Controlling the number of downlink-to-uplink and uplink-to-downlink switching points within a shared channel occupancy time in new radio systems operating on unlicensed spectrum

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to cause a computing device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more operations, the operations comprising:

• acquiring a shared channel occupancy time (COT) that includes at least one of one or more DL bursts or one or more UL bursts;
• utilizing one or more of the DL or UL bursts as a reference burst;
• deriving a metric for controlling the number of DL/UL switching points in the shared COT based on the reference burst;
• comparing the metric to a threshold value;
• and
• setting the number of DL/UL switching points in the shared COT based on the comparison of the metric to the threshold value.

An apparatus comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• acquire a shared channel occupancy time (COT) that includes at least one of one or more DL bursts or one or more UL bursts;
• utilize one or more of the DL or UL bursts as a reference burst;
• derive a metric for controlling the number of DL/UL switching points in the shared COT based on the reference burst;
• compare the metric to a threshold value;
• and
• set the number of DL/UL switching points in the shared COT based on the comparison of the metric to the threshold value.