately proceed with a transmission in response to received frames. However, a consecutive sequence of transmissions by the device, without a new CCA Check, may not exceed the five millisecond COT.

In addition, EN <NUM><NUM> defines an energy detection threshold for a CCA check as - <NUM> dBm + <NUM> × log10 (operating channel bandwidth (in MHz)) + <NUM> × log10 (Pmax / Pout). Pout is radio frequency output power (e.g., mean equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) for a device during a transmission burst) and Pmax is the radio frequency output power limit, where Pout is less than or equal to Pmax.

In 3GPP Fifth Generation (<NUM>) New Radio (NR) release <NUM>, EN <NUM><NUM> is assumed as a baseline for developing a channel access mechanism assuming beam-based operation in order to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to an unlicensed spectrum for frequencies between <NUM> and <NUM> (which may be considered a part of frequency range <NUM> (FR2) of <NUM> NR or may be considered as a part of frequency range <NUM> (FR2), a an addition to FR2 (FR2x) and/or as frequency range <NUM> (FR3) of <NUM> NR). As noted above, the baseline energy detection (ED) threshold may be computed as - <NUM> dBm + <NUM> × log10 (operating channel bandwidth (in MHz)) + <NUM> × log10 (Pmax / Pout). Left undefined, however, is whether Pout is a maximum output EIRP of a device or an instantaneous output EIRP. Further, operating channel bandwidth has not been defined nor has ED threshold when a COT has time varying transmission beams and varying EIRP.

Additionally, in 3GPP <NUM> NR, a UE may initiate COT sharing. There are different mechanisms defined depending on whether an ED threshold is configured by a base station for COT sharing or not. For example, if ED threshold is configured, the UE may provide a row index in a radio resource control (RRC) configured table where duration, offset and CAPC are jointly encoded and where a value range of the RRC parameter cg-COT-SharingList-r16 (e.g., table) is <NUM>. As another example, if ED threshold is not configured, a one-bit information element (IE) may indicate if a slot/symbol X is applicable for COT sharing, where X is configured by RRC signaling in units of symbols from an end of a slot where CG-UCI is transmitted.

Note that 3GPP TS <NUM><NUM>. <NUM> defines a maximum output power radiated by a user equipment device (UE) for FR2 for any transmission bandwidth within the channel bandwidth for non-carrier aggregation configurations. Further, unlike in frequency range <NUM> (FR1), a UE maximum EIRP has a large range in FR2.

Embodiments described herein provide systems, methods, and mechanisms to support UE CCA power signaling during COT sharing, including systems, methods, and mechanisms for a UE to report a maximum mean equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) for COT sharing threshold, network configured COT sharing threshold, UE reporting of Pout for COT sharing, and UE reporting CCA bandwidth for COT sharing. In some embodiments, a UE may report a maximum peak EIRP to a base station. Note that the maximum EIRP may be UE specific and based on individual design of the UE.

In some embodiments, the report format may be a UE capability and/or parameter, e.g., such as a modification and/or addition to a UE capability defined in 3GPP TS <NUM><NUM>. <NUM>, e.g., a BandNR capability. In some embodiments, the report may be on top of and/or added to a power class report. For example, a parameter, such as ue-peakEIRP-v17, may be reported for a frequency range of <NUM>-<NUM> (e.g., as part of FR2, FR2x, and/or FR3). Note that the UE may support and/or report a peak EIRP within a corresponding power class, e.g., via the parameter (such as the peakEIRP-v17 parameter added to and/or included in the BandNR capability as defined by 3GPP TS <NUM><NUM>. As another example, the report may be part of a SharedSpectrumChAccessParamsPerBand capability, e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS <NUM><NUM>. Thus, a parameter, such as ue-peakEIRP-v17 may be reported for a frequency range of <NUM>-<NUM>. Note that the UE may support and/or report a UE maximum peak EIRP report for ul-DL-COT-Sharing-r17, e.g., via the parameter (such as the peakEIRP-v17 parameter added to and/or included in the SharedSpectrumChAccessParamsPerBand capability as defined by 3GPP TS <NUM><NUM>.

In some embodiments, a base station, such as base station <NUM>, may configure a COT sharing threshold. For example, for a dynamic uplink grant or a configured uplink grant, the base station may employ one of UE specific radio resource control (RRC) signaling to configure a Pout value used in clear channel assessment (CCA) or cell-specific signaling to configure a Pout for all UEs served by the base station. Note that when using UE specific RRC signaling, the Pout value may be based, at least in part, on a UE maximum EIRP report. In some instances, the Pout value may be equal to and/or lower than the UE maximum EIRP, e.g., as reported to the base station via a parameter, such as peakEIRP-v17 as described above. Note that when using cell specific signaling, Pout may be higher than a UE maximum EIRP. For example, Pout may be based, at least in part, on the base station's maximum EIRP. Note further that this may result in a tightened energy detection threshold (EDT) for UL acquired COT and/or may reduce contention success probability of a UE acquired COT. As a further option, the base station may not configure a Pout value used in CCA and may instead use a default value such as UE reported specific maximum EIRP. Note that the base station shared COT may need to be limited to a common transmission control information (TCI) state and same Pout.

In some embodiments, for configured grant uplink COT sharing, a UE may perform a directional listen before talk (LBT) with specific EIRP and beam detection for a transmission burst. Then, Pout may be reported for COT sharing as feedback in a configured grant (CG) uplink control information (UCI). In some embodiments, the CG-UCI may include parameters related to COT sharing such as Pout and TCI state as well as COT duration and offset. The CG-UCI may also include other parameters such as a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier (ID), a new data indicator (NDI), and/or a redundancy version (RV). The base station may share the UE shared COT for PDCCH/PDSCH transmission within the TCI State and Pout limitation, e.g., reported by the UE in CG-UCI.

In some embodiments, for dynamic grant uplink COT sharing, a base station may know a UE power and EIRP with UL power control. In such instances, the UE may not be required to report Pout for COT sharing. In other instances, the UE may report Pout for COT sharing based on one or more events via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The MAC CE may indicate the Pout for COT sharing and may be sent if and/or when the EIRP exceeds a threshold as compared to a closed loop power control setting. Note that the threshold may be configured via RRC signaling. Additionally, if and/or when the UE does not report the Pout for COT sharing, the base station may use the power value in uplink power control.

In some embodiments, CCA bandwidth may be based on channel bandwidth and/or bandwidth part (BWP) bandwidth. However, in some embodiments, a UE may indicate to a base station whether the COT is acquired based on channel bandwidth or BWP bandwidth, e.g., via a CG-UCI. The CG-UCI may include parameters related to COT sharing such as one bit to indicate channel bandwidth or CG physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission bandwidth, Pout, and TCI state as well as COT duration and offset. The CG-UCI may also include other parameters such as a HARQ ID, a NDI, and/or a RV. Note that for base station COT sharing when CG PUSCH transmission bandwidth is used to acquire the COT, the base station transmission may be limited to PUSCH transmission bandwidth, including physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Note that limiting the base station to PUSCH transmission bandwidth, including PDCCH and PDSCH, may adversely and/or undesirably limit a PDCCH Control Resource Set. (CoreSet) configuration. Thus, in some instances, the base station transmission may be limited to PUSCH transmission bandwidth, but PDCCH may be larger based, at least in part, on CoreSet configuration.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method for clear channel access (CCA) power signaling in channel occupancy time (COT) sharing, according to some embodiments. The method shown in <FIG> may be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At <NUM>, a UE, such as UE <NUM>, may report, to a base station, such as base station <NUM>, a maximum peak mean equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) for COT sharing. The maximum EIRP for COT sharing may be reported as and/or via a UE capability. The UE capability may be a parameter, such as peakEIRP-v17. The maximum EIRP may be reported for a frequency range between <NUM> and <NUM> gigahertz. The maximum EIRP may be included in a power class report and/or may be power class specific. The maximum EIRP may be included in a SharedSpectrumChAccessParamsPerBand parameter/capability and/or a BandNR parameter/capability.

At <NUM>, the UE receives from the base station, a Pout value for CCA. The Pout value specifies an EIRP for a transmission burst. The Pout value is based, at least in part, on the UE capability. In some embodiments, the Pout value may less than or equal to the maximum EIRP for COT sharing reported via the UE capability. In some embodiments, the Pout value may be received via radio resource control signaling and/or via cell specific signaling. In some embodiments, e.g., when the Pout value is received via cell specific signaling, the Pout value may be greater than or equal to the maximum EIRP for COT sharing reported via the UE capability. In such embodiments, the Pout value may be further based, at least in part, on a maximum EIRP of the base station. The Pout value may be signaled via any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) a type <NUM> or a type <NUM> configured grant (CG) radio resource control (RRC) configuration information element (IE); an activation downlink control information (DCI) information scrambled by a configured scheduling (CS) radio network temporary identifier -(RNTI) for a type2 configured grant (CG), and/or a DCI format <NUM>-<NUM> or <NUM>-<NUM> for dynamic physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) grant.

At <NUM>, the UE may report, to the base station, an actual EIRP used for CCA to acquire the COT.

In some embodiments, CCA bandwidth may be based on at least one of a channel bandwidth, bandwidth part (BWP) bandwidth, or allocated transmission burst bandwidth.

According to the invention, the UE indicates to the base station, whether the COT is acquired based on a channel bandwidth, a bandwidth part (BWP) bandwidth, or allocated transmission burst bandwidth. In such embodiments, indicating, to the base station, whether the COT is acquired based on the channel bandwidth or the BWP bandwidth may include transmitting, to the base station, a configured grant (CG) uplink control indication (UCI). The CG UCI may include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) one bit indicating channel bandwidth or CG physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission bandwidth, a Pout value, a transmission control information (TCI) state, a COT duration, and/or a COT offset. In some embodiments, the CG UCI may further include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier (ID), a new data indicator (NDI), and/or a redundancy version (RV).

According to the invention, the UE indicates to the base station, an actual Pout and beam direction (e.g., a TCI state) used to acquire the COT. In order to indicate the actual Pout, the UE may transmit, to the base station, a configured grant (CG) uplink control indication (UCI). The CG UCI may include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) one bit indicating channel bandwidth or CG physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission bandwidth, the actual Pout value, a transmission control information (TCI) state, a COT duration, and/or a COT offset. In some embodiments, the CG UCI may further include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier (ID), a new data indicator (NDI), and/or a redundancy version (RV).

In some embodiments, the UE may detect that an equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) exceeds a threshold and report, to a base station, a Pout value for channel occupancy time (COT) sharing. The Pout value may specify an EIRP for a transmission burst. The Pout value may be reported via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). Further, the threshold may be based, at least in part, on a closed loop power control setting. Additionally, the threshold may be configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method for configured grant (CG) uplink channel occupancy time (COT) sharing, according to some embodiments. The method shown in <FIG> may be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At <NUM>, a UE, such as UE <NUM>, may perform a directional listen before talk (LBT) with a specific peak mean equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) and beam detection for a transmission burst.

At <NUM>, the UE may report, to a base station, such as base station <NUM>, a Pout value for COT sharing. The Pout value may be based, at least in part on the directional LBT. The Pout value may specify an EIRP for a transmission burst. In some embodiments, the Pout value may be reported for a frequency range between <NUM> and <NUM> gigahertz. In some embodiments, the Pout value may be reported via a CG uplink control indication (UCI). The CG UCI may include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of), the Pout value, a transmission control information (TCI) state, a COT duration, and/or a COT offset. In some embodiments, the CG UCI may further include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier (ID), a new data indicator (NDI), and/or a redundancy version (RV). In some embodiments, the base station may share the COT for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and/or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission within a transmission control information (TCI) state and Pout limitation as reported by the UE in CG-UCI.

In some embodiments, the UE may indicate, to the base station, whether the COT is acquired based on a channel bandwidth, a bandwidth part (BWP) bandwidth, or allocated transmission burst bandwidth. In such embodiments, indicating, to the base station, whether the COT is acquired based on the channel bandwidth or the BWP bandwidth may include transmitting, to the base station, a configured grant (CG) uplink control indication (UCI). The CG UCI may include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) one bit indicating channel bandwidth or CG physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission bandwidth, a Pout value, a transmission control information (TCI) state, a COT duration, and/or a COT offset. In some embodiments, the CG UCI may further include any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier (ID), a new data indicator (NDI), and/or a redundancy version (RV).

In some embodiments, the UE may receive, from the base station, a Pout value for clear channel assessment (CCA), where the Pout value for CCA is based, at least in part, on the reported Pout value. The Pout value may be signaled via any, any combination of, and/or all of (e.g., at least one of and/or one or more of) a type <NUM> or a type <NUM> configured grant (CG) radio resource control (RRC) configuration information element (IE); an activation downlink control information (DCI) information scrambled by a configured scheduling (CS) radio network temporary identifier -(RNTI) for a type2 configured grant (CG), and/or a DCI format <NUM>-<NUM> or <NUM>-<NUM> for dynamic physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) grant.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method for dynamic grant (DG) uplink channel occupancy time (COT) sharing, according to some embodiments. The method shown in <FIG> may be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At <NUM>, a UE, such as UE <NUM>, may detect that an equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) exceeds a threshold. The threshold may be based, at least in part, on a closed loop power control setting. In some embodiments, the threshold may be configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

At <NUM>, the UE may report, to a base station, such as base station <NUM>, a Pout value for COT sharing. The Pout value may specify an EIRP for a transmission burst. In some embodiments, the Pout value may be reported for a frequency range between <NUM> and <NUM> gigahertz. In some embodiments, the Pout value may be reported via a medium access control (MAC) control element.

In some embodiments, when the UE does not report the Pout value, the base station may use a power value associated with uplink power control as the Pout value.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE <NUM>) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms.

Claim 1:
A method for clear channel access, CCA, power signaling in channel occupancy time, COT, sharing, comprising:
a user equipment device, UE, (<NUM>),
reporting (<NUM>), to a base station (<NUM>), a maximum peak mean equivalent isotropically radiated power, EIRP, for COT sharing via a UE capability;
receiving (<NUM>), from the base station (<NUM>), a Pout value to be used for CCA, wherein the Pout value specifies an EIRP for a transmission burst, and wherein the Pout value is based, at least in part, on at least one of the maximum EIRP reported via the UE capability or a maximum EIRP of the base station (<NUM>); and
reporting (<NUM>), to the base station (<NUM>), an actual Pout and beam direction used for CCA to acquire the COT and an indication of whether the COT was acquired based on channel bandwidth, bandwidth part, BWP, bandwidth, or allocated transmission burst bandwidth.