UE assistance for no-LBT based unlicensed channel access
Apparatuses, methods, and systems are disclosed for UE assistance for no-LBT based unlicensed channel access. A processor ( 305 ) calculates a combined gain from a combination of an antenna configuration gain and a beamforming gain for at least one transmission beam. The processor ( 305 ) determines if the at least one transmission beam can be used for a no-LBT based channel access mechanism in an unlicensed band with or without a channel occupancy duration restriction based on the combined gain. The processor ( 305 ) transmits, via a transceiver ( 325 ), to a network node, information that indicates whether the at least one transmission beam can be used for a no-LBT based channel access mechanism in an unlicensed band with or without a channel occupancy duration restriction, or whether the network node can apply an LBT-based channel access mechanism, or some combination thereof.
1 . A user equipment (“UE”), comprising:
at least one memory; and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to:
calculate a combined gain from a combination of an antenna configuration gain and a beamforming gain for at least one transmission beam;
determine if the at least one transmission beam can be used for a no-listen-before-talk (“LBT”) based channel access mechanism in an unlicensed band with or without a channel occupancy duration restriction based on the combined gain; and
transmit, to a network node, information that indicates, for the at least one transmission beam, whether the at least one transmission beam can be used for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism in the unlicensed band with the channel occupancy duration restriction, whether the at least one transmission beam can be used for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism in the unlicensed band without the channel occupancy duration restriction, whether the network node can apply an LBT-based channel access mechanism, or some combination thereof.
2 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured by the network node with beam-specific reference signal (“RS”) resources for performing antenna measurements, generating a corresponding measurement report, and transmitting the corresponding measurement report to the network node.
3 . The UE of claim 2 , wherein the measurement report comprises at least an indication of whether the at least one transmission beam associated with the beam-specific RS resources can be used by the UE for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism without the channel occupancy duration restriction, the no-LBT based channel access mechanism with the channel occupancy duration restriction, the LBT-based channel access mechanism, or some combination thereof.
4 . The UE of claim 2 , wherein the UE is configured by the network node to report measurements for the beam-specific RS resources in response to determining that the at least one transmission beam can be used by the UE for no-LBT based channel access with or without the channel occupancy duration restriction.
5 . The UE of claim 1 , in response to transmitting the information to the network node, the UE is configured with at least one transmission beam for no-LBT based channel access with or without the channel occupancy duration restriction.
6 . The UE of claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to activate with at least two sets of transmission configuration indication (“TCI”) states, wherein a first set of TCI states corresponds to no-LBT based channel access mechanism and a second set of TCI states corresponds to LBT based channel access mechanism or licensed channel access mechanism.
7 . The UE of claim 6 , wherein the UE is configured with at least two sets of TCI states, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the UE to activate with one set of the at least two sets of TCI states based on whether the no-LBT based channel access mechanism or the LBT based channel access mechanism is indicated.
8 . The UE of claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to activate with one set of the at least two sets of TCI states, the one set corresponding to the no-LBT based channel access mechanism.
9 . The UE of claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to activate with one set of the at least two sets of TCI states, wherein at least one TCI index indicates two TCI states such that a first TCI state corresponds to the no-LBT based channel access mechanism and a second TCI state corresponds to the LBT based channel access mechanism or licensed channel access mechanism.
10 . The UE of claim 6 , wherein the UE is implicitly indicated with the no-LBT based channel access mechanism or the LBT based channel access mechanism depending on the at least two sets of TCI states.
11 . A method of a user equipment (“UE”), comprising:
calculating a combined gain from a combination of an antenna configuration gain and a beamforming gain for at least one transmission beam;
determining if the at least one transmission beam can be used for a no-listen-before-talk (“LBT”) based channel access mechanism in an unlicensed band with or without a channel occupancy duration restriction based on the combined gain; and
transmitting, to a network node, information that indicates, for the at least one transmission beam, whether the at least one transmission beam can be used for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism in the unlicensed band with the channel occupancy duration restriction, whether the at least one transmission beam can be used for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism in the unlicensed band without the channel occupancy duration restriction, whether the network node can apply an LBT-based channel access mechanism, or some combination thereof.
12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising configuring the UE, by the network node, with beam-specific reference signal (“RS”) resources for performing antenna measurements, generating a corresponding measurement report, and transmitting the corresponding measurement report to the network node.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the measurement report comprises at least an indication of whether the at least one transmission beam associated with the beam-specific RS resources can be used by the UE for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism without the channel occupancy duration restriction, the no-LBT based channel access mechanism with the channel occupancy duration restriction, the LBT-based channel access mechanism, or some combination thereof.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising configuring the UE, by the network node, to report measurements for the beam-specific RS resources in response to determining that the at least one transmission beam can be used by the UE for no-LBT based channel access with or without the channel occupancy duration restriction.
15 . A network equipment (“NE”), comprising:
at least one memory; and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the NE to:
transmit a configuration to a user equipment (“UE”) for measuring downlink (“DL”) reference signals (“RSs”) on configured RS resources and indicating at least one transmission beam that supports a no-listen-before-talk (“LBT”) based channel access mechanism with or without a channel occupancy duration restriction based on the measured DL RSs; and
receive, from the UE, information that indicates, for the at least one transmission beam, whether the at least one transmission beam can be used for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism in an unlicensed band with the channel occupancy duration restriction, whether the at least one transmission beam can be used for the no-LBT based channel access mechanism in the unlicensed band without the channel occupancy duration restriction, whether the NE is to apply an LBT-based channel access mechanism, or some combination thereof.