Patent Description:
Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).

A wireless network may include one or more base stations that support communication for a user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a base station via downlink communications and uplink communications. "Downlink" (or "DL") refers to a communication link from the base station to the UE, and "uplink" (or "UL") refers to a communication link from the UE to the base station.

The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and/or global level. NR, which may be referred to as <NUM>, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink, using CP-OFDM and/or single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink, as well as supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

3GPP contribution "TxOP Frame Structure for NR unlicensed" by Qualcomm Incorporated, R1-<NUM>, provides some high-level views on the frame structure, SCS, and physical layer procedures for NR unlicensed. Both LBE and FBE devices are considered. <CIT> relates to the use of a Device-to-Device (D2D) sidelink, e.g., in a licensed spectrum, to assist with clear channel assessment in an unlicensed spectrum. A method of operation of a wireless device in a cellular communications network comprises performing a sidelink-assisted clear channel assessment (SLA-CCA) procedure to determine whether to transmit on an unlicensed channel. The SLA-CCA procedure is a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) procedure that is assisted by information received by the wireless device from one or more other wireless devices over a D2D sidelink in a licensed spectrum. The method further comprises, upon determining to transmit on the unlicensed channel as a result of performing the SLA-CCA procedure, transmitting a transmission on the unlicensed channel.

A user equipment (UE) may use channel sensing procedures to determine whether resources in a channel are available for communication. If the UE determines that a channel is available for channel occupancy (e.g., after performing a successful listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure), the UE may determine a channel occupancy time (COT) for the channel. The COT may represent an amount of time during which the UE may occupy the channel. However, the UE may not continuously occupy a channel for transmission, but the UE may be configured to use the channel for at least a portion of the COT (e.g., a period of time that is less than a threshold duration). Resources that a UE may use during a COT may span a plurality of slots and may include one or more resource blocks or frequency resources in each slot.

However, in some communication systems, such as in communication systems enabling vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, interference may occur despite a use of channel sensing to initiate channel occupancy and to reserve resources. As an example, a first UE may initiate a channel occupancy associated with a COT, and a second UE may decode a transmission from the first UE and obtain information regarding the COT. In this case, the second UE may share resources of the channel occupancy with the first UE without causing interference. However, a third UE may detect a transmission from the second UE, obtain information regarding the channel occupancy, and also attempt to share resources of the channel occupancy. In this case, the third UE may be sufficiently far from the first UE that a reservation of resources for the channel occupancy by the first UE is not applicable to the third UE. In other words, the first UE may determine that a particular resource is available in its area, but the third UE may be subject to interference, in the particular resource, that was undetectable to the first UE (e.g., a fourth UE or another device may have reserved the particular resource far enough from the first UE as to avoid interference between the first UE and the fourth UE, but close enough to the third UE to cause interference).

While aspects are described in the present disclosure by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that such aspects may be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. Techniques described herein may be implemented using different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and/or packaging arrangements. For example, some aspects may be implemented via integrated chip embodiments or other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, and/or artificial intelligence devices). Aspects may be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components, and/or system-level components. Devices incorporating described aspects and features may include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described aspects. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals may include one or more components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders, and/or summers). It is intended that aspects described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, components, systems, distributed arrangements, and/or end-user devices of varying size, shape, and constitution.

One skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure.

While aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with a <NUM> or New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such as a <NUM> RAT, a <NUM> RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>).

The wireless network <NUM> may be or may include elements of a <NUM> (e.g., NR) network and/or a <NUM> (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, among other examples. The wireless network <NUM> may include one or more base stations <NUM> (shown as a BS 110a, a BS 110b, a BS 110c, and a BS 110d), a user equipment (UE) <NUM> or multiple UEs <NUM> (shown as a UE 120a, a UE 120b, a UE 120c, a UE 120d, and a UE 120e), and/or other network entities. A base station <NUM> is an entity that communicates with UEs <NUM>. A base station <NUM> (sometimes referred to as a BS) may include, for example, an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in <NUM>), a gNB (e.g., in <NUM>), an access point, and/or a transmission reception point (TRP). Each base station <NUM> may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of a base station <NUM> and/or a base station subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

A base station <NUM> may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs <NUM> with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs <NUM> with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs <NUM> having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs <NUM> in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A base station <NUM> for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro base station. A base station <NUM> for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico base station. A base station <NUM> for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto base station or an in-home base station. In the example shown in <FIG>, the BS 110a may be a macro base station for a macro cell 102a, the BS 110b may be a pico base station for a pico cell 102b, and the BS 110c may be a femto base station for a femto cell 102c. A base station may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells.

In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a base station <NUM> that is mobile (e.g., a mobile base station). In some examples, the base stations <NUM> may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or more other base stations <NUM> or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network <NUM> through various types of backhaul interfaces, such as a direct physical connection or a virtual network, using any suitable transport network.

The wireless network <NUM> may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a base station <NUM> or a UE <NUM>) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE <NUM> or a base station <NUM>). A relay station may be a UE <NUM> that can relay transmissions for other UEs <NUM>. In the example shown in <FIG>, the BS 110d (e.g., a relay base station) may communicate with the BS 110a (e.g., a macro base station) and the UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between the BS 110a and the UE 120d. A base station <NUM> that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay, or the like.

The wireless network <NUM> may be a heterogeneous network that includes base stations <NUM> of different types, such as macro base stations, pico base stations, femto base stations, relay base stations, or the like. These different types of base stations <NUM> may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and/or different impacts on interference in the wireless network <NUM>. For example, macro base stations may have a high transmit power level (e.g., <NUM> to <NUM> watts) whereas pico base stations, femto base stations, and relay base stations may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., <NUM> to <NUM> watts).

A network controller <NUM> may couple to or communicate with a set of base stations <NUM> and may provide coordination and control for these base stations <NUM>. The network controller <NUM> may communicate with the base stations <NUM> via a backhaul communication link. The base stations <NUM> may communicate with one another directly or indirectly via a wireless or wireline backhaul communication link.

The UEs <NUM> may be dispersed throughout the wireless network <NUM>, and each UE <NUM> may be stationary or mobile. For example, multiple UEs <NUM> may be within a threshold proximity of each other, such that each UE <NUM> is to use a channel sensing procedure to sense interference from each other UE <NUM> and selectively reserve resources for sidelink communication with other UEs <NUM>. A UE <NUM> may include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, and/or a subscriber unit. A UE <NUM> may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, and/or a satellite radio), a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, and/or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless medium.

Some UEs <NUM> may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. An MTC UE and/or an eMTC UE may include, for example, a robot, a drone, a remote device, a sensor, a meter, a monitor, and/or a location tag, that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs <NUM> may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs <NUM> may be considered a Customer Premises Equipment. A UE <NUM> may be included inside a housing that houses components of the UE <NUM>, such as processor components and/or memory components. In some examples, the processor components and the memory components may be coupled together.

In general, any number of wireless networks <NUM> may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network <NUM> may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, or the like. A frequency may be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, or the like.

In some examples, two or more UEs <NUM> (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a base station <NUM> as an intermediary to communicate with one another). For example, the UEs <NUM> may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol, or a vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocol), and/or a mesh network. In such examples, a UE <NUM> may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station <NUM>.

Devices of the wireless network <NUM> may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided by frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, or the like. For example, devices of the wireless network <NUM> may communicate using one or more operating bands. In <NUM> NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (<NUM> - <NUM>) and FR2 (<NUM> - <NUM>). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than <NUM>, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a "Sub-<NUM>" band in various documents and articles.

With the above examples in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term "sub-<NUM>" or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than <NUM>, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term "millimeter wave" or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-<NUM>, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-<NUM>, and/or FR5) may be modified, and techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

In some aspects, the UE <NUM> may include a communication manager <NUM>. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager <NUM> may receive information identifying a shared channel occupancy for a packet transmission resource; determine a range metric for the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on location information; determine whether to share the shared channel occupancy for packet transmission using the packet transmission resource based at least in part on the range metric; and selectively transmit one or more packets in the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on a result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager <NUM> may perform one or more other operations described herein.

The base station <NUM> may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a through 234t, such as T antennas (T ≥ <NUM>). The UE <NUM> may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a through 252r, such as R antennas (R ≥ <NUM>).

At the base station <NUM>, a transmit processor <NUM> may receive data, from a data source <NUM>, intended for the UE <NUM> (or a set of UEs <NUM>). The transmit processor <NUM> may select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for the UE <NUM> based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from that UE <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE <NUM> based at least in part on the MCS(s) selected for the UE <NUM> and may provide data symbols for the UE <NUM>. The transmit processor <NUM> may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, and/or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor <NUM> may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor <NUM> may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems <NUM> (e.g., T modems), shown as modems 232a through 232t. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem <NUM>. Each modem <NUM> may use a respective modulator component to process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem <NUM> may further use a respective modulator component to process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and/or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a through 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas <NUM> (e.g., T antennas), shown as antennas 234a through 234t.

At the UE <NUM>, a set of antennas <NUM> (shown as antennas 252a through 252r) may receive the downlink signals from the base station <NUM> and/or other base stations <NUM> and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems <NUM> (e.g., R modems), shown as modems 254a through 254r. For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of a modem <NUM>. Each modem <NUM> may use a respective demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and/or digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem <NUM> may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector <NUM> may obtain received symbols from the modems <NUM>, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide detected symbols. A receive processor <NUM> may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE <NUM> to a data sink <NUM>, and may provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor <NUM>. In some examples, one or more components of the UE <NUM> may be included in a housing <NUM>.

The network controller <NUM> may include a communication unit <NUM>, a controller/processor <NUM>, and a memory <NUM>. The network controller <NUM> may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller <NUM> may communicate with the base station <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM>.

One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a through 234t and/or antennas 252a through 252r) may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and/or one or more antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings), a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, and/or one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmission and/or reception components, such as one or more components of <FIG>.

On the uplink, at the UE <NUM>, a transmit processor <NUM> may receive and process data from a data source <NUM> and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) from the controller/processor <NUM>. The transmit processor <NUM> may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor <NUM> may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor <NUM> if applicable, further processed by the modems <NUM> (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and transmitted to the base station <NUM>. In some examples, the modem <NUM> of the UE <NUM> may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE <NUM> includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna(s) <NUM>, the modem(s) <NUM>, the MIMO detector <NUM>, the receive processor <NUM>, the transmit processor <NUM>, and/or the TX MIMO processor <NUM>. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller/processor <NUM>) and the memory <NUM> to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to <FIG>).

At the base station <NUM>, the uplink signals from UE <NUM> and/or other UEs may be received by the antennas <NUM>, processed by the modem <NUM> (e.g., a demodulator component, shown as DEMOD, of the modem <NUM>), detected by a MIMO detector <NUM> if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor <NUM> to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE <NUM>. The receive processor <NUM> may provide the decoded data to a data sink <NUM> and provide the decoded control information to the controller/processor <NUM>. The base station <NUM> may include a communication unit <NUM> and may communicate with the network controller <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM>. The base station <NUM> may include a scheduler <NUM> to schedule one or more UEs <NUM> for downlink and/or uplink communications. In some examples, the modem <NUM> of the base station <NUM> may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the base station <NUM> includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna(s) <NUM>, the modem(s) <NUM>, the MIMO detector <NUM>, the receive processor <NUM>, the transmit processor <NUM>, and/or the TX MIMO processor <NUM>. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller/processor <NUM>) and the memory <NUM> to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to <FIG>).

The controller/processor <NUM> of the base station <NUM>, the controller/processor <NUM> of the UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform one or more techniques associated with location-based channel occupancy sharing for sidelink communications in unlicensed spectrum, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller/processor <NUM> of the base station <NUM>, the controller/processor <NUM> of the UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or other processes as described herein. The memory <NUM> and the memory <NUM> may store data and program codes for the base station <NUM> and the UE <NUM>, respectively. In some examples, the memory <NUM> and/or the memory <NUM> may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of the base station <NUM> and/or the UE <NUM>, may cause the one or more processors, the UE <NUM>, and/or the base station <NUM> to perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.

In some aspects, the UE includes means for receiving information identifying a shared channel occupancy for a packet transmission resource; means for determining a range metric for the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on location information; means for determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy for packet transmission using the packet transmission resource based at least in part on the range metric; and/or means for selectively transmitting one or more packets in the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on a result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy. The means for the UE to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, modem <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, or memory <NUM>.

For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor <NUM>, the receive processor <NUM>, and/or the TX MIMO processor <NUM> may be performed by or under the control of the controller/processor <NUM>.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example <NUM> of sidelink communications, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, a first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may communicate with a second UE <NUM>-<NUM> (and one or more other UEs <NUM>) via one or more sidelink channels <NUM>. The UEs <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> may communicate using the one or more sidelink channels <NUM> for P2P communications, D2D communications, V2X communications (e.g., which may include V2V communications, V2I communications, V2P communications, and/or the like), mesh networking, and/or the like. In some aspects, the UEs <NUM> (e.g., UE <NUM>-<NUM> and/or UE <NUM>-<NUM>) may correspond to one or more other UEs described elsewhere herein, such as UE <NUM>. In some aspects, the one or more sidelink channels <NUM> may use a PC5 interface and/or may operate in a high frequency band (e.g., the <NUM> gigahertz (GHz) band). Additionally, or alternatively, the UEs <NUM> may synchronize timing of transmission time intervals (TTIs) (e.g., frames, subframes, slots, symbols, and/or the like) using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) timing.

As further shown in <FIG>, the one or more sidelink channels <NUM> may include a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) <NUM>, a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) <NUM>, and/or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) <NUM>. The PSCCH <NUM> may be used to communicate control information, similar to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and/or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used for cellular communications with a base station <NUM> via an access link or an access channel. The PSSCH <NUM> may be used to communicate data, similar to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and/or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used for cellular communications with a base station <NUM> via an access link or an access channel. For example, the PSCCH <NUM> may carry sidelink control information (SCI) <NUM>, which may indicate various control information used for sidelink communications, such as one or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, spatial resources, and/or the like) where a transport block (TB) <NUM> may be carried on the PSSCH <NUM>. The TB <NUM> may include data. The PSFCH <NUM> may be used to communicate sidelink feedback <NUM>, such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback (e.g., acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) information), transmit power control (TPC), a scheduling request (SR), and/or the like.

The one or more sidelink channels <NUM> may use resource pools. For example, a scheduling assignment (e.g., included in SCI <NUM>) may be transmitted in sub-channels using specific resource blocks (RBs) across time. Data transmissions (e.g., on the PSSCH <NUM>) associated with a scheduling assignment may occupy adjacent RBs in the same subframe as the scheduling assignment (e.g., using frequency division multiplexing). A scheduling assignment and associated data transmissions are not transmitted on adjacent RBs.

A UE <NUM> may operate using a transmission mode where resource selection and/or scheduling is performed by the UE <NUM> (e.g., rather than a base station <NUM>). The UE <NUM> may perform resource selection and/or scheduling by sensing channel availability for transmissions. For example, the UE <NUM> may measure an RSSI parameter (e.g., a sidelink-RSSI (S-RSSI) parameter) associated with various sidelink channels, may measure an RSRP parameter (e.g., a PSSCH-RSRP parameter) associated with various sidelink channels, may measure an RSRQ parameter (e.g., a PSSCH-RSRQ parameter) associated with various sidelink channels, and/or the like, and may select a channel for transmission of a sidelink communication based at least in part on the measurement(s). As described in more detail herein, the UE <NUM> may also use a location metric to determine whether to select a resource on a channel in connection with sensing for channel availability.

The UE <NUM> may perform resource selection and/or scheduling using SCI <NUM> received in the PSCCH <NUM>, which may indicate occupied resources, channel parameters, and/or the like. The UE <NUM> may perform resource selection and/or scheduling by determining a channel busy ratio (CBR) associated with various sidelink channels, which may be used for rate control (e.g., by indicating a maximum number of resource blocks that the UE <NUM> can use for a particular set of subframes).

In the transmission mode where resource selection and/or scheduling is performed by a UE <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may generate sidelink grants, and may transmit the grants in SCI <NUM>. A sidelink grant may indicate, for example, one or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission, such as one or more resource blocks to be used for the upcoming sidelink transmission on the PSSCH <NUM> (e.g., for TBs <NUM>), one or more subframes to be used for the upcoming sidelink transmission, an MCS to be used for the upcoming sidelink transmission, and/or the like. A sidelink grant may include an indication of a location to which the sidelink grant is applicable, which may enable downstream propagation of resource availability (e.g., within an area associated with the location to which the sidelink grant is applicable). A UE <NUM> may generate a sidelink grant that indicates one or more parameters for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), such as a periodicity of a sidelink transmission. The UE <NUM> may generate a sidelink grant for event-driven scheduling, such as for an on-demand sidelink message.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example <NUM> of sidelink communications and access link communications, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, a transmitter (Tx) UE <NUM> and a receiver (Rx) UE <NUM> may communicate with one another via a sidelink, as described above in connection with <FIG>. As further shown, in some sidelink modes, a base station <NUM> may communicate with the Tx UE <NUM> via a first access link. Additionally, or alternatively, in some sidelink modes, the base station <NUM> may communicate with the Rx UE <NUM> via a second access link. The Tx UE <NUM> and/or the Rx UE <NUM> may correspond to one or more UEs described elsewhere herein, such as the UE <NUM> of <FIG>. Thus, a direct link between UEs <NUM> (e.g., via a PC5 interface) may be referred to as a sidelink, and a direct link between a base station <NUM> and a UE <NUM> (e.g., via a Uu interface) may be referred to as an access link. Sidelink communications may be transmitted via the sidelink, and access link communications may be transmitted via the access link. An access link communication may be either a downlink communication (from a base station <NUM> to a UE <NUM>) or an uplink communication (from a UE <NUM> to a base station <NUM>).

As described above, in some communications systems, such as when unlicensed spectrum and Wi-Fi or other technologies are co-located in a common area using common communication resources (e.g., sharing the unlicensed spectrum), UEs may use channel sensing procedures to determine whether resources in a channel are available for communication. For example, a UE may perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to determine whether another UE or another device is intending to transmit using a particular transmission opportunity. In an LBT procedure, the UE may perform channel sensing to determine whether a channel is associated with less than a threshold level of energy, to determine whether the UE can transmit on the channel without interfering with other communications. If the UE determines that a channel is available for channel occupancy (e.g., after performing a successful LBT procedure), the UE may determine a channel occupancy time (COT) for the channel. The UE may not continuously occupy a channel for transmission, but is configured to use the channel for a COT that is less than a threshold duration.

A channel occupancy may include resources spanning a plurality of slots (e.g., <NUM> slots) and including one or more resource blocks, frequency resources, and/or the like in each slot. A UE or a base station may initiate channel occupancy for a COT using a channel sensing procedure, such as LBT (for example, a Type-<NUM> channel access procedure). However, in some scenarios, such as in communication systems enabling V2X communication, interference may occur despite a use of channel sensing to initiate channel occupancy and to reserve resources. As an example, a first UE may initiate a channel occupancy associated with a COT, and a second UE may decode a transmission from the first UE and obtain information regarding the COT. In this case, the second UE may share resources of the channel occupancy with the first UE without causing interference. However, a third UE may detect a transmission from the second UE, obtain information regarding the channel occupancy, and also attempt to share resources of the channel occupancy. In this case, the third UE may be sufficiently far from the first UE that a reservation of resources for the channel occupancy by the first UE is not applicable to the third UE. In other words, the first UE may determine that a particular resource is available in its area, but the third UE may be subject to interference, in the particular resource, that was undetectable to the first UE (e.g., a fourth UE or another device may have reserved the particular resource far enough from the first UE as to avoid interference between the first UE and the fourth UE, but close enough to the third UE to cause interference).

Some aspects described herein provide for location-based channel occupancy sharing for sidelink communication in unlicensed spectrum. For example, when a first UE determines that a shared channel occupancy is detected, the first UE may determine a range metric that may correspond to a distance between a first location of the first UE and a second location of a second UE that initiated the shared channel occupancy (which may or may not be a UE from which the first UE identified the shared channel occupancy). In this case, based at least in part on the range metric, the first UE may avoid transmitting in the shared channel occupancy, may transmit in the shared channel occupancy using a default configuration, may transmit in the shared channel occupancy using an altered configuration (e.g., a reduced power), may perform a channel sensing procedure to determine whether to transmit in the shared channel, and/or the like.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example <NUM> associated with location-based channel occupancy sharing for sidelink communication in unlicensed spectrum, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, example <NUM> includes a set of UEs <NUM>, such as a first UE <NUM>-<NUM>, a second UE <NUM>-<NUM>, a third UE <NUM>-<NUM>, and/or the like.

As further shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may detect a channel occupancy and may determine a range metric. For example, when first UE <NUM>-<NUM> has data for transmission, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine whether resources are available. In this case, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may perform a channel sensing procedure, and may determine that a channel occupancy has been initiated by, for example, third UE <NUM>-<NUM>. For example, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may decode one or more sidelink transmissions (e.g., SCI transmissions, such as first stage control information or second stage control information, or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) transmission) from third UE <NUM>-<NUM> and may determine that third UE <NUM>-<NUM> is occupying a channel for a particular COT. Additionally, or alternatively, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may fail to detect a channel occupancy and may perform a channel sensing procedure (e.g., an LBT procedure, such as a Type-<NUM> or Type-<NUM> channel access procedure) to initiate a channel occupancy for transmission.

In some aspects, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine a range metric associated with the channel occupancy. For example, based at least in part on decoding the one or more sidelink transmissions, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine a location associated with the channel occupancy (e.g., a location of third UE <NUM>-<NUM>, another UE that initiated the channel occupancy and with which third UE <NUM>-<NUM> is sharing the channel occupancy, and/or the like). In this case, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine a location of first UE <NUM>-<NUM> relative to the location associated with the channel occupancy to determine the range metric. In some aspects, the range metric may be based at least in part on a location zone. For example, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine a zone identifier included in COT information received from third UE <NUM>-<NUM> and may determine the range metric based at least in part on a distance between first UE <NUM>-<NUM> and a zone identified by the zone identifier. Additionally, or alternatively, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine the range metric based at least in part on whether first UE <NUM>-<NUM> and third UE <NUM>-<NUM> are in a common zone. In other words, in some aspects, the range metric may represent whether UEs are in the same zone, neighboring zones, and/or the like. In some aspects, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine the range metric based at least in part on a combination of factors, such as based at least in part on a location of first UE <NUM>-<NUM>, a location of another UE <NUM>, a location zone, or a presence of a plurality of UEs <NUM> in the zone, among other examples.

As further shown in <FIG>, and by reference numbers <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may selectively transmit data to second UE <NUM>-<NUM> based at least in part on determining the range metric. For example, when first UE <NUM>-<NUM> determines that the range metric satisfies a threshold (e.g., first UE <NUM>-<NUM> is within a threshold proximity of third UE <NUM>-<NUM>, so a channel sensing procedure performed by third UE <NUM>-<NUM> to initiate the channel occupancy is applicable to first UE <NUM>-<NUM>), first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may share the channel occupancy with third UE <NUM>-<NUM>. In this case, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may transmit in the shared channel occupancy, for example, using a set of default parameters, such as a default transmit power. In some aspects, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine the range threshold based at least in part on COT information determined based at least in part on decoding sidelink transmissions from third UE <NUM>-<NUM>. For example, transmissions from third UE <NUM>-<NUM> may carry the range threshold. Additionally, or alternatively, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine the range threshold based at least in part on a configured value, a pre-configured value, a value defined in a specification, and/or the like. In some aspects, transmissions from third UE <NUM>-<NUM> may convey information that first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may use, in combination with stored information, to determine the range threshold and/or whether the range metric satisfies the range threshold.

In another example, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine that the range metric does not satisfy the threshold (e.g., first UE <NUM>-<NUM> is not within a threshold proximity of third UE <NUM>-<NUM> or another UE that initiated the channel occupancy). In this case, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine not to transmit using the channel occupancy and may initiate a channel sensing procedure (e.g., an LBT procedure) to initiate another channel occupancy, as described in more detail below. Additionally, or alternatively, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine to transmit using the channel occupancy, but with a reduced transmit power to avoid interference with other UEs or devices that may have reserved other channel occupancies. For example, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may reduce a transmit power by a pre-configured amount, by an amount defined in a specification, and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may reduce the transmit power based at least in part on the range metric. For example, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may reduce a transmit power based at least in part on a distance between first UE <NUM>-<NUM> and third UE <NUM>-<NUM> and/or a UE that initiated the shared channel occupancy. In some aspects, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine to perform a combination of response actions, such as transmitting with a reduced transmit power and with one or more other changes to a transmission configuration.

In some aspects, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine whether another condition is satisfied in order to determine whether to transmit in the shared channel occupancy. For example, when a priority associated to the packet that first UE <NUM>-<NUM> is to transmit satisfies a threshold priority, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may transmit the packet using the shared channel occupancy despite the range metric not satisfying the threshold. Additionally, or alternatively, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine whether a channel congestion level satisfies a congestion threshold (e.g., whether a measured CBR satisfies a CBR threshold). In this case, when the measured channel congestion is less than the congestion threshold, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may determine to use the shared channel occupancy for transmission.

When first UE <NUM>-<NUM> determines that the range metric is not satisfied, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may perform an LBT procedure (e.g., a Category-<NUM> LBT or a type-<NUM> channel access procedure without random back-off), in some aspects. In this case, based at least in part on success of the LBT procedure, transmit in a shared channel occupancy. For example, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may perform the LBT procedure during a transmission gap (e.g., at a beginning or end of a slot) and transmit in the shared COT if the LBT procedure is successful (e.g., when a measured energy during the gap is less than a threshold). In other words, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may perform an LBT procedure (e.g., Category-<NUM> or Type-<NUM> LBT with random back-off) when first UE <NUM>-<NUM> is not to share a COT so that first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may initiate another COT, or may perform an LBT procedure to share a COT, as described above.

In some aspects, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may perform a channel sensing procedure based at least in part on determining that the range metric does not satisfy the threshold. For example, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may perform wide-band or sub-band energy detection based channel sensing (e.g., LBT, like Type <NUM> or Type <NUM> channel access procedures as defined in 3GPP). In some aspects, first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may perform a Type-<NUM> channel access procedure (e.g., a Category-<NUM> LBT procedure or an LBT procedure without random back-off), Type-<NUM> channel access procedure (e.g., a Category-<NUM> LBT procedure or an LBT procedure with random back-off), and/or the like. In this case, if the channel sensing procedure is successful (e.g., first UE <NUM>-<NUM> performs a Type-<NUM> channel access procedure and determines that the channel access procedure is successful), first UE <NUM>-<NUM> may transmit a sidelink transmission with channel occupancy information (e.g., which may include location information, COT duration information, a quantity of slots or resources in the COT, a range threshold for location sharing, and/or the like) to initiate the channel occupancy.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process <NUM> performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process <NUM> is an example where the UE (e.g., UE <NUM>, UE <NUM>, UE <NUM>, UE <NUM>, and/or the like) performs operations associated with location-based channel occupancy sharing for sidelink communication in unlicensed spectrum.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include receiving information identifying a shared channel occupancy for a packet transmission resource (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may receive information identifying a shared channel occupancy for a packet transmission resource, as described above.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include determining a range metric for the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on location information (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may determine a range metric for the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on location information, as described above.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy for packet transmission using the packet transmission resource based at least in part on the range metric (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may determine whether to share the shared channel occupancy for packet transmission using the packet transmission resource based at least in part on the range metric, as described above.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include selectively transmitting one or more packets in the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on a result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may selectively transmit one or more packets in the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on a result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy, as described above.

In a first aspect, the information identifying the shared channel occupancy is received in a sidelink transmission from another UE.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the location information includes information identifying at least one of a location of the UE or a location of another UE that initiated the shared channel occupancy.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy comprises: determining whether the range metric satisfies a range threshold, and determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on determining whether the range metric satisfies the range threshold.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, process <NUM> includes performing a channel sensing procedure to initiate another shared channel occupancy based at least in part on the result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, process <NUM> includes reducing a transmission power for transmitting the one or more packets based at least in part on the result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy comprises: determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on the transmission priority or the congestion level.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, selectively transmitting the one or more packets comprises determining to transmit the one or more packets based at least in part on performing the channel sensing procedure.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the channel sensing procedure is at least one of: a sub-band listen-before-talk procedure, a listen-before-talk procedure with random backoff, or a listen-before-talk procedure without random backoff.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the location information includes a zone identifier.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the information identifying the shared channel occupancy includes information identifying a threshold for the range metric.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, a threshold for the range metric is a pre-configured threshold.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, selectively transmitting one or more packets in the shared channel occupancy includes transmitting the location information associated with the shared channel occupancy in connection with transmitting the one or more packets.

<FIG> is a diagram of an example apparatus <NUM> for wireless communication. The apparatus <NUM> may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus <NUM>. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> includes a reception component <NUM> and a transmission component <NUM>, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus <NUM> may communicate with another apparatus <NUM> (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component <NUM> and the transmission component <NUM>. As further shown, the apparatus <NUM> may include the communication manager <NUM>. The communication manager <NUM> may include one or more of a determination component <NUM>, a channel sensing component <NUM>, or a configuration component <NUM>, among other examples.

In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process <NUM> of <FIG> or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> and/or one or more components shown in <FIG> may include one or more components of the UE described in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in <FIG> may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

In some aspects, the reception component <NUM> may include one or more antennas, a modem, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with <FIG>.

In some aspects, the transmission component <NUM> may include one or more antennas, a modem, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with <FIG>.

The reception component <NUM> may receive information identifying a shared channel occupancy for a packet transmission resource. The determination component <NUM> may determine a range metric for the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on location information. The determination component <NUM> may determine whether to share the shared channel occupancy for packet transmission using the packet transmission resource based at least in part on the range metric. The transmission component <NUM> may selectively transmit one or more packets in the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on a result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy.

The channel sensing component <NUM> may perform a channel sensing procedure to initiate another shared channel occupancy based at least in part on the result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy. The configuration component <NUM> may reduce a transmission power for transmitting the one or more packets based at least in part on the result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy. The determination component <NUM> may determine a transmission priority or congestion level. The channel sensing component <NUM> may perform a channel sensing procedure.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed.

As used herein, a "processor" is implemented in hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, since those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.

As used herein, "satisfying a threshold" may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like.

Many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. As an example, "at least one of: a, b, or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, a + b, a + c, b + c, and a + b + c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a + a, a + a + a, a + a + b, a + a + c, a + b + b, a + c + c, b + b, b + b + b, b + b + c, c + c, and c + c + c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE, comprising:
receiving (<NUM>) information identifying a shared channel occupancy for a packet transmission resource, wherein the information identifying the shared channel occupancy is received in a sidelink transmission from another UE, wherein the information includes location information identifying at least one of a location of the UE or a location of another UE that initiated the shared channel occupancy;
determining (<NUM>) a range metric for the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on the location information;
determining (<NUM>) whether to share the shared channel occupancy for packet transmission using the packet transmission resource based at least in part on the range metric; and
selectively (<NUM>) transmitting one or more packets in the shared channel occupancy based at least in part on a result of determining whether to share the shared channel occupancy.