WO2018075745A1 - ENABLING AUTONOMOUS UPLINK (UL) TRANSMISSION WITHIN THE GAP OF A TRANSMISSION OPPORTUNITY (TxOP) - Google Patents

Abstract

Autonomous uplink (UL) transmission can be enabled for user equipments (UEs) to generate on unlicensed spectrums that are shared among different UEs of a network. A UE can generate the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP) without a corresponding UL grant. The UE performs a listen before talk (LBT) operation within the gap period of a TxOP. Based on the LBT, the autonomous UL transmission can be communicated on an unlicensed channel that is shared among the different UEs.

Description

ENABLING AUTONOMOUS UPLINK (UL) TRANSMISSION WITHIN THE GAP OF A

TRANSMISSION OPPORTUNITY (TxOP)

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Numbers 62/410,256 filed October 19, 2017, entitled "ENABLING AUTONOMOUS UL

TRANSMISSION WITHIN THE GAP OF TxOP", 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 enabling autonomous uplink (UL) transmissions within a gap of a transmission opportunity (TxOP).

BACKGROUND

[0003] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a node (e.g., a transmission station) and a wireless device (e.g., a mobile device), or a user equipment (UE). Some wireless devices communicate using orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) in a downlink (DL) transmission and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC- FDMA) in an uplink (UL) transmission, for example. Standards and protocols that use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) for signal transmission include the third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard (e.g., 802.16e, 802.16m), which is commonly known to industry groups as WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access), and the IEEE 802.1 1 standard, which is commonly known to industry groups as WiFi.

[0004] In 3GPP radio access network (RAN) LTE systems, the node can be an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as evolved Node Bs, enhanced Node Bs, eNodeBs, or eNBs) as well as one or more Radio Network Controllers (RNCs), which communicate with the UE. The DL transmission can be a communication from the node (e.g., eNB) to the UE, and the UL transmission can be a communication from the wireless device to the node. In LTE, data can be transmitted from the eNodeB to the UE via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). A physical UL control channel (PUCCH) can be used to acknowledge that data was received.

[0005] The explosive wireless traffic (data flow) growth across various network cells leads to an urgent need of rate improvement. With mature physical layer techniques, further improvement in the spectral efficiency will likely be marginal. On the other hand, the scarcity of licensed spectrum in low frequency band is resulting in a deficit in the data rate boost. Thus, interests are emerging in the operation of LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum. As a result, one major enhancement for LTE in 3GPP Release 13 has been to enable operation in the unlicensed spectrum via Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), which expands the system bandwidth by utilizing the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework introduced by the LTE-Advanced system. Enhanced operation of LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems.

Potential LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum includes, but is not limited to the LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC) (referred to as DC based LAA) and the standalone LTE system in the unlicensed spectrum, in which LTE- based technology operates in unlicensed spectrum without utilizing an "anchor" in licensed spectrum, which can be referred to as MulteFire. MulteFire protocols or standards combine the performance benefits of LTE technology with the simplicity of Wi-Fi-like deployments.

[0006] The unlicensed frequency band of interest in 3GPP is the 5 GHz band, which has wide spectrum with global common availability. The 5 GHz band in the US is governed by Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) rules by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The main incumbent system in the 5 GHz band is the Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), especially those based on the IEEE 802.1 1 a/n/ac technologies, for example. Because WLAN systems are widely deployed for carrier-grade access service and data offloading, sufficient care should be taken before the deployment, and why Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) is considered as a useful feature of Rel-13 LAA system for fair coexistence with the incumbent WLAN system. LBT is a procedure whereby radio transmitters first sense the communication medium and transmit only if the medium is sensed to be idle. Further, LBT is an important feature for co-existence in the unlicensed band, wherein a transmitter listens to detect potential interference on the channel, only transmitting in the absence of interfering signals above a given threshold. Furthermore, different regions such as Europe have regulations concerning LBT for operation in unlicensed bands. WiFi devices use carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) as an LBT scheme, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating example user equipments (UEs) useable in connection with various network components according to various aspects

(embodiments) described herein.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating example components of a device that can be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

[0009] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating example interfaces of baseband circuitry that can be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

[0010] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system employable at a UE that enables autonomous UL communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein according to various aspects described herein.

[0011] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system employable at a base station

(BS) / evolved NodeB (eNB)/ new radio / next generation NodeB (gNB) that enables autonomous UL communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein, according to various aspects described herein.

[0012] FIG. 6 illustrates an example transmission opportunity for autonomous UL communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein.

[0013] FIG. 7 illustrates further details of the example transmission opportunity for autonomous UL communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein.

[0014] FIG. 8 illustrates further details of the example transmission opportunity for autonomous UL communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein.

[0015] FIG. 9 illustrates further details of the example transmission opportunity for autonomous UL communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein.

[0016] FIG. 10 illustrates an example process flow for autonomous UL

communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] 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."

[0018] 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).

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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

[0021] In consideration of the above described deficiencies, various components and techniques are disclosed that enable networks devices (e.g., eNBs) to schedule other network devices (e.g., UEs) with fixed or dynamic timing relationships between transmission grants (e.g., UL grants) and transmissions (e.g., UL transmissions), which include signaling operations, UL LBT operations, or extension of multi-carrier UL scheduling in unlicensed spectrums / bands or licensed spectrums / bands. An eNB (or Next Generation NodeB (gNB), for example, can comprise a communication component that processes signals on an unlicensed / licensed band. A scheduling component of the network device can generate a DL transmission with one or more UL grants and one or more indications within a first transmission opportunity that can be transmitted to the UE and further enable scheduling one or more uplink (UL) transmissions associated with a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), for example. These indications can specify to the UE whether to schedule the one or more UL transmissions (e.g., within the first transmission opportunity or a second transmission opportunity that is outside of the first transmission opportunity). Therefore, the UE can then utilize the UL grants based on an indication to schedule UL

transmissions based on a transmission opportunity (TxOP).

[0022] A TxOP or transmission opportunity can be referred to as a bounded time interval, as defined by a standard or a standards body (e.g., 3GPP, or other). During this time interval, a network device (e.g., an eNB gNB) can communicate or transmit as many frames or subframes as possible as long as the duration of the transmission does not extend beyond a maximum duration of the TxOP or a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), for example. [0023] In an aspect, a UE operating on an unlicensed / licensed spectrum can generate a listen before talk (LBT) protocol (e.g., a category 4 LBT or a clear channel assessment (CCA) with a single LBT interval) and switch between different types of LBT protocols based on the indications of a DL transmission. The DL transmission, for example, can include LBT parameters, the UL grants or the type of LBT for the UE to perform before a UL transmission, for example. As such, the UE can receive the DL transmission from the eNB, process and schedule UL transmissions based on the received UL grants and indications from the DL transmission. The UE can perform an LBT by sensing the unlicensed / licensed medium before generating / transmitting the PUSCH or PUCCH, for example. When the unlicensed / licensed medium is determined to be idle, the UE can then transmit a PUSCH or PUCCH transmission during the PUSCH / PUCCH schedule based on UL grants and indications within a first transmission opportunity of the DL transmission. When the unlicensed / licensed medium is determined to be busy, the UE can prevent the PUSCH / PUCCH

transmission during the PUSCH / PUCCH schedule. The UE can then generate transmissions and the eNB can further receive the uplink PUSCH / PUCCH

transmission from the UE based on the indications it provided to the UE in the DL transmission.

[0024] According to standard agreements (e.g., 3GPP Release-1 3 LAA or other agreement), a DL burst transmission is preceded by a category 4 LBT, which includes a clear channel assessment and an exponential random backoff procedure at the eNB. 3GPP Release-13 LAA design restricts the maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) or the TxOP after completion of LBT at the eNB. An MCOT or TxOP is expected to include the DL subframe(s) from the eNB and the UL transmissions from UEs associated with the corresponding eNB (or gNB as used herein). However, UL performance in unlicensed spectrum can be significantly degraded, essentially starving out or preventing UL transmissions within the same TxOP. The main cause of this UL starvation is due to the double LBT requirements at both eNB when sending the UL grant and at the scheduled UEs before transmission, whereby complete or longer LBT processes (e.g., category (Cat) 4 LBT protocols) are being conducted twice for the same TxOP, at least once completely by the eNB and once by the UE. This can be a problem when a scheduled system (e.g., LTE) coexists with a non-scheduled autonomous system (e.g., Wi-Fi). Additionally, another particular limitation imposed on LTE systems includes a 4-subframe processing delay that restrict the initial four subframes in a transmission burst from being configured to UL, as such the UL grants are unavailable for those subframes within the same transmission burst.

[0025] In an aspect, issues related to the UL transmission and corresponding starvations of UL (resulting in the UL being dropped or not transmitted) of the scheduling systems discussed above can be improved via autonomous UL design(s) (grant-less UL transmission(s)), especially in enhancements of LAA (eLAA) or MulteFire communications. For example, a grant-less (without corresponding / allocating UL grant(s)) or UL autonomous communication can be implemented by enabling channel access based on a one shot LBT before transmission by the UE. A one shot LBT can be a clear channel assessment (CCA) check such as a single interval LBT, which is a shorter duration than a Cat 4 LBT on the given channel in the unlicensed band or the licensed band.

[0026] In other aspects (or embodiments), the UL autonomous transmission can be enabled to be generated, or simply generated within a gap period where a first symbol is left blank or blanked to enable a DL control transmission. In addition, to avoid collision in the communication with other UEs on the channel / band, for example, the UE can determine / choose to utilize one or more multiple interlaces within a gap subframe.

[0027] Additionally, as part of enabling autonomous UL transmission, UL control information (UCI) can be sent as UCI on PUSCH within an interlace. The UCI can be generated in every interlace, or in one interlace only and an indication of the total resource allocation. Additional aspects and details of the disclosure are further described below with reference to figures.

[0028] Embodiments described herein can be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a system 1 00 of a network in accordance with some embodiments for generating autonomous UL communications according to various aspects / embodiments described herein. The system 100 is shown to include a user equipment (UE) 101 and a UE 102. The UEs 101 and 102 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.

[0029] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can comprise an Internet of Things (loT) UE (or loT device), which can comprise a network access layer designed for low-power loT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections, and can be distinguished from cellular UEs or wireless cell devices alone as low power network devices as eMTC or NB-loT UEs utilizing a low power network, for example, or

MulteFire standards for communication. 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 shortlived connections. The loT UEs can execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the loT network.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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).

[0032] 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).

[0033] The RAN 1 1 0 can include one or more access nodes (or RAN nodes) that enable the connections 103 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). 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, picocells, or network cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells (e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 1 12).

[0034] 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 and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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).

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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 can be 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 1 5, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 and MMEs 121 .

[0041] In this embodiment, the CN 1 20 comprises the MMEs 121 , 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] The P-GW 123 can terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 123 can route data packets between the EPC network 123 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] FIG. 2 illustrates example components of a 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 21 0, 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 gNB, eNB, UE (e.g., 101 or 102), a RAN node or other network device (e.g., 1 1 1 or 1 1 2) incorporating one or more various aspects / embodiments herein. In some embodiments, the device 200 can include less elements (e.g., a RAN node could not utilize application circuitry 202, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the 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).

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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), sixth 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.

[0048] 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).

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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. [0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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).

[0063] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 can manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 204. In particular, the PMC 21 2 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.

[0064] FIG. 2 illustrates 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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 could not receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC_Connected state.

[0067] 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 is totally unreachable to the network and can power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.

[0068] 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, described in further detail below.

[0069] 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. [0070] In addition, the memory 204G (as well as other memory components discussed herein, such as memory 430, memory 530 or the like) 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.

[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 external 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 212).

[0072] Referring to FIG. 4, illustrated is a block diagram of a system or apparatus 400 employable at a user equipment (UE) or loT device (e.g., UE 101 or 102) that can enable autonomous UL transmissions according to various aspects / embodiments described herein. System 400 can include one or more processors 41 0 (e.g., one or more baseband processors such as one or more of the baseband processors discussed in connection with FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3) comprising processing circuitry and associated memory interface(s) (e.g., memory interface(s) discussed in connection with FIG. 3), transceiver circuitry 420 (e.g., comprising one or more of transmitter circuitry or receiver circuitry, which can employ common circuit elements, distinct circuit elements, or a combination thereof), and a memory 430 (which can comprise any of a variety of storage mediums and can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processor(s) 410 or transceiver circuitry 420). In various aspects, system 400 can be included within a user equipment (UE) or loT device, for example, a MTC / loT UE. As described in greater detail below, system 400 can process / receive DRS

communications in one or more DRS subframe configurations according to various aspects / embodiments described herein

[0073] In various aspects discussed herein, signals and/or messages can be generated and output for transmission, and/or transmitted messages can be received and processed. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, outputting for transmission (e.g., by processor(s) 410, processor(s) 510, etc.) can comprise one or more of the following: generating a set of associated bits that indicate the content of the signal or message, coding (e.g., which can include adding a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and/or coding via one or more of turbo code, low density parity-check (LDPC) code, tailbiting convolution code (TBCC), etc.), scrambling (e.g., based on a scrambling seed), modulating (e.g., via one of binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), or some form of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.), and/or resource mapping (e.g., to a scheduled set of resources, to a set of time and frequency resources granted for uplink transmission, etc.). Depending on the type of received signal or message, processing (e.g., by processor(s) 410, processor(s) 51 0, etc.) can comprise one or more of: identifying physical resources associated with the signal/message, detecting the signal/message, resource element group deinterleaving, demodulation, descrambling, and/or decoding. [0074] In some embodiments, the system 400 as a UE or loT device can perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels (e.g., unlicensed spectrum / unlicensed channels) where the U-loT UE 400 is scheduled to transmit on. Afterwards, the U-loT UE can transmit on the one or more channels to an eNB (e.g., eNB 500 of FIG. 5).

[0075] As referred to herein, a category (Cat) 4 LBT protocol / procedure can be longer than a single interval LBT or a clear channel assessment, and further include a backoff operation or procedure. For example, the category 4 LBT protocol can further include a random backoff procedure (e.g., an exponential random backoff procedure) as opposed to a clear channel assessment alone that can comprise a single interval LBT (or short Cat 4 LBT) operation or single shot LBT; whereby a puncturing of a symbol of PUSCH transmission (e.g., a first symbol or other symbol of the UL transmission) occurs as part of the channel assessment to determine a busy channel or an idle / available channel / band.

[0076] A TxOP can enable scheduling of a UL transmission associated with a PUSCH or a PUCCH. An indication of the TxOP can include one or more bits or other indication. The indications can provide various different triggers or indicators to the UEs 1 1 0 or 1 16, such as whether to schedule the one or more UL transmissions within the first transmission opportunity or a second transmission opportunity that is outside of the first transmission opportunity. Other indications can be based on different signaling operations for TxOPs and UL grants that include various indications to various parameters of the TxOPs and LBT operations based on whether scheduling is indicated to be within the same TxOP as the UL grants or within a different TxOP. The indications can enable a UE to process the UL grants for scheduling based on different parameters and conditions. These indications can be signaled explicitly or implicitly. The indications can include a type of LBT to perform, one or more subframe timing relationships, an identification of subframes to schedule in a second TxOP that is outside of the TxOP with the UL grant(s), a duration / subframe range for scheduling in the outside TxOP, an offset or other indication(s) such as whether a reservation signal is permitted.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 5, illustrated is a block diagram of a system or apparatus 500 employable at a BS (Base Station), gNB, eNB or other network device / component (e.g., 1 1 1 or 1 12) that facilitates / enables autonomous UL transmission. System 500 can include one or more processors 510 (e.g., one or more baseband processors such as one or more of the baseband processors discussed in connection with FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3) comprising processing circuitry and associated memory interface(s) (e.g., memory interface(s) discussed in connection with FIG. 3), communication circuitry 520 (e.g., which can comprise circuitry for one or more wired (e.g., X2, etc.) connections and/or transceiver circuitry that can comprise one or more of transmitter circuitry (e.g., associated with one or more transmit chains) or receiver circuitry (e.g., associated with one or more receive chains), wherein the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry can employ common circuit elements, distinct circuit elements, or a combination thereof), and memory 530 (which can comprise any of a variety of storage mediums and can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processor(s) 510 or communication circuitry 520). In various aspects, system 500 can be included within an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (Evolved Node B, eNodeB, or eNB), next generation Node B (gNodeB or gNB) or other base station in a wireless communications network. In some aspects, the processor(s) 510, communication circuitry 520, and the memory 530 can be included in a single device, while in other aspects, they can be included in different devices, such as part of a distributed architecture.

[0078] The system 500 of an eNB / gNB, for example, can perform a listen-before- talk (LBT) procedure on one or more channels where one or more loT devices can be scheduled to transmit on. The eNB 500 can then reserve the one or more channels for the one or more loT devices based on the LBT procedure. Then the eNB can provide a TxOP trigger to the one or more UEs to notify the devices of details pertaining to the one or more channels such as one or more unlicensed channels in enhanced licensed assisted access (eLAA) or MulteFire communications / protocols.

[0079] Referring to FIG. 6, illustrated is an example of communications 600 with a maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) or TxOP that can be shared among multiple UEs (e.g., 1 01 , 102 or the like) to enable autonomous UL transmissions. The TxOP 402 can provide UL grant(s) 406 that schedule one or a single subframe or multiple subframes. In this embodiment, the presence of a potential PUSCH transmission can be indicated by the UL grant in the previous TxOP 402 with an explicit timing relationship, which can operate to indicate cross-TxOP scheduling on a different TxOP 404 than the UL grant(s) or a same one with indications of particular LBT operations to perform, such as a Cat 4 LBT or single shot clear channel assessment, or the like. The TxOP 602, for example, can be a partial communication or burst with a PDCCH or common PDCCH (cPDDCH) and a DL transmission having a grant for an UL transmission within another TxOP 604.

[0080] The TxOP 604 can span an MCOT 606 having a gap period or gap 606, as represented also as a transmission burst. The TxOP 604 can include subframes as well as a gap for switching within the TxOP 604 between receiving and transmitting or vice versa, depending on the receiving and transmitting device. For example, DL

transmission data within the TxOP 604 can carry or be carried via PDCCH 610 as shown carried in the DL subframes designated as DL blocks. Each PDCCH 610 in the DL stages can represent also a grant index or an index of grants by which UL data can be provided and correspond to index locations (e.g., 4, 4 or 4, 3) for DL / UL within the TxOP or another TxOP as the case could be.

[0081] The TxOP 604 further includes the transmission in UL blocks. Each grant or initiation of cross over from Rx to Tx or vice versa can indicate or trigger an LBT such as a Cat 4 LBT with back-off or a single shot / CCA. The CCA in an example can be indicated or defined by a duration (e.g., about 25 microseconds or the like).

[0082] In order to resolve the issues of scheduling communications in a

communication system protocol (e.g., as related to UL starvation), autonomous UL design (grant-less UL transmission) can be enabled by the eNB / gNB 500 with the UE 400. In eLAA, for example, a shared TxOP concept can also be adopted. Common PDCCH, for example, can be used to indicate the shared TxOP within the gap 608. The cPDCCH can indicate a pair of values (UL burst duration, offset). UL burst duration can be the number of consecutive UL subframes belonging to the same channel occupancy (as well as same in a same TxOP or another TxOP), with the DL subframes in the same channel occupancy signaling the UL burst duration. The offset can refer to the number of subframes to the start of indicated UL burst from the start / end of the

subframe carrying the C-PDCCH. As an example, 5 bits can be used to jointly express {offset, duration} for all combinations of symbols indexed {{1 ,2,3,4,6}, {1 ,2,3,4,5,6}} of the subframes.

[0083] As such, a device (e.g., the UE 101 / 400 or other device detailed herein) can generate an autonomous UL transmission (without any corresponding grant) within the gap period 608. This enables the autonomous UL device, for example, to perform autonomous UL transmission on unlicensed spectrum within the gap between the last subframe carrying the PDCCH / cPDCCH (as represented by the hashed portion of the DL subframe(s) before the gap 608) and the UL burst duration portion 612 of the TxOP on an unlicensed / licensed channel.

[0084] In an aspect, the UE 400 can override the previously indicated Cat 4 LBT from the eNB 500 to a single interval LBT or CCA in response to the scheduled UL subframes being entirely contained within the indicated UL burst duration 612 of the MCOT 606 or TxOP. The UE 400 does not have to receive any DL signals/channels in a subframe indicated to be a UL subframe on the carrier or an unlicensed channel.

[0085] For channel access to an unlicensed channel, for example, that is shared among one or more other UEs (1 02), the UE 101 or 400 can perform a one shot LBT before transmission. This can be in response to performing or generating an

autonomous UL transmission within the gap, for example, or independently thereof.

[0086] In another aspect, the autonomous UL transmission can be generated within gap period 608 by blanking the first symbol, and thus, enable a DL control transmission or a UL LBT (e.g., a CCA or the other LBT). In addition, the last symbol within the gap can also be blanked to enable a DL LBT.

[0087] In other aspects, to avoid collision, the UE 400 can select one interlace or multiple interlaces within the gap subframe of the gap period 608. Although two blanked subframes are illustrated any number can be within the gap with one or more symbols blanked (e.g., the first symbol, the last symbol, or an addition symbol of a subframe). The interlace can be used to support a UL transmission due to regulation on an occupied channel bandwidth, which can define the interlace to be larger than certain percentage (e.g., 80% or other percent) of the system bandwidth, for example, which can enable a transmission for MulteFire, eLAA, or 5G communications, for example. The scheduled PUSCH bandwidth can be expressed as a number of subcarriers or a number of interlaces, the number of SC-FDMA symbols per subframe for the initial PUSCH transmission, for example, with a number of physical resource blocks (PRBs). In an interlaced resource block (RB) assignment, or a physical resource block (PRB) assignment, an interlace can be the basic resource allocation unit that can be allocated to the generation of UL transmission. One interlace, for example, can include about 1 0 RBs, and the number of REs in one interlace can be about 120, for example, or differently defined configuration by which the UE can utilize to generate a PUCCH transmission as a UL transmission.

[0088] In another aspect, UL control information (UCI) can be sent as UCI on PUSCH within the interlace. The UCI can be configured in every interlace, for example. Alternatively or additionally, a UCI can be generated / transmitted in one interlace only and also an indication can indicate the total resource allocation, as it relates to the UCI or UL burst.

[0089] The UE 400 can further detect cPDCCH and not monitor PDCCH in the UL duration. This can trigger the UE 400 to disable the UL autonomous transmission in UL burst duration to avoid any hidden node problem. UE needs to monitor PDCCH in the gap period, to ensure that the eNB can send additional grant information.

[0090] Referring to FIG. 7, illustrated is an example gap of a TxOP 604 with an UL transmission as an autonomous UL transmission within the gap period 608. A portion of the TxOP 606 comprises one or more DL subframes 704, a portion can comprise one or more autonomous UL transmission subframes (aUL), and a portion can comprise one or more UL subframes 706 in the UL duration 612, for example.

[0091] As the gap is not counted within the TxOP, the UE 400 can perform a Cat 4 LBT before UL autonomous transmission within the gap. Alternatively or additionally, the UE 400 could override a previously indicated Cat 4 LBT from the eNB 500 to perform a single interval, or CCA LBT if the scheduled subframes are to be entirely within the indicated UL burst duration 612, for example.

[0092] Referring to FIG. 8, illustrated another example of the autonomous UL transmission being generated with the gap period of TxOP. The UE 400, for example, can configure or generate an autonomous UL transmission within the gap by blanking a first symbol 802 and a last symbol 804 for UL LBT and eNB DL LBT. Further, a higher priority can be given for DL grant permission from the eNB over the autonomous UL transmission.

[0093] In eLAA and MulteFire communication protocols, the UL transmission 702 can dynamically blank the first symbol 802 and the last symbol 804 of the UL

transmission based on a DCI indication. The first UL symbol, when blanked, can be used for UL LBT. The last UL symbol, when blanked, can creates the gap for DL LBT, for example. To enable UL autonomous transmission (aUL) 702, the first symbol 802 of each transmission or aUL transmission subframe can be blanked, the last symbol 804, or both can be blanked always. The last symbol 804 being blanked can be used for DL LBT, and the first UL symbol used for UL LBT. In this configuration for enabling aUL, the DL always has an advantage for channel access over UL autonomous transmission. In case the eNB 500 indicates or transmits to over-write the gap into the DL subframe or just to send additional UL grant, the eNB 500 can always retain or be assigned a higher priority to access the channel (e.g., the unlicensed channel being shared among or assigned to multiple UEs).

[0094] Referring to FIG. 9, illustrates an example aUL within the gap period of a TxOP with one or more interlaces 902. The aUL transmissions can include one or more interlaces 902 across the allotted bandwidth as an interlace based transmission.

Subject to Cat 4 LBT, there can be a random backoff used in the LBT, which help reduces the collision of transmitting at the same time among different UEs that are also sharing the TxOP on the corresponding unlicensed channel. To further minimize the collision, interlace based autonomous transmission can be performed.

[0095] In an aspect, the eNB 500 can RRC configure the number of interlaces 902 that the UE 400 can choose / select when doing UL autonomous transmission in a gap 608. If eNB RRC configures many UEs, or increases the number of UEs on managed network of the eNB for autonomous transmission, then the number of allowed interlaces 902 per UE can be smaller / decreased to control or manage collisions or collision rates. The UE 500 can perform the UL autonomous transmission on one or multiple interlaces 902 among the one or more interlaces 902 it can access, for example.

[0096] Although embodiments herein may relate to UL autonomous transmission in the gap within TxOP, interlaced transmission can also be used in UL autonomous transmission in one or more regular subframes as well, such as in subframes not within the gap or generated / transmitted based on a UL grant, for example.

[0097] In other aspects / embodiments, uplink control information (UCI) transmission can be generated within the interlaced based transmission 702 with interlaces 902. When the UE 400 communications are configured with one or multiple interlaces for UL autonomous transmission, the UCI such as modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a number of interlaces, the HARQ information, other UCI data, etc., are transmitted as UCI on PUSCH at least one of various configurations or processes can be utilized.

[0098] In on example, the UCI can be generated / processed on every interlace: the UCI information is repeated on each and every interlace, for example. Although this can create higher overhead, it can make for easier eNB detection. Alternatively or additionally, the UCI can be generated / processed per UL transmission. For example, in case of multiple interlaces being used for a UL autonomous transmission, the UCI can be transmitted on the lowest interlace index, for example, instead of each and every interlace of the particular aUL. [0099] Besides the above embodiments / aspects where UCI is transmitted within the aUL / PUSCH (i.e. UCI piggybacked in PUSCH), UCI can also be transmitted over PUCCH. If UCI is transmitted over PUCCH, an entire interlace can be allocated for the PUCCH transmission (e.g. as ePUCCH), or only a subset of an interlace is allocated, e.g. only a subset of symbols (first or last n symbols with n e {1 , 2, 3, 4}) within the subframe or only several PRBs within the interlace are allocated for PUCCH transmission. In the latter option, a new format of PUCCH different from

sPUCCH/ePUCCH can be defined as well that varies from the PUCCH of aUL.

[00100] In another embodiment, a cell-specific common timing advance (TA) can be adopted (e.g., as in MulteFire). The cell-specific TA can initiate or trigger a move of all UL transmission forward to create Cat 4 LBT gap for eNB 500 between different TxOPs. A common TA, for example, can move the UL subframe(s) earlier than DL subframe. In order to ensure the DL PDCCH transmission, several options are possible. For example, a defined separate common TA value, for example, 25us can be used to indicate the different positions of the DL PDCCH and the uAL. In this case, only the 1 st symbol needs to be blanked in the UL transmission, where DL LBT starts at the beginning of the blanked symbol, and UL LBT starts at the end of the 25us of the blanked symbol. The eNB 400 can disable the common TA from being utilized, such as by defining it as zero or other null indication. Further, additional blanking of the UL subframe by the common TA value can also be defined, which can be in addition to the first and last symbol.

[00101 ] 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 can 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 can be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the description herein. Further, one or more of the acts depicted herein can be carried out in one or more separate acts and/or phases.

[00102] Referring to FIG. 1000, illustrated is an example process flow 1000 for an eNB / gNB, or UE for example, to perform / process / generate autonomous UL transmission.

[00103] At 1002, the process flow 1000 one or more process can process instructions that, in response to execution, perform operations, include performing a listen before talk (LBT) operation on an unlicensed channel before an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission.

[00104] At 1004, the process flow 1000 further comprises transmitting the

autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP) that is reserved along with one or more other UEs on the unlicensed channel, in response to the unlicensed channel being idle based on the LBT operation.

[00105] The UE thus generate the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant as an autonomous UL transmission. This can further include blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT within the TxOP and a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable a downlink (DL) LBT.

[00106] The aUL can involve communicating / transmitting, via at least one of: a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) transmission or a physical UL control channel (PUCCH) transmission, UL control information (UCI) on an interlace within a gap subframe of the gap period.

[00107] In one or more embodiments, a common TA can be disable to transmit the UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP. Alternatively or additionally, additional blanking can be performed on at least at a portion of a UL subframe based on a specified common TA value for the blanking. Alternatively or additionally, a newly defined TA can be utilized separately than the common TA. IN this case only a first symbol would be blanked in the UL transmission , where the DL LBT initiates at a beginning of the blanked symbol, and UL LBT initiates at a start at the end of the TA of the blanked symbol. This new define TA can be about 25 microseconds or other duration for example.

[00108] In a first set of examples to the various aspects / embodiments herein, the below examples are envisioned further.

[00109] Example 1 can include a user equipment (UE) operating on unlicensed spectrum capable of listen before talk, the UE to communicate with an enhanced node B (eNB) using a licensed medium and/or unlicensed medium; the UE capable of sensing the unlicensed medium before the physical UL shared channel (PUSCH); when the unlicensed medium is determined to be idle, transmitting a PUSCH transmission; and when the unlicensed medium is determined to be busy, preventing the PUSCH transmission; the eNB to receive an uplink PUSCH transmission from the UE. [001 10] Example 2 can include the subject matter of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein a TxOP reserved by eNB can be shared with UEs associated with it, and a common PDCCH scrambled by CC-RNTI is used to indicate the UL burst duration and offset.

[001 11 ] Example 3 can include the subject matter of example 2 and/or some other example herein, wherein UE performs autonomous UL transmission on unlicensed spectrum within the gap between the last subframe carrying the cPDCCH scrambled by CC-RNTI and the start of indicated UL burst duration, subject to LBT.

[001 12] Example 4 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein UE performs Cat-4 LBT before the autonomous UL

transmission within the gap.

[001 13] Example 5 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first symbol and last symbol are blanked always for UL autonomous transmission within the gap.

[001 14] Example 6 can include the subject matter of example 5 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first symbol is blanked for UL LBT.

[001 15] Example 7 can include the subject matter of example 5 and/or some other example herein, wherein the last symbol is blanked to enable DL LBT at eNB, such that DL always has an advantage for channel access over UL autonomous transmission and thus UL autonomous transmission will not block the PDCCH transmission within the gap. The PDCCH can over-write the gap.

[001 16] Example 8 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein interlace based autonomous transmission can be used to minimize the collision among different UEs, where a subset of interlaces that a UE can choose for autonomous transmission is to each UE by higher layer signaling (e.g. RRC signaling).

[001 17] Example 9 can include the subject matter of example 8 and/or some other example herein, wherein UE can select 1 or multiple interlaces for UL autonomous transmission among the interlaces to the UE.

[001 18] Example 10 can include the subject matter of example 8 and/or some other example herein, wherein autonomous UL transmission in regular subframe outside of the gap can also have the interlace based transmission. [00119] Example 1 1 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein UCI including MCS, number of interlaces, interlace indexes, and/or HARQ information, etc., are transmitted on PUSCH.

[00120] Example 12 can include the subject matter of example 1 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein UCI on PUSCH can be transmitted in every interlace.

[00121 ] Example 13 can include the subject matter of example 1 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein UCI on PUSCH can be transmitted on only one interlace, e.g. the lowest interlace used for the UL autonomous transmission.

[00122] Example 14 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein UCI including MCS, number of interlaces, interlace indexes, and/or HARQ information, etc., are transmitted on PUCCH.

[00123] Example 15 can include the subject matter of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein an entire interlace can be used for the PUCCH transmission.

[00124] Example 16 can include the subject matter of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein only a subset of resources, e.g. a subset of PRBs within an interlace, and/or a subset of symbols (e.g. first or last n symbols with n L{1 , 2, 3, 4}) within the subframe for UL autonomous transmission, are used for PUCCH

transmission.

[00125] Example 17 can include the subject matter of example 1 6 and/or some other example herein, wherein a new format of PUCCH different from legacy

sPUCCH/ePUCCH in MulteFire can be defined.

[00126] Example 18 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein a separate cell-specific common TA can be defined for UL autonomous transmission, e.g. the common TA can be 25us.

[00127] Example 19 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein the common TA can be disabled for UL autonomous transmission, i.e. common TA is 0.

[00128] Example 20 can include the subject matter of example 3 and/or some other example herein, wherein the common TA same as scheduled UL transmission can be applied to UL autonomous transmission, and additional blanking of the UL subframe for autonomous transmission is adopted.

[00129] Example 21 can include the subject matter of example 20 and/or some other example herein, wherein the additional blanking value depends on the common TA, e.g. the additional blanking value can be set to be the common TA value. [00130] Example 22 can include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1 -21 , or any other method or process described herein.

[00131 ] Example 23 can include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1 -21 , or any other method or process described herein.

[00132] Example 24 can include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and/or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1 -21 , or any other method or process described herein.

[00133] Example 25 can include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1 -21 , or portions or parts thereof.

[00134] Example 26 can include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1 -21 , or portions thereof.

[00135] Example 27 can include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[00136] Example 28 can include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[00137] Example 29 can include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[00138] As used herein, the term "circuitry" can 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 can be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry can be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry can include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

[00139] 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 can also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[00140] 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.

[00141 ] 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. [00142] 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.

[00143] In a second set of examples to the various aspects / embodiments herein, the below examples are envisioned further.

[00144] Example 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more processors configured to: perform a listen before talk (LBT) operation on an unlicensed channel that is shared among a one or more other UEs before an uplink (UL) transmission; and in response to the unlicensed channel being idle based on the LBT operation, generate the UL transmission in a gap period within a transmission opportunity (TxOP) that is allocated to the one or more other UEs; and a radio frequency (RF) interface, configured to send, to RF circuitry, data for the UL transmission on the unlicensed channel.

[00145] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: generate the UL transmission in the gap period autonomously without a UL grant.

[00146] 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: generate the UL transmission in the gap period within the TxOP by blanking a first symbol of the UL transmission to enable an UL LBT on the unlicensed channel.

[00147] Example 4 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -3, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine a number of interlaces to generate within a gap subframe of the gap period to avoid a collision on the unlicensed channel for the UL transmission.

[00148] 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: generate, via a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH), UL control information (UCI) on one interlace of the number of interlaces and an indication of a total resource allocation. [00149] 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: generate, via a PUSCH, UL control information (UCI) on each interlace of the number of interlaces.

[00150] 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: blank a first symbol of the UL transmission to enable an UL LBT to be performed within the TxOP; and blank a last symbol to enable a DL LBT to be performed within the TxOP.

[00151 ] Example 8 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -7, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: generate, via at least one of: a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) transmission or a physical UL control channel (PUCCH) transmission, UL control information (UCI) on an interlace within a gap subframe of the gap period.

[00152] Example 9 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -8, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein at least one of: a subset of physical resource blocks (PRBs) within an interlace, or a subset of symbols within a subframe for the UL transmission, are utilized in a PUCCH transmission.

[00153] 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: process an indication of a UL burst duration and an offset, based on a common physical DL control channel (cPDCCH) scrambled by a UE specific radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) or a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI).

[00154] 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: perform an autonomous UL transmission on the unlicensed channel within the gap period between a last subframe carrying a cPDCCH and a start of a UL burst duration for the autonomous UL transmission based on the LBT.

[00155] 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: generate the autonomous UL transmission by blanking at least a portion of a UL subframe of the autonomous UL transmission within the TxOP based on a cell-specific common timing advance (TA). [00156] Example 13 is an apparatus configured to be employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a next generation NodeB (gNB) comprising: one or more processors configured to: generate an indication that enables an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission on an unlicensed channel associated with a plurality of user equipments (UEs); and process the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP); and a radio frequency (RF) interface, configured to provide, to RF circuitry, data for the autonomous UL transmission on the unlicensed channel.

[00157] Example 14 includes the subject matter of Example 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: generate a downlink control information (DCI) comprising the indication, wherein the DCI indicates the data related to blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT to be performed within the TxOP and blanking a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission.

[00158] Example 15 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-14, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: perform a DL listen before talk (LBT) within a last symbol of a TxOP that is associated with the autonomous UL transmission.

[00159] Example 16 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-15, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: generate the indication with a number of interlace selections to enable an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant being associated with the autonomous UL transmission.

[00160] Example 17 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-16, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: generate a common physical DL channel (cPDCCH) scrambled by a UE specific radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) or a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) that indicates a UL burst duration and an offset for an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL transmission.

[00161 ] Example 18 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-17, including or omitting any elements as optional wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: override the gap period with a higher priority than the autonomous UL transmission via a PDCCH. [00162] Example 19 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-18, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: process an uplink control information, (UCI) comprising one or more of: a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a number of interlaces, an interlace index, or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), via a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) on an interlace.

[00163] Example 20 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-19, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: disable a common timing advance (TA) for the autonomous UL transmission, wherein the common TA comprises zero.

[00164] Example 21 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: performing a listen before talk (LBT) operation on an unlicensed channel before an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission; and generating the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP) that is reserved along with one or more other UEs on the unlicensed channel, in response to the unlicensed channel being idle based on the LBT operation.

[00165] Example 22 includes the subject matter of Example 21 , including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: generating the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant.

[00166] Example 23 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 21 -22, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT within the TxOP and a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable a downlink (DL) LBT.

[00167] Example 24 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 21 -23, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: generating, via at least one of: a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) transmission or a physical UL control channel (PUCCH) transmission, UL control information (UCI) on an interlace within a gap subframe of the gap period.

[00168] Example 25 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 21 -24, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: disabling a common timing advance (TA) to transmit the UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP; or blanking at least a portion of a UL subframe based on a specified common TA value for the blanking.

[00169] Example 26 is a computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause one or more processors of an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a next generation NodeB (gNB) to perform operations, comprising: generating an indication that enables an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission on an unlicensed channel associated with a plurality of user equipments (UEs); and processing the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP).

[00170] Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: generating a downlink control information (DCI) comprising the indication, wherein the DCI indicates information related to blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT to be performed within the TxOP and blanking a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission.

[00171 ] Example 28 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-27, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: performing a DL listen before talk (LBT) within a last symbol of a TxOP that is associated with the autonomous UL transmissionA

[00172] Example 29 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-28, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: generating the indication with a number of interlace selections to enable an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant being associated with the autonomous UL transmission.

[00173] Example 30 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-29, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: generating a common physical DL channel (cPDCCH) scrambled by a UE specific radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) or a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) that indicates a UL burst duration and an offset for an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL transmission.

[00174] Example 31 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-30, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: overriding the gap period with a higher priority than the autonomous UL transmission via a PDCCH. [00175] Example 32 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-31 , including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: processing an uplink control information, (UCI) comprising one or more of: a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a number of interlaces, an interlace index, or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), via a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) on an interlace.

[00176] Example 33 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-32, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: disabling a common timing advance (TA) for the autonomous UL transmission, wherein the common TA comprises zero.

[00177] Example 34 is an apparatus of a user equipment (UE), comprising:

comprising: means for performing a listen before talk (LBT) operation on an unlicensed channel before an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission; and means for generating the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP) that is reserved along with one or more other UEs on the unlicensed channel, in response to the unlicensed channel being idle based on the LBT operation.

[00178] Example 35 includes the subject matter of Example 34, further comprising: means for generating the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant.

[00179] Example 36 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 34-35, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT within the TxOP and a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable a downlink (DL) LBT.

[00180] Example 37 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 34-36, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for generating, via at least one of: a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) transmission or a physical UL control channel (PUCCH) transmission, UL control information (UCI) on an interlace within a gap subframe of the gap period.

[00181 ] Example 38 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 34-37, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for disabling a common timing advance (TA) to transmit the UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP; or means for blanking at least a portion of a UL subframe based on a specified common TA value for the blanking. [00182] Example 39 is an apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a next generation NodeB (gNB), comprising: means for generating an indication that enables an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission on an unlicensed channel associated with a plurality of user equipments (UEs); and means for processing the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP).

[00183] Example 40 includes the subject matter of Example 39, including or omitting any elements as optional 39, further comprising: means for generating a downlink control information (DCI) comprising the indication, wherein the DCI indicates information related to blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT to be performed within the TxOP and blanking a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission.

[00184] Example 41 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 39-40, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for performing a DL listen before talk (LBT) within a last symbol of a TxOP that is associated with the autonomous UL transmission.

[00185] Example 42 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 39-41 , including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for generating the indication with a number of interlace selections to enable an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant being associated with the autonomous UL transmission.

[00186] Example 43 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 39-42, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for generating a common physical DL channel (cPDCCH) scrambled by a UE specific radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) or a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) that indicates a UL burst duration and an offset for an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL

transmission.

[00187] Example 44 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 39-43, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for overriding the gap period with a higher priority than the autonomous UL transmission via a PDCCH.

[00188] Example 45 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 39-44, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for processing an uplink control information, (UCI) comprising one or more of: a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a number of interlaces, an interlace index, or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), via a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) on an interlace.

[00189] Example 46 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 39-45, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for disabling a common timing advance (TA) for the autonomous UL transmission, wherein the common TA comprises zero.

[00190] 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.

[00191 ] 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.

[00192] 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.

[00193] 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, 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, CDMA1800 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.

[00194] 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.

[00195] 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.

[00196] 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.

[00197] 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.

[00198] 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.

[00199] 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.

[00200] 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 can have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature can be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as can 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:

perform a listen before talk (LBT) operation on an unlicensed channel that is shared among a one or more other UEs before an uplink (UL) transmission; and

in response to the unlicensed channel being idle based on the LBT operation, generate the UL transmission in a gap period within a transmission opportunity (TxOP) that is allocated to the one or more other UEs; and

a radio frequency (RF) interface, configured to send, to RF circuitry, data for the UL transmission on the unlicensed channel.

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

generate the UL transmission in the gap period autonomously without a UL grant.

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

generate the UL transmission in the gap period within the TxOP by blanking a first symbol of the UL transmission to enable an UL LBT on the unlicensed channel.

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

determine a number of interlaces to generate within a gap subframe of the gap period to avoid a collision on the unlicensed channel for the UL transmission.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate, via a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH), UL control information (UCI) on one interlace of the number of interlaces and an indication of a total resource allocation.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate, via a PUSCH, UL control information (UCI) on each interlace of the number of interlaces.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -6, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

blank a first symbol of the UL transmission to enable an UL LBT to be performed within the TxOP; and

blank a last symbol to enable a DL LBT to be performed within the TxOP.

8. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -7, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate, via at least one of: a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) transmission or a physical UL control channel (PUCCH) transmission, UL control information (UCI) on an interlace within a gap subframe of the gap period.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -8, wherein at least one of: a subset of physical resource blocks (PRBs) within an interlace, or a subset of symbols within a subframe for the UL transmission, are utilized in a PUCCH transmission.

10. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

process an indication of a UL burst duration and an offset, based on a common physical DL control channel (cPDCCH) scrambled by a UE specific radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) or a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI).

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

perform an autonomous UL transmission on the unlicensed channel within the gap period between a last subframe carrying a cPDCCH and a start of a UL burst duration for the autonomous UL transmission based on the LBT.

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

generate the autonomous UL transmission by blanking at least a portion of a UL subframe of the autonomous UL transmission within the TxOP based on a cell-specific common timing advance (TA).

13. An apparatus configured to be employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a next generation NodeB (gNB) comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

generate an indication that enables an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission on an unlicensed channel associated with a plurality of user equipments (UEs); and

process the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a transmission opportunity (TxOP);

a radio frequency (RF) interface, configured to provide, to RF circuitry, data for the autonomous UL transmission on the unlicensed channel.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate a downlink control information (DCI) comprising the indication, wherein the DCI indicates the data related to blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT to be performed within the TxOP and blanking a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission.

15. The apparatus of any one of claims 13-14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

perform a DL listen before talk (LBT) within a last symbol of a TxOP that is associated with the autonomous UL transmission.

16. The apparatus of any one of claims 13-15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate the indication with a number of interlace selections to enable an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant being associated with the autonomous UL transmission.

17. The apparatus of any one of claims 13-16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate a common physical DL channel (cPDCCH) scrambled by a UE specific radio network temporary identifier (CC-RNTI) or a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) that indicates a UL burst duration and an offset for an autonomous generation of the autonomous UL transmission.

18. The apparatus of any one of claims 13-17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

override the gap period with a higher priority than the autonomous UL

transmission via a PDCCH.

19. The apparatus of any one of claims 13-18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

process an uplink control information, (UCI) comprising one or more of: a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a number of interlaces, an interlace index, or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), via a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) on an interlace.

20. The apparatus of any one of claims 13-19, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

disable a common timing advance (TA) for the autonomous UL transmission, wherein the common TA comprises zero.

21 . 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:

performing a listen before talk (LBT) operation on an unlicensed channel before an autonomous uplink (UL) transmission; and

generating the autonomous UL transmission within a gap period of a

transmission opportunity (TxOP) that is reserved along with one or more other UEs on the unlicensed channel, in response to the unlicensed channel being idle based on the LBT operation.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21 , wherein the operations further comprise:

generating the autonomous UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP without a UL grant.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 21 -22, wherein the operations further comprise:

blanking a first symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable an UL LBT within the TxOP and a last symbol of the autonomous UL transmission to enable a downlink (DL) LBT.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 21 -23, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating, via at least one of: a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) transmission or a physical UL control channel (PUCCH) transmission, UL control information (UCI) on an interlace within a gap subframe of the gap period.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 21 -24, wherein the operations further comprise:

disabling a common timing advance (TA) to transmit the UL transmission within the gap period of the TxOP; or

blanking at least a portion of a UL subframe based on a specified common TA value for the blanking.