Patent Description:
Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems. A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE). <CIT> relates to a resource mapping apparatus and method in a wireless communication system and to a resource allocation apparatus and method. <NPL>, relates to details of the DL/UL resource allocation schemes in frequency-time domain for NR that are applicable to contiguous and non-contiguous resource allocations. <NPL>, relates to a discussion of resource allocation schemes for NR and further outline the applicable operational mode considering the learnings from LTE.

With <NUM> NR, subcarrier spacing may be scaled. Also, the waveforms selected for <NUM> include cyclic prefix- orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) and DFT-Spread (DFT-S) OFDM. In addition, <NUM> allows for switching between both CP OFDM and DFT-S-OFDM on the uplink to get the MIMO spatial multiplexing benefit of CP-OFDM and the link budget benefit of DFT-S OFDM. With LTE, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA. ) communications signals may be used for downlink communications, while Single-Carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communications signals may be used for LTE uplink communications. The DFT-s-OFDMA scheme spreads a plurality of data symbols (i.e., a data symbol sequence) over a frequency domain which is different from the OFDMA scheme. Also, in comparison to the OFDMA scheme, the DFT-s-OFDMA scheme can greatly reduce a PAPR of a transmission signal. The DFT-s-OFDMA scheme may also be referred to as an SC-FDMA scheme.

Scalable OFDM multi-tone numerology is another feature of <NUM>. Prior versions of LTE supported a mostly fixed OFDM numerology of <NUM> spacing between OFDM tones (often called subcarriers) and carrier bandwidths up to <NUM> Scalable OFDM numerology has been introduced in <NUM> to support diverse spectrum bands/types and deployment models. For example, <NUM> NR is able to operate in mmwave bands that have wider channel widths (e.g., <NUM> of MHz) than currently in use in LTE. Also, the OFDM subcarrier spacing is able to scale with the channel width, so the FFT size scales such that processing complexity does not increase unnecessarily for wider bandwidths. In the present application, numerology refers to the different values different features of a communication system can take such as subcarrier spacing, cyclic prefix, symbol length, FFT size, TTI, etc..

Also in <NUM> NR, cellular technologies have been expanded into the unlicensed spectrum, both stand-alone and licensed-assisted (LAA). In addition, the unlicensed spectrum may occupy frequencies up to <NUM> also known as mmWave. The used of unlicensed bands provides -added capacity.

A first member of this technology family is referred to as LTE Unlicensed or LTE-U. By aggregating LTE in unlicensed spectrum with an 'anchor' channel in licensed spectrum, faster downloads are enabled for customers. Also, LTE-U shares the unlicensed spectrum fairly with Wi-Fi. This is an advantage because in the <NUM> unlicensed band where Wi-Fi devices are in wide use, it is desirable for LTE-U to coexist with the Wi-Fi. However, an LTE-U network may cause RF interference to an existing co-channel Wi-Fi device. Choosing a preferred operating channel and minimizing the interference caused to nearby Wi-Fi networks is a goal for LTE-U devices. However, the LTE-U single carrier (SC) device may operate on the same channel as Wi-Fi if all available channels are occupied by Wi-Fi devices. To coordinate spectrum access between LTE-U and Wi-Fi, the energy across the intended transmission band is first detected. This energy detection (ED) mechanism informs the device of ongoing transmissions by other nodes. Based on this ED information, a device decides if it should transmit. Wi-Fi devices do not back off to LTE-U unless its interference level is above an energy detection threshold (-62dBm over <NUM>). Thus, without proper coexistence mechanisms in place, LTE-U transmissions could cause considerable interference on a Wi-Fi network relative to Wi-Fi transmissions.

Licensed Assisted Access or LAA is another member of the unlicensed technology family. Like LTE-U, it also uses an anchor channel in licensed spectrum. However, it also adds "listen before talk" (LBT) to the LTE functionality.

A gating interval may be used to gain access to a channel of a shared spectrum. The gating interval may determine the application of a contention-based protocol such as an LBT protocol. The gating interval may indicate when a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) is performed. Whether a channel of the shared unlicensed spectrum is available or in use is determined by the CCA. If the channel is "clear" for use, i.e., available, the gating interval may allow the transmitting apparatus to use the channel. Access to the channel is typically for a predefined transmission interval and allows the channel to be used by a gNB and UEs communicating with the gNB. Thus, with unlicensed spectrum, a "listen before talk" procedure is performed before transmitting a message. If the channel is not cleared for use, then a device will not transmit.

Another member of this family of unlicensed technologies is LTE-WLAN Aggregation or LWA which utilizes both LTE and Wi-Fi. Accounting for both channel conditions, LWA can split a single data flow into two data flows which allows both the LTE and the Wi-Fi channel to be used for an application. Instead of competing with Wi-Fi, the LTE signal is using the WLAN connections seamlessly to increase capacity.

The final member of this family of unlicensed technologies is MulteFire. MuLTEfire opens up new opportunities by operating <NUM> LTE technology solely in unlicensed spectrum such as the global <NUM>. Unlike LTE-U and LAA, MulteFire allows entities without any access to licensed spectrum. Thus, it operates in unlicensed spectrum on a standalone basis, that is, without any anchor channel in the licensed spectrum. Thus, MulteFire differs from LTE-U, LAA and LW A because they aggregate unlicensed spectrum with an anchor in licensed spectrum. Without relying on licensed spectrum as the anchoring service, MulteFire allows for Wi-Fi like deployments. A MulteFire network may include access points (APs) and/or base stations <NUM> communicating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, e.g., without an licensed anchor carrier.

The (DRS Measurement Timing Configuration) is a technique that allows MulteFire to transmit but with minimal interference to other unlicensed technology including Wi-Fi. Additionally, the periodicity of discovery signals is very sparse. This allows Multefire to access channels occasionally, transmit discovery and control signals, and then vacate the channels. Since the unlicensed spectrum is shared with other radios of similar or dissimilar wireless technologies, a so-called listen-before-talk (LBT) method is applied for channel sensing. LBT involves sensing the medium for a predefined minimum amount of time and backing off if the channel is busy. Therefore, the initial random access (RA) procedure for standalone LTE-U should involve as few transmissions as possible and also have low latency, such that the number of LBT operations can be minimized and the RA procedure can then be completed as quickly as possible.

Leveraging a DMTC (DRS Measurement Timing Configuration) window, MulteFire algorithms search and decode reference signals in unlicensed band from neighboring base stations in order to know which base station would be best for serving the user. As the caller moves past one base station, their UE sends a measurement report to it, triggering a handover at the right moment, and transferring the caller (and all of their content and information) to the next base station.

Since LTE traditionally operated in licensed spectrum and Wi-Fi operated in unlicensed bands, coexistence with Wi-Fi or other unlicensed technology was not considered when LTE was designed. In moving to the unlicensed world, the LTE waveform was modified and algorithms were added in order to perform Listen Before Talk (LBT). This allows us to respect unlicensed incumbents including Wi-Fi by not just acquiring a channel and immediately transmitting. The present example supports LBT and the detection and transmission of WCUBS (Wi-Fi Channel Usage Beacon Signal) for ensuring coexistence with Wi-Fi neighbors.

MulteFire was designed to "hear" a neighboring Wi-Fi base station's transmission (because it's all unlicensed spectrum). MulteFire listens first, and autonomously makes the decision to transfer when there is no other neighboring Wi-Fi transmitting on the same channel. This technique ensures co-existence between MulteFire and Wi-Fi.

Additionally, we adhere to the unlicensed rules and regulations set by 3GPP and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), which mandates the - 72dBm LBT detection threshold. This further helps us de-conflict with Wi-Fi. MulteFire's LBT design is identical to the standards defined in 3GPP for LAA/eLAA and complies with ETSI rules.

An expanded functionality for <NUM> involves the use of <NUM> NR Spectrum Sharing, or NR-SS. <NUM> spectrum sharing enables enhancement, expansion, and upgrade of the spectrum sharing technologies introduced in LTE. These include LTE Wi-Fi Aggregation (LWA), License Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced License Assisted Access (eLAA), and CBRS/License Shared Access (LSA).

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the disclosure are then illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to receiving on transmit and transmitting on receive.

<FIG> illustrates an example wireless network <NUM>, such as a new radio (NR) or <NUM> network, in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the wireless network <NUM> may include a number of BSs <NUM> and other network entities. A BS <NUM> may be a station that communicates with UEs <NUM>. Each BS <NUM> may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of a Node B and/or a Node B subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In NR systems, the term "cell" and eNB, Node B, <NUM> NB, AP, NR BS, NR BS, <NUM> Radio NodeB (gNB), or TRP may be interchangeable. 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 mobile base station <NUM>. 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, a virtual network, or the like using any suitable transport network.

A BS <NUM> may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types 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 subscription. 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 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, etc.). A BS <NUM> for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS <NUM>.

A network controller <NUM> may be coupled to a set of BSs and provide coordination and control for these BSs. The BSs <NUM> may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via wireless or wireline backhaul.

A UE <NUM> may also be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a station, a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), a cellular phone, 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 or medical equipment, a healthcare device, a biometric sensor/device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, virtual reality goggles, a smart wrist band, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, a robot, a drone, industrial manufacturing equipment, a positioning device (e.g., GPS, Beidou, terrestrial), or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices, which may include remote devices that may communicate with a base station, another remote device, or some other entity. Machine type communications (MTC) may refer to communication involving at least one remote device on at least one end of the communication and may include forms of data communication which involve one or more entities that do not necessarily need human interaction. MTC UEs may include UEs that are capable of MTC communications with MTC servers and/or other MTC devices through Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMN), for example. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, cameras, location tags, etc., that may communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. MTC UEs, as well as other UEs, may be implemented as Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, e.g., narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices. In NB IoT, the UL and DL have higher periodicities and repetitions interval values as a UE decodes data in extended coverage.

For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be <NUM> and the minimum resource allocation (called a 'resource block') may be <NUM> subcarriers (or <NUM>). Consequently, the nominal FFT size may be equal to <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> for system bandwidth of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> megahertz (MHz), respectively. For example, a subband may cover <NUM> (e.g., <NUM> resource blocks), and there may be <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> subbands for system bandwidth of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>, respectively.

NR may utilize OFDM with a CP on the uplink and downlink and include support for half-duplex operation using time division duplex (TDD). A single component carrier bandwidth of <NUM> may be supported. NR resource blocks may span <NUM> sub-carriers with a sub-carrier bandwidth of <NUM> over a <NUM> duration. Each radio frame may consist of <NUM> subframes with a length of <NUM>. Consequently, each subframe may have a length of <NUM>. Each subframe may indicate a link direction (e.g., DL or UL) for data transmission and the link direction for each subframe may be dynamically switched. Each subframe may include DL/UL data as well as DL/UL, control data. UL and DL subframes for NR may be as described in more detail below with respect to <FIG> and <FIG>. MIMO configurations in the DL, may support up to <NUM> transmit antennas with multi-layer DL transmissions up to <NUM> streams and up to <NUM> streams per UE. Alternatively, NR may support a different air interface, other than an OFDM-based. networks may include entities such CUs and/or DUs.

Base stations are not the sole entities that may function as a scheduling entity.

As noted above, a RAN may include a CU and DUs. A NR BS (e.g., eNB, <NUM> Node B, Node B, transmission reception point (TRP), access point (AP), or gNB) may correspond to one or multiple BSs. NR cells can be configured as access cell (ACells) or data only cells (DCells). For example, the RAN (e.g., a central unit or distributed unit) can configure the cells. DCells may be cells used for carrier aggregation or dual connectivity, but not used for initial access, cell selection/reselection, or handover. In some cases DCells may not transmit synchronization signals-in some case cases DCells may transmit SS. NR BSs may transmit downlink signals to UEs indicating the cell type. Based on the cell type indication, the UE may communicate with the NR BS. For example, the UE may determine NR BSs to consider for cell selection, access, handover, and/or measurement based on the indicated cell type.

The ANC may include one or more TRPs <NUM> (which may also be referred to as BSs, NR BSs, Node Bs, <NUM> NBs, APs, eNB, gNB, or some other term).

As will be described in more detail with reference to <FIG>, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layers may be adaptably placed at the DU or CU (e.g., TRP or ANC, respectively).

<FIG> illustrates example components of the BS <NUM> and UE <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, which may be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure. As described above, the BS may include a TRP. One or more components of the BS <NUM> and UE <NUM> may be used to practice aspects of the present disclosure. For example, antennas <NUM>, processors <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or controller/processor <NUM> of the UE <NUM> and/or antennas <NUM>, processors <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or controller/processor <NUM> of the BS <NUM> may be used to perform the operations described herein and illustrated with reference to <FIG>.

For a restricted association scenario, the base station <NUM> may be the macro BS <NUM>10c in <FIG>, and the UE <NUM> may be the UE 120y.

At the base station <NUM>, a transmit processor <NUM> may receive data from a data source <NUM> and control information from a controller/processor <NUM>. The control information may be for the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH), Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), etc. The data may be for the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor <NUM> may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor <NUM> may also generate reference symbols, e.g., for the PSS, SSS, and cell-specific reference signal. For example, the TX MIMO processor <NUM> may perform certain aspects described herein for RS multiplexing.

For example, MIMO detector <NUM> may provide detected RS transmitted using techniques described herein. According to one or more cases, CoMP aspects can include providing the antennas, as well as some Tx/Rx functionalities, such that they reside in distributed units. For example, some Tx/Rx processings can be done in the central unit, while other processing can be done at the distributed units. For example, in accordance with one or more aspects as shown in the diagram, the BS mod/demod <NUM> may be in the distributed units.

The processor <NUM> and/or other processors and modules at the base station <NUM> may perform or direct the processes for the techniques described herein. The processor <NUM> and/or other processors and modules at the UE <NUM> may also perform or direct processes for the techniques described herein. The memories <NUM> and <NUM> may store data and program codes for the BS <NUM> and the UE <NUM>, respectively.

<FIG> is a diagram 500A showing an example of a DL-centric subframe. The DL-centric subframe may include a control portion 502A. The control portion 502A may exist in the initial or beginning portion of the DL-centric subframe. The control portion 502A may include various scheduling information and/or control information corresponding to various portions of the DL-centric subframe. In some configurations, the control portion 502A may be a physical DL control channel (PDCCH), as indicated in <FIG>. The DL-centric subframe may also include a DL data portion 504A. The DL data portion 504A may sometimes be referred to as the payload of the DL-centric subframe. The DL data portion 504A may include the communication resources utilized to communicate DL data from the scheduling entity <NUM> (e.g., eNB, BS, Node B, <NUM> NB, TRP, gNB, etc.) to the subordinate entity, e.g., UE <NUM>. In some configurations, the DL data portion 504A may be a physical DL shared channel (PDSCH). The DL-centric subframe may also include a common UL portion 506A. The common UL portion 506A may sometimes be referred to as an UL burst, a common UL burst, and/or various other suitable terms. The common UL portion 506A may include feedback information corresponding to various other portions of the DL-centric subframe. For example, the common UL portion <NUM> may include feedback information corresponding to the control portion 502A. Non-limiting examples of feedback information may include an ACK signal, a NACK signal, a HARQ indicator, and/or various other suitable types of information. The common UL portion 506A may include additional or alternative information, such as information pertaining to random access channel (RACH) procedures, scheduling requests (SRs), sounding reference signals (SRS) and various other suitable types of information. As illustrated in <FIG>, the end of the DL, data portion 504A may be separated in time from the beginning of the common UL portion 506A. This separation provides time for the switchover from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity, e.g., UE <NUM>) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity e.g., UE <NUM>). One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, however, that the foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric subframe and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein.

<FIG> is a diagram 500B showing an example of an UL-centric subframe. The UL-centric subframe may include a control portion 502B. The control portion 502B may exist in the initial or beginning portion of the UL-centric subframe. The control portion 502B in <FIG> may be similar to the control portion 502A described above with reference to <FIG>. The UL-centric subframe may also include an UL data portion 504B. The UL data portion 504B may sometimes be referred to as the payload of the UL-centric subframe. The UL portion may refer to the communication resources utilized to communicate UL data from the subordinate entity, e.g., UE <NUM> to the scheduling entity <NUM> (e.g., eNB). In some configurations, the control portion 502B may be a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH). As illustrated in <FIG>, the end of the control portion 502B may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL data portion 504B. This separation provides time for the switchover from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the scheduling entity <NUM>) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the scheduling entity <NUM> ). The UL-centric subframe may also include a common UL portion 506B. The common UL portion 506B in <FIG> may be similar to the common UL portion 506A described above with reference to <FIG>. The common UL portion 506B may additionally or alternatively include information pertaining to channel quality indicator (CQI), sounding reference signals (SRSs), and various other suitable types of information. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the foregoing is merely one example of an UL-centric subframe and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein. In summary, a UL centric subframe may be used for transmitting UL data from one or more mobile stations to a base station, and a DL centric subframe may be used for transmitting DL data from the base station to the one or more mobile stations. In one example, a frame may include both UL centric subframes and DL centric subframes. In this example, the ratio of UL centric subframes to DL subframes in a frame may be dynamically adjusted based on the amount of UL data and the amount of DL data that need to be transmitted. For example, if there is more UL data, then the ratio of UL centric subframes to DL subframes may be increased. Conversely, if there is more DL data, then the ratio of UL centric subframes to DL subframes may be decreased.

A resource element (RE) may cover one subcarrier in one symbol period and may be used to send one modulation symbol, which may be a real or a complex value. Resource elements may be grouped into physical resource blocks (PRB). In LTE, a PRB is a time/frequency resource of <NUM> (<NUM> subcarriers) by <NUM> msec or <NUM> slot. Each slot has <NUM> or <NUM> symbols, <NUM> for extended CP and <NUM> symbols for normal CP. Physical resource blocks (PRB) may be grouped into larger radio resources called Resource Block Groups (RBG). NR may have different subcarrier spacing from LTE. Hence, the PRB may span a different frequency bandwidth.

The way in which the scheduler allocates resource blocks for each transmission is specified by a Resource Allocation Type. Using a string of a bit map (bit stream) provides a way to give the maximum flexibility of allocating resource blocks where each bit represents one of the resource blocks. Although this approach may result in maximum flexibility, it may create too much overhead (e.g., a long bit map) along with a complicated way to allocate the resources. So a couple of resource allocation types were introduced by LTE to address this problem. A predefined process is used by each of the resource allocation types. In LTE there are three different resource allocation types, Resource Allocation Type <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. See Table <NUM> below.

Note the Table <NUM> list is the current definition of Resource Allocation Types in LTE.

Different feedback and resource granularities, in multiples of PRBs can be used with NR. In LTE, for a system bandwidth of <NUM>, the 3GPP standard specifies a resource unit granularity for a RBG size of <NUM> PRBs, that specifies the smallest amount of resources the BS scheduler can assign to a UE (in resource allocation type <NUM>). In NR, the RBG size may be different from LTE.

Resource Allocation Type <NUM> allocates resources by first dividing resource blocks into multiples of resource block groups (RBG). The number of physical resource blocks in each resource block group (RBG) varies with the system bandwidth. The RBG size will vary with the system bandwidth. The relationship between RBG size (the number of physical resource blocks (PRB) in a resource block group (RBG)) and the system bandwidth in LTE is shown in Table <NUM> below.

Like LTE discussed above, NR agreed to support different RBG sizes depending on the configured bandwidth part (BWP), where RGB size is measured by the number of PRBs and BWP is the part of the system BW that the UE will be using. UEs with different bandwidth part (BWP) configuration may have different RBG size. This allows UE with smaller BWP to have more precise or finer RBG granularity in signalling or smaller RBG size in terms of PRBs, while UEs with larger BWP may have a coarser granularity in RBG size or larger RBG size in terms of PRBs. As shown in Table <NUM> below, for a system BW of <NUM>, the granularity is <NUM> PRB, while for a system BW of <NUM>, the granularity is <NUM> PRB. This is one example of RBG size (or granularity in PRBs) vs. configured bandwidth part (BWP).

A UE may open up (or use) its RF resources based on the BWP configuration for better power consumption. For example, in an <NUM> system, the UE may use less than the <NUM> to save power by using only <NUM> or <NUM>, where the system can have up to <NUM> bandwidth. The BWP is expected to be contiguous in NR configuration (to minimize the RF cost). For example, if a UE uses <NUM>, only one filter may be used if two <NUM> channels are contiguous, while two filters may have to be used if the two <NUM> channels are located at opposite ends of the <NUM> spectrum. A physical resource block group (RBG) has PHY/MAC parameters (such as active DFT-spreading, TTI length, tight/relaxed time-frequency alignment, or waveform parameters). One reason NR can provide a configurable air interface is because different RBGs may have different numerologies and parameters. For example, <NUM> or <NUM> in frequency and <NUM> in time (which corresponds to <NUM> subcarriers and <NUM> symbols) are two example sizes for resource block groups (RBG). TTI (Transmission Time Interval) is the smallest scheduling time interval in LTE.

In NR-SS, for each transmission opportunity (TXOP), a node may be able to access the medium with a successful LBT outcome and reserve one channel or multiple channels depending on the medium sensing. That is, if channels are sensed by the UE during a listen before talk (LBT) procedure to be currently occupied by another node, e.g., a WiFi node, the UE can't use them to transmit information. (A transmission opportunity (TXOP) is granted by an access point to a terminal and refers to duration of time during which the station can send frames). For example, in a <NUM> system, a node may occupy <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> depending on how many channels the neighbor WiFi nodes occupy, where each WiFi channel access is defined to be <NUM>. In addition, the channels occupied by WiFi nodes may not be contiguous within <NUM>.

The UE or gNB does medium sensing to coexist with WiFi. A node (either UE or gNB) can't use a channel without first having a successful LBT procedure for that channel. In this example, if the BWP of the node is <NUM>, the node may use RF resources for the entire <NUM> and could transmit on the entire <NUM> if it can access the medium with a successful LBT outcome and reserve all four <NUM> channels. However, if the result of the LBT procedure is a <NUM> channel is unoccupied, the RBG size can be reduced. Because of medium sensing, the RBG size can be adjusted once the medium occupancy is known.

In one example, the method and apparatus has a coarser (or larger) RBG size when a node is able to access the medium with a successful LBT outcome and reserves more channels for a UE, while having a finer (or smaller) RBG granularity when a node is able to access the medium with a successful LBT outcome and reserves less channels with RBG based resource allocation. In a first example, RBG size can be dynamic and depend on the medium occupation, that is, what channels are used by the UE to transmit and/or receive information. Resource allocation (RA) in a PDCCH points to the occupied channel. For example, if the node is able to access the medium with a successful LBT outcome and reserves the second channel, the first assigned RBG in PDCCH, RBGO in PDCCH, is found within the second channel since the first channel is not used or occupied. Since only <NUM> is occupied by the gNB, a finer RBG size will be used as opposed to the case where gNB is occupying all <NUM>. Depending on the medium occupancy of the gNB, the RBG size can dynamically change.

The data carried on the PDCCH can be referred to as downlink control information (DCF). Multiple wireless devices can be scheduled in one subframe of a radio frame. Therefore, multiple DCI messages can be sent using multiple PDCCHs. The DCI information in a PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more control channel elements (CCE). A CCE can be comprised of a group of resource element groups (REGs). A legacy CCE in LTE can include up to nine REGs. Each legacy REG can be comprised of four resource elements (REs). Each resource element can include two bits of information when quadrature modulation is used. Therefore, a legacy CCE can include up to <NUM> bits of information. When more than <NUM> bits of information are used to convey the DCI message, multiple CCEs can be employed. The use of multiple CCEs can be referred to as an aggregation level. In one example, the aggregation levels can be defined as <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> consecutive CCEs allocated to one legacy PDCCH.

In a first solution, the gNB sends information on a separate physical layer channel (i.e., L1 channel) to the UE that so much bandwidth is occupied along with the RBG granularity in PRBs, where the L1 channel is the over the air physical layer. More specifically, the gNB uses a separate signaling carried on the L1 channel to indicate to the UE that it occupies the medium along with the RBG size. For example, a node may indicate that it has medium access on an <NUM> channel with an RBG size being X RB, or it may indicate that it has medium access on a <NUM> channel with an RBG size being Y RB. In one example, Y RB is smaller in size than X RB. For example, when a gNB occupies <NUM>, it uses an RBG size of <NUM> PRB, while when it occupies <NUM>, it uses RBG size of <NUM> PRB. The separate L1 layer can carry channels common to the gNB or a group of UEs associated with the gNB like the PCFICH as opposed to being UE specific like the PDCCH. The UE may also be configured with a channel and an RBG size using a message from the RRC called the RRC configuration message as shown in <FIG>. The actual RBG used for resource allocation (RA) for each UE can be min (RRC RBG, L1 RBG), where RRC RBG is the RBG size configured in the RRC layer and L1 RBG is the RBG size signaled on the L1 layer.

To improve robustness, such information carried on the L1 layer can be transmitted in the first slot of the TXOP and repeated in the subsequent slots of the TXOP.

In a second solution, a node indicates the medium occupation in information carried on a separate common L1 channel, but the RBG size is not signaled. Instead, there is an implicit mapping between the RBG size and the medium occupation or the configured BWP. Such implicit mapping can be either predefined or configured to UE. In this example, the UE is preconfigured with a mapping of medium occupation to RBG size. <FIG> illustrates an exemplary mapping of medium occupation to RBG size for one to four channels, where <NUM> equals one channel, <NUM> equals two channels, <NUM> equals three channels and <NUM> equals four channels and the corresponding RBG size is RBGX1, RBGX2, RBGX3, and RBGX4. For example, if the RBG size is X PRB, the node can transmit on an <NUM>, channel, while if the RBG size is Y PRB, the node transmits on a <NUM> channel. For example, when a gNB occupies <NUM>, it uses an RBG size of <NUM> PRB, while when it occupies <NUM>, it uses RBG size of <NUM> PRB. Note that the mapping between the channel occupation (or configured bandwidth (BWP)) to RBG size can be UE-specific.

In a third solution, a node indicates the medium occupation in a UE specific signaling channel for a UE like the C-RNTI PDCCH. A separate channel is not used to signal the medium occupation since the PDCCH has a field that can be used to carry resource allocation. However, like the second solution, there is an implicit or predefined mapping between the channel occupation (or configured bandwidth (BWP)) and the RBG size. The UE interprets the RBG size based on the medium occupation accordingly. The implicit mapping is similar to the second solution. So whereas before a common signal carried on the L1 layer was used to convey medium occupation to configure a UE with a BWP, here a UE specific PDCCH is used. In both solutions RBG size is implicitly mapped to the medium occupation. In one example, the UE can be preconfigured with the table shown in <FIG>. Also, here a bitmap may be used. For example, with an <NUM> system bandwidth comprising four <NUM> channels, a <NUM>-bit bitmap may be introduced at the PDCCH. gNB indicates the medium occupation via the bitmap and , the UE interprets the RBG size based on the medium occupation. See <FIG>, which discloses using a bitmap to configure a UE with a channel and an RBG size. In one example, at least one bit in the bitmap represents one or more RBGs. If the resource allocation is RBG based, the bitmap may indicate the first and the last RBG that is occupied by the UE.

An additional guard band may be used if a node is able to access the medium with a successful LBT outcome and reserves some, but not all channels, such that not all of the BW is occupied. For example, if a node reserves the <NUM> channel, but not the <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> channels, it may perform better by adding additional guard band on each side of the <NUM> bandwidth to accommodate the adjacent channel leakage-power ratio (ACLR). Power that leaks from a transmitted signal into adjacent channels in a digital communication system such as LTE is referred to as ACLR. It can impair system performance by interfering with transmissions in neighboring channels which are not occupied by the current node. Thus, system transmitters perform within specified limits to avoid ACLR. On the other hand, the <NUM> channel may not use any guard band if a node gains access to all the channels which in one example is the four <NUM> channels. In this example, the UE occupies the entire bandwidth which is <NUM> so adjacent channel leakage across each <NUM> channel is not a concern.

In one example, an RBG grid based on absolute PRB0 with respect to the system bandwidth is used. Assuming the system BW is <NUM>, the PRB index can be defFfig. 9ined to be consistent with the <NUM> even if the node occupies less than the full <NUM> system BW, e.g., it occupies only one of the <NUM> channels. In this case the PRB index is still followed and the PRB index is defined according to the <NUM> case even though a fraction of the <NUM> is occupied. The UE can translate the assigned RB/RBGs/interlaces to the occupied channel. The RBG grid based on system bandwidth may not align with each channel. Depending on the RBG size, the PRBs across different channels may fall into the same RBG. For example, <FIG> illustrates an allocation of PRBs and RBGs to <NUM> channels. In <FIG>, which will be discussed in further detail below, one RBG (i.e., the RBGO signaled in PDCCH) consists of <NUM> PRBs. UE can translate RBG0 in PDCCH, together with medium occupancy information to PRBs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. Here the first <NUM> PRBs of RBGO, PRBs <NUM> and <NUM> belong to Channel <NUM>, while the last <NUM> PRBs of RBG <NUM> (PRBs <NUM> and <NUM>) , belong to Channel <NUM>. In addition, the PRBs in the guard band may fall into the RBG as well when a guard band is used as shown with PRBs <NUM> and <NUM>.

In one example, a guard band is configured for each channel. The UEs will calculate the transport block size (TBS) using the usable RBs falling into the occupied channel and rate match accordingly. Data from the upper layer (or MAC layer) received by the physical layer in an LTE system is called a transport block. In one example, the number of Physical Resource Blocks (NPRB) and the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) are used to compute the transport block size.

As stated above, the RBG size depends on the medium occupancy but the PRG may be defined with respect to the system bandwidth. The larger the medium occupancy, the greater the number of PRB units used in an RBG. For example, when an RBG size is <NUM> physical resource blocks (PRB), RBG <NUM> consists of PRB <NUM> and PRB1, and RBG <NUM> consists of PRB <NUM> and PRB <NUM>. In another example, when RBG size is <NUM> RBs, RBG <NUM> consists of PRB <NUM>, PRB1 and PRB2 and RBG <NUM> consists of PRB <NUM>, PRB151 and PRB <NUM>.

In one example, the guard band can be defined in the unit of PRBs. When mini-PRBs are used, the guard band can be measured in units of mini-PRBs. When a node is not able to access the medium with a successful LBT outcome and reserves a channel, the RBGs fully in the channel (including the guard band on either left or right when used) are not counted in the actual resource allocation. A PRB consists of <NUM> subcarriers while a mini-PRB stands for a fraction of RB which consists of less than <NUM> PRBs. For example, a mini-PRB may consist of <NUM> sub-carriers.

In one example, assume each channel has <NUM> PRBs. If the gNB allocates channel <NUM> and channel <NUM> (and channels <NUM> and <NUM> are not allocated) and the corresponding RBG size is <NUM> RB, then RBG <NUM> would comprise of PRBs <NUM>-<NUM> as the first <NUM> RBGs (i.e., which is the first <NUM> PRBs, PRB <NUM> thru <NUM> since each PRG = <NUM> PRBs) are not counted. The first <NUM> RBGs (along with PRBs <NUM>-<NUM>) are not counted because the gNB does not occupy channel <NUM>. Thus, RBG <NUM> signaled in the PDCCH, the starting RBG is effectively translated from PRBs <NUM>-<NUM> to PRBs <NUM>-<NUM>.

When a RBG partially falls into a reserved channel (excluding guard band when used), the usable PRBs in the RBG may be utilized. In the example shown in <FIG>, the <NUM>th RBG containing PRBs <NUM>-<NUM> is the first RBG with usable PRBs which in this case is PRB <NUM>. PRB <NUM> is not usable because it falls in an unoccupied channel and PRBs <NUM> and <NUM> are not usable because they fall into the guard band. The UE begins counting PRBs when there is overlap with an occupied channel, in this case channel <NUM>. So RBG <NUM> has effectively been translated to RBG <NUM>(i.e., the <NUM>th RBG) by the UE. The remaining RBGs are sequentially numbered for the resource allocation (RA) field.

As stated above, <FIG> illustrates an allocation of PRBs and RBGs to <NUM> channels, channels <NUM> thru <NUM>, where <NUM> PRBs per channel are allocated, along with an RBG size of <NUM> PRBs. Channel <NUM> spans PRBs <NUM> to <NUM>. Channel <NUM> is occupied by PRBs <NUM> to <NUM>. Channel <NUM> spans PRBs <NUM> to <NUM>, and channel <NUM> is occupied by PRBs <NUM> to <NUM>. Resource allocation type <NUM> uses a bitmap to allocate the resources and each bit represents one RBG. The RBG grid is based on the number of PRBs in an RBG corresponding to system bandwidth and may include PRBs from adjacent channels as well as the guard band. If a UE is assigned those RBGs, PRBs from adjacent channels as well as the guard band, it will use the usable PRBs falling into the indicated channel to rate match as well as calculate transport block size (TBS) accordingly. In the present example, the node is able to transmit on channel <NUM> and channel <NUM>, where the RBG is assumed to be <NUM> PRBs. The node does not have access to channel <NUM> or channel <NUM> and cannot transmit the true PRB0 or RBGO both of which would be located in channel <NUM> using the entire system BW, but has been translated to PRBs <NUM>-<NUM> since channel <NUM> is not occupied by the UE. In the PDCCH, the resource assignment RBGO tells the UE about the transmission on actual RBG <NUM> which comprises PRBs <NUM>-<NUM>. The PDCCH indicates PRB <NUM> will be used for transmission as explained below.

Here the UE interprets the RBGO signaled in PDCCH to the RBG <NUM> as this is the first RBG which overlaps with channel <NUM> with useful RBs. But since PRB <NUM> and <NUM> fall into channel <NUM> and PRB <NUM> is used for a guard band, the UE knows only PRB <NUM> can be used to transmit. Thus, the UE will only use PRB <NUM> to transmit if RBGO is indicated as occupied and skip PRBs <NUM>-<NUM>. This saves resource assignment overhead compared to signaling PRB <NUM> or RBG <NUM> explicitly in PDCCH.

Previously, an RBG based resource allocation was discussed. With RBG based resource allocation, a bit can be assigned to one or more RBGs which may be used to indicate whether an RBG is assigned to the UE or not. A compact resource allocation may also be used in NR-SS. With compact resource allocation, a gNB indicates the starting PRB, RBG, or interlace as well as the number of occupied RBs/RBGs/Interlaces that follow to reduce the RA overhead as opposed to RBG based resource allocation by using less bits.

When the channel access is not contiguous, for the compact RA assignment a gNB may indicate a starting point as well as the number of occupied PRBs, RBGs, or Interlaces per channel that follow that staring point. This could result into a large RA overhead. The resource allocation in an LAA system differs from how resources are allocated with LTE. An interlace composed of ten resource blocks equally spaced in frequency within a <NUM> frequency bandwidth is the basic unit of resource allocation for LTE unlicensed channels.

The present example uses a single starting point of PRBs, RBG, or Interlaces and fixed number of PRBs, RBG, or Interlaces following the starting point irrespective of the channel access. This means that the assignment, from the signaling perspective, may span all the channels without necessarily being able to access or occupy some of the channels. The UE may automatically skip PRBs, RBGs or interlaces in channels that gNB does not have access on along with automatically skipping PRBs found in guard bands. Thus, the PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces in the guard band as well as the unoccupied channels are automatically skipped.

RBs in guard bands and unoccupied channels are automatically skipped when using compact resource allocation (RA). So the present compact method of allocating resources has a single starting point which can be a PRB, an RBG, or an interlace, along with how many PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces are going to be occupied This applies to RAs with or without hopping. <FIG> illustrates an example of this method of allocation. In the illustrated example, channels <NUM> and <NUM> are assumed to be occupied by the UE. In the figure shown, there are <NUM> PRBs per channel, along with an RBG size of <NUM> PRBs. Channel <NUM> is occupied by PRBs <NUM> to <NUM> and channel <NUM> is occupied by PRBs <NUM> to <NUM>. A gNB reserves channels <NUM> and <NUM> and assigns a UE with a starting PRB equal to PRB <NUM> along with a total PRB number of <NUM> PRBs in this example. In other examples, the total PRB number can be different than <NUM>. In this example, the UE has already been signaled by the gNB that it has access on channels <NUM> and <NUM>. If the UE receives an assignment from the gNB where the starting PRB is PRB <NUM> and the transmission occupies <NUM> PRBs, it will know that the transmission actually spans PRBs <NUM> to <NUM> (<NUM> PRBs located in channel <NUM>) as well as PRB <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> (<NUM> PRBs located in channel <NUM>) while skipping all the PRBs in between that it does not occupy like PRBs in channels <NUM> and <NUM>, PRBs <NUM> to <NUM>, along with PRBs found in guard bands like PRB <NUM> and PRB <NUM>. The UE will automatically skip the RBs in the guard band as well as the RBs in channels <NUM> and <NUM> to obtain the actual RBs usable for transmission or reception. PRB <NUM> and PRB <NUM> are skipped because they are guard bands (GB) for channels <NUM> and <NUM> respectfully. PRBs <NUM> to <NUM> are skipped because they are located in channels <NUM> and <NUM> which are not occupied by the UE. To get to <NUM> occupiable PRBs, PRBs <NUM> to <NUM> in channel <NUM> are used along with PRBs <NUM> to <NUM> in channel <NUM>. This allocation starts with PRB <NUM> and spans a total of <NUM> usable PRBs. Thus, the resources are allocated by indicating starting PRB <NUM> and along with indicating a length of <NUM> usable PRBs. This is less overhead than indicating a starting point of PRBs, RBG, or interlaces and a length of PRBs, RBG, or interlaces for each channel with medium access.

<FIG> is a flowchart of the steps taken by a gNB to indicate medium occupation along with RBG size to a UE. The TRPs <NUM> shown in <FIG> is an example of the gNB. Initially, a gNB allocates physical resource blocks for a UE (step <NUM>). Then the gNB determines if the medium occupancy has changed (step <NUM>). The output of step <NUM> is Yes if the medium occupancy has changed and No if it hasn't. So if the answer to step <NUM> is Yes, the medium occupancy has changed, another determination is made in step <NUM> whether the medium occupancy has gotten larger or smaller, i.e., Yes to step <NUM> it has gotten larger or No to step <NUM> the medium occupancy has gotten smaller. If the answer to step <NUM> is Yes, the medium occupancy has gotten larger, a coarser RBG size is assigned to the UE (step <NUM> in <FIG>) If the answer to step <NUM> is No, the medium occupancy has gotten smaller, a finer RBG granularity is assigned to the UE (step <NUM> in <FIG>).

Next, the BS determines whether it can occupy all channels or not (step <NUM>). If the answer is No it is not fully occupied, i.e., the gNB occupies some, but not all channels or bandwidth such that not all of the BW is occupied, an additional guard band is used around the occupied channels (see step <NUM>). If the answer is Yes, the BW is fully occupied, no extra guard band is assigned. Last in step <NUM>, the gNB can send information on an indicator, or signal, to the U,E indicating medium occupation and RBG size. In another example, the RBG size could be implicitly determined and not signaled dynamically.

<FIG> is a flowchart of the steps taken by a UE to receive medium occupation along with RBG size from a gNB. The UEs <NUM> shown in <FIG> is an example of the UE. Initially, a UE receives information from a gNB comprising medium occupation and physical resource block group (RBG) allocated to it by a gNB (step <NUM>). Then the UE receives information from the gNB if the medium occupancy has changed (step <NUM>). The output of step <NUM> is Yes if the medium occupancy has changed and No if it hasn't. So if the answer to step <NUM> is Yes, the medium occupancy has changed, the UE finds out in step <NUM> whether the medium occupancy has gotten larger or smaller, i.e., Yes to step <NUM> it has gotten larger or No to step <NUM> the medium occupancy has gotten smaller. If the answer to step <NUM> is Yes, the medium occupancy has gotten larger, a coarser size is assigned to the RBG and received by the UE (step <NUM> in <FIG>) If the answer to step <NUM> is No, the medium occupancy has gotten smaller, a finer granularity is assigned to the RBG and received by the UE (step <NUM> in <FIG>).

Next, the UE is informed whether all channels are occupied or not (step <NUM>). If the answer is No they are not fully occupied, i.e., the BS occupies some, but not all channels or bandwidth such that not all of the BW is occupied, the UE receives information that an additional guard band is assigned around the occupied channels (see step <NUM>). If the answer is Yes, the BW is fully occupied, no extra guard band is assigned. Last in step <NUM>, the UE receives information on an indicator, or a signal, from the gNB indicating medium occupation and RBG size. In another example, the RBG size could be implicitly determined and not signaled dynamically.

A compact RA indication and medium occupation index may be sent separately or sent using joint coding. Joint coding may further help reduce the number of bits in some cases and reduce RA overhead.

In the example with <NUM> channels, <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, has a total of <NUM> PRBS, where each channel has <NUM> PRBs. A starting PRB can be anywhere among the <NUM> PRBs, PRB <NUM> to PRB <NUM> and the length can be anywhere from <NUM> to <NUM> PRBs. A bitmap may be used for a medium occupation index, with the bitmap using <NUM> bits.

If the resource allocation is not jointly coded and sent for all <NUM> channels, each channel having N physical resource blocks (N PRBs), then ceil(log2 (4NRB * (4NRB+<NUM>)/<NUM>)) bits would be used for compact RA indication (assuming <NUM> RB granularity in the allocation) using the RIV based mapping. In this example, each channel may have <NUM> PRBs so N=<NUM>.

One example of joint coding would be to indicate a starting PRB in the first allocated channel and the ending PRB in the last allocated channel. Also, medium occupancy on the first and last allocated channel. This would use ceil(log2 (NRB) + log2(NRB)) bits. With N = <NUM>, log2 (<NUM>) = <NUM> and log2 (NRB) + log2(NRB) bits = <NUM> + <NUM> = <NUM> bits, which is around <NUM> bits less than using separate coding. In <FIG>, the starting PRB is PRB <NUM> in channel <NUM> and the ending PRB is the <NUM>th PRB in channel <NUM> which is PRB <NUM>. So log2 (NRB) bits are used to indicate the starting PRB in channel <NUM> and log2(NRB) bits are used to indicate the ending PRB in channel <NUM>. And the UE has already been indicated with the medium occupancy information so it knows that the starting PRB points to channel <NUM> and the ending PRB points to channel <NUM>. So the medium occupancy between the starting and ending PRBs/RBGs/Interlaces are also known to the UE.

<FIG> is a flowchart of exemplary steps taken to reduce resource allocation (RA) overhead. In step <NUM>, the UE receives a starting PRB, RBG, or interlace from a gNB in one example. In step <NUM>, the transmission received by the UE spans a number of the RBs, RBGs, or interlaces across multiple channels including those channels without multiple access, while automatically skipping PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces in the guard band and in unoccupied channels. Overhead is reduced because the number of PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces transmitted to the UE is reduced. <FIG> is a flowchart of exemplary steps taken to reduce resource allocation overhead by joint coding a resource allocation (RA) indication and a medium occupation index. In step <NUM> the UE receives a starting PRB in a first allocated channel and an ending PRB in a last allocated channel from the gNB. So instead of receiving information concerning all channels, it receives a starting PRB in a first allocated channel and an ending PRB in a last allocated channel, thereby reducing overhead. In step <NUM>, the UE receives a medium occupancy between the starting PRB and the ending PRB from the gNB. This received information is ued by the UE to determine which RBs, RBGs, or interlaces to use and to skip unoccupied PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces.

Due to power spectral density (PSD) limitations, an interlaced channel structure is used in the unlicensed spectrum for the UE to utilize power more efficiently.

In addition, SC-FDM could be used in UL for a power limited UE due to the better PAPR (peak-to-average power ratio) associated with SC-FDM waveform compared to OFDM waveform.

12A shows multiple interlaces with multiple equally spaced PRBs, such as a first interlace of PRBs, interlace <NUM>, and a second interlace of PRBs, interlace <NUM>. An interlace may include multiple PRBs that spread throughout the Component Carrier system bandwidth. For example, for <NUM> bandwidth, in some deployments, there are <NUM> PRBs (e.g., PRB #<NUM> through PRB <NUM>). In some examples, the first interlace of PRBs, interlace <NUM>, may include RB #<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. <NUM>, the second interlace of RBs, interlace <NUM> may include RB #<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. <NUM>, and so on. With a first example, an interlace structure is defined for each channel. (Excluding the potential guard band. The guard band is excluded because if it is included, the UE may not be able to check out the medium). An interlace is composed of N physical resource blocks (PRB) equally spaced in frequency. In one example, there are equally spaced in frequency PRBs on an interlace for a channel. In the <NUM> system discussed earlier, the channel could be <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. Here there is a cluster of interlaces, interlace <NUM> and interlace <NUM>, with PRBs spaced every <NUM> PRBs. In <FIG>, interlace <NUM> has PRBs that are spaced every <NUM> PRBs. However, with multiple channels, the clusters may not be equally spaced due to the guard bands. So its preferred that the interlace assignment does not go beyond one interlace per channel. If the UE is assigned on more than one channel, a non-interlaced structure can be used for channels other than the first interlaced channel.

In a second example, the interlace may be defined with respect to the system bandwidth and not a particular channel such as the <NUM> system BW which included <NUM> channels (<NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>) of <NUM> BW each as discussed earlier. See <FIG> where interlace <NUM> has PRBs that are equally spaced <NUM> PRBs apart across four <NUM> channels. For example, the UE may be assigned a cluster of interlaces or cluster of partial interlaces with equally spaced PRBs across the entire system bandwidth and not just one channel. Note if an interlace consists of PRB <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. , <NUM>, etc., a partial interlace may not need to use all of the RBs in an interlace. Here, the interlace may have <NUM> PRBs with 10PRB spacing resulting in <NUM> PRBs equally spaced) A partial interface could be assigned to a UE with PRB <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. , <NUM> (i.e., a total <NUM> PRBs with <NUM> PRB equal spacing) as an example. Thus, the UE can be assigned with multiple continuous clusters of one or more interlaces or partial interlaces which can span more than one channel.

<FIG> illustrates certain components that may be included within a base station <NUM>. The base station <NUM> may be an access point, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB, etc. The base station <NUM> includes a processor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may be a general purpose single- or multi-chip microprocessor (e.g., an ARM), a special purpose microprocessor (e.g., a digital signal processor (DSP)), a microcontroller, a programmable gate array, etc. The processor <NUM> may be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Although just a single processor <NUM> is shown in the base station <NUM> of <FIG>, in an alternative configuration, a combination of processors (e.g., an ARM and DSP) could be used.

The base station <NUM> also includes memory <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may be any electronic component capable of storing electronic information. The memory <NUM> may be embodied as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices in RAM, on-board memory included with the processor, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, and so forth, including combinations thereof.

Data <NUM> and instructions <NUM> may be stored in the memory <NUM>. The instructions <NUM> may be executable by the processor <NUM> to implement the methods disclosed herein. When the processor <NUM> executes the instructions <NUM>, various portions of the instructions 1309a may be loaded onto the processor <NUM>, and various pieces of data 1307a may be loaded onto the processor <NUM>.

The base station <NUM> may also include a transmitter <NUM> and a receiver <NUM> to allow transmission and reception of signals to and from the wireless device <NUM>. The transmitter <NUM> and receiver <NUM> may be collectively referred to as a transceiver <NUM>. Multiple antennas 1317a-b may be electrically coupled to the transceiver <NUM>. The base station <NUM> may also include (not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers and/or multiple transceivers.

The various components of the base station <NUM> may be coupled together by one or more buses, which may include a power bus, a control signal bus, a status signal bus, a data bus, etc. For the sake of clarity, the various buses are illustrated in <FIG> as a bus system <NUM>. The functions described herein in the flowchart of <FIG>, may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor like the processor <NUM> described in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates certain components that may be included within a wireless communication device <NUM>. The wireless communication device <NUM> may be an access terminal, a mobile station, a user equipment (UE), etc. The wireless communication device <NUM> includes a processor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may be a general purpose single- or multi-chip microprocessor (e.g., an ARM), a special purpose microprocessor (e.g., a digital signal processor (DSP)), a microcontroller, a programmable gate array, etc. The processor <NUM> may be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Although just a single processor <NUM> is shown in the wireless communication device <NUM> of <FIG>, in an alternative configuration, a combination of processors (e.g., an ARM and DSP) could be used.

The wireless communication device <NUM> also includes memory <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may be any electronic component capable of storing electronic information. The memory <NUM> may be embodied as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices in RAM, on-board memory included with the processor, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, and so forth, including combinations thereof.

Data <NUM> and instructions <NUM> may be stored in the memory <NUM>. The instructions <NUM> may be executable by the processor <NUM> to implement the methods disclosed herein. When the processor <NUM> executes the instructions <NUM>, various portions of the instructions 1409a may be loaded onto the processor <NUM>, and various pieces of data 1407a may be loaded onto the processor <NUM>.

The wireless communication device <NUM> may also include a transmitter <NUM> and a receiver <NUM> to allow transmission and reception of signals to and from the wireless communication device <NUM>. The transmitter <NUM> and receiver <NUM> may be collectively referred to as a transceiver <NUM>. Multiple antennas 1417a-b may be electrically coupled to the transceiver <NUM>. The wireless communication device <NUM> may also include (not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers and/or multiple transceivers.

The various components of the wireless communication device <NUM> may be coupled together by one or more buses, which may include a power bus, a control signal bus, a status signal bus, a data bus, etc. For the sake of clarity, the various buses are illustrated in <FIG> as a bus system <NUM>. It should be noted that these methods describe possible implementation, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. For example, aspects of each of the methods may include steps or aspects of the other methods, or other steps or techniques described herein. Thus, aspects of the disclosure may provide for receiving on transmit and transmitting on receive. The functions described herein in the flowchart of <FIG> may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor like the processor <NUM> described in <FIG>.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical (PHY) locations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more") indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor.

Techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communications systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. IS-<NUM> Releases <NUM> and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-<NUM> (TIA-<NUM>) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as (Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)). An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE <NUM> (wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)), IEEE <NUM> (WiMAX), IEEE <NUM>, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications system (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)). 3GPP LTE and LTE-advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-a, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). The description herein, however, describes an LTE system for purposes of example, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description above, although the techniques are applicable beyond LTE applications.

In LTE/LTE-A networks, including networks described herein, the term evolved node B (eNB) may be generally used to describe the base stations. The wireless communications system or systems described herein may include a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network in which different types of eNBs provide coverage for various geographical regions. For example, each eNB or base station may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or other types of cell. The term "cell" is a 3GPP term that can be used to describe a base station, a carrier or component carrier (CC) associated with a base station, or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier or base station, depending on context.

Base stations may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point (AP), a radio transceiver, a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The geographic coverage area for a base station may be divided into sectors making up a portion of the coverage area. The wireless communications system or systems described herein may include base stations of different types (e.g., macro or small cell base stations). The UEs described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, relay base stations, and the like. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas for different technologies. In some cases, different coverage areas may be associated with different communication technologies. In some cases, the coverage area for one communication technology may overlap with the coverage area associated with another technology. Different technologies may be associated with the same base station, or with different base stations.

The DL transmissions described herein may also be called forward link transmissions while the UL transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions. Each communication link described herein including, for example, wireless communications system <NUM> of <FIG> may include one or more carriers, where each carrier may be a signal made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g., waveform signals of different frequencies). Each modulated signal may be sent on a different sub-carrier and may carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, user data, etc. The communication links described herein may transmit bidirectional communications using frequency division duplex (FDD) (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or time division duplex (TDD) operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources). Frame structures may be defined for FDD (e.g., frame structure type <NUM>) and TDD (e.g., frame structure type <NUM>).

Thus, aspects of the disclosure may provide for receiving on transmit and transmitting on receive. It should be noted that these methods describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the functions described herein may be performed by one or more other processing units (or cores), on at least one integrated circuit (IC). In various examples, different types of ICs may be used (e.g., Structured/Platform ASICs, an FPGA, or another semi-custom IC), which may be programmed in any manner known in the art. The functions of each unit may also be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodied in a memory, formatted to be executed by one or more general or application-specific processors.

Claim 1:
A method of receiving resources at a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving (<NUM>)information comprising a medium occupation and a resource block group, RBG, size from a gNB, wherein the RGB size is based on medium occupancy;
reducing resource allocation, RA, overhead by:
receiving a starting physical resource block, PRB, RBG, or interlace along with a total number of PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces to be used for transmission or reception;
spanning (<NUM>) a number of said RBs, RBGs, or interlaces across multiple channels including unoccupied channels and guard bands; and
automatically skipping (<NUM>) PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces in the guard band and in unoccupied channels to obtain the total number of PRBs, RBGs, or interlaces from usable RBs for transmission or reception.