1. A method for communications, comprising: determining, at a terminal device, a signal duration of an extension signal based on a first variable and a second variable; and 5 transmitting the extension signal before performing a sidelink communication. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the signal duration based on the first variable and the second variable comprises: determining the signal duration as a duration of a first number of symbols minus the 10 second variable, the first number being equal to the first variable. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the first variable and the second variable based on at least one of the following: 15 a parameter list of the extension signal; assignment information; a resource structure in a sidelink CO; or a type of a channel access procedure. 20 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal is determined based on at least one of the following: a system pre-definition; a pre-configuration; or a configuration. 25

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the first variable and the second variable. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: 30 receiving the assignment information from a control node device.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising: receiving the configuration from a control node device, the configuration indicating 31the parameter list of the extension signal.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises at least one of the following: 5 a first list of available values of the first variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a first index; a second list of available values of the second variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a second index; or a third list of available values of the first variable and available values of the second 10 variable, wherein each of combinations of an available value of the first variable and an available value of the second variable is associated with a third index. 9. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fourth list of combinations of at least three of the following: 15 the first variable; the second variable; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fourth index. 20

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fifth list of combinations of at least two of the following: the first index; the second index; 25 the third index; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fifth index. 30 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the following: the first index in the first list; the second index in the second list; or the third index in the third list.

3212. The method of claim 9, wherein the assignment information indicates the fourth index in the fourth list. 5 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the assignment information indicates the fifth index in the fifth list.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein a maximum value of the first variable is pre-configured or pre-defined; and 10 the method further comprises: determining the first variable as a value between zero and the maximum value.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the second variable as at least one of the following: 15 a configured or pre-configured fixed value, a time gap related to a channel access procedure, or a time gap related to an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) procedure. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the time gap related to the AGC procedure is 20 equal to a fixed value configured or pre-configured per subcarrier spacing (SCS); or the time gap related to the AGC procedure is determined based on a pre-defined parameter associated with the SCS.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the extension signal comprises one 25 of the following: transmitting the extension signal before transmitting a sidelink signal, transmitting the extension signal before a start symbol for sidelink transmission, transmitting the extension signal before transmitting an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) signal, or 30 transmitting the AGC signal before transmitting the extension signal. 18. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the first variable based on the resource structure in the sidelink CO comprises: determining the first variable based on locations of a last symbol of a transmission 33burst and a next available start symbol for sidelink transmission in the sidelink CO. 19. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the second variable based on the type of the channel access procedure comprises: 5 determining the second variable as a fixed value for each type of the channel access procedure, or determining the second variable as a fixed value plus a time gap related to an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) procedure for each type of the channel access procedure . 10 20. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list is determined based on at least one of the following: a resource pool for sidelink communication, a Resource Block (RB) set, a Bandwidth Part (BWP), 15 a carrier, a sidelink Channel Occupancy (CO), or a transmission start symbol within the sidelink CO. 21. The method of claim 3, further comprising: 20 selecting at least one of the first variable and the second variable according to the parameter list.

22. The method of claim 6, wherein the control node device comprises one of the following: 25 a network device, a road side unit, a header terminal device in a sidelink communication group, a terminal device paired for sidelink unicast communication, or a further terminal device. 30

23. A method for communications, comprising: determining, by a control node device, configuration information about a first variable and a second variable associated with a signal duration of an extension signal; and transmitting the configuration information.

3424. The method of claim 23, wherein the signal duration is determined as a duration of a first number of symbols minus the second variable, the first number being equal to the first variable. 5

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a parameter list of the extension signal; or assignment information. 10

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the first variable and the second variable.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal 15 comprises at least one of the following: a first list of available values of the first variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a first index; a second list of available values of the second variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a second index; or 20 a third list of available values of the first variable and available values of the second variable, wherein each of combinations of an available value of the first variable and an available value of the second variable is associated with a third index. 28. The method of claim 25, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal 25 comprises a fourth list of combinations of at least three of the following: the first variable; the second variable; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and 30 wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fourth index. 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fifth list of combinations of at least two of the following: the first index; 35the second index; the third index; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and 5 wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fifth index. 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the following: the first index in the first list; 10 the second index in the second list; or the third index in the third list.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the assignment information indicates the fourth index in the fourth list. 15

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the assignment information indicates the fifth index in the fifth list.

33. The method of claim 23, wherein the configuration information further comprises 20 a maximum value of the first variable.

34. The method of claim 23, wherein determining the configuration information about a first variable and a second variable comprises: determining the second variable as at least one of the following: 25 a first fixed value, a time gap related to a channel access procedure, or a time gap related to an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) procedure.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising: 30 determining the time gap related to the AGC procedure as a second fixed value per subcarrier spacing (SCS).

36. The method of claim 25, wherein the parameter list is determined based on at least one of the following: 36a resource pool for sidelink communication, a Resource Block (RB) set, a Bandwidth Part (BWP), a carrier, 5 a sidelink Channel Occupancy (CO), or a transmission start symbol within the sidelink CO.

37. The method of claim 23, wherein the control node device comprises one of the following: 10 a network device, a road side unit, a header terminal device in a sidelink communication group, a terminal device paired for sidelink unicast communication, or a further terminal device. 15

38. A terminal device, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the terminal device to perform the method according 20 to any of claims 1-22.

39. A control node device, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, 25 when executed by the processor, causing the control node device to perform the method according to any of claims 23-37.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication, and in particular, to methods, devices and computer readable media for sidelink communication.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Sidelink in unlicensed spectrum or band (SL-U) is a key topic in Release 18 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). SL-U should base on New Radio (NR) sidelink
and NR-U.
SUMMARY
[0003] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices and computer readable media for communications [0004] In a first aspect, there is provided a method for communications. The method comprises: determining, at a terminal device, a signal duration of an extension signal based on a first variable and a second variable; and transmitting the extension signal before performing a sidelink communication. [0005] In a second aspect, there is provided a method for communications. The method comprises: determining, by a control node device, configuration information about a first variable and a second variable associated with a signal duration of an extension signal, and transmitting the configuration information. [0006] In a third aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises a processor and a memory storing instructions. The memory and the instructions are configured, with the processor, to cause the terminal device to perform the method according to the first aspect.
[0007] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a control node device. The control node device3
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comprises a processor and a memory storing instructions. The memory and the instructions are configured, with the processor, to cause the control node device to perform the method according to the second aspect.
[0008] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to the first aspect. [0009] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to the second aspect. [0010] It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein: [0012] Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which implementations of the present disclosure can be implemented; [0013] Fig. 2 illustrates an example of automatic gain control (AGC) symbol and guard period (GP) symbol in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; [0014] Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a sub-channel in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; [0015] Fig. 4 illustrates an example of CO sharing in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0016] Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; [0017] Figs. 6 to 11 illustrate an example of sidelink transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively;4
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[0018] Fig. 12 illustrates a flowchart of an example method in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure; and [0019] Fig. 13 is a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0020] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same
or similar element.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones
described below.
[0022] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs. [0023] As used herein, the term ‘terminal device’ refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, device on vehicle for V2X communication where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), Space borne vehicles or Air borne vehicles in Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including Satellites and High Altitude Platforms (IIAPs) encompassing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), extended Reality (XR) devices including different types of realities such as Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR), the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) commonly known as a drone which is an aircraft without any human pilot, devices on high speed train (HST), or image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet appliances enabling wireless or5
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wired Internet access and browsing and the like. The ‘terminal device’ can further has ‘multicast/broadcast’ feature, to support public safety and mission critical, V2X applications, transparent Pv4/IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, software delivery over wireless, group communications and IoT applications. It may also incorporated one or multiple Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) as known as Multi-SIM. The term “terminal device” can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device. [0024] The term “network device” refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RII), a remote radio head (RRH), an IAB node, a low power node such as a femto node, a pico node, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), and the like. [0025] The terminal device or the network device may have Artificial intelligence (Al) or Machine learning capability. It generally includes a model which has been trained from numerous collected data for a specific function, and can be used to predict some information. [0026] The terminal or the netw ork device may work on several frequency ranges, e g. FR1 (410 MHz - 7125 MHz), FR2 (24 25GHz to 71 GHz), frequency band larger than 100GHz as well as Tera Hertz (THz). It can further work on licensed/unlicensed/shared spectrum. The terminal device may have more than one connections with the network devices under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or the network device can work on full duplex, flexible duplex and cross division duplex modes. [0027] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in test equipment, e g. signal generator, signal analyzer, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, test terminal device, test network device, channel emulator
[0028] 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. The term ‘includes’ and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean ‘includes, but is not limited to.’ The term ‘based on’ is to be read as ‘at least in part based on.’ The term ‘some embodiments’ and ‘an embodiment’ are to be read as ‘at least some embodiments.’ The term 'another embodiment’ is to be read as ‘at least one other embodiment.’ The terms ‘first,’ ‘second,’ and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included6
below.
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[0029] In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as ‘best,’ ‘lowest,’ ‘highest,’ ‘minimum,’ ‘maximum,’ or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other
selections.
[0030] Fig. I illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110, a terminal device 120, a terminal device 130, network devices 140 and 150. The network devices 140 and 150 may communicate with the terminal device 110, the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 via respective wireless communication channels. [0031] In some embodiments, the network device 140 may be a gNB in NR, and the network device 150 may be an eNB in Long Term Evolution (LTE) system. [0032] It is to be understood that the number of devices in Fig. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and/or terminal devices adapted for implementing implementations of the present disclosure [0033] The communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), LTE, LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC) and the like. Furthermore, the communications may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols.
[0034] In some embodiments, the communications in the communication network 100 may comprise sidelink communication. Sidelink communication is a wireless radio communication directly between two or more terminal devices, such as two or more terminal devices among the terminal device 110, the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130.7
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In this type of communication, the two or more terminal devices that are geographically proximate to each other can directly communicate without going through the network device 140 or 150 or through a core network. Data transmission in sidelink communication is thus different from typical cellular network communications, in which a terminal device transmits data to the network device 140 or 150 (i.e., uplink transmissions) or receives data from the network device 140 or 150 (i.e., downlink transmissions). In sidelink communication, data is transmitted directly from a source terminal device (such as the terminal device 110) to a target terminal device (such as the terminal device 120) through the Unified Air Interface, e.g., PC5 interface, (i.e., sidelink transmissions), as shown in Fig. 1. [0035] Sidelink communication can provide several advantages, including reducing data transmission load on a core network, system resource consumption, transmission power consumption, and network operation costs, saving wireless spectrum resources, and increasing spectrum efficiency of a cellular wireless communication system. [0036] In a sidelink communication system, the sidelink resource is used to transmit information between terminal devices. According to application scenarios, service types, etc., a sidelink communication manner includes but is not limited to device to device (D2D) communication, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication, etc. [0037] V2X communication enables vehicles to communicate with other vehicles (i.e.
Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication), with infrastructure (i.e. Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), with wireless networks (i.e. Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) communication), with pedestrians (i.e. Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) communication), and even with the owner's home (i.e. Vehicle-to-Home (V2H)). Examples of infrastructure include roadside units such as traffic lights, toll gates and the like. V2X communication can be used in a wide range of scenarios, including in accident prevention and safety, convenience, traffic efficiency and clean driving, and ultimately in relation to autonomous or self-driving vehicles. [0038] For sidelink communications, a terminal device uses resources in sidelink resource pools to transmit or receive signals. The sidelink resource pools include resources in time domain and frequency domain, which are dedicated resources of the sidelink communication, or shared by the sidelink communication and a cellular link. [0039] In a sidelink resource pool which may contain multiple slots and resource blocks (RBs), and all or part o f the symbols in a slot can be used for sidelink transmission. Within a resource pool, among all the symbols configured for sidelink in each slot, the first symbol8910
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120 without loss of generality.
[0048] At block 510, the terminal device 120 determines a signal duration of an extension signal based on a first variable and a second variable. In some embodiments, the extension signal may comprise a Cyclic Prefix Extension (CPE) signal. [0049] At block 520, the terminal device 120 transmits the extension signal before performing a sidelink communication.
[0050] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine the signal duration of the extension signal as a duration of a first number of symbols minus the second variable. The first number is equal to the first variable.
[0051] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine the signal duration of the extension signal based on the following:
1 symb,(/—k)mod 7-2^ - A (1)
where ^ext represents the signal duration of the extension signal, C represents the first variable, A represents the second variable, I represents an OFDM symbol, i.e., a start symbol of a sidelink signal, and /z represents a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration. For example, p may be determined based on the following:
A A/"=2^ 15 [kHz]
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[0052] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may generate the extension signal based on the following:
for , < I < (2) where se(p,g)(t) represents the extension signal on an antenna port p, i.e. the signal transmitted preceding the OFDM symbol I, s^p,g\ t ) represents the signal transmitted in1112131415161718192021
[00103] For the terminal device 120, it should receive the items as shown in Table 8 from the control node device and the assignment of index j from SCI or DCI. Based on the indication, the terminal device 120 determines the first variable C and the second variable A, and transmits the extension signal accordingly.
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[00104] In some embodiments, the parameter list of the extension signal may be configured or pre-configured per CAPC or CCA type. For each CAPC or CCA type, independent parameter list of the extension signal may be assigned by using any one of the scheme or combination as described above As CAPC presents the priority of information to be transmitted, the parameter list of the extension signal assigned per CAPC may provide different access opportunities for each CAPC. In addition, the parameter list of the extension signal assigned per CCA type have similar benefit. [00105] In some embodiments, the parameter list of the extension signal is pre-configured per CAPC, including:
- For CAPC #1, C = 4 and A = 0; - For CAPC #2, C = 2 and A = T ps; - For CAPC #3, C = 2 and A = 0; - For CAPC #4, C = 1 and A = T ps. [00106] Based on the pre-configuration, within a sidelink CO initiated by the terminal device 110, remaining resources in the CO may be shared by one or more other terminal devices. This will be described with reference to Fig. 9A. [00107] Fig. 9A illustrates an example of sidelink transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of Fig. 9A, for the terminal device 120, the sidelink information to be transmitted has CAPC #1, while for the terminal device 130, the sidelink information to be transmitted has CAPC #2. According to the pre-configuration and indication of the terminal device 110, the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 may perform respective CCA procedure and try to access to channel.
As available values of the first variable and the second variable are different for each CAPC, before the common transmission start symbol, the signal duration Tea of the extension signal of the terminal device 120 is larger than that of the terminal device 130. In other words, the terminal device 120 may have higher possibility to occupy the channel. [00108] In some embodiments, the parameter list of the extension signal is pre-configured222324
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[00120] Fig. 11 illustrates an example of sidelink transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of Fig. 11, a header terminal device (for example, the terminal device 110) in a sidelink communication group initiates a sidelink CO and shares the CO with member terminal devices (for example, the terminal devices 120 and 130) in the same group. According to a per-configured resource structure, there are several transmission start symbols are allocated within the CO As shown, there are three transmission start symbols are allocated within the CO. [00121] Furthermore, the header terminal device may indicate a combined configuration of CCA type, CAPC and available values of the first and second variables for each start symbol through a PC5 signaling, as listed in below Table 9.
Table 9
Index of start symbol
CAPC CCA type C A
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1 Type 2B 7 Tagc
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2 Type 2A 4 25ps + Tagc
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3 Type 2A 1 25 ps
[00122] For example, according to the combined configuration from header terminal device, member terminal devices may use proper start symbol and available values of the first and second variables to access channel. [00123] For example, one member terminal device may transmit sidelink signal with CAPC 1, and then the member terminal device should use the start symbol 1, and determine, based on Table 9, the first variable C and the second variable A as 7 and Tagc, respectively. Another member terminal device may transmit sidelink signal with CAPC 2, and then the member terminal device should use the start symbol 2, and determine, based on Table 9, the first variable C and the second variable A as 4 and 25ps + Tagc, respectively. Yet another member terminal device may use the start symbol 3, and determine, based on Table 9, the first variable C and the second variable A as 1 and 25ps,
respectively.
[00124] As mentioned above, the control node device may comprise one of the following: a network device, a road side unit, a header terminal device in a sidelink communication group, a terminal device paired for sidelink unicast communication, or a further terminal25
device.
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[00125] In embodiments where the control node device comprises a network device, the network device may transmit configuration information about the first and second variables through an RRC signaling In such embodiments, the network device may initiate a CO and indicates scheduling information to the terminal device 120 in DCI. The terminal device 120 transmits an extension signal according to the indication of the network device. Such embodiments may be used for hybrid CO sharing, i.e. Uu and sidelink communication within the same CO. It supports sidelink transmission scheduled by the network device (mode 1) in a CO initiated by the network device. [00126] For example, the network device initiates a CO and schedules resources in the CO for sidelink communication. In order to assign suitable configuration about the first and second variables for sidelink terminal devices, the network device may indicate available configuration dedicated for sidelink using an RRC signaling, eg., System Information Block (SIB). Furthermore, the network device may schedule resources and configuration about the first and second variables for a sidelink terminal device. According to the indication, the sidelink terminal device should use the assigned resource and configuration about the first and second variables to access channel in the CO initiated by the network
device.
[00127] In embodiments where the control node device comprises an RSU, the RSU may transmit configuration information about the first and second variables through PC5 broadcast. The RSU may initiate a CO and indicate scheduling information to a sidelink terminal device in SCI. The sidelink terminal device determines the first and second variables involved in the assigned configuration. Such embodiments for RSU managing configuration about the first and second variables is similar to embodiments described with reference to Fig. 11.
[00128] For example, the RSU broadcasts an available configuration about the first and second variables periodically which includes several items of a combination of CCA type, CAPC and corresponding first and second variables, an example of which is shown in Table
8.
[00129] Based on the configuration about the first and second variables, a sidelink terminal device covered by the RSU (or sharing sidelink CO initiated by the RSU) may use the items included in Table 8. In other words, the sidelink terminal device should determine26
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configuration about the first and second variables according to the assignment of RSU and other factors relevant to CCA procedure.
[00130] Fig. 12 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1200 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 1200 can be implemented at a control node device, such as one of the terminal devices 110 and 130 or one of the network devices 140 and 150 as shown in Fig. 1. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1200 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 as performed by the network device 140 without loss of generality.
[00131] At block 1210, the control node device determines configuration information about a first variable and a second variable associated with a signal duration of an extension signal. [00132] At block 1220, the control node device transmits the configuration information. [00133] In some embodiments, the signal duration is determined as a duration of a first number of symbols minus the second variable, the first number being equal to the first
variable.
[00134] In some embodiments, the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a parameter list of the extension signal; or assignment information. [00135] In some embodiments, the assignment information indicates at least one of the first variable and the second variable.
[00136] In some embodiments, the parameter list of the extension signal comprises at least one of the following: a first list of available values of the first variable, In some embodiments, each of the available values is associated with a first index; a second list of available values of the second variable, In some embodiments, each of the available values is associated with a second index; or a third list of available values of the first variable and available values of the second variable. Each of combinations of an available value of the first variable and an available value of the second variable is associated with a third index. [00137] In some embodiments, the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fourth list of combinations of at least three of the following: the first variable; the second variable; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and In some embodiments, each of the combinations is associated with a fourth index. [00138] In some embodiments, the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fifth list of combinations of at least two of the following: the first index; the second index; the third27
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index; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC).
Each of the combinations is associated with a fifth index. [00139] In some embodiments, the assignment information indicates at least one of the following: the first index in the first list; the second index in the second list; or the third index
in the third list.
[00140] In some embodiments, the assignment information indicates the fourth index in the
fourth list.
[00141] In some embodiments, the assignment information indicates the fifth index in the
fifth list.
[00142] In some embodiments, the configuration information further comprises a maximum value of the first variable.
[00143] In some embodiments, determining the configuration information about a first variable and a second variable comprises: determining the second variable as at least one of the following: a first fixed value, a time gap related to a channel access procedure, or a time gap related to an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) procedure. [00144] In some embodiments, additionally, the control node device determines the time gap related to the AGC procedure as a second fixed value per subcarrier spacing (SCS). [00145] In some embodiments, the parameter list is determined based on at least one of the following: a resource pool for sidelink communication, a Resource Block (RB) set, a Bandwidth Part (BWP), a carrier, a sidelink Channel Occupancy (CO), or a transmission start symbol within the sidelink CO.
[00146] In some embodiments, the control node device comprises one of the following: a network device, a road side unit, a header terminal device in a sidelink communication group, a terminal device paired for sidelink unicast communication, or a further terminal device. [00147] Fig. 13 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1300 that is suitable for implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1300 can be considered as a further example embodiment of the terminal device 120 or the network device 140 as shown in Fig. 1. Accordingly, the device 1300 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the terminal device 120 or the network device 140. [00148] As shown, the device 1300 includes a processor 1310, a memory 1320 coupled to the processor 1310, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1340 coupled to the28
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processor 1310, and a communication interface coupled to the TX/RX 1340. The memory 1320 stores at least a part of a program 1330. The TX/RX 1340 is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX 1340 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2 interface for bidirectional communications between gNBs or eNBs, SI interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME)/Serving Gateway (S-GW) and the gNB or eNB, Un interface for communication between the gNB or eNB and a relay node (RN), or Uu interface for communication between the gNB or eNB and a terminal device. [00149] The program 1330 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1310, enable the device 1300 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to Figs. 5 to 14.
The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1310 of the device 1300, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1310 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 1310 and memory 1320 may form processing means 1350 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present
disclosure.
[00150] The memory 1320 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 1320 is shown in the device 1300, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1300.
The processor 1310 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1300 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor. [00151] The components included in the apparatuses and/or devices of the present disclosure may be implemented in various manners, including software, hardware, firmware, or any29
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combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and/or firmware, for example, machine-executable instructions stored on the storage medium. In addition to or instead of machine-executable instructions, parts or all of the units in the apparatuses and/or devices may be implemented, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.
[00152] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof. [00153] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above with reference to any of Figs. 1 to 12. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.
The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media. [00154] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose30
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computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server. [00155] The above program code may be embodied on a machine readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. [00156] Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.
Likewise, while several specific embodiment details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. [00157] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.We Claim:
1. A method for communications, comprising: determining, at a terminal device, a signal duration of an extension signal based on a first variable and a second variable; and 5 transmitting the extension signal before performing a sidelink communication. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the signal duration based on the first variable and the second variable comprises: determining the signal duration as a duration of a first number of symbols minus the 10 second variable, the first number being equal to the first variable. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the first variable and the second variable based on at least one of the following: 15 a parameter list of the extension signal; assignment information; a resource structure in a sidelink CO; or a type of a channel access procedure.
20 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal is determined based on at least one of the following: a system pre-definition; a pre-configuration; or a configuration.
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5. The method of claim 3, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the first variable and the second variable. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: 30 receiving the assignment information from a control node device.
7. The method of claim 4, further comprising: receiving the configuration from a control node device, the configuration indicating
31the parameter list of the extension signal.
8. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises at least one of the following: 5 a first list of available values of the first variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a first index; a second list of available values of the second variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a second index; or a third list of available values of the first variable and available values of the second 10 variable, wherein each of combinations of an available value of the first variable and an available value of the second variable is associated with a third index. 9. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fourth list of combinations of at least three of the following: 15 the first variable; the second variable; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fourth index.
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10. The method of claim 8, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fifth list of combinations of at least two of the following: the first index; the second index; 25 the third index; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fifth index. 30 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the following: the first index in the first list; the second index in the second list; or the third index in the third list.
3212. The method of claim 9, wherein the assignment information indicates the fourth index in the fourth list.
5 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the assignment information indicates the fifth index in the fifth list.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein a maximum value of the first variable is pre-configured or pre-defined; and 10 the method further comprises: determining the first variable as a value between zero and the maximum value.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the second variable as at least one of the following: 15 a configured or pre-configured fixed value, a time gap related to a channel access procedure, or a time gap related to an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) procedure. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the time gap related to the AGC procedure is 20 equal to a fixed value configured or pre-configured per subcarrier spacing (SCS); or the time gap related to the AGC procedure is determined based on a pre-defined parameter associated with the SCS.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the extension signal comprises one 25 of the following: transmitting the extension signal before transmitting a sidelink signal, transmitting the extension signal before a start symbol for sidelink transmission, transmitting the extension signal before transmitting an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) signal, or 30 transmitting the AGC signal before transmitting the extension signal. 18. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the first variable based on the resource structure in the sidelink CO comprises: determining the first variable based on locations of a last symbol of a transmission
33burst and a next available start symbol for sidelink transmission in the sidelink CO. 19. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the second variable based on the type of the channel access procedure comprises: 5 determining the second variable as a fixed value for each type of the channel access procedure, or determining the second variable as a fixed value plus a time gap related to an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) procedure for each type of the channel access procedure . 10 20. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter list is determined based on at least one of the following: a resource pool for sidelink communication, a Resource Block (RB) set, a Bandwidth Part (BWP), 15 a carrier, a sidelink Channel Occupancy (CO), or a transmission start symbol within the sidelink CO. 21. The method of claim 3, further comprising: 20 selecting at least one of the first variable and the second variable according to the parameter list.
22. The method of claim 6, wherein the control node device comprises one of the following: 25 a network device, a road side unit, a header terminal device in a sidelink communication group, a terminal device paired for sidelink unicast communication, or a further terminal device.
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23. A method for communications, comprising: determining, by a control node device, configuration information about a first variable and a second variable associated with a signal duration of an extension signal; and transmitting the configuration information.
3424. The method of claim 23, wherein the signal duration is determined as a duration of a first number of symbols minus the second variable, the first number being equal to the first variable.
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25. The method of claim 23, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a parameter list of the extension signal; or assignment information.
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26. The method of claim 25, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the first variable and the second variable.
27. The method of claim 25, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal 15 comprises at least one of the following: a first list of available values of the first variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a first index; a second list of available values of the second variable, wherein each of the available values is associated with a second index; or 20 a third list of available values of the first variable and available values of the second variable, wherein each of combinations of an available value of the first variable and an available value of the second variable is associated with a third index. 28. The method of claim 25, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal 25 comprises a fourth list of combinations of at least three of the following: the first variable; the second variable; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and 30 wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fourth index. 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the parameter list of the extension signal comprises a fifth list of combinations of at least two of the following: the first index;
35the second index; the third index; a type of a channel access procedure; or a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC); and 5 wherein each of the combinations is associated with a fifth index. 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the assignment information indicates at least one of the following: the first index in the first list; 10 the second index in the second list; or the third index in the third list.
31. The method of claim 28, wherein the assignment information indicates the fourth index in the fourth list.
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32. The method of claim 29, wherein the assignment information indicates the fifth index in the fifth list.
33. The method of claim 23, wherein the configuration information further comprises 20 a maximum value of the first variable.
34. The method of claim 23, wherein determining the configuration information about a first variable and a second variable comprises: determining the second variable as at least one of the following: 25 a first fixed value, a time gap related to a channel access procedure, or a time gap related to an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) procedure.
35. The method of claim 34, further comprising: 30 determining the time gap related to the AGC procedure as a second fixed value per subcarrier spacing (SCS).
36. The method of claim 25, wherein the parameter list is determined based on at least one of the following:
36a resource pool for sidelink communication, a Resource Block (RB) set, a Bandwidth Part (BWP), a carrier, 5 a sidelink Channel Occupancy (CO), or a transmission start symbol within the sidelink CO.
37. The method of claim 23, wherein the control node device comprises one of the following: 10 a network device, a road side unit, a header terminal device in a sidelink communication group, a terminal device paired for sidelink unicast communication, or a further terminal device.
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38. A terminal device, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the terminal device to perform the method according 20 to any of claims 1-22.
39. A control node device, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, 25 when executed by the processor, causing the control node device to perform the method according to any of claims 23-37.