CN117099437A

CN117099437A - User equipment, base station and method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing

Info

Publication number: CN117099437A
Application number: CN202180096603.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 生嘉
Original assignee: Huizhou TCL Cloud Internet Corp Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huizhou TCL Cloud Internet Corp Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-10-02
Filing date: 2021-10-02
Publication date: 2023-11-21
Also published as: WO2023050454A1

Abstract

User equipment, base stations, and methods for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing are provided for wireless communications in a high frequency unlicensed spectrum. A User Equipment (UE) includes processor circuitry configured to: receiving signaling comprising an ED threshold obtained at a Base Station (BS); configuring an ED threshold, wherein the beamforming gain of the beam at the BS is excluded and includes the beamforming gain of at least one beam at the UE for COT sharing; and performing at least one Listen Before Talk (LBT) time interval on the beam for COT sharing. The Base Station (BS) comprises processing circuitry configured to obtain an Energy Detection (ED) threshold; and transmitting signaling including the ED threshold.

Description

User equipment, base station and method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to methods and apparatus for cellular wireless communication in the high frequency spectrum, and in particular to user equipment, base stations and methods for COT sharing in a 5G NR system operating in the high frequency unlicensed spectrum.

Background

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the attached hereto and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

5G NR (New Radio) is the latest one in the 3GPP standards family, and one key feature of 5G NR is its ability to operate in two different frequency ranges: sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave). Since mmWave is a short-range, high-frequency wave operating above the 24GHz spectrum, which provides higher capacity, the mmWave band with wider bandwidth is becoming more dominant.

Since the mmWave band uses very high frequencies, it results in propagation loss and other undesirable qualities such as signal blocking and fading effects. To address these limitations, the 3gpp 5g NR standard defines new physical layer (layer 1) and medium access control layer (layer 2) features to support directional communication with a large number of antenna elements and to provide additional beamforming gain. Efficient beam management is critical for User Equipment (UE) and Base Stations (BS), e.g., gNodeB (gNB), to regularly identify the best beam to operate at any given point in time. Beam management refers to a set of layer 1 and layer 2 procedures for acquiring and maintaining a set of beam pair links (beam pairing used at the gNB with beam pairing used at the UE). The beam management procedure is applicable to Downlink (DL) and Uplink (UL) transmissions.

For 5G NR systems operating at higher frequencies above 52.6GHz, to minimize interference to ongoing transmissions, the transmitter device will use a Listen Before Talk (LBT) method of sensing the channel prior to the initial transmission. LBT is a technique used in wireless communication whereby a BS/UE first senses its wireless environment before starting transmission. During the sensing period, the energy in the channel is measured and compared to an Energy Detection (ED) threshold. If the received energy is below the ED threshold, the channel is considered clear and transmission can take place. After the channel is found clear (or idle) and thus available for transmission, the initiator (e.g., BS) and receiver (e.g., UE) of the transmission may continue transmitting for a duration up to a maximum Channel Occupancy Time (COT).

Technical problem

For 5G NR in unlicensed spectrum (NR-U), one of the basic operations is that if a UE has passed LBT and acquired COT in a channel, the UE may share COT with the corresponding gNB when its UL transmission is completed, and then the gNB may utilize the remaining COT for DL transmission, so-called "COT sharing". As shown in fig. 1, after the UL transmission is completed, the UE shares the COT for DL transmission with the gNB.

In order for the gNB and UE to share the COT in an appropriate manner, the gNB and UE should obtain the same channel conditions (e.g., interference levels) in the shared COT. Thus, the ED threshold at the UE should be configured according to the ED threshold at the gNB for COT sharing. In Technical Specification (TS) 37.213-g30, a higher layer parameter "ul-toDL-COT-shared-Threshold-r 16" related to the ED Threshold at the gNB is indicated to the UE for ED Threshold configuration at the UE, as shown in fig. 2, and the gNB should employ the channel related parameter (e.g., transmit power) in determining the ED Threshold at the gNB presented by the higher layer parameter. Thus, the UE employs higher layer parameters as ED threshold at the UE to compete with LBT for the channel.

Operation above 52.6GHz is highly directional, where the configuration of the antennas for transmission and reception is beamformed according to the target direction, the influence of the beamforming is studied, introducing a directional LBT to handle directional transmission and reception on unlicensed high frequency bands. For unlicensed technologies currently supported in 3GPP, LBT is performed in an omni-directional manner, and the ED threshold does not take into account beam-related parameters (including beam forming gain, beam direction, and/or beam width) for transmission and reception. If, as with NR-U R16, it is indicated to the UE by the gNB that the same ED threshold is obtained at the gNB, the UE may not know exactly how to associate the indicated ED threshold with a particular beam, and the beam-independent ED threshold may cause the COTs shared with the directional LBT to work abnormally. Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus for ED threshold configuration for sharing COT at high frequencies (especially above 52.6 GHz).

Technical proposal

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, emphasis, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Selected embodiments are further described in the detailed description that follows. Thus, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

It is an object of the application to propose a method, a user equipment and a base station for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing in high frequency spectrum.

According to a first aspect, one or more embodiments of the present application provide a method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing, the method being executable in a User Equipment (UE) for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the method comprising: receiving signaling comprising an ED threshold obtained at a Base Station (BS); configuring an ED threshold, wherein beamforming gains of beams involved at the BS are excluded and including beamforming gains of at least one beam for COT sharing at the UE; and performing at least one Listen Before Talk (LBT) time interval on the beam for COT sharing.

According to a second aspect, one or more embodiments of the present application provide a UE for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receiving signaling comprising an (ED) threshold value obtained at a Base Station (BS); and configuring an ED threshold, wherein the beamforming gains of the beams involved at the BS are excluded and the beamforming gains of at least one beam for COT sharing at the UE are included; and performing at least one Listen Before Talk (LBT) time interval on the beam for COT sharing.

According to a third aspect, one or more embodiments of the present application provide a method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing, the method being executable in a Base Station (BS) for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the method comprising: acquiring an ED threshold value; and transmitting signaling including the ED threshold, wherein the beamforming gain benefits of the beam associated with the ED threshold can be excluded from the ED threshold.

According to a fourth aspect, one or more embodiments of the present application provide a Base Station (BS) for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the BS comprising: processing circuitry configured to: acquiring an Energy Detection (ED) threshold; and transmitting signaling including the ED threshold, wherein beamforming gains for beams associated with the ED threshold can be excluded from the ED threshold.

The disclosed methods may be implemented in a chip. The chip may include a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is installed to perform the disclosed methods.

The disclosed methods may be programmed as computer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory computer readable medium, when loaded into a computer, directs the processes of the computer to perform the disclosed methods.

The non-transitory computer readable medium may include at least one of the group consisting of: hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, EPROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, and flash memory.

The disclosed methods may be programmed as a computer program product that causes a computer to perform the disclosed methods.

The disclosed methods may be programmed as a computer program that causes a computer to perform the disclosed methods.

Advantageous effects

In the disclosed method, the ED thresholds are configured with associated beam-related spatial information, which facilitates discovery of interference conditions for directed LBT, enables the UE to operate properly through configuration of ED thresholds related to beamforming gain and implicitly or implicitly provided spatial information, enables COT sharing to operate properly under various relationships of sensing and transmitting beams, and yields better throughput performance than COT sharing of ED thresholds without spatial information.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or related art, the following drawings, which will be described in the embodiments, are briefly introduced. The drawings should not be construed as limiting the application.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the COT sharing feature of UL to DL transmission.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of signaling of ED threshold sent by the gNB to the UE for COT sharing with omni-directional LBT.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of signaling of ED thresholds sent by the gNB to the UE for COT sharing with directional LBT.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a pair of beams between a gNB and a UE.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a COT sharing feature of UL transmission to DL transmission via a pair of beams.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example of multiple pairs of beams between the gNB and the UE.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example of pairs of beams between the gNB and the UE in the case where one wide beam covers several narrow beams at the gNB.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing.

Fig. 13 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing.

Fig. 14 shows a schematic diagram showing an example of pairs of beams between the gNB and the UE in the case where one wide beam covers several narrow beams at the gNB and the UE.

Fig. 15 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the disclosed method for ED threshold configuration for COT sharing.

Fig. 16 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a UE.

Fig. 17 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a BS.

Detailed Description

The following technical subject matter, structural features, achieved objects and effects will be described in detail with reference to embodiments of the present application and with reference to the following drawings. In particular, the terminology used in the embodiments of the application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the application.

Reference in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "one or more embodiments," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the application. Furthermore, the term "embodiment" throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. That is, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others.

The 5G supports FR1 band and FR2 band. FR1 is sub-6 GHz from 450MHz to 6000MHz, while FR2 is the millimeter wave (mmWave) band from 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz, the newly introduced term FR2-2 referring to high frequencies from 52.6GHz to 71 GHz. Since the mmWave band uses very high frequencies, it causes propagation loss and other losses. Directional communication (particularly for wireless communication in FR 2-2) is required to compensate for the loss. An antenna array with a large number of antenna elements is possible due to the small wavelength. This provides a beamforming gain for the RF link budget, which helps to compensate for propagation loss. Furthermore, large antenna arrays help achieve higher data rates due to spatial multiplexing techniques. These directional links require precise alignment of the transmit and receive beams.

For the process of COT sharing, as shown in fig. 16, a User Equipment (UE) 20 for high frequency wireless communication includes a processing circuit 21, the processing circuit 21 being configured to acquire a Channel Occupation Time (COT) and determine the number of remaining consecutive slots allocated to a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission to be transmitted to a Base Station (BS) 10. The UE 20 may generate Uplink Control Information (UCI) to indicate a COT shared boundary that occurs at the end of the remaining consecutive slots. The UE 20 also includes a Radio Frequency (RF) interface 22 coupled with the processor circuit 21. The RF interface 22 is configured to transmit UCI in PUSCH transmission during one of the remaining consecutive slots. The processing circuitry 21 is further configured to monitor downlink transmissions from the base station 10 after the COT shared boundary.

For the procedure of COT sharing, as shown in fig. 17, a Base Station (BS) 10 for high frequency wireless communication includes a processing circuit 11, the processing circuit 11 being configured to transmit a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message defining time domain allocation for PUSCH transmission to a UE 20, transmit a UE-specific search space (downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling of PUSCH), and receive PUSCH transmission. The BS10 also includes a Radio Frequency (RF) interface 12 coupled to the processing circuit 11. The RF interface 12 is configured to transmit DCI in a PDCCH transmission.

For unlicensed technologies currently supported in 3GPP (including Rel-16 NR-U), the baseline for performing LBT is omni-directional sensing by potential transmitters. However, operation at higher frequencies (especially for above 52.6 GHz) is highly directional, with the configuration of the antennas for transmission and reception being beam-formed according to the target direction. Thus, the potential transmitter needs to perform LBT in the same direction as its intended transmit beam direction, referred to as "directional LBT", which makes it feasible to handle directional transmission/reception on unlicensed bands and to improve spatial reuse in a more efficient manner.

Compared to a baseline omni-directional LBT, a directional LBT may result in better channel access probability and correspondingly better spatial reuse at the same ED threshold as that of the omni-directional LBT. For directional LBT, by using different ED thresholds, the expected gain is greater. The channel access gain of the directional LBT will further offset its potential signal to interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) performance penalty compared to the omni-directional LBT, which in turn will lead to better throughput performance than the omni-directional LBT.

The main idea of the present application is to provide a method for sharing the ED threshold configuration mechanism of COT in high frequency unlicensed spectrum. By the method, the ED threshold configuration considers spatial information for UL/DL transmission and beam-related parameters. Spatial information includes, but is not limited to, spatial filters, QCL types, TCI states, spatial relationships, beam widths, and/or antenna ports. The beam related parameters include, but are not limited to, beam forming gain, beam direction, and/or beam width. By using different ED thresholds, both BS and UE can more accurately discover interference situations when performing directional LBT.

In beam management operations, the gNB scans the beam, the UE selects and reports the best beam to the gNB, then the gNB refines the beam for the transmitter (gNB Tx), the UE detects and reports the best beam to the gNB, then the gNB fixes the beam, and the UE refines its receive beam. Thereafter, a set of beam pair links may be set up between the gNB and the UE. As shown in fig. 3, there is a pair of beams between the gNB 10 and the UE 20 (one beam used at the gNB is paired with the beam 30 used at the UE). Considering that the process of ED threshold measurement at the gNB can be done via the sensing beam, the computation of the ED threshold at the gNB is affected by the beamforming gain of the sensing beam, failing to reflect the actual channel conditions for transmission and reception. Thus, the ED threshold indicated to the UE should exclude the effect of the beamforming gain of the relevant beam at the gNB and should include spatial information that can associate the ED threshold with the beam paired at the UE. In the present application, the term "spatial ED threshold" is introduced here. The spatial ED threshold should be configured to include an ED threshold indicated by the gNB that may reflect the actual energy in the channel without being affected by the beamforming gain, and to include spatial information that may associate the indicated ED threshold with a corresponding beam on the UE side.

The spatial information relates to spatial relationships (including, but not limited to, spatial filters, QCL types, TCI states, spatial relationships, beam widths, and/or antenna ports) between beams at the gNB and/or UE.

As shown in fig. 4, the gNB should send signaling indicating the ED threshold to the UE via the beam-to-link. The beam-to-link between the gNB and the UE is accomplished through a beam management process. In fact, the number of beam-to-link may be one or more depending on the results of beam scanning and beam refinement by the transmitter and receiver.

In the present application, according to the function of one beam in the COT sharing, the role of each function is defined as follows:

the sensing beam on the gNB side and/or on the UE side is used for the process of measurement and calculation of the ED threshold.

The signaling beam on the gNB side is used for the procedure of the gNB sending signaling including ED threshold for COT sharing.

The shared beam on the gNB side is used for the procedure that the gNB shares the COT for DL transmission when UL transmission is completed.

For beams with the above effect on the gNB side, there is correspondingly a paired beam on the UE side, which is also done by beam management.

In one or more embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, there is a pair of beams, called beam a and beam B, respectively, between the gNB and the UE for COT sharing. Beam a at the gNB takes the roles of the sense beam, the signaling beam, and the shared beam, while beam B at the UE is paired through the process of beam management.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 100 in which spatial information for configuration of spatial ED thresholds is implicitly provided. The method 100 begins at block 110, where gNB obtains a measurement of ED threshold via beam A as a sensing beam, and gNB calculates a "modified ED threshold", where the ED threshold excludes the effect of the beamforming gain of beam A. The calculation of the ED threshold may be determined based on several factors including, but not limited to, channel bandwidth, transmit power of the wireless device, and/or transmit antenna gain of the wireless device. However, this calculation is limited by the effect of the beamforming gain of beam a. If the gNB only sends the ED threshold to the UE without modifying the LBT and COT sharing, the UE cannot associate the ED threshold with a particular beam and cannot ensure the actual channel conditions between the gNB and the UE, possibly resulting in improper UL/DL transmissions. Thus, a modified ED threshold indicated by the gNB to the UE is calculated to exclude the beamforming gain of beam a. At block 120, the gNB sends signaling including the modified ED threshold to the UE via beam a, which is used as a signaling beam. At block 130, the UE receives signaling from the gNB via beam B that includes a modified ED threshold. At block 140, the UE configures a spatial ED threshold with the modified ED threshold and a beamforming gain for beam B, and performs LBT via beam B with the spatial ED threshold. At block 150, when the UE passes the LBT and acquires the COT, the UE performs UL transmission via beam B. At block 160, the gNB utilizes the remaining COTs to perform DL transmissions via beam A, which serves as the shared beam.

Fig. 6 shows a method 100 in which the characteristics of the UL-to-DL COT sharing are beam-specific. The UE performs a full LBT via beam B and acquires the COT. During COT, the UE first transmits UL data via beam B while the gNB receives UL data via beam a. Then, the gNB performs one short LBT via beam a and transmits DL data via beam a, while the UE receives DL data via beam B. The short LBT performed by the gNB is not mandatory when the gap between UL and DL transmissions is sufficiently narrow according to the required specifications.

As an alternative to the above-described embodiments, any one or any two of the sensing, signaling and shared beams may be different beams, but with the same spatial information. For example, the beams are correlated and have the same QCL type, TCI status, and/or antenna port correlation. The method 100 may thus also be applied.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method 200 in which spatial information for configuration of a spatial ED threshold is implicitly provided and a UE knows the beamforming gain of beam a for LBT processing. The method 200 begins at block 210, where the gNB obtains a measurement of the ED threshold via beam a as a sensing beam, and the gNB calculates the ED threshold from factors including, but not limited to, channel bandwidth, transmit power of the wireless device, and/or transmit antenna gain of the wireless device. At block 210, the gNB is not required to calculate a modified ED threshold by excluding the beamforming gain of beam a from the ED threshold. At block 220, the gNB sends signaling including the ED threshold to the UE via beam a, which is used as the signaling beam. At block 230, the UE receives signaling including an ED threshold via beam B. At block 240, the UE configures a spatial ED threshold by excluding the beamforming gain of beam a from the ED threshold and including the beamforming gain of beam B to the ED threshold, and then the UE performs LBT. At block 250, when the UE passes LBT and acquires COT by using the spatial ED threshold, the UE performs UL transmission via beam B. At block 260, the gNB utilizes the remaining COTs to perform DL transmissions via beam A, which serves as the shared beam.

In one or more embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, there is a pair of beams, called beam a and beam B, respectively, between the gNB and the UE for COT sharing. Beam a at the gNB serves as the role of the sense, signaling and shared beams, while beam B at the UE is paired through the process of beam management.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 300 in which spatial information for configuration of a spatial ED threshold is explicitly provided. Spatial information includes, but is not limited to, QCL type, TCI status, spatial relationship, beam width, and/or antenna ports. As shown in fig. 4, there is a pair of beams, called beam a and beam B, respectively, between the gNB and the UE for COT sharing. Thus, the functions of the sensing beam, signaling beam, and shared beam at the gNB are assumed by the same beam (i.e., beam a), and beam B at the UE is paired with beam a.

For 5G NR, a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state is used to establish a quasi co-sited (QCL) connection between a target Reference Signal (RS) and a source RS. The TCI state is configured for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in order to transmit QCL indications for the respective RSs.

The method 300 begins at block 310, the gNB obtains a measurement of the ED threshold via beam a serving as a sensing beam, and the gNB calculates a "modified ED threshold," where the ED threshold excludes the effect of the beamforming gain of beam a. The calculation of the ED threshold is determined based on several factors, including but not limited to channel bandwidth, transmit power of the wireless device, and/or transmit antenna gain of the wireless device, and is therefore accompanied by the effect of the beamforming gain of beam A. If the gNB transmits only the ED threshold to the UE for LBT and COT sharing, the UE cannot associate the ED threshold with a particular beam and cannot ensure the actual channel conditions between the gNB and the UE, possibly resulting in improper UL/DL transmissions. Thus, the modified ED threshold indicated by the gNB to the UE excludes the effect of the beamforming gain of beam a. At block 320, the gNB sends signaling to the UE via beam a, which is used as a signaling beam, including the modified ED threshold and TCI state as spatial information. At block 330, the UE receives signaling from the gNB via beam B that includes the modified ED threshold and TCI state. At block 340, the UE checks if the TCI state matches beam B. Here, the scenario is simplified by a pair of beams between the gNB and the UE. Typically, under beam management operation, there are multiple beam pairs in pairs between the gNB and the UE. Thus, if the TCI state received by the UE does not match for beam B, the UE will select another beam for TCI state matching. At block 350, when the TCI state matches beam B, the UE configures a spatial ED threshold with the modified ED threshold and a beamforming gain of beam B, and performs LBT via beam B with the spatial ED threshold. At block 360, when the UE passes LBT and acquires COT, the UE performs UL transmission via beam B. At block 370, the gNB utilizes the remaining COTs to perform DL transmissions via beam A, which serves as the shared beam.

As an alternative to the above embodiments, the signaling including the spatial information may be RRC signaling or DCI field.

As an alternative to the above-described embodiments, any one or any two of the sensing, signaling and shared beams at the gNB may be different beams, but with the same spatial information. For example, the beams are correlated and have the same QCL type, antenna ports, TCI status, and/or spatial relationship correlations. The method 300 may also be applied. When the UE knows the beamforming gain of the sensing beam, the gNB need not calculate the modified ED threshold, and the ED threshold may be sent directly to the UE by signaling. Upon receiving the signaling, the UE may configure the spatial ED threshold by excluding the beamforming gain of the sensing beam and including the beamforming gain of the beam for COT sharing. Also, when the UE knows the beamforming gain of the shared beam, the gNB need not calculate the modified ED threshold, and can send the ED threshold directly to the UE through signaling. Upon receiving the signaling, the UE may configure the spatial ED threshold by excluding the beamforming gain of the shared beam and including the beamforming gain of the beam for the COT sharing.

Fig. 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method 400 in which spatial information for the configuration of the spatial ED threshold is explicitly provided and the UE knows the beamforming gain of beam a when performing LBT. The method 400 begins at block 410, where gNB obtains measurements for ED thresholds via beam A, which is used as a sensing beam, and the gNB calculates the ED thresholds based on factors including, but not limited to, channel bandwidth, transmit power of the wireless device, and/or transmit antenna gain of the wireless device. At block 410, the gNB is not required to calculate a modified ED threshold by excluding the beamforming gain of beam a from the ED threshold. At block 420, the gNB beam sends signaling including the ED threshold and the TCI state as spatial information to the UE via beam a, which is used as a signaling beam. At block 430, the UE receives signaling including the ED threshold and TCI state via beam B and checks whether the TCI state matches beam B. At block 440, the UE checks if the TCI state matches beam B. At block 450, when the TCI state matches beam B, the UE configures a spatial ED threshold by excluding and including the beamforming gain of beam a from and to the ED threshold, and performs LBT via beam B with the spatial ED threshold. At block 460, when the UE passes LBT and acquires COT, the UE performs UL transmission via beam B. At block 470, the gNB utilizes the remaining COTs to perform DL transmissions via beam A, which serves as the shared beam.

As an alternative to the above embodiments, there are multiple beam pairs between the gNB and the UE for COT sharing. As shown in fig. 10, the beams at gNB are beam A1 and beam A2, and the beams at the UE are beam B1 and beam B2 paired with beam A1 and beam A2, respectively. Thus, the modified ED threshold is in the form of a list or table comprising modified ED thresholds for beam A1 and beam A2, respectively. Signaling including a list or table containing modified ED thresholds for beam A1 and beam A2, respectively, may be sent via either beam A1 or beam A2. The signaling may also include spatial information for beams A1 and A2, where the spatial information is used to indicate the relationship of beams A1 and B1 and to indicate the relationship of beams A2 and B2. Beam A1 and beam A2 need not be spatially correlated. Signaling indication including spatial information may be accomplished through RRC signaling or DCI fields.

As an alternative to the above described embodiments, modified ED thresholds for beam A1 and beam A2, respectively, may be calculated and sent to the UE by different signaling via beam A1 and beam A2, respectively. Accordingly, the UE receives the modified ED threshold over beams B1 and B2.

As an alternative to the above-described embodiments, the modified or unmodified ED threshold is updated periodically or aperiodically.

In one or more embodiments, as shown in fig. 11, there are multiple pairs of beams between the gNB and the UE for COT sharing, where one wide beam covers several narrow beams. The beams at gNB are beam W, beam A1, beam A2 and beam A3, while the beams at UE are beam B1, beam B2 and beam B3 paired with beam A1, beam A2 and beam A3, respectively. The light beam W functions as a sensing light beam. Beam A1, beam A2, and beam A3 may function as signaling beams or shared beams. Beam W covers beam A1, beam A2 and beam A3, which may refer to angles included in the X dB beamwidth of the signaling beam or the shared beam being included in the X dB beamwidth of the sensing beam, where X is a value, e.g., x=3.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 500 in which spatial information for configuration of a spatial ED threshold is explicitly provided. The spatial information may include QCL type, TCI status, or antenna ports. As shown in fig. 11, the spatial information should be a set of beam related information at the gNB, e.g., several TCI states or several QCL types (e.g., QCL-D).

The method 500 begins at block 510, where gNB obtains a measurement of ED threshold via beam W, which is used as a sensing beam, and gNB calculates a "modified ED threshold", where the ED threshold excludes the effect of the beamforming gain of beam A. At block 520, the gNB sends signaling including the modified ED threshold and the TCI state as spatial information to the UE via beam a, which is used as a signaling beam. At block 530, the UE receives signaling from the gNB via beam B1 that includes the modified ED threshold and TCI state. At block 540, the UE checks if the TCI state matches beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3. At block 550, when the TCI state matches beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, the UE configures a spatial ED threshold for each beam with the modified ED threshold and the beamforming gains for beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, respectively, and performs LBT with the corresponding spatial ED thresholds via beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3. At block 560, for each beam at the UE, when the UE acquires the COT through the LBT and via beam B1, beam B2, and/or beam B3, the UE performs UL transmission via beam B1, beam B2, and/or beam B3. At block 570, the gNB performs DL transmissions with the remaining COTs via respective beams that are shared beams at the gNB, including any combination of elements in the set of beams A1, A2, and A3.

As an alternative to the above-described embodiments, the gNB may send signaling including the modified ED threshold and TCI state via any narrow beam (e.g., beam A1, beam A2, or beam A3) because these beams covered by beam W may be considered spatially correlated.

As an alternative to the above described embodiments, the signalling may be provided to the UE via a third node, which is an auxiliary node in the present application other than the gNB. The auxiliary node may be a base station, a relay or a UE.

With respect to the details of the extended beam correspondence framework and/or QCL/TCI framework, a new QCL type, referred to as QCL-E, may be introduced to define the "coverage" spatial relationship between beams W, A1, A2, and A3. For DL transmissions, the gNB may use a spatial domain sensing filter that overrides a spatial domain transmission filter for subsequent transmissions during the COT, e.g., based on new types of QCL information associated with DL Reference Signals (RSs) (or any other DL-RS QCL type along with the DL-RS) provided to the intended UE. For UL transmissions, the UE may use a spatial domain sensing filter that overrides the spatial domain transmission filter for subsequent transmissions during the COT, e.g., based on a new type of QCL information provided to the intended UE associated with the DL RS for UL transmissions (or any other DL-RS QCL type along with the DL-RS for UL transmissions).

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 600 in which spatial information for configuration of a spatial ED threshold is explicitly provided. The spatial information may include a new QCL type, referred to as "QCL-E" in the present application, configured with spatial information of beam W, beam A1, beam A2, and beam A3, as shown in fig. 11.

The method 600 begins at block 610, where gNB obtains a measurement of ED threshold via beam W, which is used as a sensing beam, and the gNB calculates a "modified ED threshold", where the ED threshold excludes the effect of the beamforming gain of beam A. At block 620, the gNB sends signaling including the modified ED threshold and QCL-E as spatial information to the UE via beam A1, which is used as a signaling beam. At block 630, the UE receives signaling from the gNB via beam B1 including the modified ED threshold and QCL-E. At block 640, the UE checks whether QCL-E matches beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3. At block 650, when QCL-E matches beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, the UE configures a spatial ED threshold for each beam with the modified ED threshold and the beamforming gains for beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, respectively, and performs LBT with the corresponding spatial ED thresholds via beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3. At block 660, for each beam at the UE, when the UE acquires the COT through the LBT and via beam B1, beam B2, and/or beam B3, the UE performs UL transmission via beam B1, beam B2, and/or beam B3. At block 670, the gNB performs DL transmission via the respective beam that is the shared beam at the gNB with the remaining COTs.

As an alternative to the above embodiment, the ED threshold may refer to several thresholds associated with wide and narrow beams having a coverage relationship as shown in fig. 11. Thus, the spatial information may include several TCI states and/or several QCL-Ds. The threshold value may be calculated by the relative spatial positions of the wide and narrow beams. The relative spatial position is described by parameters such as beam width and/or beam forming gain of a particular narrow beam relative to a wide beam in a particular direction.

In one or more embodiments, as shown in fig. 14, there are multiple pairs of beams between the gNB and the UE for COT sharing, where one wide beam covers several narrow beams and another wide beam also covers several narrow beams at the UE. At gNB, beam W covers beam A1, beam A2 and beam A3, and at UE beam V covers beam B1, beam B2 and beam B3. The light beam W functions as a sensing light beam. Beam A1, beam A2, and beam A3 may function as signaling beams or shared beams. The light beam A1, the light beam A2, and the light beam A3 are paired with the light beam B1, the light beam B2, and the light beam B3, respectively. The spatial information may include QCL type, TCI status, or antenna ports. The spatial information should be a set of beam related information, e.g. several TCI states or several QCL-D.

Fig. 15 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 700 in which spatial information for configuration of spatial ED thresholds is explicitly provided. The method 700 begins at block 710, where gNB obtains a measurement of an ED threshold via a beam W that is used as a sensing beam, and the gNB calculates a "modified ED threshold," where the ED threshold excludes the effect of the beamforming gain of beam a. At block 720, the gNB sends signaling to the UE via beam A1, which is used as a signaling beam, the signaling including the modified ED threshold and the TCI state as spatial information. At block 730, the UE receives signaling from the gNB via beam B1 including the modified ED threshold and TCI state. At block 740, the UE checks if the TCI state matches beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3. At block 750, if the TCI state matches beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, the UE configures a spatial ED threshold with the modified ED threshold and the beamforming gain of beam V, and the UE performs LBT via beam V with the spatial ED threshold, and/or the UE configures spatial ED thresholds for beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, respectively, with the modified ED threshold and the beamforming gain of beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, respectively. The UE performs LBT via beam B1, beam B2, and/or beam B3. At block 760, for each beam at the UE, when the UE acquires the COT through the LBT and via beam B1, beam B2, and/or beam B3, the UE performs UL transmission via beam B1, beam B2, and/or beam B3, respectively. At block 770, the gNB performs DL transmissions via the respective beams that are shared beams at the gNB with the remaining COTs.

As an alternative to the above embodiment, the spatial information may be QCL-E, which may define the spatial relationship between beam W, beam A1, beam A2 and beam A3. When the spatial information including QCL-E transmitted to the UE matches beam V, beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3, the spatial ED thresholds of beam B1, beam B2, and beam B3 are configured with the beamforming gain of beam V.

As an alternative to the above-described embodiments, the gNB may send signaling including the modified ED threshold and QCL-E via any narrow beam (such as beam A1, beam A2, or beam A3) because these beams are covered by the same beam (i.e., beam W).

As an alternative to the above-described embodiments, the spatial information should include the relative spatial position/misalignment of the wide beams at the gNB and the UE, with one set of narrow beams covered by the wide beam at the gNB and another set of narrow beams covered by the wide beam at the UE.

As an alternative to the above-described embodiments, while one narrow beam may be covered by more than one wide beam at the gNB, the narrow beam may be associated with several QCL-es reflecting the spatial relationship between the wide and narrow beams. Any of these several QCL-es may be associated with ED threshold signaling when signaling is provided to the UE. When any QCL-E matches the beam at the UE, the UE may configure the spatial ED threshold with the modified ED threshold.

As an alternative to all the embodiments described above, the ED threshold at the gNB may also be obtained from the Reference Signal (RS) of the DL/UL transmission (instead of measurement via the sensing beam) and then calculated accordingly. The steps of measuring and calculating the ED threshold by sensing the beam at the gNB are preferred in view of processing efficiency.

As an alternative to all the embodiments described above, the beam related parameters for the spatial ED threshold may be beam direction and/or beam width instead of beam forming gain.

The background of the application section may include background information regarding the problem or environment of the present application rather than describing the prior art by others. Thus, the inclusion of materials in the background section is not an applicant's accepted prior art.

Claims

1. A method for channel occupancy time, COT, shared energy detection, ED, threshold configuration, the method being executable in a user equipment, UE, for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the method comprising:

receiving signaling comprising an ED threshold value obtained at a base station BS;

configuring an ED threshold, wherein beamforming gains of beams involved at the BS are excluded and including beamforming gains of at least one beam for COT sharing at the UE; and

At least one listen before talk LBT time interval is performed on the beam for COT sharing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signaling comprises spatial information related to at least one pair of beams for COT sharing.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the spatial information comprises spatial filters, QCL types, TCI states, spatial relationships, and/or antenna ports.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the UE checks spatial information with the beam for COT sharing before configuring the ED threshold for the beam for COT sharing.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ED threshold is obtained via at least one sensing beam or from a reference signal, RS, for UL and/or DL transmission.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein after the UE passes the LBT, the UE acquires the COT and performs Uplink (UL) communication.

7. A user equipment, UE, for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the user equipment comprising:

processing circuitry configured to:

receiving signaling comprising an ED threshold value obtained at a base station BS; and

8. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein the signaling comprises spatial information related to at least one pair of beams for COT sharing.

9. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the spatial information comprises spatial filters, QCL types, TCI states, spatial relationships, and/or antenna ports.

10. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the UE checks spatial information with the beam for COT sharing before configuring the ED threshold for the beam for COT sharing.

11. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein the ED threshold is obtained via at least one sensing beam or from a reference signal, RS, for UL and/or DL transmission.

12. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein after the UE passes LBT, the UE acquires COT and performs uplink UL communication.

13. A method for channel occupancy time, COT, shared energy detection, ED, threshold configuration, the method being executable in a base station, BS, for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the method comprising:

acquiring an ED threshold value; and

Signaling is sent that includes an ED threshold from which beamforming gain of the beam associated with the ED threshold is excluded.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the signaling comprises spatial information related to ED threshold, the spatial information related to at least one pair of beams for COT sharing.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the spatial information comprises spatial filters, QCL types, TCI states, spatial relationships, and/or antenna ports.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the ED threshold and spatial information are obtained by measurement and calculation via at least one sensing beam.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein beamforming gain of a sensing beam is excluded from an ED threshold prior to transmitting the signaling.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the ED threshold and spatial information are obtained from a reference signal, RS, for UL and/or DL transmission.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein beamforming gain of a beam to be associated with an RS is excluded from an ED threshold before transmitting the signaling.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the BS performs downlink DL communication via at least one transmit beam for COT sharing.

21. A base station BS for wireless communication in a high frequency spectrum, the base station comprising:

processing circuitry configured to:

acquiring an ED threshold value; and

22. The base station of claim 21, wherein the signaling comprises spatial information related to at least one pair of beams for COT sharing.

23. The base station of claim 22, wherein the spatial information comprises spatial filters, QCL types, TCI states, spatial relationships, and/or antenna ports.

24. The base station of claim 21, wherein the ED threshold is obtained by measurement via at least one sensing beam and corresponding calculation.

25. The base station of claim 24, wherein the beamforming gain of the sensing beam is excluded from the ED threshold prior to transmitting the signaling.

26. The base station of claim 21, wherein the ED threshold is obtained from a reference signal, RS, for UL and/or DL transmissions.

27. The base station of claim 26, wherein beamforming gain of a beam to be associated with an RS is excluded from an ED threshold before transmitting the signaling.

28. The base station of claim 26, wherein the base station performs downlink DL communication via at least one transmit beam for COT sharing.

29. A chip, the chip comprising:

a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is installed to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 6.

30. A computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

31. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

32. A computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

33. A chip, the chip comprising:

a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is installed to perform the method according to any of claims 13 to 20.

34. A computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 13 to 20.

35. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 13 to 20.

36. A computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 13 to 20.