WO2018071068A1

WO2018071068A1 - Uplink listen-before-talk (lbt) remaining details

Info

Publication number: WO2018071068A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/039688
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeongho Jeon
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2016-10-10
Filing date: 2017-06-28
Publication date: 2018-04-19

Abstract

Aspects for uplink (UL) communications related to listen before talk (LBT) operations in wireless networks introduce techniques and network devices configured to enable these communications by considering contention window size adaptation and related conditions. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) can switch between different types of LBT operations, including a complete, regular category 4 LBT operation / protocol and a single interval LBT protocol that is shorter in duration. A contention window size can be adapted independently per carrier in multi-carrier operations associated with UL transmissions that either includes or excludes carriers with the single interval LBT. In other aspects, a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) with multiple UL grants for different UL subframes can be utilized to determine the LBT processes for UL transmission.

Description

UPLINK LISTEN-BEFORE-TALK (LBT) REMAINING DETAILS

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Number 62/406,208 filed October 10, 2016, entitled "UPLINK LBT REMAINING DETAILS", the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless technology, and more specifically to techniques for signaling transmissions including uplink listen-before-talk (LBT) remaining details.

BACKGROUND

[0003] There is an increasing demand for high data rates over wireless networks, but the usable licensed spectrum is of a limited physical extent. This is the rationale behind the emerging interest on the operation of Long Term Evolution (LTE) system in the unlicensed spectrum in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which is called LTE License-Assisted Access (LAA). Initial focus of 3GPP will use the unlicensed band as a secondary downlink component carrier while keeping the licensed band as the primary carrier for connectivity and Quality of Service (QoS) support.

[0004] The unlicensed frequency band of current interest in 3GPP is the 5 GHz band, which has wide spectrum with global common availability. Although it is designated as unlicensed or licensed-exempt spectrum, the radio equipment have to be certified to meet certain regulatory requirements. The 5 GHz band in the United States, for example, is governed by Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) rules by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The LTE LAA design should and will consider the coexistence issue with incumbent systems. The Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) based on IEEE 802.1 1 n/ac standards operate in the U-NII bands. Since the WLANs are widely deployed both by individuals and operators for carrier- grade access service and data offloading, sufficient care must be taken when deploying LAA. This is why listen-before-talk (LBT) is adopted as a feature of LTE LAA system; LBT is a procedure whereby radio transmitters first sense the medium and transmit only if the medium is sensed to be idle. [0005] The LAA is based on the carrier aggregation capability in LTE-Advanced, which enables the transmission and reception over multiple component carriers in parallel. Therefore, more than one unlicensed secondary carriers can be chosen along with the primary carrier. Although the LAA LBT procedure is well defined for a single secondary unlicensed carrier, this is not the case for LBT procedure and channel bonding rules for LTE LAA multi-carrier operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communications network environment for a network device (e.g., a user equipment (UE), an evolved NodeB (eNB), Next Gen NodeB (gNB), or the like) according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates another block diagram of an example of a wireless communications network device according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 3 another block diagram of an example of a wireless communications network device with various interfaces according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates a process flow of processing / generating a UL

transmissions according to various aspects or embodiments described herein.

[0010] FIG. 5 illustrates another process flow of processing / generating a UL transmissions according to various aspects or embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures and devices are not necessarily drawn to scale. As utilized herein, terms "component," "system," "interface," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component can be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller, or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet PC and/or a user equipment (UE) (e.g., mobile / wireless phone, etc.) with a processing device. By way of illustration, an application running on a server and the server can also be a component. One or more components can reside within a process, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. A set of elements or a set of other components can be described herein, in which the term "set" can be interpreted as "one or more."

[0012] Further, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon such as with a module, for example. The components can communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network, such as, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or similar network with other systems via the signal).

[0013] As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, in which the electric or electronic circuitry can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors can be internal or external to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein to execute software and/or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, the functionality of the electronic components.

[0014] Use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "including", "includes", "having", "has", "with", or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term

"comprising."

OVERVIEW

[0015] According to various aspects / embodiments, various operations or process are further defined for LBT procedures in multi-carriers operations for uplink (UL) communication. Fair coexistence between Licensed-Assisted Access using LTE (LAA- LTE) and Wi-Fi in the unlicensed spectrum of 5 GHz is a primary challenge. Listen- Before-Talk (LBT) processes are utilized to ensure the fairness among different operators in unlicensed band. To achieve not only channel access fairness but also higher throughput gain, a contention window (CW) size adaptation algorithm based on LBT Category 4 channel access scheme can be utilized. Compared with the fixed contention window size mechanisms, a greater LAA-LTE performance gain can be observed. Additional aspects and details of the disclosure are further described below with reference to figures.

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a system 100 of a network in accordance with some embodiments. The system 100 is shown to include a user equipment (UE) 101 and a UE 102. The UEs 101 and 1 02 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but can also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, or any computing device including a wireless communications interface.

[0017] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can comprise an Internet of Things (loT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designed for low-power loT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. An loT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or loT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data can be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An loT network describes interconnecting loT UEs, which can include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The loT UEs can execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the loT network.

[0018] The UEs 101 and 102 can be configured to connect, e.g., communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN) 1 10— the RAN 1 10 can be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, the connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

[0019] In this embodiment, the UEs 101 and 1 02 can further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 can

alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0020] The UE 102 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. The connection 107 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.1 1 protocol, wherein the AP 106 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®) router. In this example, the AP 1 06 is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0021] The RAN 1 1 0 can include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 1 03 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next Generation NodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). A network device as referred to herein can include any one of these APs, ANs, UEs or any other network component. The RAN 1 10 can include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RAN node 1 1 1 , and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 1 12.

[0022] Any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 1 1 0 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) dynamic radio resource

management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0023] In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 101 and 102 can be configured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 1 2 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0024] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 to the UEs 101 and 1 02, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can 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 corresponds 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. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this can represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

[0025] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) can carry user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 101 and 102. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It can also inform the UEs 101 and 102 about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 102 within a cell) can be performed at any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 101 and 102. The downlink resource assignment information can be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 101 and 1 02.

[0026] The PDCCH can use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1 , 2, 4, or 8).

[0027] Some embodiments can use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments can utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH can be transmitted using one or more enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above, each ECCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE can have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

[0028] The RAN 1 1 0 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 1 20— via an S1 interface 1 1 3. In embodiments, the CN 120 can be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment the S1 interface 1 13 is split into two parts: the S1 -U interface 1 14, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and the S1 -mobility management entity (MME) interface 1 15, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 and MMEs 121 .

[0029] In this embodiment, the CN 1 20 comprises the MMEs 1 21 , the S-GW 122, the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 124. The MMEs 121 can be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 121 can manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 can comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of

communication sessions. The CN 120 can comprise one or several HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 124 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0030] The S-GW 122 can terminate the S1 interface 1 13 towards the RAN 1 1 0, and routes data packets between the RAN 1 10 and the CN 120. In addition, the S-GW 122 can be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also can provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities can include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0031] The P-GW 123 can terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 123 can route data packets between the CN network 120 and external networks such as a network including the application server 130 (alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. Generally, the application server 130 can be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 123 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 130 via an IP communications interface 125. The application server 130 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 1 01 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0032] The P-GW 123 can further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, there can be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there can be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 can be communicatively coupled to the application server 130 via the P-GW 123. The application server 130 can signal the PCRF 1 26 to indicate a new service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 126 can provision this rule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class identifier (QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by the application server 130.

[0033] In an aspect / embodiment, network components / devices such as the UE 101 , 102 can receive UL grants from other network components / devices such as an AP 106, or RAN node 1 1 1 , 1 12. The UL grants can be on a set of one or more carriers scheduled with a Cat 4 LBT with a same starting point in the subframe. If the UE performs an LBT for UL transmission as indicated by the UL grants and does not switch to a Type 2 LBT protocol from a Type 1 LBT, then the UE 101 , 102 can perform a contention window size (CWS) adaptation or adjustment independently per carrier.

[0034] In other aspects / embodiments, if the conditions are satisfied, including that a Cat 4 LBT precedes the one or more UL grants of a DL transmission, the carriers are scheduled with a same starting point in a subrame or subframes, or the UE does not switch to a Type 2 LBT protocol, then the UE 101 , 102 can adapt CWS independently per carrier including the carrier(s) that the UE performed 25 us single interval LBT. The 25 microsecond single LBT is shorter / abbreviated in duration than a Cat 4 LBT.

[0035] A Type 1 LBT and Type 2 LBT can refer similarly to the defined descriptions in TS 36.21 3 section 15.1 .5, for example, as for DL transmission(s), or in TS 36.213 for UL transmission(s). Type 1 LBT can refer to a Cat 4 LBT enabled to be performed independently on the carrier(s) on which a transmission is occurring or going to occur. Under Type 2 LBT one carrier can be selected to have a Cat 4 LBT performed and a single interval LBT as the Type 2 LBT can be performed on other carriers, which can be done before a scheduled start time that is indicated by the UL grants, for example.

[0036] In other aspects / embodiments, the UE 101 , 102 can receive UL grants on a set of carriers scheduled with Cat 4 LBT based on similar conditions, including the CAT 4 LBT at the same starting point in the subframe and the UL performed LBT being as indicated. As such, the UE 101 , 102 can perform the LBT independently and does not switch to Type 2 LBT, and thus, the UE can adapt CWS independently per carrier excluding / not including the carrier(s) that the UE performed 25 us single interval LBT.

[0037] In other aspects / embodiments, if the UE 101 , 102 switches the LBT into Type 2 LBT, the UE maintains common CWS for the set of carriers (but separate CWS values per priority class), the CWS can be reset based on whether the NDI value (or bit) for at least one HARQ process associated with the reference subframe of all the carriers is toggled. Otherwise, the CWS can be increased to the next level. In one embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25 us (microseconds) as a single interval LBT can be considered in the CWs adaptation. In another embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25 us single interval LBT can be excluded in the CWs adaptation in deciding whether to implement a CWS increase, a CWS reset, or both.

[0038] In other aspects / embodiments, another condition can be that the UE switches the LBT into Type 2 LBT where the UE also maintains a common CWS for the set of carriers (but separate CWS values per priority class). The CWS adaptation can comprise then resetting the CWS if the NDI value for at least X % HARQ process associated with the reference subframe of all the carriers is toggled, wherein X can be any number from zero to 100. Otherwise, the CWS can be increased to the next level. In this embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25 us single interval LBT can be considered in the CWs adaptation. Additionally or alternatively, in another embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25 us single interval LBT can be excluded in the CWs adaptation in deciding the CWS increase, CWS reset, or both.

[0039] In other aspects / embodiments, when the UE 101 , 102 is scheduled two sets of UL subframes with Cat 4 LBT, with two different UL grants, and if the UE successfully completes Cat 4 LBT for transmission on any of the subframes in the first set of UL subframes, it is possible that the second set of scheduled UL subframe falls within the MCOT obtained for the UL transmission by the first grant. In such a case, the UE 101 , 102 can be enabled to perform 25 us single interval LBT for the UL transmission according to the second grant.

[0040] In other aspects / embodiments, when a UE 101 , 102 is scheduled two sets of one or more UL subframes with Cat 4 LBT, with two different UL grants, and if the UE successfully completes Cat 4 LBT for transmission on any of the subframes in the first set of UL subframes as conditions, it can be possible that the second set of scheduled UL subframe falls within the maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) obtained for the UL transmission by the first grant. Under such conditions, the UE can perform a 25 us single interval LBT for the UL transmission according to the second grant. The UE can perform transmission according to the second grant, if it is contained within the obtained MCOT and immediately after performing an LBT of duration 25 microseconds if the channel was observed by the UE to be continuously idle since after the first transmission was finished. If the channel was not observed to be continuously idle, then the UE would perform Cat 4 LBT.

[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates example components of a network device 200 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 200 can include application circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 206, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 208, one or more antennas 210, and power management circuitry (PMC) 21 2 coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 200 can be included in a UE 101 , 102 or a RAN node 1 1 1 , 1 12, AP, AN, eNB or other network component. In some embodiments, the device 200 can include less elements (e.g., a RAN node can not utilize application circuitry 202, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the network device 200 can include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below can be included in more than one device (e.g., said circuitries can be separately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).

[0042] The application circuitry 202 can include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) can include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors can be coupled with or can include memory/storage and can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 200. In some embodiments, processors of application circuitry 202 can process IP data packets received from an EPC.

[0043] The baseband circuitry 204 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 204 can 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 can 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 can include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processor(s) 204D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), si2h generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 204A-D) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 206. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 204A-D can be included in modules stored in the memory 204G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions can 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 can include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments,

encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 can include convolution, tail- biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and can include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0044] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 can include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 204F. The audio DSP(s) 204F can be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and can include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry can 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 can be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0045] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 can provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 can support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), 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 can be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry. [0046] RF circuitry 206 can enable communication with wireless networks

using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 can include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 206 can include a receive signal path which can 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 can also include a transmit signal path which can 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.

[0047] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 206 can include mixer circuitry 206a, amplifier circuitry 206b and filter circuitry 206c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206 can include filter circuitry 206c and mixer circuitry 206a. RF circuitry 206 can 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 can 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 can be configured to amplify the down- converted signals and the filter circuitry 206c can be a low-pass filter (LPF) or bandpass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals can be provided to the baseband circuitry 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals can be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path can comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0048] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path can 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 can be provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and can be filtered by filter circuitry 206c.

[0049] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can 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 can be arranged for direct downconversion and 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 can be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[0050] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals can 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 can be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 can include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 204 can include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 206.

[0051] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry can be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the

embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0052] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206d can 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 can be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 206d can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0053] The synthesizer circuitry 206d can 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 can be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

[0054] In some embodiments, frequency input can be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input can 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) can be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 202.

[0055] Synthesizer circuitry 206d of the RF circuitry 206 can include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider can be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator can be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD can be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL can 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 can 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.

[0056] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 206d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can 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 can be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 can include an IQ/polar converter.

[0057] FEM circuitry 208 can include a receive signal path which can include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 210, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for further processing. FEM circuitry 208 can also include a transmit signal path which can include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 21 0. In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths can be done solely in the RF circuitry 206, solely in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the FEM 208.

[0058] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 208 can include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry can include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry can include an 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 can 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 21 0).

[0059] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 can manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 204. In particular, the PMC 212 can control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMC 212 can often be included when the device 200 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE. The PMC 21 2 can increase the power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation

characteristics.

[0060] While FIG. 2 shows the PMC 212 coupled only with the baseband circuitry 204. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 2 12 can be additionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar power management operations for, other components such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 202, RF circuitry 206, or FEM 208.

[0061] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 can control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 200. For example, if the device 200 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it can enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 200 can power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[0062] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the device 200 can transition off to an RRCJdle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 200 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 200 does not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it transitions back to RRC_Connected state.

[0063] An additional power saving mode can allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device can be unreachable to the network and can power down completely. Any data sent during this time can incur a large delay with the delay presumed to be acceptable.

[0064] Processors of the application circuitry 202 and processors of the baseband circuitry 204 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 204, alone or in combination, can be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 204 can utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 can comprise a radio resource control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 can comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 can comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node. Each of these layers can be implemented to operate one or more processes or network operations of embodiments / aspects herein.

[0065] In addition, the memory 204G can comprise one or more machine-readable medium / media including instructions that, when performed by a machine or component herein cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described herein. It is to be understood that aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium (e.g., the memory described herein or other storage device). Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media or a computer readable storage device can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD- ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory medium, that can be used to carry or store desired information or executable instructions. Also, any connection can also be termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. [0066] Various parameters associated with macro cell network devices (e.g., device 200 of FIG. 2, or network components / devices 101 , 102, 1 06, 1 1 1 , or 1 1 2 can be detected during the network diagnostic or a listen before talk (LBT) procedure or other measurements, such as, but not limited to, frequency bands, scrambling codes, common channel pilot power, bandwidth across respective networks, universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access receive signal strength indicator, as well as frequency carrier priorities for particular cell groupings and so on. As referred to herein, a category (Cat) 4 LBT protocol / procedure can be longer than a single interval LBT or just a clear channel assessment, and further include a back-off operation or procedure. For example, the Cat 4 LBT operation / protocol can further include a random back-off procedure (e.g., an exponential random back-off procedure) as opposed to a clear channel assessment alone that can comprise a single interval LBT (or short Cat 4 LBT) operation whereby a puncturing of the first symbol of PUSCH transmission occurs as part of the channel assessment to determine a busy channel or an idle / available channel / band. The single interval LBT can be shorter in duration than the Cat 4 LBT and about 25 microseconds, for example.

[0067] Various aspects and embodiments herein relate to details of UL and DL communications with multi-carrier operations, especially UL LBT operations in particular. For example, CWS adaptation for UL Type 2 LBT operations can be a function of various conditions. These conditions can include, but are not limited to, whether (via an indication bit or other indicator) a Cat 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation precedes the UL grants of the DL transmission (e.g., by the eNB or gNB), the carriers that are being utilized are scheduled with a same starting point in a subframe, the UE maintains a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol without switching to a second LBT multi-carrier procedure as a Type 2 LBT operation / protocol or switches to the Type 2 LBT protocol for generation or transmission of the UL transmission. Based on the given conditions operating at the time of UL generation, the UE can generate a dynamic CWS adaptation process to determine the CWS by either including / excluding any carrier signaled for a single interval LBT in the CWS adaptation process. This process as such can include determining whether to reset, increase, or both reset and increase the CWS as a function of UL transmission generation in multi-carrier transmissions.

[0068] Other aspects / embodiments include a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) under conditions of receiving multiple UL grants associated with different sets of one or more carriers in multi-carrier UL transmissions. In particular, when a UE 101 , 102 is scheduled two sets of UL subframes with Cat 4 LBT, with two different UL grants, and the UE successfully completes Cat 4 LBT for transmission on any of the subframes in the first set of UL subframes, it is possible that the second set of scheduled UL subframe falls within the MCOT obtained for the UL transmission by the first grant. In such a case, the UE can be enabled to perform 25 us single interval LBT for the UL transmission according to the second grant.

[0069] In addition, the UE 101 , 102 can perform transmission according to the second grant, if it is contained within the obtained MCOT and immediately after performing an LBT of duration 25 microseconds if the channel was observed to be continuously idle since after the first transmission was finished. If the channel was not observed to be continuously idle, then the UE would perform Cat 4 LBT.

[0070] FIG. 3 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the baseband circuitry 204 of FIG. 2 can comprise processors 204A-204E and a memory 204G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 204A-204E can include a memory interface, 304A-304E, respectively, to send/receive data to/from the memory 204G.

[0071] The baseband circuitry 204 can further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memory interface 312 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memory e2ernal to the baseband circuitry 204), an application circuitry interface 314 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 202 of FIG. 2), an RF circuitry interface 316 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 206 of FIG. 2), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 31 8 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 320 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or control signals to / from the PMC 21 2

[0072] In aspects / embodiments, when the UE 1 01 , 1 02 has received U L grants on a set of carriers scheduled with Cat 4 LBT with the same starting point in the subframe on all carriers as conditions, the U E 1 01 , 1 02 can switch to a 25 us LBT immediately before transmission on a carrier in the set if Cat 4 LBT has

successfully completed on a carrier in the set. For example, the UE 1 01 , 1 02 can select one carrier uniformly and randomly among sets of one or more carriers, which was scheduled with Cat 4 LBT as the designated carrier prior to starting the Cat 4 LBT procedure on any of the carriers in the set. If the UE is operating in the 5GHz band, the ETSI regulations can be referred to with respect to choosing the set of carriers, for example.

[0073] In the Rel-13 LAA, the multi-carrier LBT can be categorized into Type A and Type B, which are summarized in TS36.213 Section 15.1 .5 in reference to DL transmissions, or Type 1 and 2 in reference to UL transmissions in TS36.21 3 Section 15.2 as channel access procedures. In a nutshell, under Type A, the Cat 4 LBT can be performed independently on carriers that the eNB (e.g., 106, 1 1 1 , 1 12) intends to transmit on. Under Type B, the eNB 106, 1 1 1 , 1 12 can select one carrier to perform Cat 4 LBT while a single interval LBT is performed on the other carriers before the scheduled start time. In determining how to select the CWS, two approaches can be specified or signaled to the UEs.

[0074] Specifically, for example under Type B1 a sub-category of Type B LBT, the CWS of the primary carrier performing Cat 4 LBT can increased if 80% of the HARQ- ACK values corresponding to PDSCH transmission(s) in reference subframe of all the carriers are NACK. Otherwise, the CWS can be reset as in reset to zero. Under Type B2 another sub-category of Type B LBT, the CWS is maintained independently per carrier following the Section 15.1 .3 procedure, for example.

[0075] Aspects and embodiments herein provide possible CWS adaptation process options for UL LBT for multiple carriers. If a UE 101 , 102, for example, has received UL grants on a set of carriers scheduled with Cat 4 LBT with the same starting point in the subframe and if the UL performs the particular LBT (e.g., Cat 4 LBT as a Type 1 ) as indicated, such as by performing the LBT independently and does not switching to a Type 2 LBT (or single interval LBT), then the UE 101 , 102 adapts CWS independently per carrier including the carrier(s) that the UE performed 25 us single interval LBT. Alternatively or additionally, the UE can further adapt the CWS adaption or

independently per carrier excluding the carrier(s) that the UE performed 25 us single interval LBT.

[0076] The CWS adaptation can similarly follow or comprise aspects of the procedure described in Section 15.2.2 in TS36.213. For example, if the UE 101 , 102 transmits transmissions using Type 1 channel access procedure that are associated with channel access priority class p on a carrier, the UE 101 , 102 can maintain the contention window value CW_p and adjusts CW_p for those transmissions before step 1 of the procedure described in sub clause 15.2.1 .1 of TS 36.213, using the following procedure: - if the NDI value for at least one HARQ process associated with

HARQ ID ref is toggled; - for every priority class ? e {1,2,3,4} set CW_p = CW_{mii p} ; - otherwise, increase CW_p for every priority class p e {1,2, 3, 4} to the next higher allowed value. A HARQ ID ref is the HARQ process ID of UL-SCH in reference subframe n_ref .

[0077] In relation to the above captured agreement, it is also possible in other aspects / embodiments that the UE101 , 1 02 can switch the LBT (e.g., Type 1 ) into Type 2 LBT, which can be done regardless of the UL grant. In this case, other CWS adaptation options can be considered. For example, the UE 101 , 102 can maintain common CWS for the set of carriers (but separate CWS values per priority class). The CWS can be reset (e.g., placed to an original / previous state, such as zero or one) if the NDI value for at least one HARQ process associated with the reference subframe of all the carriers is toggled or altered from a current state (e.g., bit state). Otherwise, the CWS can be increased to the next level or size (e.g., as in Table 15.2.1 -1 if TS 36.213 sizes or otherwise). In this embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25us single interval LBT can be considered in the CWS adaptation or as part of the adaptation process. In another embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25 us single interval LBT can be excluded in the CWs adaptation in deciding the CWS increase, a CWS reset, or both.

[0078] In another example, the UE 101 , 102 can maintain a common CWS for the set of carriers (but separate CWS values per priority class) as part of a set of conditions for the CWS adaptation. The CWS can be reset if the NDI value for at least X % HARQ process associated with the reference subframe of all the carriers is toggled or altered, wherein X can be any positive number from 0 to 100. Otherwise, the CWS can be increased to a next level or allowed size. In this embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25 us single interval LBT can be considered in the CWS adaptation process. In another embodiment, the carrier(s) that were originally signaled to perform 25 us single interval LBT can be excluded in the CWs adaptation in deciding the CWS increase, CWS reset, or both.

[0079] In other aspects / embodiments, the MCOT can be considered when the UE

101 , 102 receives multiple grants (e.g., UL grants for different sets of one or more carriers) in multiple carrier LBT operations performed concurrently. When a UE 101 ,

102, for example, is scheduled two sets of one or more UL subframes with Cat 4 LBT, with two different UL grants, if the UE 101 or 102 successfully completes Cat 4 LBT for transmission on any of the subframes in the first set of UL subframes, it is possible that the second set of scheduled UL subframe falls within the MCOT obtained for the UL transmission by the first grant. In such a case, the UE can be enabled to perform 25us single interval LBT for the UL transmission according to the second grant. To be more specific, the UE 101 , 102 can perform transmission according to the second grant, if it is contained within the obtained MCOT and immediately after performing an LBT of duration 25 microseconds if the channel was observed to be continuously idle since after the first transmission was finished. If the channel was not observed to

be continuously idle, then the UE would perform Cat 4 LBT.

[0080] While the methods described within this disclosure are illustrated in and described herein as a series of acts or events, it will be appreciated that the illustrated ordering of such acts or events are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. For example, some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and/or described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the description herein. Further, one or more of the acts depicted herein may be carried out in one or more separate acts and/or phases.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 4, illustrated is an example process flow 400 for

implementing UL LBT aspects / embodiments related to LTE LAA multi-carrier operations.

[0082] At 402, a UE can receive a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers.

[0083] At 404, a contention window size adaptation can be performed independently for or on the plurality of carriers based on a set of conditions. The conditions can include the CWS being performed independently per carrier or on each carrier of the multiple carriers being utilized for UL transmission, for example, or indicated by UL grants.

These conditions can also include whether a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation precedes the UL grants of the DL transmission and the plurality of carriers are scheduled with a same starting point in a subframe. If the conditions are met, then the CWS adaptation can be performed as part of the generation of a UL transmission with UL Type 2 LBT, for example.

[0084] At 406, a UL transmission can be generated on the carriers based on the contention window size adaptation. A radio frequency communication interface (e.g., RF interface 316 or other communication interface, coupled to the one or more processors or network components, can operate to process the DL transmission and communicate the UL transmission on the plurality of carriers (e.g., to a eNB, gNB, or other network device / component).

[0085] In other aspects or embodiments, the process flow 400 can include maintaining a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT operation / protocol without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT operation / protocol. The first LBT multi-carrier procedure can comprise performing the Cat 4 LBT independently for the plurality of carriers of the UL transmission, and the second LBT multi-carrier procedure comprises performing the Cat 4 LBT on a primary carrier of the plurality of carriers and performing a single interval LBT on at least one secondary carrier of the plurality of carriers.

[0086] Alternatively or additionally, the process flow can include switching from the first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT operation / protocol to a second LBT operation / procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol as part of the UL transmissions.

[0087] The process flow 400 can include performing adaptation of the contention window size either by including or by excluding carriers associated with a single interval

LBT.

[0088] Referring to FIG. 5, illustrated is an example process flow 500 for

[0089] At 502, an eNB or gNB, for example, can generate a downlink transmission comprising one or more uplink grants on a plurality of carriers scheduled with a category 4 listen before talk with a same starting point of a subframe.

[0090] At 504, a UL transmission can be received on the plurality of carriers based on the one or more UL grants. The UL transmission can be preceded by a contention window size adaptation preformed on a per carrier basis of the different carriers. A communication interface (e.g., RF circuitry 206, RF circuitry 204, or any one interface thereat), coupled to the one or more processors or network components of a network device, can be configured to transmit the DL transmission or receive the UL

transmission.

[0091] The eNB can further signal a carrier of the carriers to correspond to a Cat 4 LBT operation and another carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a single interval LBT operation comprising a duration of about 25 microseconds or one that is shorter in comparison to the Cat 4 LBT.

[0092] The contention window size adaption can be a function of whether a UE maintains a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol without switching to a second LBT procedure, which is different from the first, as a Type 2 LBT protocol, or switches from the first LBT procedure as indicated by the one or more UL grants to the second LBT procedure for the UL transmission.

[0093] The process flow 500 can further comprise scheduling a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes with a Cat 4 LBT based on two different UL grants. The process flow can further include enabling the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant in response to a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes.

[0094] 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), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/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.

[0095] As it employed in the subject specification, the term "processor" can refer to substantially any computing processing unit or device including, but not limited to including, single-core processors; single-processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithread technology;

parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic controller, a complex programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions and/or processes described herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance performance of mobile devices. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0096] In the subject specification, terms such as "store," "data store," data storage," "database," and substantially any other information storage component relevant to operation and functionality of a component and/or process, refer to "memory

components," or entities embodied in a "memory," or components including the memory. It is noted that the memory components described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory.

[0097] By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory, for example, can be included in a memory, non-volatile memory (see below), disk storage (see below), and memory storage (see below). Further, nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory, programmable read only memory, electrically programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, or flash memory.

Volatile memory can include random access memory, which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, random access memory is available in many forms such as synchronous random access memory, dynamic random access memory, synchronous dynamic random access memory, double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory, enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory, Synchlink dynamic random access memory, and direct Rambus random access memory. Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methods herein are intended to include, without being limited to including, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0098] Examples can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including instructions that, when performed by a machine cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described herein.

[0099] Example 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more processors configured to: receive a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers;

perform a contention window size adaptation independently for the plurality of carriers based on a set of conditions; generate a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the contention window size adaptation; and a radio frequency communication interface, coupled to the one or more processors, configured to process the DL transmission and communicate a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers.

[00100] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1 , wherein the set of conditions comprises whether a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation precedes the UL grants of the DL transmission and the plurality of carriers are scheduled with a same starting point in a subframe as indicated by the one or more UL grants.

[00101 ] Example 3 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -2, including or omitting any elements as optional wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: maintain a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol comprising the Cat 4 LBT operation without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol comprising a single interval LBT operation.

[00102] Example 4 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -3, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the first LBT procedure comprises performing the Type 1 LBT protocol independently for the plurality of carriers of the UL transmission, and wherein the second LBT procedure comprises performing the Type 1 LBT protocol on a primary carrier of the plurality of carriers and performing the Type 2 LBT protocol on at least one secondary carrier of the plurality of carriers for the UL transmission.

[00103] Example 5 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -4, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: perform the contention window size adaptation independently on a per carrier basis on the plurality of carriers by including carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

[00104] Example 6 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -5, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: perform the contention window size adaptation independently on a per carrier basis on the plurality of carriers by excluding carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

[00105] Example 7 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -6, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: switch from a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol indicated by the one or more UL grants to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol.

[00106] Example 8 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -7, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the set of conditions comprises a constant contention window size for the plurality of carriers and separate contention window sizes for different priority classes; and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to reset the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) bit being toggled based on a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers and increase the contention window size otherwise.

[00107] Example 9 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -8, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase or reset and increase the contention window size.

[00108] Example 10 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -9, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to exclude a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase, or both reset and increase the contention window size.

[00109] Example 1 1 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -10, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: in response to a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes being scheduled with a Cat 4 LBT based on two different UL grants comprising a first grant and a second grant, a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes, generate the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant.

[00110] Example 12 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -1 1 , including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: communicate the UL transmission according to the second grant in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being within the MCOT of the first set of subframes and after the single interval LBT in response to a channel of the UL transmission being detected as continuously idle after a previous UL transmission of the first set of subframes; and in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being outside of the MCOT of the first set of subframes, perform the Cat 4 LBT before communicating the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes.

[00111 ] Example 13 is a computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) to perform operations, comprising: receiving a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers;

adapting a contention window size independently per carrier of the plurality of carriers based on a set of conditions; and generating a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the contention window size.

[00112] Example 14 includes the subject matter of Example 13, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the set of conditions comprises whether a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation precedes the UL grants of the DL transmission and the plurality of carriers are scheduled with a same starting point in a subframe based on the one or more UL grants.

[00113] Example 15 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-14, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: maintaining a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol comprising the Cat 4 LBT operation without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol comprising a single interval LBT operation while generating the UL transmission;

wherein the first LBT procedure comprises performing the Cat 4 LBT operation independently for the plurality of carriers of the UL transmission, and wherein the second LBT multi-carrier procedure comprises performing the Cat 4 LBT on a primary carrier of the plurality of carriers and performing the single interval LBT operation on at least one secondary carrier of the plurality of carriers.

[00114] Example 16 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-15 including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: performing an adaptation of the contention window size by including carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

[00115] Example 17 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-16, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: performing an adaptation of the contention window size by excluding carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

[00116] Example 18 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-17, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: switching from a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol.

[00117] Example 19 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-18, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: resetting the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) bit being toggled based on a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers and increase the contention window size otherwise.

[00118] Example 20 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-19, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise including a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase or reset and increase the contention window size.

[00119] Example 21 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-20, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise excluding a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase, or both reset and increase the contention window size.

[00120] Example 22 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-21 , including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: resetting the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) value for at least a percentage of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a reference subframe of the plurality of carriers being toggled; and including or excluding a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation as part of the adapting the contention window size, comprising determining whether to reset, increase, or reset and increase the contention window size.

[00121 ] Example 23 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 13-22, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: in response to a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes being scheduled with a Cat 4 LBT operation based on two different UL grants comprising a first grant and a second grant, a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT operation for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes, generating the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant; communicating the UL transmission according to the second grant in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being within the MCOT of the first set of subframes and immediately after the single interval LBT operation in response to a channel of the UL transmission being detected as continuously idle after a previous UL transmission of the first set of subframes; and in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being outside of the MCOT of the first set of subframes, perform the Cat 4 LBT operation before communicating the UL transmission

corresponding to the second set of subframes.

[00122] Example 24 is an apparatus configured to be employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising: one or more processors configured to: generate a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers that are scheduled with a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT), wherein the one or more UL grants indicate a same starting point of a subframe across the plurality of carriers; receive a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the one or more UL grants, wherein the UL transmission is preceded by a contention window size adaptation preformed on a per carrier basis of the plurality of carriers; and a

communication interface, coupled to the one or more processors, configured to transmit the DL transmission or receive the UL transmission.

[00123] Example 25 includes the subject matter of Example 24, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: signal a carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation and another carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a single interval LBT operation comprising a duration of about 25 microseconds.

[00124] Example 26 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24-25, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the contention window adaption is a function of whether a UE maintains a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol, or switches from the first LBT procedure as indicated by the one or more UL grants to the second LBT procedure for the UL transmission.

[00125] Example 27 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24-26, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: schedule a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes with a Cat 4 LBT operation based on two different UL grants; enable the UL

transmission with only a single interval LBT operation corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant in response to a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT operation for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes.

[00126] Example 28 is a computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of an evolved NodeB (eNB) to perform operations, comprising: generating a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers that are scheduled with a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT), wherein the one or more UL grants indicate a same starting point of a subframe across the plurality of carriers; and receiving a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the one or more UL grants, wherein the UL transmission is preceded by a contention window size adaptation preformed on a per carrier basis of the plurality of carriers.

[00127] Example 29 includes the subject matter of Example 28, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: signal a carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation and another carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a single interval LBT operation comprising a duration of about 25 microseconds.

[00128] Example 30 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 28-29, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the contention window adaption is a function of whether a UE maintains a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol, or switches from the first LBT procedure as indicated by the one or more UL grants to the second LBT procedure for the UL transmission.

[00129] Example 31 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 28-29, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: schedule a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes with a Cat 4 LBT operation based on two different UL grants; enable the UL

[00130] Example 32 is an apparatus employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB), comprising: means for generating a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers that are scheduled with a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT), wherein the one or more UL grants indicate a same starting point of a subframe across the plurality of carriers; and means for receiving a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the one or more UL grants, wherein the UL transmission is preceded by a contention window size adaptation preformed on a per carrier basis of the plurality of carriers.

[00131 ] Example 33 includes the subject matter of Example 32, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for signaling a carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation and another carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a single interval LBT operation comprising a duration of about 25 microseconds.

[00132] Example 34 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 32-33, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the contention window adaption is a function of whether a UE maintains a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol, or switches from the first LBT procedure as indicated by the one or more UL grants to the second LBT procedure for the UL transmission.

[00133] Example 35 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 32-34, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for scheduling a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes with a Cat 4 LBT operation based on two different UL grants; means for enabling the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT operation corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant in response to a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT operation for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes.

[00134] Example 36 is an apparatus employed in a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers; means for adapting a contention window size independently per carrier of the plurality of carriers based on a set of conditions; and means for generating a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the contention window size.

[00135] Example 37 includes the subject matter of Example 36, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the set of conditions comprises whether a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation precedes the UL grants of the DL transmission and the plurality of carriers are scheduled with a same starting point in a subframe based on the one or more UL grants.

[00136] Example 38 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-37, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for maintaining a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol comprising the Cat 4 LBT operation without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol comprising a single interval LBT operation while generating the UL transmission;

[00137] Example 39 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-38, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for performing an adaptation of the contention window size by including carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

[00138] Example 40 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-39, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for performing an adaptation of the contention window size by excluding carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

[00139] Example 41 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-40, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for switching from a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol.

[00140] Example 42 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-41 , including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising:

[00141 ] means for resetting the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) bit being toggled based on a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers and increase the contention window size otherwise.

[00142] Example 43 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-42, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for including a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase or reset and increase the contention window size.

[00143] Example 44 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-43, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for excluding a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase, or both reset and increase the contention window size.

[00144] Example 45 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-44, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for resetting the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) value for at least a percentage of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a reference subframe of the plurality of carriers being toggled; and means for including or excluding a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation as part of the adapting the contention window size, comprising determining whether to reset, increase, or reset and increase the contention window size.

[00145] Example 46 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 36-45, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for generating the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant in response to: a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes being scheduled with a Cat 4 LBT operation based on two different UL grants comprising a first grant and a second grant, a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT operation for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes; means for communicating the UL

transmission according to the second grant in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being within the MCOT of the first set of subframes and immediately after the single interval LBT operation in response to a channel of the UL transmission being detected as continuously idle after a previous UL transmission of the first set of subframes; and means for performing the Cat 4 LBT operation before communicating the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being outside of the MCOT of the first set of subframes.

[00146] It is to be understood that aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media or a computer readable storage device can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD- ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory medium, that can be used to carry or store desired information or executable instructions. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.

Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer- readable media.

[00147] Various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other

programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform functions described herein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Additionally, at least one processor can comprise one or more modules operable to perform one or more of the s and/or actions described herein.

[00148] For a software implementation, techniques described herein can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform functions described herein. Software codes can be stored in memory units and executed by processors. Memory unit can be implemented within processor or external to processor, in which case memory unit can be communicatively coupled to processor through various means as is known in the art. Further, at least one processor can include one or more modules operable to perform functions described herein.

[00149] Techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA1800, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. Further, CDMA1800 covers IS-1800, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile

Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.1 1 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.18, Flash-OFDML , etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on downlink and SC-FDMA on uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). Additionally, CDMA1 800 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). Further, such wireless communication systems can additionally include peer-to-peer (e.g., mobile-to-mobile) ad hoc network systems often using unpaired unlicensed spectrums, 802. xx wireless LAN, BLUETOOTH and any other short- or long- range, wireless communication techniques.

[00150] Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), which utilizes single carrier modulation and frequency domain equalization is a technique that can be utilized with the disclosed aspects. SC-FDMA has similar performance and essentially a similar overall complexity as those of OFDMA system. SC-FDMA signal has lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) because of its inherent single carrier structure. SC-FDMA can be utilized in uplink communications where lower PAPR can benefit a mobile terminal in terms of transmit power efficiency.

[00151 ] Moreover, various aspects or features described herein can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROM, card, stick, key drive, etc.). Additionally, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data. Additionally, a computer program product can include a computer readable medium having one or more instructions or codes operable to cause a computer to perform functions described herein.

[00152] Communications media embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport media. The term "modulated data signal" or signals refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

[00153] Further, the actions of a method or algorithm described in connection with aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination thereof. A software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium can be coupled to processor, such that processor can read information from, and write information to, storage medium. In the alternative, storage medium can be integral to processor. Further, in some aspects, processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Additionally, ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, processor and storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the s and/or actions of a method or algorithm can reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machine-readable medium and/or computer readable medium, which can be incorporated into a computer program product.

[00154] The above description of illustrated embodiments of the subject disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible that are considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art can recognize.

[00155] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding Figures, where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below.

[00156] In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations of the disclosure. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more processors configured to:

receive a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers;

perform a contention window size adaptation independently for the plurality of carriers based on a set of conditions;

generate a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the contention window size adaptation; and

a radio frequency communication interface, coupled to the one or more processors, configured to process the DL transmission and communicate a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the set of conditions comprises whether a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation precedes the UL grants of the DL transmission and the plurality of carriers are scheduled with a same starting point in a subframe as indicated by the one or more UL grants.

3. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

maintain a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol comprising the Cat 4 LBT operation without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol comprising a single interval LBT operation.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first LBT procedure comprises performing the Type 1 LBT protocol independently for the plurality of carriers of the UL

transmission, and wherein the second LBT procedure comprises performing the Type 1 LBT protocol on a primary carrier of the plurality of carriers and performing the Type 2 LBT protocol on at least one secondary carrier of the plurality of carriers for the UL transmission.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

perform the contention window size adaptation independently on a per carrier basis on the plurality of carriers by including carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

perform the contention window size adaptation independently on a per carrier basis on the plurality of carriers by excluding carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

switch from a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol indicated by the one or more UL grants to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the set of conditions comprises a constant contention window size for the plurality of carriers and separate contention window sizes for different priority classes; and

wherein the one or more processors are further configured to reset the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) bit being toggled based on a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers and increase the contention window size otherwise.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase or reset and increase the contention window size.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to exclude a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase, or both reset and increase the contention window size.

1 1 . The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

in response to a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes being scheduled with a Cat 4 LBT based on two different UL grants comprising a first grant and a second grant, a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes, generate the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

communicate the UL transmission according to the second grant in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being within the MCOT of the first set of subframes and after the single interval LBT in response to a channel of the UL transmission being detected as continuously idle after a previous UL transmission of the first set of subframes; and

in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being outside of the MCOT of the first set of subframes, perform the Cat 4 LBT before communicating the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes.

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) to perform operations, comprising:

receiving a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers;

adapting a contention window size independently per carrier of the plurality of carriers based on a set of conditions; and

generating a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the contention window size.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the set of conditions comprises whether a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation precedes the UL grants of the DL transmission and the plurality of carriers are scheduled with a same starting point in a subframe based on the one or more UL grants.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

maintaining a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol comprising the Cat 4 LBT operation without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol comprising a single interval LBT operation while generating the UL transmission;

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

performing an adaptation of the contention window size by including carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

performing an adaptation of the contention window size by excluding carriers associated with a single interval LBT.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 13-17, wherein the operations further comprise:

switching from a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

resetting the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) bit being toggled based on a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers and increase the contention window size otherwise.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 9, wherein the operations further comprise including a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase or reset and increase the contention window size.

21 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 9, wherein the operations further comprise excluding a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation in the contention window size adaptation, including determining whether to reset, increase, or both reset and increase the contention window size.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

resetting the contention window size in response to a new data indicator (NDI) value for at least a percentage of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a reference subframe of the plurality of carriers being toggled; and including or excluding a carrier of the plurality of carriers signaled for a single interval LBT operation as part of the adapting the contention window size, comprising determining whether to reset, increase, or reset and increase the contention window size.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 13-22, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes being scheduled with a Cat 4 LBT operation based on two different UL grants comprising a first grant and a second grant, a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT operation for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes, generating the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT

corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant;

communicating the UL transmission according to the second grant in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being within the MCOT of the first set of subframes and immediately after the single interval LBT operation in response to a channel of the UL transmission being detected as continuously idle after a previous UL transmission of the first set of subframes; and in response to the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes being outside of the MCOT of the first set of subframes, perform the Cat 4 LBT operation before communicating the UL transmission corresponding to the second set of subframes.

24. An apparatus configured to be employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising: one or more processors configured to:

generate a downlink (DL) transmission comprising one or more uplink (UL) grants on a plurality of carriers that are scheduled with a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT), wherein the one or more UL grants indicate a same starting point of a subframe across the plurality of carriers;

receive a UL transmission on the plurality of carriers based on the one or more UL grants, wherein the UL transmission is preceded by a contention window size adaptation preformed on a per carrier basis of the plurality of carriers; and

a communication interface, coupled to the one or more processors, configured to transmit the DL transmission or receive the UL transmission.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

signal a carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a category (Cat) 4 listen before talk (LBT) operation and another carrier of the plurality of carriers to correspond to a single interval LBT operation comprising a duration of about 25 microseconds.

26. The apparatus of any one of claims 24-25, wherein the contention window adaption is a function of whether a UE maintains a first LBT procedure as a Type 1 LBT protocol without switching to a second LBT procedure as a Type 2 LBT protocol, or switches from the first LBT procedure as indicated by the one or more UL grants to the second LBT procedure for the UL transmission.

27. The apparatus of any one of claims 24-26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: schedule a first set of subframes and a second set of subframes with a Cat 4 LBT operation based on two different UL grants;

enable the UL transmission with only a single interval LBT operation

corresponding to the second set of subframes according to the second grant in response to a successful completion of the Cat 4 LBT operation for transmission on any subframe in the first set of subframes, and a second set of subframes being within a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) of the first set of subframes.