HANDLING SCELL DEACTIVATION FOR UNLICENSED OPERATION
20230164843 · 2023-05-25
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
A method, system and apparatus are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, a wireless device is provided. The wireless device includes processing circuitry configured to: perform a listen before talk, LBT, recovery procedure based at least on one of expiration and triggering of a first timer where the first timer is associated with a LBT failure criterion that is met for at least a first bandwidth part, BWP, associated with a first secondary cell, SCell. The LBT recovery procedure includes one of: switching to a second BWP associated with the first SCell for LBT recovery where the second BWP does not meet the LBT failure criterion, and selecting a second SCell for LBT recovery.
Claims
1. A wireless device, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: perform a listen before talk, LBT, recovery procedure based at least on one of expiration and triggering of a first timer, the first timer being associated with a LBT failure criterion that is met for at least a first bandwidth part, BWP, associated with a first secondary cell, SCell; the LBT recovery procedure including one of: switching to a second BWP associated with the first SCell for LBT recovery, the second BWP not meeting the LBT failure criterion; and selecting a second SCell for LBT recovery.
2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the first timer is a SCell deactivation timer that is configured to deactivate the first SCell based on a determination that N BWPs associated with the first SCell meet the LBT failure criterion, N being a positive integer.
3. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein N corresponds to all the BWPs associated with the first SCell.
4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the first timer is configured by radio resource control, RRC, signaling for the first SCell in unlicensed operation.
5. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the first timer is set to a predefined value based on radio resource control, RRC, signaling not providing a value for the first timer.
6. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the LBT recovery procedure is performed while the first timer is running.
7. The wireless device of claim 6, wherein the second SCell is selected based on one of: a random selection among a plurality of SCells including the second SCell; a channel occupancy level associated with each of the plurality of SCells; a lowest LBT failure occurrence metric associated with each of the plurality of SCells; and a respective priority associated with each of the plurality of SCells.
8. The wireless device of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: trigger a second timer upon initiating the LBT recovery procedure, the second timer being configured to stop based on one of: transmission of a recovery message; and receive acknowledgement of the recovery message.
9. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to switch from the first SCell in response to the second timer expiring.
10. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to stop the first timer based on one of: transmission of a recovery message; and receive acknowledgement of the recovery message.
11. The wireless device of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, after expiration of the first timer, autonomously one of: switch to another BWP; and deactivate the first SCell according to a same procedure as a procedure used when a SCell Activation/Deactivation medium access control, MAC, control element, CE, is received to deactivate an SCell.
12. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of a report message indicating LBT failures for the first SCell, the report message being transmitted on one of the second BWP and second SCell.
13. The wireless device of claim 12, wherein the report message includes one of: channel occupancy information; LBT statistics; at least one radio quality indicator; at least one service quality of service indicator; buffer status report; power headroom report; and an indication of one of at least one other BWP and SCell that meets the LBT failure criterion.
14. A network node, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive signaling associated with a wireless device performing a listen before talk, LBT, recovery procedure, the LBT recovery procedure being based at least on one of expiration and triggering of a first timer, the first timer being associated with a LBT failure criterion that is met for at least a first bandwidth part, BWP associated with a first secondary cell, SCell, the LBT recovery procedure including one of: the wireless device switching to a second BWP associated with the first SCell for LBT recovery, the second BWP not meeting the LBT failure criterion; and the wireless device selecting a second SCell for LBT recovery; and cause transmission of signaling based at least on the LBT recovery procedure.
15. The network node of claim 14, wherein the first timer is a SCell deactivation timer that is configured to cause the wireless device to deactivate the first SCell based on a determination that N BWPs associated with the first SCell meet the LBT failure criterion, N being a positive integer.
16. The network node of claim 15, wherein N corresponds to all the BWPs associated with the first SCell.
17. The network node of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to configure the first timer by radio resource control, RRC, signaling for the first SCell in unlicensed operation.
18. The network node of claim 14, wherein the RRC signaling is configured to set the first timer to a predefined value based on the RRC signaling not providing a value for the first timer.
19. The network node of claim 14, wherein the LBT recovery procedure is configured to be performed while the first timer is running.
20. The network node of claim 19, wherein the second SCell is configured to be selected based on one of: a random selection among a plurality of SCells including the second SCell; a channel occupancy level associated with each of the plurality of SCells; a lowest LBT failure occurrence metric associated with each of the plurality of SCells; and a respective priority associated with each of the plurality of SCells.
21. The network node of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to one of receive a recovery message and cause transmission of acknowledgment of the recovery message that is configured to stop a second timer that was initiated by the LBT recovery procedure.
22. The network node of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to one of receive a recovery message and cause transmission of acknowledgment of the recovery message that is configured to stop the first timer.
23. The network node of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a report message indicating LBT failures for the first SCell, the report message being received on one of the second BWP and second SCell.
24. The network node of claim 23, wherein the report message includes one of: channel occupancy information; LBT statistics; at least one radio quality indicator; at least one service quality of service indicator; buffer status report; power headroom report; and an indication of one of at least one other BWP and SCell that meets the LBT failure criterion.
25. A method implemented in a wireless device, the method comprising: performing a listen before talk, LBT, recovery procedure based at least on one of expiration and triggering of a first timer, the first timer being associated with a LBT failure criterion that is met for at least a first bandwidth part, BWP, associated with a first secondary cell, SCell; the LBT recovery procedure including one of: switching to a second BWP associated with the first SCell for LBT recovery, the second BWP not meeting the LBT failure criterion; and selecting a second SCell for LBT recovery.
26.-37. (canceled)
38. A method implemented by a network node, the method comprising: receiving signaling associated with a wireless device is performing a listen before talk, LBT, recovery procedure, the LBT recovery procedure being based at least on one of expiration and triggering of a first timer, the first timer being associated with a LBT failure criterion that is met for at least a first bandwidth part, BWP associated with a first secondary cell, SCell, the LBT recovery procedure including one of: the wireless device switching to a second BWP associated with the first SCell for LBT recovery, the second BWP not meeting the LBT failure criterion; and the wireless device selecting a second SCell for LBT recovery; and cause transmission of signaling based at least on the LBT recovery procedure.
39.-48. (canceled)
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0166] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0179] Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to listen before talk (LBT) procedures. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.
[0180] As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
[0181] In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.
[0182] In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.
[0183] The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a wireless device (WD) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.
[0184] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The WD herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD over radio signals, such as wireless device (WD). The WD may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) WD, machine type WD or WD capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with WD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a Narrowband IoT (NB-IOT) device, etc.
[0185] Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).
[0186] An indication generally may explicitly and/or implicitly indicate the information it represents and/or indicates. Implicit indication may for example be based on position and/or resource used for transmission. Explicit indication may for example be based on a parametrization with one or more parameters, and/or one or more index or indices, and/or one or more bit patterns representing the information.
[0187] A cell may be generally a communication cell, e.g., of a cellular or mobile communication network, provided by a node. A serving cell may be a cell on or via which a network node (the node providing or associated to the cell, e.g., base station, gNB or eNodeB) transmits and/or may transmit data (which may be data other than broadcast data) to a user equipment, in particular control and/or user or payload data, and/or via or on which a user equipment transmits and/or may transmit data to the node; a serving cell may be a cell for or on which the user equipment is configured and/or to which it is synchronized and/or has performed an access procedure, e.g., a random access procedure, and/or in relation to which it is in a RRC_connected or RRC_idle state, e.g., in case the node and/or user equipment and/or network follow the LTE-standard. One or more carriers (e.g., uplink and/or downlink carrier/s and/or a carrier for both uplink and downlink) may be associated to a cell.
[0188] Transmitting in downlink may pertain to transmission from the network or network node to the terminal. Transmitting in uplink may pertain to transmission from the terminal to the network or network node. Transmitting in sidelink may pertain to (direct) transmission from one terminal to another. Uplink, downlink and sidelink (e.g., sidelink transmission and reception) may be considered communication directions. In some variants, uplink and downlink may also be used to described wireless communication between network nodes, e.g., for wireless backhaul and/or relay communication and/or (wireless) network communication for example between base stations or similar network nodes, in particular communication terminating at such. It may be considered that backhaul and/or relay communication and/or network communication is implemented as a form of sidelink or uplink communication or similar thereto.
[0189] Configuring a terminal or wireless device or node may involve instructing and/or causing the wireless device or node to change its configuration, e.g., at least one setting and/or register entry and/or LBT failure procedures and LBT failure criterion. A terminal or wireless device or node may be adapted to configure itself, e.g., according to information or data in a memory of the terminal or wireless device. Configuring a node or terminal or wireless device by another device or node or a network may refer to and/or comprise transmitting information and/or data and/or instructions to the wireless device or node by the other device or node or the network, e.g., allocation data (which may also be and/or comprise configuration data) and/or scheduling data and/or scheduling grants. Configuring a terminal may include sending allocation/configuration data to the terminal indicating which modulation and/or encoding to use. A terminal may be configured with and/or for scheduling data and/or to use, e.g., for transmission, scheduled and/or allocated uplink resources, and/or, e.g., for reception, scheduled and/or allocated downlink resources. Uplink resources and/or downlink resources may be scheduled and/or provided with allocation or configuration data.
[0190] A licensed band or spectrum may be a part of the frequency spectrum that is and/or has to be licensed for use, e.g. by a telecommunications operator. An unlicensed band or spectrum may be a part of the frequency spectrum that is available without such license. WLAN/WiFi usually uses such unlicensed bands. The requirements for using licensed bands are usually quite different from unlicensed bands, e.g. due to licensed bands being controlled by one operator, whereas unlicensed bands usually are not subject to a centralized operator. Thus, LBT procedures are usually required for unlicensed bands, which may be adapted to facilitate fair distribution of access to the unlicensed spectrum.
[0191] Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and/or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.
[0192] Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and/or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.
[0193] As used herein in one or more embodiments, a wireless device deactivating or activating a SCell corresponds to the wireless device activating or deactivating a configuration for using the SCell at the wireless device. Upon activation of a SCell, the wireless device is able to perform transmission or reception using resources in the SCell. Upon deactivation of a SCell, the wireless device is not able to perform transmission or reception using resources in the SCell. The SCell, itself, that is provided by the network node may remain operational irrespective of the deactivating/activating of the SCell at the wireless device.
[0194] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0195] Embodiments provide LBT procedures provide one or more of the following: [0196] improve handling SCell in event of consistent LBT failure, avoid an SCell to be out of control; [0197] avoid status misalignment of an SCell caused by LBT failures between the wireless device and network node; [0198] reduced delay for uplink (UL) data transmission due to consistent LBT failure; [0199] avoidance of resource wastage in SCell due to consistent LBT failure.
[0200] Referring again to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in
[0201] Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second WD 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole WD is in the coverage area or where a sole WD is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.
[0202] Also, it is contemplated that a WD 22 can be in simultaneous communication and/or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a WD 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, WD 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE/E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR/NG-RAN.
[0203] The communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 24 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24 or may extend via an optional intermediate network 30. The intermediate network 30 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network. The intermediate network 30, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
[0204] The communication system of
[0205] A network node 16 is configured to include an indication unit 32 which is configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions as described herein such as with respect to one or more LBT procedures. A wireless device 22 is configured to include a LBT unit 34 which is configured to perform one or more wireless device 22 functions as described herein such as with respect to one or more LBT procedures.
[0206] Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the WD 22, network node 16 and host computer 24 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to
[0207] Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by host computer 24. Processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing host computer 24 functions described herein. The host computer 24 includes memory 46 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 48 and/or the host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42, causes the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to host computer 24. The instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.
[0208] The software 48 may be executable by the processing circuitry 42. The software 48 includes a host application 50. The host application 50 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a WD 22 connecting via an OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 50 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 52. The “user data” may be data and information described herein as implementing the described functionality. In one embodiment, the host computer 24 may be configured for providing control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to observe, monitor, control, transmit to and/or receive from the network node 16 and or the wireless device 22. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may include an information unit 54 configured to enable the service provider provide information and/or perform one or more functions related to the one or more LBT procedures and/or failure of such LBT procedure(s).
[0209] The communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 58 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 24 and with the WD 22. The hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10, as well as a radio interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with a WD 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 62 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24. The connection 66 may be direct or it may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and/or through one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.
[0210] In the embodiment shown, the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
[0211] Thus, the network node 16 further has software 74 stored internally in, for example, memory 72, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68, causes the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 68 of the network node 16 may include indication unit 32 configured to configure and/or receive indications of one or more LBT procedures such as those procedures/actions based on an LBT failure criterion being met for at least one BWP as described herein.
[0212] The communication system 10 further includes the WD 22 already referred to. The WD 22 may have hardware 80 that may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 64 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located. The radio interface 82 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.
[0213] The hardware 80 of the WD 22 further includes processing circuitry 84. The processing circuitry 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 84 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 88, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
[0214] Thus, the WD 22 may further comprise software 90, which is stored in, for example, memory 88 at the WD 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the WD 22. The software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84. The software 90 may include a client application 92. The client application 92 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the WD 22, with the support of the host computer 24. In the host computer 24, an executing host application 50 may communicate with the executing client application 92 via the OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the user, the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
[0215] The processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by WD 22. The processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing WD 22 functions described herein. The WD 22 includes memory 88 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 90 and/or the client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84, causes the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to WD 22. For example, the processing circuitry 84 of the wireless device 22 may include a LBT unit 34 configured perform one or more LBT procedure such as those procedures/actions based on an LBT failure criterion being met for at least one BWP as described herein.
[0216] In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16, WD 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in
[0217] In
[0218] The wireless connection 64 between the WD 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the WD 22 using the OTT connection 52, in which the wireless connection 64 may form the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.
[0219] In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 between the host computer 24 and WD 22, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24 or in the software 90 of the WD 22, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 52 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 48, 90 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 52 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the network node 16, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Some such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary WD signaling facilitating the host computer's 24 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. In some embodiments, the measurements may be implemented in that the software 48, 90 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 52 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
[0220] Thus, in some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and a communication interface 40 that is configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to the WD 22. In some embodiments, the cellular network also includes the network node 16 with a radio interface 62. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to, and/or the network node's 16 processing circuitry 68 is configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the WD 22, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the WD 22.
[0221] In some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 and a communication interface 40 that is configured to a communication interface 40 configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a WD 22 to a network node 16. In some embodiments, the WD 22 is configured to, and/or comprises a radio interface 82 and/or processing circuitry 84 configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the network node 16, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the network node 16.
[0222] Although
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[0228] In one or more embodiments, network node 16 is configured to receive an indication that the wireless device has deactivated the first SCell if the LBT failure criterion is met for a plurality of BWP including the first BWP that are associated with the first SCell, as described herein. In one or more embodiments, the second SCell is selected based on at least one of the following: a random selection; configuration of the wireless device; a lowest channel occupancy among SCells; a lowest LBT failure occurrence among SCells; and respective SCell priority order, as described herein. In one or more embodiments, network node 16 is configured to receive an indication of the wireless device attempting to perform a LBT recovery procedure with a third SCell, as described herein.
[0229]
[0230] According to one or more embodiments, the first timer is a SCell deactivation timer that is configured to cause the wireless device 22 to deactivate the first SCell 18 based on a determination that N BWPs associated with the first SCell 18 meet the LBT failure criterion, N being a positive integer, as described herein. According to one or more embodiments, N corresponds to all the BWPs associated with the first SCell 18. According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 68 is further configured to configure the first timer by radio resource control, RRC, signaling for the first SCell 18 in unlicensed operation.
[0231] According to one or more embodiments, the RRC signaling is configured to set the first timer to a predefined value based on the RRC signaling not providing a value for the first timer. According to one or more embodiments, the LBT recovery procedure is configured to be performed while the first timer is running. According to one or more embodiments, the second SCell 18 is configured to be selected based on one of: a random selection among a plurality of SCells 18 including the second SCell 18, a channel occupancy level associated with each of the plurality of SCells 18, a lowest LBT failure occurrence metric associated with each of the plurality of SCells 18, and a respective priority associated with each of the plurality of SCells 18.
[0232] According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 68 is further configured to one of receive a recovery message and cause transmission of acknowledgment of the recovery message that is configured to stop a second timer that was initiated by the LBT recovery procedure. According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 68 is further configured to one of receive a recovery message and cause transmission of acknowledgment of the recovery message that is configured to stop the first timer. According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 68 is further configured to receive a report message indicating LBT failures for the first SCell 18 where the report message is received on one of the second BWP and second SCell 18. According to one or more embodiments, the report message includes one of: channel occupancy information, LBT statistics, at least one radio quality indicator, at least one service quality of service indicator, buffer status report, power headroom report; and an indication of one of at least one other BWP and SCell 18 that meets the LBT failure criterion.
[0233]
[0234] In one or more embodiments, wireless device is configured to deactivate the first SCell if the LBT failure criterion is met for a plurality of BWP including the first and second BWPs that are associated with the first SCell, and trigger a report indicating the deactivation of the first SCell, as described herein. In one or more embodiments, wireless device 22 is configured to select the second SCell based on at least one of the following: a random selection; configuration of the wireless device; a lowest channel occupancy among SCells; a lowest LBT failure occurrence among SCells; and respective SCell priority order, as described herein. In one or more embodiments, wireless device is configured to trigger a timer associated with the LBT recovery procedure; and upon expiration of the timer, initiate a LBT recovery procedure with a third SCell, as described herein.
[0235]
[0236] According to one or more embodiments, the first timer is a SCell deactivation timer that is configured to deactivate the first SCell 18 based on a determination that N BWPs associated with the first SCell 18 meet the LBT failure criterion where N is a positive integer, as described herein. According to one or more embodiments, N corresponds to all the BWPs associated with the first SCell 18. According to one or more embodiments, the first timer is configured by radio resource control, RRC, signaling for the first SCell 18 in unlicensed operation.
[0237] According to one or more embodiments, the first timer is set to a predefined value based on radio resource control, RRC, signaling not providing a value for the first timer. According to one or more embodiments, the LBT recovery procedure is performed while the first timer is running. According to one or more embodiments, the second SCell 18 is selected based on one of a random selection among a plurality of SCells 18 including the second SCell 18, a channel occupancy level associated with each of the plurality of SCells 18, a lowest LBT failure occurrence metric associated with each of the plurality of SCells 18, and a respective priority associated with each of the plurality of SCells 18.
[0238] According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 84 is further configured to: trigger a second timer upon initiating the LBT recovery procedure, the second timer being configured to stop based on one of transmission of a recovery message, and receive acknowledgement of the recovery message. According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 84 is configured to switch from the first SCell 18 in response to the second timer expiring. According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 84 is further configured to stop the first timer based on one of: transmission of a recovery message; and receive acknowledgement of the recovery message.
[0239] According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 84 is configured to, after expiration of the first timer, autonomously one of: switch to another BWP; and deactivate the first SCell 18 according to a same procedure as a procedure used when a SCell Activation/Deactivation medium access control, MAC, control element, CE, is received to deactivate an SCell 18. According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 84 is further configured to cause transmission of a report message indicating LBT failures for the first SCell 18, the report message being transmitted on one of the second BWP and second SCell 18. According to one or more embodiments, the report message includes one of: channel occupancy information, LBT statistics, at least one radio quality indicator, at least one service quality of service indicator, buffer status report, power headroom report, and an indication of one of at least one other BWP and SCell 18 that meets the LBT failure criterion.
[0240] Having generally described arrangements for one or more LBT procedures such as those procedures/actions based on an LBT failure criterion being met for at least one BWP, details for these arrangements, functions and processes are provided as follows, and which may be implemented by the network node 16, wireless device 22 and/or host computer 24.
[0241] Embodiments provide one or more LBT procedures such as those procedures/actions based on an LBT failure criterion being met for at least one BWP. One or more network node 16 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 68, processor 70, radio interface 62, indication unit 32, etc. One or more wireless device 22 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 84, processor 86, radio interface 82, LBT unit 34, etc.
[0242] The proposed mechanism is applicable to both licensed and unlicensed operations (such as licensed assistant access (LAA)/enhanced-LAA (eLAA)/further enhanced-LAA (feLAA)/MuLteFire, and NR unlicensed operation (NR-U)). The term “consistent LBT failure” as used herein means an event for which the wireless device 22 has consistently detected LBT failure instances in the UL, or that the network node 16 has consistently detected LBT failure instances in the DL. The term LBT may also be interchangeably referred to herein as a clear channel assessment (CCA), shared spectrum access procedure, etc. The carrier on which the LBT is applied may belong to a shared spectrum or an unlicensed band or band with contention based access, etc. If at least one event is declared, the WD 22 may need to take recovery actions. Below embodiments are not restricted by terms. Any similar term is equally applicable here.
[0243] In a first example, for wireless device 22 is configured to operate in unlicensed operation, where upon expiry of the sCellDeactivationTimer (i.e., timer associated with SCell deactivation) caused by consistent LBT failure (i.e., example of a LBT failure criterion) in an SCell 18, the wireless device 22 is allowed to switch to another BWP for which consistent LBT failure is not triggered instead of directly performing SCell deactivation. In one or more embodiments, as used herein, consistent LBT failure may correspond to a minimum number of LBT failures, as determined for example by the wireless device 22, over a predefined period of time. The sCellDeactivationTimer is restarted after the wireless device 22 switches to another BWP. In one example, the wireless device 22 deactivates the SCell 18 only if wireless device 22 has triggered consistent LBT failure in all configured BWPs in the SCell 18. A wireless device 22 deactivating a SCell 18 may refer to the wireless device 22 at least temporarily stopping communication with the SCell 18 and/or leaving an RRC connected state with the deactivated SCell 18 as opposed to the SCell 18, itself, deactivating, such that the SCell 18 may still continue to serve other wireless devices 22 after the wireless device 22 “deactivates” the SCell 18.
[0244] In another example, the wireless device 22 deactivates the SCell 18 only if the wireless device 22 has triggered consistent LBT failure in at least one other BWP in the SCell 18. In yet another example, the wireless device 22 deactivates the SCell 18 only if the wireless device 22 has triggered consistent LBT failure in N configured BWPs in the SCell 18, i.e., example of a LBT failure criterion (N can be pre-defined, determined based on a pre-defined rule, or configured by another node). The wireless device 22 may also have a counter to count the number of attempted BWPs. sCellDeactivationTimer is may be configured by a network node 16 or, if not configured, the wireless device 22 may assume a pre-defined value for the sCellDeactivationTimer (e.g., maximum configurable such as 1280 ms).
[0245] To address non-configured sCellDeactivationTimer in the RRC IE ServingCellConfig, one or more of the following options may be configured/provided: [0246] for unlicensed operation, a rule is added to the wireless communication standard so that sCellDeactivationTimer may be configured in the RRC IE ServingCellConfig for every SCell 18 in unlicensed operation, or [0247] Alternatively, when the field sCellDeactivationTimer is optional and the field is absent, the wireless device 22 applies a non-infinite value. As one option, this value can be fixed as the maximum value in the range of the field sCellDeactivationTimer specified in one or more wireless communication standards such as in RRC specifications, such as 1280 ms. As another option, this value is configured by the network node via RRC signaling, MAC CE or DCI, or SI, or [0248] A maximum time is defined for the wireless device 22 (e.g., pre-defined) and applied by the wireless device 22 (e.g., to have an effect similar to that of the timer) when the sCellDeactivationTimer is not configured. Upon expiring of this time, the SCell 18 could be deactivated or at least the SCell activation procedure can be stopped.
[0249] In the first example, the wireless device 22 is not required to be configured or supporting LBT failure detection and recovery procedure in SCell 18. The wireless device 22 can rely on the sCellDeactivationTimer to overcome consistent LBT failures in SCell.
[0250] Upon trigger of consistent LBT failure, after the wireless device 22 has performed one of the options, i.e., either switch to another BWP in the same SCell, or deactivate the SCell 18, the wireless device 22 sends a report message to the network node 16 and informs the network node 16 of the occurrence of consistent LBT failures in the SCell 18.
[0251] As in the second example, for a wireless device 22 configured with/supporting LBT failure detection and recovery in an SCell 18, there is no sCellDeactivationTimer configured in that SCell 18. In this example, in case the wireless device 22 has detected consistent LBT failures (i.e., example of a LBT failure criterion) in the SCell 18, the wireless device 22 would perform LBT failure recovery via other serving cells 18. In addition, a first maximum time period is configured to the wireless device 22 to allow the wireless device 22 to perform the recovery via other serving cells 18. The time period or timer can be configured by a network node 16, pre-defined, or determined based on a pre-defined rule depending on conditions and/or at least one parameter etc. A first timer may be defined accordingly. The timer/the time period is started when the wireless device declares consistent LBT failure in the SCell 18, e.g., LBT_COUNTER>=lbt-FailureInstanceMaxCount is fulfilled in the active BWP in the SCell. While the timer is running/during the time period, the wireless device 22 initiates a recovery procedure in any other serving cell 18 for which consistent LBT failure has not been triggered. If there are multiple other serving cells 18 available, the wireless device 22 can apply at least one of below options to select the serving cell 18.
[0252] Option 1: the wireless device 22 selects the serving cell 18 randomly or based on the wireless device 22 implementation.
[0253] Option 2: the wireless device 22 selects the serving cell 18 with lowest channel occupancy or lowest LBT failure occurrence among all cells 18.
[0254] Option 3: the wireless device 22 selects the cell 18 following a decreasing priority order. For each serving cell 18, the network node 16 may configure a priority index. The configuration is signaled to the wireless device 22 via system information, RRC signaling, MAC CE or DCI.
[0255] In addition, for any above option, a second timer or a second time period is configured to allow the wireless device 22 to try the recovery procedure for the concerned SCell 18 via another serving cell 18. The second timer or the second time period is started upon initiating the recovery procedure in another serving cell 18 for the concerned SCell 18 in which consistent LBT failure has been triggered. When the second timer or the second time period is elapsed, the wireless device 22 may need to switch to a different serving cell 18 to continue the recovery procedure. The second timer or the second time period is stopped when at least one of the below conditions is fulfilled: [0256] the wireless device 22 has transmitted the recovery message, i.e., the LBT failure MAC CE for the SCell 18 in which consistent LBT failure has been triggered has been transmitted in a serving cell 18 after a success LBT operation. [0257] the network node 16 has acknowledged reception of the recovery message or the network node 16 has performed further actions to help the wireless device 22 to recover from consistent LBT failures in the concerned SCell 18 in which consistent LBT failure has been triggered. The further actions can be for example one of the below: [0258] order/configure/trigger the wireless device 22 to switch to another BWP in the concerned SCell 18; [0259] the concerned SCell 18 has been deactivated for the wireless device 22; [0260] the concerned SCell 18 has been reconfigured for the wireless device 22.
[0261] The first timer or the first time period can be stopped similarly as for the second timer. In other words, when one of the above conditions is fulfilled, the wireless device 22 can stop both the first timer and the second timer, if they are running or counting down.
[0262] When the first timer/time period is expired, the wireless device 22 is allowed and/or configured to perform one of the below options, autonomously:
[0263] Option 1: In the SCell 18, if there is another BWP for which consistent LBT failure has not been triggered, the wireless device 22 switches to that BWP. The wireless device 22 can start to transmit or receive in that BWP. Specifically, the wireless device 22 may perform at least one of the below actions:
[0264] 1. transmit on UL-SCH on the BWP;
[0265] 2. transmit on radio access channel (RACH) on the BWP, if PRACH occasions are configured;
[0266] 3. monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on the BWP;
[0267] 4. PDCCH monitoring for the SCell 18;
[0268] 5. transmit physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) on the BWP, if configured;
[0269] 6. report CSI for the BWP;
[0270] 7. transmit SRS on the BWP, if configured;
[0271] 8. receive DL-SCH on the BWP; and
[0272] 9. (re-)initialize any suspended configured uplink grants of configured grant Type 1 on the active BWP according to the stored configuration, if any, and to start to transmit according to the configuration.
[0273] Option 2: In the SCell 18, if there is no any other BWP for which consistent LBT failure has not been triggered, in other words, consistent LBT failure has been triggered in all BWPs in the SCell 18, in this case, the wireless device 22 deactivates the SCell 18 as if the wireless device 22 has received an SCell Activation/Deactivation MAC CE deactivating the SCell 18. In particular, the wireless device 22 may perform at least one of the below actions:
[0274] 1. deactivate the SCell 18;
[0275] 2. stop the sCellDeactivationTimer associated with the SCell 18;
[0276] 3. stop the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the SCell 18;
[0277] 4. deactivate any active BWP associated with the SCell 18;
[0278] 5. clear any configured downlink assignment and any configured uplink grant Type 2 associated with the SCell 18 respectively;
[0279] 6. clear any physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent CSI reporting associated with the SCell 18;
[0280] 7. suspend any configured uplink grant Type 1 associated with the SCell 18;
[0281] 8. cancel all the triggered BFRs for this Serving Cell 18;
[0282] 9. flush all HARQ buffers associated with the SCell 18; and
[0283] 10. cancel, if any, triggered consistent LBT failure for the SCell 18.
[0284] Upon expiry of the first timer/time period, after the wireless device 22 has performed one of the above options, i.e., either switch to another BWP in the same SCell 18, or deactivate the SCell 18, the wireless device 22 sends a report message to the network node 16 and informs the network node 16 of occurrence of consistent LBT failures in the SCell 18.
[0285] In one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is not required to be configured with the sCellDeactivationTimer for an SCell 18. The wireless device 22 can rely on LBT failure detection and recovery procedure to overcome consistent LBT failures in SCell 18.
[0286] In one or more embodiments, in case both 1) wireless device 22 is configured or supporting LBT failure detection and recovery procedure, and 2) the sCellDeactivationTimer is configured in an SCell 18, the wireless device 22 may then have two parallel mechanisms which can handle consistent LBT failures in the same time.
[0287] As one alternative, the wireless device 22 is configured to only rely on one mechanism to handle LBT failures, i.e., either only use the sCellDeactivationTimer or only use LBT failure detection and recovery procedure. Which mechanism is applicable for a wireless device 22 can be signaled to the wireless device 22 by the network node 16 via system information, RRC signaling, MAC CE or DCI, etc.
[0288] As another alternative, which mechanism is applicable for a wireless device 22 is specified a rule in a wireless communication standard such that wireless device 22 is preconfigured/configured with the rule.
[0289] As yet another alternative, the wireless device 22 chooses the mechanism which is triggered first. The wireless device 22 then applies the selected/chosen mechanism to handle LBT failures. Meanwhile, the wireless device 22 may ignore another mechanism even if it is also triggered by LBT failures later on.
[0290] In one or more embodiments, for any above embodiment, the report message includes information of at least one of the below: [0291] event of consistent LBT failure [0292] index of at least one concerned BWP in the concerned SCell 18 for which consistent LBT failure has been triggered or where the SCell 18 activation has been attempted [0293] index of the concerned SCell 18 for which consistent LBT failure has been triggered or where the SCell 18 activation has been attempted [0294] time period elapsed since consistent LBT failure has been triggered in the concerned SCell 18 [0295] indices of the other serving cells via which the wireless device 22 has attempted to transmit the report message indicating consistent LBT failure for the concerned SCell 18 [0296] current status of the concerned SCell 18 for which consistent LBT failure has been triggered, i.e., either the wireless device 22 has switched to another BWP in the concerned SCell 18 or the wireless device 22 has deactivated the SCell 18.
[0297] The report message indicating LBT failures for an SCell 18 may be sent by the wireless device 22 on the same SCell 18 (on a different BWP) or a different serving cell 18. The report message may be carried in a MAC CE or in a RRC signaling message. The report message may be carried in a RACH report or in a RLF report.
[0298] In addition, any of below additional information may be also reported in one or multiple report messages (reported for a measurement object, a carrier, for a group of carriers, for a certain PLMN, for a cell, per physical cell ID (PCI), per BWP, per beam/SS block (SSB), etc.): [0299] Channel occupancy, e.g., based on received signal strength indicator, RSSI. [0300] LBT statistics, e.g., number of LBT failures and/or successes, LBT failure/success ratio (e.g., calculated over a certain time period or using exponential averaging of successive time periods), LBT failure rate (e.g., calculated over a certain time period or using exponential averaging of successive time periods), LBT modes (i.e., load based equipment (LBE) or frame based equipment (FBE) and LBT types (i.e., Category 1, 2, 3 or 4) with which the wireless device 22 has detected LBT failures. Either of these could be reported per LBT type or per CAPC, or per UL/DL, or per service/LCH/LCG. [0301] Radio quality indicators, such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), signal to interference ratio (SNR), signal to interference plus noise radio (SINR), etc. [0302] Service QoS indicators such as latency, packet loss, priority, jitter etc. [0303] Buffer status report. [0304] Power headroom report. [0305] The indices for other cells/BWPs/carriers/channels/subbands/public land mobile networks (PLMNs) that suffer from LBT failures or high channel occupancy.
[0306] In one or more embodiments, the network node 16 replies with acknowledgement upon reception of the report. The acknowledgement may be indicated via at least one of below signaling procedures/methods:
[0307] 1. a DCI addressed to the cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) associated with the wireless device 22.
[0308] 2. a RRC signaling
[0309] 3. a MAC CE.
[0310] The network node 16 may also provide further signaling to wireless device 22 on at least one of: [0311] Switch to a different BWP of the concerned SCell 18 for which wireless device 22 has triggered consistent LBT failure [0312] Confirmation of the deactivation of the concerned SCell for which wireless device 22 has triggered consistent LBT failure [0313] reconfiguration of the concerned SCell for which wireless device 22 has triggered consistent LBT failure [0314] Deactivation of the concerned SCell 18 for which wireless device 22 has triggered consistent LBT failure and wireless device 22 has not deactivated that SCell autonomously yet
[0315] According to one or more embodiments, for any above embodiment, the network node 16 signals relevant configurations to the wireless device 22. The configuration is signaled via system information, dedicated RRC signaling, MAC CE or DCI, etc.
[0316] According to one or more embodiments, at least one of the below wireless device 22 capability bits may be defined. [0317] Wireless device 22 capability bit indicating whether the wireless device 22 supports to autonomously switch to another BWP in an SCell 18 upon trigger of consistent LBT failure in that SCell 18. [0318] Wireless device 22 capability bit indicating whether the wireless device 22 supports to autonomously deactivate an SCell 18 upon trigger of consistent LBT failure in that SCell 18.
SOME EXAMPLES
[0319] Example A1. A network node 16 configured to communicate with a wireless device 22 (WD 22), the network node 16 configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface 62 and/or comprising processing circuitry 68 configured to:
[0320] receive an indication that the wireless device 22 is at least one of: [0321] switching from a first bandwidth part, BWP, to a second BWP of a first secondary cell, SCell 18, if a SCell deactivation timer associated with the first SCell 18 has expired and a listen before talk, LBT, failure criterion has not been met for the second BWP; and [0322] performing an LBT recovery procedure with a second SCell 18 different from the first SCell 18; and
[0323] the indication being associated with a LBT failure criterion being met for the first BWP.
[0324] Example A2. The network node 16 of Example A1, wherein the network node 16 and/or the radio interface 62 and/or the processing circuitry 68 is configured to:
[0325] receive an indication that the wireless device 22 has deactivated the first SCell if the LBT failure criterion is met for a plurality of BWP including the first BWP that are associated with the first SCell 18.
[0326] Example A3. The network node 16 of any one of Examples A1-A2, wherein the second SCell 18 is selected based on at least one of the following:
[0327] a random selection;
[0328] configuration of the wireless device 22;
[0329] a lowest channel occupancy among SCells 18;
[0330] a lowest LBT failure occurrence among SCells 18; and
[0331] respective SCell priority order.
[0332] Example A4. The network node 16 of any one of Examples A1-A3, wherein the network node 16 and/or the radio interface 62 and/or the processing circuitry 68 is further configured to receive an indication of the wireless device 22 attempting to perform a LBT recovery procedure with a third SCell 18.
[0333] Example B1. A method implemented in a network node 16, the network node 16 configured to communicate with a wireless device 22, the method comprising:
[0334] receiving an indication that the wireless device 22 is at least one of: [0335] switching from a first bandwidth part, BWP, to a second BWP of a first secondary cell, SCell 18, if a SCell deactivation timer associated with the first SCell 18 has expired and a listen before talk, LBT, failure criterion has not been met for the second BWP; and [0336] performing an LBT recovery procedure with a second SCell 18 different from the first SCell 18; and
[0337] the indication being associated with a LBT failure criterion being met for the first BWP.
[0338] Example B2. The method of Example B1, further comprising receiving an indication that the wireless device 22 has deactivated the first SCell 18 if the LBT failure criterion is met for a plurality of BWP including the first BWP that are associated with the first SCell 18.
[0339] Example B3. The method of any one of Examples B1-B2, wherein the second SCell 18 is selected based on at least one of the following:
[0340] a random selection;
[0341] configuration of the wireless device 22;
[0342] a lowest channel occupancy among SCells 18;
[0343] a lowest LBT failure occurrence among SCells 18; and
[0344] respective SCell priority order.
[0345] Example B4. The method of any one of Examples B1-B3, further comprising receiving an indication of the wireless device 22 attempting to perform a LBT recovery procedure with a third SCell 18.
[0346] Example C1. A wireless device 22 configured to communicate with a network node 18, the wireless device 22 configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface 62 and/or processing circuitry 68 configured to:
[0347] in response to determining a listen before talk, LBT, failure criterion has been met for a first bandwidth part, BWP, perform at least one of: [0348] switch to second BWP of a first secondary cell, SCell 18, if a SCell deactivation timer associated with the first SCell 18 has expired and the LBT failure criterion has not been met for the second BWP; and [0349] perform an LBT recovery procedure with a second SCell 18 different from the first SCell 18.
[0350] Example C2. The wireless device 22 of Example C1, wherein the wireless device 22 and/or the radio interface 62 and/or the processing circuitry 68 is configured to:
[0351] deactivate the first SCell 18 if the LBT failure criterion is met for a plurality of BWP including the first and second BWPs that are associated with the first SCell 18; and
[0352] trigger a report indicating the deactivation of the first SCell 18.
[0353] Example C3. The WD 22 of any one of Examples C1-C2, wherein the wireless device 22 and/or the radio interface 62 and/or the processing circuitry 68 is further configured to select the second SCell 18 based at on least one of the following:
[0354] a random selection;
[0355] configuration of the wireless device 22;
[0356] a lowest channel occupancy among SCells 18;
[0357] a lowest LBT failure occurrence among SCells 18; and
[0358] respective SCell priority order.
[0359] Example C4. The wireless device 22 of any one of Examples C1-C3, wherein the wireless device 22 and/or the radio interface 62 and/or the processing circuitry 68 is configured to:
[0360] trigger a timer associated with the LBT recovery procedure; and
[0361] upon expiration of the timer, initiate a LBT recovery procedure with a third SCell 18.
[0362] Example D1. A method implemented in a wireless device 22, the method comprising:
[0363] in response to determining a listen before talk, LBT, failure criterion has been met for a first bandwidth part, BWP, perform at least one of: [0364] switching to second BWP of a first secondary cell, SCell 18, if a SCell deactivation timer associated with the first SCell 18 has expired and the LBT failure criterion has not been met for the second BWP; and [0365] performing an LBT recovery procedure with a second SCell 18 different from the first SCell 18.
[0366] Example D2. The method of Example D1, further comprising:
[0367] deactivating the first SCell 18 if the LBT failure criterion is met for a plurality of BWP including the first and second BWPs that are associated with the first SCell 18; and
[0368] triggering a report indicating the deactivation of the first SCell 18.
[0369] Example D3. The method of any one of Examples D1-D2, further comprising selecting the second SCell 18 based on at least one of the following:
[0370] a random selection;
[0371] configuration of the wireless device 22;
[0372] a lowest channel occupancy among SCells 18;
[0373] a lowest LBT failure occurrence among SCells 18; and
[0374] respective SCell priority order.
[0375] Example D4. The wireless device 22 of any one of Examples D1-D4, further comprising:
[0376] triggering a timer associated with the LBT recovery procedure; and
[0377] upon expiration of the timer, initiating a LBT recovery procedure with a third SCell.
[0378] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.
[0379] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0380] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0381] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0382] It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.
[0383] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
[0384] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.
[0385] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, which is limited only by the following claims.