TWI775387B - Methods for conditions on listen-before-talk impact on mac counters - Google Patents

Abstract

Various schemes pertaining to conditions on LBT impact on MAC counters in mobile communications involve a user equipment (UE) determining a status of a listen-before-talk (LBT) failure detection and recovery feature. Based on the status of the LBT failure detection and recovery feature (e.g., whether the LBT failure detection and recovery feature is configured or not configured),a preamble transmission counter in a random access (RA) procedure or a scheduling request (SR) counter in a SR procedure is conditionally incremented in the event of an LBT failure.

Description

The method of the influence of the listening condition before the conversation on the medium access control counter

The present invention relates to mobile communication, and more particularly, to the technology of influence of listen-before-talk (LBT) conditions on medium access control (MAC) counters in mobile communication.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the scope of the claims listed below and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In wireless communications such as mobile communications, the LBT failure detection and recovery procedure (LFDRP) has been specified in Release 16 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification (Release 16, Rel-16) for the unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) of the New Radio (NR) based on the 5th Generation (5G). The purpose of this process is to detect when user equipment (UE) encounters excessive LBT failures in uplink (UL) transmission and take recovery measures. The detection mechanism involves starting/restarting the timer and incrementing the counter when the MAC layer of the UE receives an LBT fault indication from the lower layers. If the counter value reaches the maximum count threshold, a continuous LBT fault state is triggered and the counter is reset. Take recovery action when set to zero. On the other hand, when the timer expires, or if the timer or maximum count threshold is reconfigured by upper layers, or if the continuous LBT fault condition is cancelled, the counter will reset to zero. The network provides the configuration to the UE in the lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig information element (IE). Support for LFDRP is optional in the UE and is dictated by UE capabilities. LBT failure detection applies to all UL transmissions, including transmissions during random access (RA) and scheduling request (SR). Additionally, some changes to the preamble and SR counter are introduced in the MAC layer when the LBT failure indication is received from the lower layers. For RA, the MAC layer does not increment PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER if an LBT failure indication is received from the lower layers for the last RA preamble transmission (in 4-step RA) or the last MsgA RA preamble transmission (in 2-step RA). For SR, the MAC layer does not increment SR_COUNTER if an LBT failure indication is received from the lower layers.

In the event of persistent LBT failure during RA preamble (or MsgA) or SR transmission, the counter will not increment and the maximum count threshold will not be reached. This will prevent the MAC layer from performing recovery actions during RA or SR. In this case, LBT failure recovery and detection mechanisms are expected to take over to detect the presence of consecutive LBT failures and take recovery actions as needed. However, the LFDRP configuration may not always be present, eg, it will not be present on initial access, or when the UE does not support LFDRP or the network does not configure LFDRP. If there is no LFDRP configuration, and RA preamble, MsgA or SR transmission on the UE's MAC layer always encounters LBT failures, the MAC layer will be stuck in the RA or SR process without taking any recovery action. Therefore, there is a need for a solution to the above-mentioned problems.

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

The purpose of the present invention is to provide solutions, concepts, designs, techniques, methods and devices to solve the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, the present invention aims to provide solutions and designs related to the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications.

In one aspect, a method involves a processor of a device implemented in a UE determining the status of an LBT failure detection and recovery feature. The method also involves the processor conditionally incrementing a counter in the process based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. The state is determined based on whether the LBT failure detection and recovery function has been configured.

In another aspect, a method involves a processor of a device implemented in a UE determining the status of an LBT failure detection and recovery function. The method also involves the processor conditionally incrementing a preamble transmission counter during RA based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function.

In yet another aspect, a method involves a processor of a device implemented in a UE determining the status of an LBT failure detection and recovery function. The method also involves the processor conditionally incrementing an SR counter during SR based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function.

The method of the influence of the LBT condition on the MAC counter proposed by the present invention is helpful for the UE to perform the recovery action.

It is worth noting that although the descriptions provided herein are in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks and network topologies, such as 5G/NR mobile networks, the concepts, solutions and any variations thereof/ Derivatives may be implemented in other types of wireless and wireline communication technologies, networks and network topologies such as, but not limited to, Ethernet, Evolved Packet System (EPS), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, UTRAN), Evolved UTRAN (Evolved UTRAN, E-UTRAN), Global System for Mobile communication (Global System for Mobile communication, GSM) General Packet Radio Service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) / global Evolution Enhanced Data Rate for Global Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GPRS/EDGE Radio Access Network, GERAN), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-Advanced) and Enhanced LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-Advanced Pro), Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples described herein.

Examples and implementations of the claimed subject matter are described in detail below. It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the various forms of implementation of the claimed subject matter. The present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that this description of the present invention will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In the following description, well-known features and technical details are omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations. Overview

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions related to the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications. According to the invention, many possible solutions can be implemented individually or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions are described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one combination or another.

Figure 1 illustrates an example network environment 100 in which various aspects and methods in accordance with the present invention may be implemented. Referring to FIG. 1, a network environment 100 involves a UE 110 wirelessly communicating with a wireless network 120 (eg, a 5G NR mobile network). UE 110 may communicate wirelessly with a wireless network through a base station or network node 125 (eg, eNB, gNB, or transmit-receive point (TRP)). In network environment 100, UE 110 and the wireless network 120 can implement various schemes related to the effect of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications according to the present invention as described in the context of FIGS. 2-5.

Figure 2 shows an example scenario 200 in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, scenario 200 illustrates a mechanism that utilizes an LFDRP counter plus a timer. In scenario 200, when LBT failure is initially detected, UE 110 starts a timer and increments the counter. As more LBT failures are detected while the timer is running, the UE may restart the timer and increment the counter. When the timer expires, the UE may reset the counter. When the maximum counter threshold is reached, the UE may determine that a continuous LBT failure has occurred.

It is worth noting that LBT failure detection applies to all UL transmissions, including transmissions during RA and SR. Additionally, some changes to the preamble and SR counter are introduced in the MAC layer when the LBT failure indication is received from the lower layers. For RA, the MAC layer does not increment PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER if an LBT failure indication is received from the lower layers for the last RA preamble transmission (in 4-step RA) or the last MsgA RA preamble transmission (in 2-step RA). For SR, the MAC layer does not increment SR_COUNTER if an LBT failure indication is received from the lower layers.

Figure 3 shows an example scenario 300 in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, scenario 300 shows a scenario in which the preamble counter does not increment and the maximum count threshold value of the counter cannot be reached when LBT failures occur all the time during the transmission of the RA preamble/MsgA or SR. This will prevent the MAC layer from performing recovery actions during RA or SR. In this case, LBT failure recovery and detection mechanisms are expected to take over to detect the presence of consecutive LBT failures and take recovery actions as needed. In scenario 300, when the RA procedure is initiated, but the preamble transmission fails due to LBT failure. Then, retry the preamble transmission and still fail. On the other hand, the preamble counter does not increment. In scenario 300, when LFDRP is configured, the number of LBT failures is counted by a counter/timer mechanism to detect the occurrence of consecutive LBT failures and to take recovery action. The same principle applies to MsgA and SR transmissions.

It is worth noting that in initial access, since lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig IE is not included in any system information block (SIB), and lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig has no default configuration ( lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig is part of BWP-UplinkDedicated ), there is no LDFRP configuration. Furthermore, after initial access, UE 110 or wireless network 120 may not support LDFRP, or wireless network 120 may choose not to configure LDFRP. That is, lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig is optional, and supporting lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig is a UE capability.

It is also worth noting that without LFDRP configured, the MAC layer of UE 110 may be stuck in RA or SR procedures when successive LBT failures occur. This is because the counter does not increment, so it is impossible to reach its maximum count threshold. Therefore, the MAC layer of UE 110 will attempt to transmit the preamble/MsgA/SR indefinitely. Therefore, in the event of consecutive LBT failures during RA or SR procedures, the MAC layer will be prevented from taking any recovery action (eg, reporting RA problems to UE 110 upper layers, initiating RA procedures after SR failure, etc.). That is, no recovery action is triggered, either as part of the RA/SR procedure or as part of the LFDRP. This is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 shows an example scenario 400 of the problems of the current system without embodiments of the present invention. In scenario 400, when the RA procedure is initiated but the preamble transmission fails due to LBT failure. Then, retry the preamble transmission and still fail. On the other hand, the preamble counter does not increment. In scenario 400, since LFDRP is not configured, the number of LBT failures will not be counted, so UE 110 will attempt preamble transmission indefinitely. The same principle applies to MsgA and SR transmissions.

According to the solution proposed by the present invention, when incrementing PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER and SR_COUNTER , LBT failure indications from lower layers can be considered in the MAC layer, depending on whether LFDRP ( lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig ) is configured. Without lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig configured, the MAC layer may ignore LBT failure indications from lower layers when determining whether to increment the preamble transmission counter and the SR counter. That is, according to the proposed scheme, for the RA procedure, after the lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig is configured and the last RA preamble transmission (in 4-step RA) or the last MsgA RA preamble transmission (in 2-step RA) is received from the lower layer In the case of LBT failure indication in), the MAC layer will not increment PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER . Furthermore, according to the proposed scheme, the MAC layer does not increment SR_COUNTER when lbt-FailureRecoveryConfig is configured and an LBT failure indication is received from the lower layers.

Figure 5 illustrates an example scenario 500 in accordance with the present invention. According to the solution proposed by the present invention, when LFDRP is not configured, the preamble counter can be incremented even in the case of LBT failure of preamble transmission. The same principle applies to MsgA and SR transmissions. Referring to FIG. 5, when the RA procedure is initiated but the preamble transmission fails due to LBT failure. Then, retry the preamble transmission and still fail. At the same time, since LFDRP is not configured, the preamble counter is incremented. Eventually, as the preamble counter counts the number of preamble transmission attempts, PREAMBLE_COUNTER reaches the maximum count threshold. Therefore, recovery actions can be taken during RA. Illustrative Implementation

FIG. 6 depicts an example system 600 having at least an example apparatus 610 and an example apparatus 620 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Either device 610 or device 620 may perform various functions for implementing the schemes, techniques, processes and methods described herein regarding the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications, including the designs, concepts, Solutions, systems and methods (including network environment 100) and processes described below.

Either device 610 and device 620 are part of an electronic device, which may be something such as a portable or mobile device, wearable device, wireless communication device, in-vehicle device or vehicle, wireless communication device or computing device. A network device or UE (eg, UE 110). For example, either of device 610 and device 620 may be implemented as a smartphone, smart watch, personal digital assistant, electronic control unit (ECU) in a vehicle, digital camera, or computer such as a tablet, laptop or laptop computing equipment. Either of device 610 and device 620 may also be part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT such as a stationary device, a home device, a roadside unit (RSU), a wired communication device, or a computing device device. For example, any of device 610 and device 620 may be implemented as a smart thermostat, smart refrigerator, smart door lock, wireless speaker, or home control center. When implemented in or as a network device, device 610 and/or device 620 may be implemented as an eNB in an LTE, LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro network, or a 5G network, NR network or gNB or TRP in IoT network.

In some embodiments, either of apparatus 610 and apparatus 620 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processing processor, one or more multi-core processors, one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors, one or more reduced-instruction set computing (reduced-instruction set computing, RISC) processor. In the various aspects described above, either of apparatus 610 and apparatus 620 may be implemented in, or as a network apparatus or UE. Either of apparatus 610 and apparatus 620 includes at least a portion of the components shown in Figure 6, eg, processor 612 and processor 622, respectively. Either of device 610 and device 620 further includes one or more other components (eg, internal power supply, display device, and/or user interface device) not related to the solution proposed by the present invention, so, for brevity, The other components of apparatus 610 and apparatus 620 described above are neither shown in Figure 6 nor described below.

In one aspect, any of processor 612 and processor 622 may be configured as one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more CISC processors, or one or more Implemented in the form of a RISC processor. That is, even though the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to processor 612 and processor 622, in the present invention, either processor 612 and processor 622 may include a plurality of processes in some implementations The processor, in other embodiments, includes a single processor. In another aspect, either processor 612 and processor 622 may be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally, firmware) having electronic components including, for example but not limited to, in accordance with the present One or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors and/or one or more varactors. In other words, at least in some embodiments, processor 612 and processor 622 are special purpose machines that are specially designed, arranged and configured to perform in accordance with embodiments of the present invention in relation to mobile communications in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention Specific tasks for the effect of LBT conditions on MAC counters.

In some implementations, the device 610 also includes a transceiver 616 coupled to the processor 612 . Transceiver 616 is capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, the transceiver 616 is capable of communicating with different types of wireless networks of different radio access technologies (RATs). In some implementations, transceiver 616 is configured with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown), eg, four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 616 is configured with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication. In some embodiments, the device 620 also includes a transceiver 626 coupled to the processor 622 . Transceiver 626 includes a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the transceiver 626 is capable of communicating with different types of UEs/wireless networks of different RATs. In some implementations, transceiver 626 is configured with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown), eg, four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 626 is configured with a plurality of transmit antennas and a plurality of receive antennas for MIMO wireless communication.

In some implementations, the device 610 further includes a memory 614 coupled to the processor 612 and accessible by the processor 612 and storing data therein. In some implementations, the device 620 further includes a memory 624 coupled to the processor 622 and accessible by the processor 622 and storing data therein. Either of the memory 614 and the memory 624 includes a random-access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM ( thyristor RAM, T-RAM) and/or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, or in addition, either of the memory 614 and the memory 624 includes a read-only memory (ROM), such as a mask ROM (mask ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM) , erasable programmable ROM (erasable programmable ROM, EPROM) and/or electrically erasable programmable ROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM, EEPROM). Alternatively, or in addition, either of the memory 614 and the memory 624 includes a non-volatile random access memory (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory, NVRAM), such as flash memory, solid state memory, Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) and/or phase change memory.

Either of the device 610 and the device 620 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various schemes proposed in accordance with the present invention. For illustrative purposes only, but not limited thereto, the following describes a network of device 610 as a UE (eg, UE 110 ) and device 620 as a wireless network (eg, wireless network 120 such as a 5G/NR mobile network) The performance of a way node (eg, network node 125).

The processor 612 of the device 610 implemented in the UE (eg, UE 110 ) can determine the status of the LBT failure detection and recovery function according to the solution proposed in the present invention for the effect of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications. Additionally, the processor 612 may conditionally increment a counter in the process based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. Additionally, in response to the counter reaching the threshold, the processor 612 may perform one or more recovery actions.

In some embodiments, the processor 612 increments the preamble transmission counter during the RA process when conditionally incrementing the counter.

In some implementations, when conditionally incrementing the counter, the processor 612 does not increment the preamble transmission counter in response to: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; and (b) receiving information about the RA Process LBT fault indication. In some embodiments, the RA process includes a 4-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, the RA process includes a 2-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last Msg A RA preamble transmission.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the counter, the processor 612 increments the preamble transmission counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; and (b) receiving information about the RA procedure LBT fault indication. In some embodiments, the RA process includes a 4-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, the RA process includes a 2-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last MsgA RA preamble transmission.

In some implementations, when the counter is conditionally incremented, the processor 612 conditionally increments the SR counter during the SR process.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the counter, the processor 612 does not increment the SR counter in response to: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; Transmission LBT failure indication.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the counter, the processor 612 increments the SR counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; The LBT fault indication.

According to another aspect of the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications proposed by the present invention, the processor 612 of the device 610 implemented in the UE (eg, UE 110 ) can determine the status of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. Additionally, the processor 612 may conditionally increment the preamble transmission counter during the RA process based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the preamble transmission counter, the processor 612 does not increment the preamble transmission counter in response to: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; and (b) receiving to the LBT failure indication regarding the RA process. In this case, where the RA procedure involves a 4-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, where the RA procedure involves a 2-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last MsgA RA preamble transmission.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the preamble transmission counter, the processor 612 increments the preamble transmission counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; LBT failure indication for RA process. In some embodiments, the RA process includes a 4-step RA process. In this case, where the RA procedure involves a 4-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, where the RA procedure involves a 2-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last MsgA RA preamble transmission.

According to yet another aspect of the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications proposed by the present invention, the processor 612 of the device 610 implemented in the UE (eg, UE 110 ) can determine the status of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. Additionally, the processor 612 may conditionally increment the SR counter during the SR process based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the SR counter, the processor 612 does not increment the SR counter in response to: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; and (b) receiving information about the SR procedure LBT fault indication.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the SR counter, the processor 612 increments the SR counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; and (b) an LBT regarding the SR procedure is received error indication. descriptive process

FIG. 7 depicts an example process 700 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Process 700 represents one aspect of the various designs, concepts, solutions, systems and methods presented above (including Figures 1-6), whether in part or in its entirety. More specifically, process 700 may represent various concepts and schemes proposed in accordance with the present invention regarding the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications. Process 700 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown by one or more of steps 710 , 720 , and 730 . Although described as discrete steps, the various steps of process 700 may be divided into additional steps, combined into fewer steps, or deleted as desired. Additionally, the steps/sub-steps of process 700 may be performed in the order shown in Figure 7, or in other orders. Additionally, one or more steps/sub-steps of process 700 may be performed repeatedly. Process 700 may be implemented by or in device 610 and device 620 and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only, but not by way of limitation, at device 610 as a UE (eg, UE 110 ) and device 620 as a network node (eg, network node 125 ) of a wireless network (eg, wireless network 120 ) Process 700 is described in the context of . Process 700 begins at step 710 .

At step 710, the process 700 involves the processor 612 of the apparatus 610 implemented in the UE (eg, UE 110) determining the status of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. Process 700 proceeds from step 710 to step 720 .

At step 720, the process 700 involves the processor 612 conditionally incrementing a counter in the process based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. Process 700 proceeds from step 720 to step 730 .

At step 730, in response to the counter reaching the threshold, process 700 involves processor 612 performing one or more recovery actions.

In some embodiments, the process 700 involves the processor 612 incrementing the preamble transmission counter during the RA process when conditionally incrementing the counter.

In some embodiments, when the counter is conditionally incremented, the process 700 involves the processor 612 not incrementing the preamble transmission counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; and (b) receiving a LBT failure indication on RA process. In some embodiments, the RA process includes a 4-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, the RA process includes a 2-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last MsgA RA preamble transmission.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the counter, the process 700 involves the processor 612 incrementing the preamble transmission counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; LBT failure indication for RA process. In some embodiments, the RA process includes a 4-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, the RA process includes a 2-step RA process. In this case, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last MsgA RA preamble transmission.

In some implementations, the process 700 involves the processor 612 conditionally incrementing the SR counter during the SR process when conditionally incrementing the counter.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the counter, the process 700 involves the processor 612 not incrementing the SR counter during SR in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; and (b) Received an LBT failure indication for SR transmission during SR.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the counter, the process 700 involves the processor 612 incrementing the SR counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; and (b) receipt of information about the SR process LBT failure indication in SR transmission.

FIG. 8 depicts an example process 800 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Process 800 represents one aspect of the various designs, concepts, solutions, systems and methods presented above (including Figures 1-6), whether in part or in whole. More specifically, process 800 may represent various concepts and schemes proposed in accordance with the present invention regarding the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications. Process 800 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown in one or more of steps 810 and 820 . Although described as discrete steps, the various steps of process 800 may be divided into additional steps, combined into fewer steps, or deleted as desired. Additionally, the steps/sub-steps of process 800 may be performed in the order shown in Figure 8, or in other orders. Additionally, one or more steps/sub-steps of process 800 may be performed repeatedly. Process 800 may be implemented by or in device 610 and device 620 and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only, but not by way of limitation, at device 610 as a UE (eg, UE 110 ) and device 620 as a network node (eg, network node 125 ) of a wireless network (eg, wireless network 120 ) Process 800 is described in the context of . Process 800 begins at step 810 .

At step 810, the process 800 involves the processor 612 of the apparatus 610 implemented in the UE (eg, UE 110) determining the status of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. Process 800 proceeds from step 810 to step 820 .

At step 820, the process 800 involves the processor 612 conditionally incrementing the preamble transmission counter during the RA process based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the preamble transmission counter, process 800 involves the processor 612 not incrementing the preamble transmission counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; and (b) ) received an LBT failure indication for the RA procedure. In this case, where the RA procedure involves a 4-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, where the RA procedure involves a 2-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last MsgA RA preamble transmission.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the preamble transmission counter, the process 800 involves the processor 612 incrementing the preamble transmission counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; and (b) An LBT failure indication was received for the RA procedure. In some embodiments, the RA process includes a 4-step RA process. In this case, where the RA procedure involves a 4-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last RA preamble transmission. Alternatively, where the RA procedure involves a 2-step RA procedure, the LBT failure indication includes the LBT failure indication for the last MsgA RA preamble transmission.

FIG. 9 depicts an example process 900 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Process 900 represents one aspect of the various designs, concepts, solutions, systems and methods presented above (including Figures 1-6), whether in part or in whole. More specifically, process 900 may represent various concepts and schemes proposed in accordance with the present invention regarding the impact of LBT conditions on MAC counters in mobile communications. Process 900 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown in one or more of steps 910 and 920 . Although described as discrete steps, the various steps of process 900 may be divided into additional steps, combined into fewer steps, or deleted as desired. Additionally, the steps/sub-steps of process 900 may be performed in the order shown in Figure 9, or in other orders. Additionally, one or more steps/sub-steps of process 900 may be performed repeatedly. Process 900 may be implemented by or in device 610 and device 620 and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only, but not by way of limitation, at device 610 as a UE (eg, UE 110 ) and device 620 as a network node or base station (eg, network) of a wireless network (eg, wireless network 120 ) Process 900 is described in the context of node 125). Process 900 begins at step 910 .

At step 910, the processor 612 of the apparatus 610 implemented in the UE (eg, UE 110) may determine the status of the LBT failure detection and recovery function. Process 900 proceeds from step 910 to step 920 .

At step 920, the process 900 involves the processor 612 conditionally incrementing the SR counter during the SR process based on the state of the LBT failure detection and recovery function.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the SR counter, the process 900 involves the processor 612 not incrementing the SR counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is configured; LBT fault indication for SR process.

In some embodiments, when conditionally incrementing the SR counter, the process 900 involves the processor 612 incrementing the SR counter in response to the following conditions: (a) the LBT failure detection and recovery function is not configured; Process LBT fault indication. Supplementary Instructions

The subject matter described in this disclosure sometimes illustrates various components contained within or connected with various other components. It is to be understood that the depicted architectures are merely examples and that, in fact, many other architectures may be implemented for achieving the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components used to achieve the same function is effectively "associated" such that the desired function is achieved. Thus, any two components of the present invention that are combined to achieve a particular function can be considered to be "associated" with each other such that the desired function is achieved, regardless of architecture or intervening components. Likewise, any two components that are so associated can also be considered to be "operably connected" or "operably coupled" to each other to achieve the desired function, and any two components that can be so associated can also be considered to be "operably connected" or "operably coupled" to each other to achieve the desired function are "operably coupled" to each other to achieve the desired function. Specific examples of operably coupled include, but are not limited to, physically mateable and/or physically interactable components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactable components and/or logically interactable and/or logically interactable components components.

In addition, with respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms in this disclosure, one of ordinary skill in the art can convert the plural to the singular and/or the singular to the plural as appropriate to the context and/or application. For the sake of clarity, various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth in this disclosure.

In addition, one of ordinary skill in the art should understand that terms used in this disclosure, particularly in the context of the accompanying claims (eg, the subject of the accompanying claims) are generally intended to be "open" terms in general For example, the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least", the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", etc. It will also be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that if a specific number of a claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be expressly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain the introduction of claim statements using the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more." However, the use of these phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim statement through the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits the scope of any particular claim containing such an introduced claim statement to containing only this one statement even when the claimed scope includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and an indefinite article such as "a" or "an", for example, "a" and/or "A" should be construed to mean "at least one" and "one or more," as is the case for the use of the definite article used to introduce a statement of the scope of the claim. In addition, even if an incorporated claim scope statement explicitly recites a specific number, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that such statement should be construed to mean at least the recited number, eg, a mere statement without other modification "Two statements" means at least two statements or two or more statements. Furthermore, in those cases where a similar convention of "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, generally, from the point of view of those of ordinary skill in the art that would understand the convention, this construction expects, for example, " A system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include, but not be limited to, having A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C A system of waiting together. In other cases where a similar convention to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, this construction expects, generally, from what one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the convention, for example, "has A system of at least one of A, B, or C" shall include, but is not limited to, having A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together etc. system. It should also be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that virtually any conjunction and/or phrase representing two or more alternative terms (whether in the description, the scope of the application or the drawings) should be understood as expected Possibility to include one of the terms, either of the terms, or both. For example, the phrase "A or B" would be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B".

In light of the foregoing, it should be understood that various embodiments of the present invention have been described in this invention for illustrative purposes and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the various embodiments disclosed in this invention are not intended to be limiting, wherein the true scope and spirit is indicated by the claimed scope.

100: Network Environment 110:UE 120: wireless network 125: Network Node 200, 300, 400, 500: Scenes 600: System 610, 620: Devices 612,622: Processor 614,624: Memory 616,626: Transceiver 700,800,900: Process 710, 720, 730, 810, 820, 910, 920: Steps

The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this invention. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. It will be appreciated that in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and some components may be shown out of scale from the dimensions of the actual embodiment. Figure 1 is a diagram of an example network environment in which various methods and schemes of the present invention may be implemented. FIG. 2 is an example scene diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an example scene diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is an example scenario diagram showing the problems of the current system without embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an example scene diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

100: Network Environment

110:UE

120: wireless network

125: Network Node

Claims (18)

A method for the influence of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter, comprising: determining a state of a pre-session snoop failure detection and recovery function; and a process based on the state of the pre-session snoop failure detection and recovery function conditionally incrementing a counter, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the counter comprises conditionally incrementing a preamble transmission counter during a random access process or conditionally incrementing a row during a scheduling request Process request counter. The method of pre-session listening conditions affecting a medium access control counter as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the counter comprises not incrementing the preamble transmission counter in response to a condition that the preamble transmission counter is configured a snoop-before-session failure detection and recovery function; and receiving a snoop-before-session failure indication regarding one of the random access procedures. The method for the effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 2, wherein the random access process includes a 4-step random access process, and the pre-session snoop fault indication includes a One of the random access preamble transmissions listens for a fault indication before a session. The method for the effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 2, wherein the random access process includes a 2-step random access process, and the pre-session snoop fault indication includes a A message A random access preamble transmits one of the pre-session listening fault indications. The method for effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 1, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the counter comprises incrementing all of the counters in response to the following condition: The preamble transmission counter: the pre-session snoop failure detection and recovery function is not configured; and an indication of a snoop-before-session failure regarding one of the random access procedures is received. The method for the effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 5, wherein the random access process includes a 4-step random access process, and the pre-session snoop fault indication includes a One of the random access preamble transmissions listens for a fault indication before a session. The method for the influence of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 5, wherein the random access process includes a 2-step random access process, and the pre-session snoop fault indication includes a A message A random access preamble transmits one of the pre-session listening fault indications. The method for the effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 1, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the counter comprises not incrementing the scheduled request counter in response to the configuration of the snooping before session failure detection and recovery functions; and receiving a sniff-before-session failure indication regarding one of the transmission of a scheduled request in the scheduling request process. The method for the effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter of claim 1, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the counter comprises incrementing the scheduled request counter in response to a condition that the session is not configured a pre-snoop failure detection and recovery function; and receiving a pre-snoop failure indication regarding one of the transmissions of a scheduled request during the scheduled request. The pre-session snoop condition as described in claim 1 affects the medium access control counters The method of ringing, further comprising: in response to the counter reaching a threshold, performing one or more recovery actions. A method for the influence of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter, comprising: determining a state of a pre-session snoop failure detection and recovery function; and a random one based on the state of the pre-session snoop failure detection and recovery function. A preamble transmission counter is conditionally incremented during access. The method for the effect of a pre-session listening condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 11, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the preamble transmission counter comprises not incrementing the preamble transmission counter in response to a condition that: configuring the snoop-before-session failure detection and recovery function; and receiving a snoop-before-session failure indication regarding one of the random access procedures. The method for the influence of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 12, wherein, in the case that the random access process includes a 4-step random access process, the pre-session snoop fault indication includes: A pre-session listen fault indication for the last random access preamble transmission, and where the random access procedure includes a 2-step random access procedure, the pre-session listen fault indication includes a pre-session fail indication for the last Message A Random Access Preamble Transmission One of the Pre-Session Listening Failure Indications. The method for the effect of a pre-session listening condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 11, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the preamble transmission counter comprises incrementing the preamble transmission counter in response to the condition: Not configured listening to the failure detection and recovery function before the dialog; and A pre-session listening failure indication is received regarding one of the random access procedures. The method for the influence of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 14, wherein, in the case that the random access process includes a 4-step random access process, the pre-session snoop fault indication includes: A pre-session listen fault indication for the last random access preamble transmission, and where the random access procedure includes a 2-step random access procedure, the pre-session listen fault indication includes a pre-session fail indication for the last Message A Random Access Preamble Transmission One of the Pre-Session Listening Failure Indications. A method for the influence of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter, comprising: determining a state of a pre-session snoop fault detection and recovery function; and based on the state of the pre-session snoop fault detection and recovery function Conditionally increments a schedule request counter during a schedule request. The method for the effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 16, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the scheduled request counter comprises not incrementing the scheduled request counter in response to a condition that: configuring the snoop-before-talk failure detection and recovery function; and receiving a snoop-before-talk failure indication regarding one of the scheduling request processes. The method for the effect of a pre-session snoop condition on a medium access control counter as described in claim 16, wherein the step of conditionally incrementing the scheduled request counter comprises incrementing the scheduled request counter in response to the following condition: Not configured said pre-dialog snoop fault detection and recovery function; and receiving a pre-dialog snoop fault indication with respect to one of said scheduling request processes.

Images