EP3449591A1

EP3449591A1 - COMMON PDCCH (cPDCCH) TRANSMITTED ON AN UNLICENSED CARRIER

Info

Publication number: EP3449591A1
Application number: EP16900768.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Abhijeet Bhorkar; Huaning Niu; Jeongho Jeon; Qiaoyang Ye
Original assignee: Intel IP Corp
Current assignee: Intel Corp
Priority date: 2016-04-25
Filing date: 2016-12-08
Publication date: 2019-03-06
Also published as: WO2017189044A1; EP3449591A4

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with an evolved Node B (eNB). The UE may include memory and processing circuitry coupled to the memory. The processing circuitry may be configured to perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels of an unlicensed spectrum of a secondary cell (SCell). The processing circuitry may be further configured to decode cell-specific control information in a current subframe received on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) of the SCell, the cell-specific control information indicating an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of subsequent UL subframes forming an UL burst. In response to receipt of an UL grant associated with the UL burst, the processing circuitry may be configured to schedule a transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration to an evolved Node B (eNB).

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to United States

Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/327,256, filed on April 25, 2016, and entitled "COMMON PDCCH TRANSMITTED ON SCELL," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to wireless networks including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3 GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3 GPP LTE-A. (LTE Advanced) networks, MulteFire networks, and 5G networks, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Some embodiments relate to a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) transmitted on an unlicensed carrier. In an example, the unlicensed carrier may be transmitted in a secondary cell (SCell), in a primary cell (PCeli), or both (e.g., in a MulteFire system).

BACKGROUND

[0003] With the increase in different types of devices communicating with various network devices, usage of 3 GPP LTE systems has increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UEs) in modern society has continued to drive demand for a wide variety of networked devices in a number of disparate environments. The use of networked UEs using 3GPP LTE systems has increased in all areas of home and work life. Fifth generation (5G) wireless systems are forthcoming, and are expected to enable even greater speed, connectivity, and usability.

[0004] LTE and LTE-advanced are standards for wireless communication of high-speed data for user equipment (UE) such as mobile telephones. In LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technology where multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some embodiments, carrier aggregation may be used where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies.

[0005] An enhancement for LTE in 3 GPP Release 13 is enable operation in the unlicensed spectrum via Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), which expands the system bandwidth by utilizing the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework. Potential LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum may include LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC) or the standalone LTE system in the unlicensed spectrum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIO OF THE FIGURES

[0006] In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not limitation, in the following figures of the accompanying drawings.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system including an evolved node B (eNB) and a user equipment (UE) that may operate in a wireless telecommunications network according to some embodiments described herein.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a User Equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates example transmission of common PDCCH to indicate cell-specific control information (CCCI) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates an example timing diagram of cross-burst scheduling using uplink burst identification, in accordance with an example embodiment.

? [0012] FIG. 6 illustrates an example timing diagram of using enhanced and short PUCCH based on CCCL in accordance with an example

embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 7 illustrates example CCCI, in accordance with an example embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating example functionalities for communicating information using a common PDCCH, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device such as an eNB or a UE, in accordance with some embodiments,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Embodiments relate to systems, devices, apparatus, assemblies, methods, and computer readable media to enhance wireless communications, and particularly to communication systems that operate with carrier aggregation, license-assisted access (LAA), enhanced LAA (eLAA) and MulteFire communications. The following description and the drawings illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments can incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments can be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments, and are intended to cover all available equivalents of the elements described.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system including an evolved node B (eNB) and a user equipment (UE) that may operate in a wireless telecommunications network according to some embodiments described herein. The wireless network system 100 includes a UE 104 and an eNB 120 connected via an air interface 190. UE 104 and eNB 120 communicate using a system that supports carri er aggregation and the use of unlicensed frequency bands, such that the air interface 90 supports multiple frequency carriers, and licensed as well as unlicensed bands. A component earner 180 and a component carrier 185 are illustrated in FIG. 1. Although two component earners are illustrated, various embodiments may include any number of two or more component carriers. Various embodiments may function with any number of licensed channels and any number of unlicensed channels.

[0018] Additionally, in various embodiments described herein, at least one of the component carriers 180, 185 of the air interface 190 comprises a carrier operating in an unlicensed frequency, referred to herein as an unlicensed carrier. An "unlicensed carrier" or "unlicensed frequency" refers to a range of radio frequencies that are not exclusively set aside for the use of the system. Some frequency ranges, for example, may be used by

communication systems operating under different communication standards, such as a frequency band that is used by both Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 1 standards (e.g., "WiFi") and third generation partnership (3GPP) standards, including LTE and LTE-Advanced, as well as enhancements to LTE (as discussed herein below). By contrast, a "licensed channel" or "licensed spectrum" operates under a particular standard, with limited concern that other unexpected signals operating on different standards will be present,

[0019] Communication over an LTE network may be split up into

10ms frames, each of which contains ten 1ms subframes. Each subframe, in turn, may contain two slots of 0.5ms. Each slot may contain 6-7 symbols, depending on the system used, A resource block (RB) (also called physical resource block (PRB )) may be the smallest unit of resources that can be allocated to a UE. A resource block may be 180 kHz wide in frequency and 1 slot long in time. In frequency, resource blocks may be either 12 x 15 kHz subcarriers or 24 x 7.5 kHz subcarriers wide. For most channels and signals, 12 subcarriers may be used per resource block. In Frequency Division

Duplexed (FDD) mode, both the uplink and downlink frames may be 10ms and may be frequency (full-duplex) or time (half-duplex) separated. In Time Division Duplexed (TDD), the uplink and downlink subframes may be transmitted on the same frequency and may be multiplexed in the time domain. A downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from an eNB to a UE. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Each column and each row of the resource grid may correspond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain may correspond to one slot. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid may be denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid may comprise a number of the above resource blocks, which descri be the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block may comprise 12 (subcarriers) * 14 (symbols) == 168 resource elements.

[0020] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from the eNB 120 to the UE 104, while uplink transmission from the UE 104 to the eNB 20 may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time- frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid correspond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element (RE). Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks (RBs), which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements in the frequency domain and may represent the smallest quanta of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks. Two example physical downlink channels are the physical downlink shared channel and the physical down link control channel.

[0021] There may be several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks. Two of these physical downlink channels may be the physical down link control channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Each subframe may be partitioned into the PDCCH and the PDSCH,

[0022] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to the UE 104. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It also informs the UE 104 about the transport format, resource allocation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (e.g., assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 104 within a cell) may be performed at the eNB 120 based on channel quality information fed back from the UE 104 to the eNB 120, and then the downlink resource assignment information may be sent to the UE 104 on the control channel (PDCCH) used for (assigned to) the UE 104.

[0023] The PDCCH uses CCEs (control channel elements) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the

PDCCH complex- valued symbols are first organized into quadruplets, which are then permuted using a sub-block inter-leaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH is transmitted using one or more of these control channel elements (CCEs), where each CCE corresponds to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four QPSK symbols are mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of downlink control information (DO) and the channel condition. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=l , 2, 4, or 8),

[0024] An enhancement for LTE in 3 GPP Release 13 has been to enable its operation with focus on downlink (DL) transmission in the unlicensed spectrum via Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), which expands the system bandwidth by utilizing the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework introduced by the LTE- Advanced system. Enhanced operation of LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems. The Release 13 LAA design has been augmented with uplink (UL) access via enhanced LAA, or eLAA, during Release 14. LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC), and the standalone LTE system in the unlicensed spectrum, where LTE-based technology solely operates in unlicensed spectrum without requiring an "anchor" in licensed spectrum - called MulteFire. MulteFire, combining the performance benefits of LTE technology with the simplicity of Wi-Fi-like deployments, is envisioned as a significantly important technology component to meet the ever-increasing wireless traffic.

[0025] Embodi ments described herein may fall in the scope of the standalone LTE system in the unlicensed spectrum including but not limited to MulteFire (MF), the next release LAA system (e.g., eLAA), which enables UL operation, 5G unlicensed system, and DC based LAA system. A common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) may be used to indicate current and previous subframe duration of the DL burst in a number of OFDM symbols. DCI format 1 C may be used for the common PDCCH. Format 1C may support up to 5 information bits. In contrast to Release 13 LAA, MF and eLAA support UL transmission. Embodiments described herein may use the common PDCCH to signal additional content, such as DL/UL

configuration, duration of an UL burst, presence of PUCCH, burst

identification when cross-burst scheduling is used by the eNB, and so forth, [0026] Embodiments described herein for coexistence may operate within the wireless network system 100. In the wireless network system 100, the UE 104 and any other UE in the system may be, for example, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, printers, machine-type devices such as smart meters or specialized devices for healthcare monitoring, remote security surveillance systems, intelligent transportation systems, or any other wireless devices with or without a user interface. The eNB 120 provides the UE 104 network connectivity to a broader network (not shown). The UE 104 connectivity is provided via the air interface 190 in an eNB service area provided by the eNB 120. In some embodiments, such a broader network may be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider, or may be the Internet. Each eNB service area associated with the eNB 120 is supported by antennas integrated with the eNB 120. The service areas may be divided into a number of sectors associated with certain antennas. Such sectors may be physically associated with fixed antennas or may be assigned to a physical area, with tunable antennas or antenna settings adjustable in a beamforming process used to direct a signal to a particular sector. One embodiment of the eNB 120, for example, includes three sectors each covering a 120-degree area with an array of antennas directed to each sector to provide a 360-degree coverage around the eNB 120. [0027] The UE 104 includes control circuitry 105 coupled with transmit circuitry 1 10 and receive circuitry 115. The transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may each he coupled with one or more antennas. The control circuitry 105 may be adapted to perform operations associated with wireless communications using carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 1 10 and receive circuitry 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. The control circuitry 05 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure related to a UE. The transmit circuitry 110 may transmit a plurality of multiplexed uplink physical channels. The plurality of uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) along with carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 1 10 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuitry 105 for transmission across the air interface 190. Similarly, the receive circuitry 115 may receive a plurality of multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 190 and relay the physical channels to the control circuitry 105. The uplink and downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to FDM. The transmit circuitry 1 10 and the receive circuitry 1 5 may transmit and receive both control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, video, et cetera) structured within data blocks that are carried by the physical channels.

[0028] FIG. 1 also illustrates the eNB 120, in accordance with various embodiments. The eNB 120 circuitry may include control circuitry 155 coupled with transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165. The transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165 may each be coupled with one or more antennas that may be used to enable communications via the air interface 190.

[0029] The control circuitry 155 may be adapted to perform operations for managing channels and component carriers used with various UEs. The transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, to and from any UE connected to the eNB 120. The transmit circuitry 160 may transmit downlink physical channels comprised of a plurality of downlink subframes. The receive circuitry 165 may receive a plurality of uplink physical channels from various UEs including the UE 104, The plurality of uplink physical channels may he multiplexed according to FDM in addition to the use of carrier aggregation.

[0030] As mentioned above, the communications across the air interface 190 may use carrier aggregation, where multiple different component carriers 180, 185 can be aggregated to cany information between the UE 104 and the eNB 120. Such component carriers 180, 185 may have different bandwidths, and may be used for uplink communications from the UE 104 to the eNB 120, downlink communications from the eNB 120 to the UE 104, or both. Such component carriers 180, 185 may cover similar areas, or may cover different but overlapping sectors. The radio resource control (RRC) connection may be handled by only one of the component carrier ceils, which may be referred to as the primary component carrier, with the other component carriers referred to as secondary component carriers. In some embodiments, the primary component carrier is provided by a primary cell (PCeli) and may be operating in a licensed band to provide efficient and conflict-free communications. This primary channel may be used for scheduling other channels including unlicensed channels. In this regard, the PCell is the main cell with which the UE 104 communicates and maintains its connection with the network.

[0031] In an example, one or more secondary cells (SCells) can also be allocated and activated to UEs supporting carrier aggregation using licensed and unlicensed bands (e.g., UL and DL communication based on eLAA and MF).

[0032] In operation, the wireless telecommunications network 100 may include a capability for the eNodeB 120 and the UE 104 to communicate over licensed spectrum. The wireless telecommunications network 100 may also include a capability for the eNodeB 120 and the UE 104 to communicate over unlicensed spectrum (e.g., one or more 5GHz bands). In some examples of contemporaneous transmission over licensed and unlicensed spectrum, the licensed spectrum transmission may be a primary cell (PCeli) transmission, and the unlicensed spectrum transmissions may be secondary cell (SCell) transmissions. For communication over the PCeli and the SCell, the wireless telecommunications network 100 may use a self-contained frame structure in which control signaling and data may be transmitted with a single subframe in a time-division multiplexing (TDM) manner.

[0033] As used herein, the term circuitry may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware. Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware or software.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of a User Equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 200 may be suitable for use as a UE 104 as depicted in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the UE 200 may include application circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 206, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 208, and multiple antennas 210A-210D, coupled together at least as shown. In some embodiments, other circuitry or arrangements may include one or more elements or components of the application circuitry 202, the baseband circuitry 204, the RF circuitry 206 or the FEM circuitry 208, and may also include other elements or components in some cases. As an example, "processing circuitry" may include one or more elements or components, some or all of which may be included in the application circuitry 202 or the baseband circuitry 204. As another example, "transceiver circuitry" may include one or more elements or components, some or all of which may be included in the RF circuitry 206 or the FEM circuitry 208. These examples are not limiting, however, as the processing circuitry or the transceiver circuitry may also include other elements or components in some cases.

[0035] The application circuitry 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 may- include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi - core processors. The processorfs) may include any combination of general- purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc). The processors may be coupled with or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system to perform one or more of the functionalities described herein.

[0036] The baseband circuitry 204 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 204 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 206 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206. Baseband processing circuity 204 may interface with the application circuitry 202 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF^' circuitry 206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 204a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 204b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204c, or other baseband processorfs) 204d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 204a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable

communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 206. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), preceding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality, optionally alongside other techniques such as, for example, block codes, convolutional codes, turbo codes, or the like, which may be used to support legacy protocols.

Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0037] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 204e of the baseband circuitry 204 may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP or RRC layers. In some

embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processors) (DSP) 204f. The audio DSP(s) 204f may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.

Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some

embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 204 and the application circuitry 202 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on chip (SOC).

[0038] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMA ), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 204 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0039] RF circuitry 206 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network, RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 208 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 204. RF circuitry 206 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up- convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 208 for transmission,

[0040] In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 206 may include mixer circuitry 206a, amplifier circuitry 206b and filter circuitry 206c, The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206 may- include filter circuitry 206c and mixer circuitry 206a. RF circuitry 206 may also include synthesizer circuitry 206d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF^' signals received from the FEM circuitry 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 206d. The amplifier circuitry 206b may be configured to amplify the down- converted signals and the filter circuitry 206c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although thi s is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 206d to generate RF^' output signals for the FEM circuitry 208, The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 206c. The filter circuitry 206c may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0041] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature

downconversion or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a may be arranged for direct downconversion or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation,

[0042] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate

embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may^¬ be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 206. In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0043] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206d may be a fractional -N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 206d may be a delta-si gma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. The synthesizer circuitry 206d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206a of the RF circuitry 206 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206d may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer. In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 204 or the applications processor 202 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 202.

[0044] Synthesizer circuitry 206d of the RF circuitry 206 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DP A), In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+l (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0045] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 206d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[0046] FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more of the antennas 210A-D, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for further processing. FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 206 for tra smission by one or more of the one or more antennas 210A-D.

[0047] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 208 may include a

TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF^' circuitry 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 208 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 206), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 210. In some embodiments, the UE 200 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface,

[0048] FIG. 3 is a functional diagram of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) in accordance with some embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the eNB 300 may be a stationary non-mobile device. The eNB 300 may be suitable for use as an eNB 120 as depicted in FIG. 1. The components of eNB 300 may be included in a single device or a plurality of devices. The eNB 300 may include physical layer (PHY) circuitry 302 and a transceiver 305, one or both of which may enable transmission and reception of signals to and from the UE 200, other eNBs, other UEs or other devices using one or more antennas 301 A-B. As an example, the physical layer circuitry 302 may perform various encoding and decoding functions that may include formation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. For example, physical layer circuitry 302 may include LDPC encoder/decoder functionality, optionally along-side other techniques such as, for example, block codes, convolutionai codes, turbo codes, or the like, which may be used to support legacy protocols. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. As another example, the transceiver 305 may perform various transmission and reception functions such as conversion of signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range. Accordingly, the physical layer circuitry 302 and the transceiver 305 may be separate components or may be part of a combined component. In addition, some of the described functionality related to transmission and reception of signals may be performed by a combination that may include one, any or all of the physical layer circuitry 302, the transceiver 305, and other components or layers. The eNB 300 may also include medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry 304 for controlling access to the wireless medium. The eNB 300 may also include processing circuitry 306 and memory 308 arranged to perform the operations described herein. The eNB 300 may also include one or more interfaces 310, which may enable communication with other components, including other eNB 104 (FIG. 1), components in the EPC 120 (FIG. 1) or other network components. In addition, the interfaces 310 may enable communication with other components that may not be shown in FIG. 1 , including components external to the network. The interfaces 310 may be wired or wireless or a combination thereof.

[0049] The antennas 210 A-D (in the UE) and 301 A-B (in the eNB) may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas 210A-D, 301 A-B may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

[0050] In some embodiments, the UE 200 or the eNB 300 may be a mobile device and may be a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a wearable device such as a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that may receive or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, the UE 200 or eNB 300 may be configured to operate in accordance with 3 GPP standards, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Mobile devices or other devices in some embodiments may be configured to operate according to other protocols or standards, including IEEE 802.1 1 or other IEEE standards. In some embodiments, the UE 200, eNB 300 or other device may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memon,' port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

[0051] Although the UE 200 and the eNB 300 are each illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field- programmable gate arrays FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0052] Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memon,' (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

[0053] It should be noted that in some embodiments, an apparatus used by the UE 200 or eNB 300 may include various components of the UE 200 or the eNB 300 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Accordingly, techniques and operations described herein that refer to the UE 200 (or 104) may be applicable to an apparatus for a UE. In addition, techniques and operations described herein that refer to the eNB 300 (or 120) may be applicable to an apparatus for an eNB.

[0054] Even though specific durations (e.g., time interval duration, transmission time etc.) and specific bit sequence sizes are mentioned herein, the disclosure may not be limited in this regard, and specific numbering designations are for illustrative purposes only.

[0055] FIG. 4 illustrates example transmission of common PDCCH to indicate cell-specific control information (CCCI) in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a sequence 400 including a plurality of subframes (SFs) 402a, ... , 402i. Subframes, 402a- 402c may be downlink (DL) subframes, and subframes 402f - 402i may be uplink (UL) subframes. One or more blank subframes (e.g., 402d, 402e) may separate the DL and the UL subframes.

[0056] In an example, the eNB (e.g., 120) may transmit cell-specific control information (CCCI) (e.g., 406, 410) using a common PDCCH

(cPDCCH) in a secondary cell (SCell). As seen in FIG. 4, the cPDCCH (e.g., 404a, 404b, 404c) is transmitted at the beginning of DL subframes (e.g., 402a, 402b, 402c). In an example, the CCCI may include information that is common to UEs within an SCell of the eNB (e.g., an SCell based on using one or more unlicensed frequency bands, such as during enhanced LAA or MulteFire communication scenarios, using the unlicensed frequency band for UL and DL communications). The CCCI may be scrambled by the eNB using a common control radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI), which is known by the UEs within the SCell. The UEs receiving the CCCI on the cPDCCH may use the CC-RNTI to descramble/decode the CCCI and obtain the information within the CCCI, as explained herein.

[0057] In an example, flexible frame structure can be adopted in eLAA/MF communication networks, where any subframe can be uplink (UL) or downlink (DL). Given that the UL scheduling grant can be transmitted by UE-specific PDCCH, if a UE is not scheduled on a subframe, it has no prior knowledge on the type of that subframe. In this case, the UE would keep monitoring the PDCCH (including the common PDCCH) in every subframe where it has not been scheduled. This is undesirable in terms of power consumption at UEs. To overcome this issue, the e B can use the cPDCCH (e.g., 404a) to signal the nature of a given subframe (UL or DL) some time before the subframe to assist the UE in saving power and not having to monitor each subframe transmitted by the eNB. Thus, the cPDCCH can be used to signal the nature of the subframes, including the signaling time and the contents to be signaled. The indication information of the subframe type can be signaled in CCCI in every DL subframe. For example, the indication information that subframe number n is an UL subframe can be transmitted on subframe (n-2) and (n-1). Additionally, and as an example, the CCCI (e.g., 406) can include one or more bits to indicate current and next DL subframe duration (e.g., in OFDM symbols),

[0058] In an example, the CCCI within the cPDCCH may include an

UL burst duration for an UL grant in one or more subsequent subframes. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the eNB 120 may indicate subframes 402f - 402i as an uplink type frames, forming an uplink transmission opportunity with a burst duration of 414. The UL burst duration may be expressed in terms of a number of subframes (i.e., UL burst duration 414 is 4 for the UL frames 402f - 402i). The CCCI (e.g., 406) in the cPDCCH (e.g., 404b) may use up to 4 bits to indicate the duration of an UL burst of up to 10 subframes within a transmission opportunity in a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) 412. Put another way, the UL burst duration 414 is the number of consecutive subframes belonging to the same channel occupancy (i.e., MCOT 412), with the DL subframes in the same channel occupancy signaling the UL burst duration,

[0059] In an example, the eNB may indicate a subframe burst to include downlink (D) or uplink (U) subframes as follows - D...UUUDUU (i.e. a burst may contain D followed by U followed by D and then U). The duration of the UL burst in this case is the number of subframe from the start of the first U subframe after the first D subframe until the last U subframe that follows the first D subframe and is prior to the second D subframe. [0060] In an example, the CCCI within the cPDCCH may further include a relative offset (e.g., a number of subframes) from the DL subframe indicating the UL configuration to the start of the UL burst. In instances when cPDCCH indicates the DL/UL configuration in subframe n-d and the first UL subframe is present in subframe n, then cPDCCH may indicate the relative offset d.

[0061] In the example UL burst illustrated in FIG. 4, CCCI 406 in cPDCCH 404b in DL subframe 402b may indicate an UL burst duration and an offset as pair 408 (UL burst duration is 4 (four subframes 402f - 402i forming the UL burst) and offset is 4 (four subframes 402b - 402e until the start of the UL burst)). Similarly, CCCI 410 in cPDCCH 404c in DL subframe 402c may indicate an UL burst duration and an offset as pair 412 (UL burst duration is 4 (four subframes 402f - 402i forming the UL burst) and offset is 3 (three subframes 402c - 402e until the start of the UL burst)).

[0062] In an example, the eNB 120 may use an earlier subframe (e.g., a PDCCH in a subframe earlier than 402a) to provide a Category 4 Listen- before-talk (LBT) grant to the UE 104. However, the UE 104 may override the previously indicated Category 4 LBT and switch to a single interval LBT if the scheduled UL subframes (e.g., 402f - 402i) are contained within the UL burst duration.

[0063] In an example, the UE 104 may not be required to receive any

DL signals or channels in a subframe indicated to be an UL subframe.

[0064] In an example, the UL burst duration and the offset may be expressed jointly as a single bit sequence within the CCCI transmitted on the cPDCCH. For example, the offset value can be selected from the set { 1, 2, 3,

4, 6}, and the UL burst duration value can be selected from the set { 1 , 2, 3, 4,

5, 6}. A single n-bit word may then be generated (e.g., by using a look-up table) to represent the offset and the UL burst duration. In an example, a 5-bit word may be used (e.g., 00000 may represent offset of 1 SF and UL burst duration of 1 SF; 00001 may represent an offset of 1 SF and a burst duration of 2 SFs; 111 1 1 may represent an offset of 6 SF and a burst duration of 6 SFs; and so forth). In yet another example, separate bit sequences (e.g., 2 bits) may be used for each of the burst duration and the offset within the CCCI, [0065] FIG. 5 illustrates an example timing diagram 500 of cross-burst scheduling using uplink burst identification, in accordance with an example embodiment. An eNB may schedule an UE without fixed time relationship between grant and UL transmission. In this case, UE may need to differentiate between different bursts when it is scheduled with cross-burst scheduling.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 5, the eNB 502 and the UE 504 may operate in a cross-burst scheduling scenario. For example, there may be other UEs that are scheduled between an UL grant for the current UE and an UL scheduled transmission. When a cross-burst-scheduled UE misses a common PDCCH indicating the start of the scheduled transmission burst, it is possible that the UE may attempt to transmit in the next detected transmission burst, whose scheduling may not be identical to the one that the UE is aware of. In this regard, when the UE receive the cPDCCH in error, a subsequent UL burst will see a collision as two or more UEs may transmit at the same time during the same UL burst. In an example, N-bit toggling for a burst identification (ID) may be used to indicate start of a new UL. In an example, N may be 2 and 2-bit burst ID may be used (e.g., burst-ID for cPDCCH in consecutive bursts can be 00,01,10, 11). Burst IDs of other lengths may also be used.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 5, at 510, an UL grant 512 may be transmitted to the UE 504 on a PDCCH. The eNB 502 may also transmit a burst ID 514 together with the UL grant 512, At 520, the eNB 502 may transmit CCCI including an LIL burst duration 522, an offset 524 and the same burst ID 514 on a cPDCCH. At 530, after the UE 504 has matched the burst ID received at the time of the UL grant 512 with the burst ID received on the cPDCCH, the UE 504 may initiate the UL transmission during the designated UL burst.

[0068] FIG. 6 illustrates an example timing diagram 600 of using enhanced and short PUCCH based on CCCI, in accordance with an example embodiment. In an example, the enhanced and short PUCCH may be used in a MuiteFire communication system. Referring to FIG. 6, at 620, the eNB 602 may transmit CCCI 610 on a cPDCCH. The CCCI610 may include an indicator 612 for availability of an enhanced physical uplink control channel (ePUCCH), and an indicator 614 for availability of a short physical uplink control channel (sPUCCH). In instances when sPUCCH is available, at 624, the UE 604 may transmit periodic channel state information (CSI) 622 on the sPUCCH. The sPUCCH may use 4 symbols (first 2 symbols may be reference symbols, and the last 2 symbols may be used to send data).

[0069] In instances when ePUCCH is available, at 628, the UE 604 may transmit aperiodic channel state information (CSI) 626 on the ePUCCH. The ePUCCH may use 14 symbols in 4 UL subframes (first 4 symbols may be reference symbols, and the last 10 symbols may be used to send data).

[0070] FIG. 7 illustrates example CCCI, in accordance with an example embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, the CCCI 702 may be used in a MulteFire communication system, and may include: a 4-bit duration indicator 703a of current and next DL subframe; a 1-bit indicator 703b of an offset associated with an UL burst; a 1-bit indicator 703c of a presence of sPUCCH; a 1-bit indicator 703d of a presence of ePUCCH; a 4-bit indicator 703 e of a burst duration; and a 2-bit burst ID 703 f.

[0071] The CCCI 704 may be used in an eLAA communication system, which may use only regular PUCCH (and not ePUCCH and sPUCCH). the CCCI 704 may include: a 4-bit duration indicator 705a of current and next DL subframe; a 1-bit indicator 705b of an offset associated with an UL burst; a 4-bit indicator 705c of a burst duration; and a 2-bit burst ID 705d.

[0072] Even though specific bit lengths are indicated in FIG. 7 for each of the CCCI 702 and 704, the disclosure is not limited in this regard and other bit lengths may be used as well.

[0073] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating example functionalities for communicating information using a common PDCCH, in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 8, the example method 800 may start at 802 when the UE 104 may perform a listen-bef ore-talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels of an unlicensed spectrum of a secondary cell (SCell) of the eNB 120. At 804, the UE 104 may decode cell-specific control information (e.g., 406) in a current subframe (e.g., 402b) received on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) (e.g., 404b) of the SCell. The cell-specific control information (e.g., 406) may indicate an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of subsequent UL subframes forming an UL burst. For example, the CCCI 06 may indicate a burst duration-offset pair 408, indicating an UL burst of 4 subframes starting at subframe 402f. At 806, in response to receipt of an UL grant associated with the UL burst, the UE 104 may schedule a transmi ssion of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration to the eNB 120.

[0074] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device such as an eNB or a UE, in accordance with some embodiments. In alternative embodiments, the communication device 900 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other

communication devices. In a networked deployment, the communication device 900 may operate in the capacity of a server communication device, a client communication device, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the communication device 900 may act as a peer

communication device in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The communication device 900 may be a UE, eNB, PC, a tablet PC, a STB, a PDA, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any communication device capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that communication device. Further, while only a single communication device is illustrated, the term "communication device" shall also be taken to include any collection of communication devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

[0075] Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a module that operates to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a communication device readable medium. In an example, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

[0076] Accordingly, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, where the modules comprise a general- purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as respective different modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time.

[0077] Communication device (e.g., UE) 900 may include a hardware processor 902 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memon,' 904 and a static memory 906, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 908. The communication device 900 may further include a display unit 910, an alphanumeric input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 914 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 910, input device 912 and UI navigation device 914 may be a touch screen display. The communication device 900 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit) 916, a signal generation device 918 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 920, and one or more sensors 921 , such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, acceierometer, or other sensor. The communication device 900 may include an output controller 928, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

[0078] The storage device 916 may include a communication device readable medium 922 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 924 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 924 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 904, within static memory 906, or within the hardware processor 902 during execution thereof by the communication device 900. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 902, the main memor 904, the static memon,' 906, or the storage device 916 may constitute communication device readable media.

[0079] While the communication device readable medium 922 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "communication device readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 924.

[0080] The term "communication device readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device 900 and that cause the communication device 900 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting communication device readable medium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of

communication device readable media may include; non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read- Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD- ROM and DVD-ROM: disks. In some examples, communication device readable media may include non-transitory communication device readable media. In some examples, communication device readable media may include communication device readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

[0081] The instructions 924 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 926 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 920 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks). Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 1 fami ly of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a Long Term E;voiution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device 920 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network 926. In an example, the network interface device 920 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SEMO), MEMO, or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device 920 may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MEMO techniques. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device 900, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate

communication of such software.

[0082] Additional notes and examples:

[0083] Example 1 is an apparatus of an evolved Node B (e^'NB), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured to: perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels of an unlicensed spectrum of a secondary cell (SCell), the LBT procedure associated with a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT); scramble cell-specific control information with common control radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) of the SCell; and encode the scrambled cell- specific control information for transmission to a user equipment (LIE) on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) of the SCell, wherein the cell-specific control information indicates an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of subsequent subframes forming the UL burst, the UL burst for completion within the MCOT and while the UE is connected to a primary cell (PCell) operating on one or more channels of a licensed spectrum.

[0084] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: retrieve the cell- specific control information from the memory, wherein the cell-specific control information further includes an offset, wherein the offset indicates a number of subframes from a current subframe including the encoded control information to a first UL subframe of the UL burst.

[0085] In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 optionally includes wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to; encode the UL burst duration and the offset as a single bit sequence within the cell- specific control information.

[0086] In Example 4, the subject matter of Example 3 optionally includes -bit sequence,

[0087] In Example 5, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 3-4 optionally include wherein the UL burst duration is selected from the group consisting of { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6} subframes, and the offset is selected from the group consisting of { 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6} subframes.

[0088] In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 2-5 optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode the UL burst duration and the offset as separate bit sequences within the cell-specific control information.

[0089] In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-6 optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode downlink control information (DCI) for transmission to the LIE via a PDCCH of the SCell, the DCI including UL grant information to the UE for the UL subframes forming the UL burst.

[0090] In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 7 optionally includes wherein the DCI includes a single bit indicating whether the UL grant is a triggered.

[0091] In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 optionally includes wherein when the single bit indicates the UL grant is triggered, the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode a second DCI for transmission to the UE via the PDCCH, the second DCI including a one-bit trigger for triggering the UL burst.

[0092] In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-9 optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode a current subframe for transmission on the cPDCCH within the SCell, wherein the current subframe comprises subframe type information indicating a subframe type for at least one subsequent subframe,

[0093] In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 10 optionally includes wherein the subframe type is one of a downlink (DL) subframe or an UL subframe.

[0094] In Example 12, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 10- 1 1 optionally include wherein the current subframe further indicates signaling time for the at least one subsequent subframe.

[0095] In Example 13, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-12 optionally include wherein the cell-specific control information further comprises one or more bits indicating presence of a short physical uplink control channel (sPUCCH) within the SCell.

[0096] In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 optionally includes wherein the one or more bits within the cell-specific control information further indicating presence of an enhanced physical uplink control channel (ePUCCH) within the SCell,

[0097] In Example 15, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-14 optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode downlink control information (DCI) for transmission to the LIE via a PDCCH of the SCell, the DCI including UL grant information to the UE for the UL subframes forming the UL burst, wherein the DCI is transmitted prior to the cell-specific control information, and wherein the UL grant comprises a burst identification (ID) of the UL burst.

[0098] In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15 optionally includes wherein the cell -specific control information further comprises the burst ID to enable the UE to toggle transmission of the UL burst based on matching of the burst ID received with the UL grant and the burst ID received with the cell-specific control information.

[0099] In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16 optionally includes

[00100] In Example 18, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 16-17 optionally include

[00101] Example 19 is an apparatus of User Equipment (LIE), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured to: perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels of an unlicensed spectrum of a secondary cell (SCell);

decode cell-specific control information in a current subframe received on a common physical downlink control channel (c-PDCCH) of the SCell, the cell- specific control information indicating an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of subsequent UL subframes forming an UL burst, and in response to receipt of an U L grant associated with the UL burst, schedule a transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration to an evolved Node B (eNB).

[00102] In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 optionally includes wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: decode downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the SCell to obtain the UL grant.

[00103] In Example 21 , the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 19-20 optionally include wherein the cell-specific control information further includes an offset, wherein the offset indicates a number of subframes from the current subframe to a first UL subframe of the UL burst. [00104] In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 optionally includes wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: decode the cell-specific control information to obtain a single bit sequence; and obtain the UL burst duration and the offset using the single bit sequence.

[00105] In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 19-22 optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: decode the cell-specific control information to obtain a first availability indicator of a short physical uplink control channel (sPUCCH) within the SCell.

[00106] In Example 24, the subject matter of Example 23 optionally includes wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: decode the cell-specific control information to obtain a second availability indicator of an enhanced physical uplink control channel (ePUCCH) within the SCell.

[00107] In Example 25, the subject matter of Example 24 optionally includes wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: upon detecting availability of sPUCCH using the first availability indicator, encoding periodic channel state information (CSI) for transmission to the eNB on the sPUCCH.

[00108] In Example 26, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 24-25 optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: upon detecting availability of ePUCCH using the second availability indicator, encoding aperiodic CSI for transmission to the eNB on the ePUCCH.

[00109] In Example 27, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 19-26 optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: decode the cell-specific control information using common control radio network temporar' identifier (CC-RNTI) of the SCell.

[00110] Example 28 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the one or more processors to configure the UE to: decode downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell (SCell) to obtain an UL grant: decode cell- specific control information in a current subframe received on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) of the SCell, the cell-specific control information indicating an offset and an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of UL subframes forming the UL burst, wherein the offset indicates a number of subframes from the current subframe to a first UL subframe of the UL burst; and in response to receipt of the UL grant and the cell-specifi c control information, schedule a transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration to an evolved Node B (eNB),

[00111] In Example 29, the subject matter of Example 28 optionally includes wherein the UL grant comprises a first burst identifier, and the cell- specific control information comprises a second burst identifier associated with the UL burst.

[00112] In Example 30, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 28-29 optionally include wherein the one or more processors further configure the UE to: schedule the transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration upon successful matching of the second burst identifier with the first burst identifier,

[00113] In Example 31 , the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 28-30 optionally include wherein the one or more processors further configure the UE to: decode the cell-specific control information to obtain a single bit sequence; and obtain the UL burst duration and the offset using the single bit sequence.

[00114] In Example 32, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 28-31 optionally include wherein the UL burst duration is a number of consecutive subframes within the plurality of UL subframes.

[00115] Example 33 is an apparatus of a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: means for decoding downlink control information (DO) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell (SCell) to obtain an UL grant; means for decoding cell-specific control information in a current subframe received on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) of the SCell, the cell-specific control information indicating an offset and an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of UL subframes forming the UL burst, wherein the offset indicates a number of subframes from the current subframe to a first UL subframe of the z UL burst; and means for scheduling a transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration to an evolved Node B (eNB), in response to receipt of the UL grant and the cell-specific control information.

[00116] In Example 34, the subject matter of Example 33 optionally includes wherein the UL grant comprises a first burst identifier, and the cell- speeific control information comprises a second burst identifier associated with the UL burst.

[0011.7] In Example 35, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 33-34 optionally include means for scheduling the transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration upon successful matching of the second burst identifier with the first burst identifier.

[00118] In Example 36, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 33-35 optionally include means for decoding the cell-specific control information to obtain a single bit sequence; and means for obtaining the UL burst duration and the offset using the single bit sequence.

[00119] In Example 37, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 33-36 optionally include wherein the UL burst duration is a number of consecutive subframes within the plurality of UL subframes. The above detailed description includes references to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments that may be practiced. These embodiments are also referred to herein as "examples." Such examples may include elements in addition to those shown or described. However, also contemplated are examples that include the elements shown or described. Moreover, also contemplated are examples using any combination or permutation of those elements shown or described (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to a particular example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect to other examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein.

[00120] Publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in this document are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as though individually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and those documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated reference(s) are supplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document controls.

[00121] The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with others. Other embodiments may be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. However, the claims may not set forth every feature disclosed herein as embodiments may feature a subset of said features.

Further, embodiments may include fewer features than those disclosed in a particular example. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with a claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. The scope of the embodiments disclosed herein is to be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of an evolved Node B (eNB), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured to:

perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels of an unlicensed spectrum of a secondary cell (SCell), the LBT procedure associated with a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT);

scramble cell-specific control information with common control radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) of the SCell; and

encode the scrambled cell-specific control information for transmission to a user equipment (UE) on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) of the SCell,

wherein the cell-specific control information indicates an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of subsequent subframes forming the UL burst, the UL burst for completion within the MCOT and while the UE is connected to a primary cell (PCell) operating on one or more channels of a licensed spectrum.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

retrieve the cell-specific control information from the memory, wherein the cell-specific control information further includes an offset, wherein the offset indicates a number of subframes from a current subframe including the encoded control information to a first UL subframe of the UL burst.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

encode the UL burst duration and the offset as a single bit sequence within the cell-specific control information.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the single bit sequence is a 5-bit sequence. 5. The apparatus of any of claims 3-4, wherein the UL burst duration is selected from the group consisting of { 1, 2, 3, 4,

5, or 6} subframes, and the offset is selected from the group consisting of { 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6} subframes,

6. The apparatus of any of claims 2-4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

encode the UL burst duration and the offset as separate bit sequences within the cell-specific control information.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1-4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

encode downlink control information (DCI) for transmission to the UE via a PDCCH of the SCeil, the DCI including UL grant information to the UE for the UL subframes forming the UL burst.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the DCI includes a single bit indicating whether the UL grant is a triggered.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when the single bit indicates the UL grant is triggered, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

encode a second DCI for transmission to the UE via the PDCCH, the second DCI including a one-bit trigger for triggering the UL burst.

10. The apparatus of any of claims 1-4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

encode a current subframe for transmission on the cPDCCH within the SCell, wherein the current subframe comprises subframe type information indicating a subframe type for at least one subsequent subframe.

1 1. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the subframe type is one of a downlink (DL) subframe or an UL subframe.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the current subframe further indicates signaling time for the at least one subsequent subframe.

13. The apparatus of any of claims 1—4, wherein the cell-specific control information further comprises one or more bits indicating presence of a short physical uplink control channel (sPUCCH) within the SCell.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more bits within the cell-specific control information further indicating presence of an enhanced physical uplink control channel (ePUCCH) within the SCell.

15. The apparatus of any of claims 1-4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to;

encode downlink control information (DCI) for transmission to the UE via a PDCCH of the SCell, the DCI including UL grant information to the UE for the UL subframes forming the UL burst, wherein the DCI is transmitted prior to the cell-specific control information, and wherein the UL grant comprises a burst identification (ID) of the UL burst.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the cell-specific control information further comprises the burst ID to enable the UE to toggle transmissi on of the UL burst based on matching of the burst ID received with the UL grant and the burst ID received with the cell-specific control information.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the burst ID is a 2-bit sequence, alternating between 00, 01, 10, and 1.

18. The apparatus of any of claims 16-17, wherein the burst ID is a 1-bit sequence, alternating between 0 and 1.

An apparatus of User Equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels of an unlicensed spectrum of a secondary cell (SCell);

decode cell-specific control information in a current subframe received on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) of the SCell, the cell-specific control information indicating an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of subsequent UL subframes forming an UL burst; and

in response to receipt of an UL grant associated with the UL burst, schedule a transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration to an evolved Node B (eNB).

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

decode downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the SCell to obtain the UL grant.

21. The apparatus of any of claims 19-20, wherein the cell-specific control information further includes an offset, wherein the offset indicates a number of subframes from the current subframe to a first UL subframe of the UL burst .

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

decode the cell-specific control information to obtain a single bit sequence, and

obtain the UL burst duration and the offset using the single bit sequence.

23. A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (LIE), the one or more processors to configure the UE to:

decode downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell (SCell) to obtain an UL grant;

decode cell-specific control information in a current subframe received on a common physical downlink control channel (cPDCCH) of the SCell, the cell-specific control information indicating an offset and an uplink (UL) burst duration for a plurality of UL subframes forming the UL burst, wherein the offset indicates a number of subframes from the current subframe to a first UL subframe of the UL burst; and

in response to receipt of the UL grant and the cell-specific control information, schedule a transmission of the plurality of UL. subframes for the UL burst duration to an evolved Node B (eNB).

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the UL grant comprises a first burst identifier, and the cell-specific control information comprises a second burst identifier associated with the UL burst.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of any of claims 23-24, wherein the one or more processors further confi gure the UE to:

schedule the transmission of the plurality of UL subframes for the UL burst duration upon successful matching of the second burst identifier with the first burst identifier.