Methods and communication devices

Abstract

A method for operating a communication device in a wireless communication network is provided. The method includes: determining that the communication device should transmit a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network in an uplink resource set of a wireless access interface; determining that the communication device should transmit a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal is transmitted multiple times, each transmission of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, wherein each repetition of the second uplink signal is transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in different sets of uplink resources of the wireless access interface; determining that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with at least one repetition of the resources of the second uplink signal; multiplexing the control information into one or more selected repetitions of the second uplink signal; and transmitting the multiplexed signal to the wireless communication network. Here, the characteristics of the one or more selected repetitions of the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to communication devices, infrastructure equipment, and methods for transmitting data from communication devices in a wireless communication network.

[0002] This application claims priority under the Paris Convention for European Patent Application No. EP20167439.7, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology

[0003] The “background” description provided herein is intended to provide a general context for this disclosure. To the extent described in this background section, the work of the currently named inventors and aspects of the description that may not be considered prior art at the time of filing are neither explicitly nor implicitly considered to be prior art to this invention.

[0004] Next-generation mobile telecommunications systems (such as those based on the UMTS and LTE architectures defined by 3GPP) are capable of supporting a wider range of services than the simple voice and messaging services offered by previous generations of mobile telecommunications systems. For example, through the improved radio interface and enhanced data rates provided by LTE systems, users can enjoy high-data-rate applications, such as mobile video streaming and mobile video conferencing, which were previously only available via fixed-line data connections. Therefore, the demand for deploying such networks is significant, and the coverage areas of these networks (i.e., the geographical locations where network access is available) are expected to continue to increase rapidly.

[0005] Future wireless communication networks are expected to routinely and efficiently support communications for a wider range of devices, associated with a broader range of data traffic profiles and types compared to current system optimizations. For example, future wireless communication networks are expected to efficiently support communications with devices including low-complexity devices, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, high-resolution video displays, virtual reality headsets, and more. Some of these different types of devices can be deployed in large numbers, such as low-complexity devices supporting the “Internet of Things” (IoT), and are typically associated with the transmission of smaller amounts of data with higher latency tolerance. Other types of devices, such as those supporting high-definition video streaming, can be associated with the transmission of relatively large amounts of data with relatively low latency tolerance. Other types of devices, such as those used for autonomous vehicle communications and for other critical applications, are characterized by data that should be transmitted over the network with low latency and high reliability. Depending on the application being run, individual device types may also be associated with different traffic profiles / characteristics. For example, when a smartphone is running a video streaming application (high downlink data), different considerations can be applied to efficiently support data exchange with the smartphone compared to when the smartphone is running an internet browsing application (sporadic uplink and downlink data) or when it is used for voice communication by an emergency responder in an emergency (data subject to strict reliability and latency requirements).

[0006] In light of this, it is expected that future wireless communication networks, such as those that may be referred to as 5G or New Radio (NR) systems / New Radio Access Technology (RAT) systems, as well as future iterations / versions of existing systems, will support efficient connectivity with a wide range of devices associated with different applications and data traffic profiles and requirements.

[0007] One example of the new service is called Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), which, as the name suggests, requires data units or packets to communicate with high reliability and low latency. Another example is Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), characterized by high capacity, requiring support for speeds up to 20Gb / s. Therefore, URLLC and eMBB types of services represent a challenging example for both LTE-type and 5G / NR communication systems.

[0008] The increasing use of different types of network infrastructure equipment and terminal devices associated with different traffic profiles poses new challenges to the efficient processing of communications in wireless telecommunications systems. Summary of the Invention

[0009] This disclosure can help resolve or mitigate at least some of the problems discussed above.

[0010] Embodiments of this technology can provide a method for operating a communication device in a wireless communication network. The method includes: determining that the communication device should transmit a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network in an uplink resource set of a wireless access interface; determining that the communication device should transmit a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be transmitted multiple times, each transmission of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, wherein each repetition of the second uplink signal will be transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface; determining that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal; multiplexing the control information into one or more selected repetitions of the second uplink signal; and transmitting the multiplexed signal to the wireless communication network. Here, the characteristics of the one or more selected repetitions of the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0011] In addition to methods of operating communication devices, embodiments of this technology relate to methods of operating infrastructure equipment, communication devices, and infrastructure equipment, and circuitry for communication devices and infrastructure equipment, allowing communication devices to use radio resources more efficiently.

[0012] The various aspects and features of this disclosure are defined in the appended claims.

[0013] It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary of the technology and not limiting. The described embodiments and further advantages will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0014] A more complete understanding of this disclosure and its many accompanying advantages will readily be obtained when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and by referring to the following detailed description, wherein, in several views, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts, and wherein:

[0015] Figure 1 These illustrations represent aspects of an LTE-type wireless telecommunications system that can be configured to operate according to certain embodiments of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2 This schematically illustrates some aspects of a novel Radio Access Technology (RAT) wireless telecommunication system that can be configured to operate according to certain embodiments of this disclosure;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic block diagram of exemplary infrastructure equipment and communication devices that can be configured to operate according to certain embodiments of this disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating how a user equipment (UE) can multiplex multiple hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgments (HARQ-ACK) into a single physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is shown.

[0019] Figure 5 This shows the processing time T at the UE for the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). proc，1 Examples of timing standards;

[0020] Figure 6 The uplink permission processing time T at the UE is shown. proc，2 Examples of timing standards;

[0021] Figure 7 An example is shown of how a UE can multiplex uplink control information (UCI) into the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH);

[0022] Figure 8 An example of PUSCH aggregation in Rel-15 is shown;

[0023] Figure 9 An example of PUSCH repetition in Rel-16 is shown;

[0024] Figure 10 An example of a PUSCH segment is shown;

[0025] Figure 11 This illustrates an example of how a PUCCH might conflict with multiple actual PUSCH duplicates;

[0026] Figure 12 This illustrates an example of how UCI can be multiplexed to the earliest actual PUSCH that meets timing standards;

[0027] Figure 13 A partial schematic and partial message flow diagram representation of a wireless communication network including communication devices and infrastructure equipment according to embodiments of the present technology is shown.

[0028] Figure 14 This illustrates how embodiments of the present technology can be selected with Q. Available >T UCI The earliest practical example of PUSCH to reuse UCI on it;

[0029] Figure 15 An example is shown of how the largest actual PUSCH can be selected to multiplex the UCI onto it, according to embodiments of the present technology;

[0030] Figure 16This illustrates how, according to embodiments of the present technology, PUSCH can be selected such that UCI is relative to the UCI time window (W). UCI The first example that was reused on it;

[0031] Figure 17 This illustrates how, according to embodiments of the present technology, PUSCH can be selected such that UCI is relative to the UCI time window (W). UCI A second example of reuse on it, where the UCI bits can be repeatedly segmented across different qualified actual PUSCHs; and

[0032] Figure 18 A flowchart illustrating a communication process in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present technology is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0033] Long Term Evolution Advanced Radio Access Technology (4G)

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram is provided illustrating some basic functions of a mobile telecommunications network / system 100, which typically operates based on LTE principles but may also support other radio access technologies and may be adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure described herein. Figure 1 Certain aspects of the various components and their corresponding operating modes are well known and defined in relevant standards managed by the 3GPP (RTM) organization, and described in many books on the subject, such as Holma H. ​​and Toskala A[1]. It should be understood that the operational aspects of telecommunications networks not specifically described herein (e.g., regarding specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between different components) can be implemented according to any known technology, such as modifications and additions to relevant standards and known proposals for relevant standards.

[0035] Network 6 includes multiple base stations 1 connected to core network 2. Each base station provides a coverage area 3 (i.e., a cell) within which data can be communicated to and from communication device 4. Although each base station 1 in Figure 1 While shown as a single entity, those skilled in the art will understand that some functions of a base station can be performed by different, interconnected components, such as antennas, remote wireless heads, amplifiers, etc. In general, one or more base stations can form a radio access network.

[0036] Data is transmitted from base station 1 to communication device 4 within its corresponding coverage area 3 via a radio downlink. Data is transmitted from communication device 4 to base station 1 via a radio uplink. Core network 2 routes data to and from communication device 4 via the corresponding base station 1, and provides functions such as authentication, mobility management, and billing. The terminal device may also be referred to as a mobile station, user equipment (UE), user terminal, mobile radio, communication device, etc. The services provided by core network 2 may include connections to the Internet or external telephone services. Core network 2 can further track the location of communication device 4 so that it can efficiently contact (i.e., page) communication device 4 to send downlink data.

[0037] A base station is an example of network infrastructure equipment and may also be referred to as a transceiver station, nodeB, e-nodeB, eNB, g-nodeB, gNB, etc. In this regard, different terms are generally associated with different generations of wireless telecommunication systems to provide elements with broadly comparable functionality. However, certain embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented equivalently in different generations of wireless telecommunication systems, and for simplicity, specific terms may be used regardless of the underlying network architecture. That is, the use of specific terms associated with particular example implementations is not intended to imply that these implementations are limited to the specific generation of networks most relevant to that specific term.

[0038] New radio access technology (5G)

[0039] Figure 2 The image shows an exemplary configuration of a wireless communication network that uses some of the terminology proposed and used for NR and 5G. Figure 2 In this configuration, multiple Transmit and Receive Points (TRPs) 10 are connected to Distribution Control Units (DUs) 41, 42 via connection interfaces represented as lines 16. Each of the TRPs 10 is arranged to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface within the available radio frequency bandwidth of the wireless communication network. Thus, within the range used for performing radio communication via the wireless access interface, each of the TRPs 10 forms a wireless communication network cell represented by circles 12. In this way, wireless communication devices 14 within the radio communication range provided by cell 12 can transmit signals to and receive signals from the TRPs 10 via the wireless access interface. Each of the Distribution Units 41, 42 is connected to a Central Unit (CU) 40 (which may be referred to as a control node) via interface 46. The Central Unit 40 is then connected to a core network 20, which may contain all other functions required for transmitting data to and from wireless communication devices, and may be connected to other networks 30.

[0040] Figure 2The components of the wireless access network shown can be configured with respect to... Figure 1 The example describes a corresponding element in an LTE network that operates in a similar manner. It will be understood that... Figure 2 The operational aspects of the telecommunications network represented, as well as other operational aspects of networks discussed herein according to embodiments of this disclosure that are not specifically described (e.g., regarding specific communication protocols and physical channels for communication between different elements), can be implemented according to any known technology, such as currently used methods for implementing such operational aspects of wireless telecommunications systems, for example, according to relevant standards.

[0041] Figure 2 The TRP 10 may partially have functions corresponding to a base station or eNodeB in an LTE network. Similarly, the communication device 14 may have functions corresponding to a UE device 4 known for operation in an LTE network. Therefore, it will be understood that the operational aspects of the new RAT network (e.g., regarding the specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between different components) may differ from those known from LTE or other known mobile telecommunications standards. However, it will also be understood that each of the core network components, base stations, and communication devices of the new RAT network will be functionally similar to the core network components, base stations, and communication devices of an LTE wireless communication network, respectively.

[0042] In terms of broad top-level functions, Figure 2 The core network 20 shown, connected to the new RAT telecommunications system, can be broadly considered to correspond to... Figure 1 The core network 2 shown, and the central unit and its associated distributed units / TRP 10 can be broadly considered to provide corresponding... Figure 1 The function of base station 1. The term network infrastructure equipment / access node can be used for these elements that comprise wireless telecommunications systems and more conventional base station type elements. Depending on the application at hand, the responsibility for scheduling transmissions on the radio interface between the corresponding distributed unit and communication device may lie with the control node / central unit and / or distributed unit / TRP. Figure 2 In the first communication cell 12, communication device 14 is represented within the coverage area of ​​the first communication cell 12. The communication device 14 can therefore exchange signaling with the first central unit 40 in the first communication cell 12 via a distributed unit 10 associated with the first communication cell 12.

[0043] It should also be understood that Figure 2 This is merely one example of a proposed architecture for a new RAT-based telecommunications system, in which methods based on the principles described herein can be employed, and the functionality disclosed herein can also be applied to wireless telecommunications systems with different architectures.

[0044] Therefore, certain embodiments of this disclosure discussed herein can be adapted to various different architectures (e.g., Figure 1 and 2 The example architecture shown is implemented in a wireless telecommunications system / network. Therefore, it should be understood that a particular wireless telecommunications architecture in any given implementation is not of primary significance to the principles described herein. In this regard, certain embodiments of this disclosure can be generally described in the context of communication between network infrastructure devices / access nodes and communication devices, wherein the specific properties of the network infrastructure devices / access nodes and communication devices will depend on the network infrastructure used in the upcoming implementation. For example, in some cases, the network infrastructure device / access node may include a base station, e.g., Figure 1 The illustrated LTE-type base station 1 is suitable for providing functionality according to the principles described herein, and in other examples, network infrastructure equipment may include... Figure 2 The control unit / control node 40 and / or TRP 10 of the type shown are adapted to provide functionality in accordance with the principles described herein.

[0045] Figure 3 Provided Figure 2 A more detailed diagram of some of the network components is shown below. Figure 3 In, such as Figure 2 The TRP 10 shown includes, in simplified representation, a radio transmitter 30, a radio receiver 32, and a controller or control processor 34, which is operable to control the transmitter 30 and the radio receiver 32 to transmit and receive radio signals to one or more UEs 14 within the cell 12 formed by the TRP 10. Figure 3 As shown, example UE 14 is shown as including a respective transmitter 49, receiver 48 and controller 44, controller 44 being configured to control transmitter 49 and receiver 48 to transmit signals representing uplink data to the wireless communication network via the radio access interface formed by TRP 10, and to receive downlink data as signals transmitted by transmitter 30 and received by receiver 48 according to normal operation.

[0046] Transmitters 30, 49 and receivers 32, 48 (and other transmitters, receivers, and transceivers described with respect to examples and embodiments of this disclosure) may include radio frequency filters and amplifiers, as well as signal processing components and means for transmitting and receiving radio signals according to, for example, 5G / NR standards. Controllers 34, 44, 48 (and other controllers described with respect to examples and embodiments of this disclosure) may be, for example, microprocessors, CPUs, or dedicated chipsets, configured to execute instructions stored on a computer-readable medium (e.g., non-volatile memory). The processing steps described herein may be executed, for example, by a microprocessor in conjunction with random access memory, operating according to instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. For ease of illustration, the transmitters, receivers, and controllers are... Figure 3 These are schematically shown as independent components. However, it should be understood that the functionality of these components can be provided in various different ways, for example, using one or more appropriately programmed programmable computers or one or more appropriately configured application-specific integrated circuits / circuit systems / chips / chipsets. It should be understood that infrastructure equipment / TRP / base stations and UE / communication devices will typically include various other components associated with their operational functions.

[0047] like Figure 3 As shown, TRP 10 also includes a network interface 50 connected to DU 42 via physical interface 16. Therefore, network interface 50 provides a communication link for data and signaling traffic from TRP 10 to core network 20 via DU 42 and CU 40.

[0048] The interface 46 between DU 42 and CU 40 is referred to as the F1 interface, which can be a physical interface or a logical interface. The F1 interface 46 between CU and DU can operate according to specifications 3GPP TS 38.470 and 3GPP TS 38.473 and can be formed by fiber optic or other wired high-bandwidth connections. In one example, the connection 16 from TRP 10 to DU 42 is via fiber optic connection. The connection between TRP 10 and the core network 20 can generally be referred to as the backhaul, which includes the interface 16 from the network interface 50 of TRP 10 to DU 42 and the F1 interface 46 from DU 42 to CU 40.

[0049] 5G and eURLLC

[0050] Systems incorporating NR technology are expected to support different services (or service types), characterized by varying requirements for latency, data rate, and / or reliability. For example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) service is characterized by high capacity, requiring support for speeds up to 20 Gb / s. Ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service requires a reliability of 1-10. -5(99.999%) or higher, requiring a 32-byte packet to be sent from the radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU inlet to the radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU exit point of the radio interface within 1 ms, with a reliability of 99.999% to 99.9999% [2]. Massive machine-type communication (mMTC) is another example of a service that can be supported by NR-based communication networks. In addition, the system is expected to support further enhancements related to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to support new requirements for high availability, high reliability, low latency, and, in some cases, high-precision positioning.

[0051] Enhanced URLLC (eURLLC)[3] specifies the need for high reliability and low latency characteristics, such as factory automation, transportation, power distribution, etc. It should be understood that URLLC and eMBB will have different requirements for uplink control information (UCI). Therefore, one of the current goals of eURLLC is to enhance UCI to support URLLC, with the aim of allowing more frequent UCI to be sent, such as sending more hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback per time slot, and supporting multiple HARQ-ACK codebooks for different traffic services. Solutions determined to accommodate more frequent UCI without interrupting the transmission of high-priority and low-latency data using the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) may include multiplexing UCI onto PUSCH repeats.

[0052] Rel-15 UCI and PUSCH multiplexing

[0053] The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as HARQ-ACK feedback, scheduling requests (SR), and channel state information (CSI) for PDSCH. There are five PUCCH formats: formats 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. PUCCH format 0 carries a maximum of two HARQ-ACK bits and a positive SR. PUCCH format 1 carries a maximum of two bits, which can be two HARQ-ACK bits or one HARQ-ACK and one SR bit. PUCCH formats 2, 3, and 4 can carry more than two bits, consisting of HARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI. It should be noted that HARQ-ACK is a term used to describe HARQ feedback used for PDSCH; although named, the feedback itself can be a positive acknowledgment (called "ACK") or a negative acknowledgment (called "NACK").

[0054] In response to Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) scheduling, a HARQ-ACK feedback is sent to the gNB to notify the gNB whether the UE has successfully decoded the PDSCH. For a PDSCH ending in slot n, a corresponding PUCCH carrying the HARQ-ACK is sent in slot n+K1, where the K1 value is indicated in the "PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator" field of the DL grant (carried by Downlink Control Information (DCI) format 1_0 or DCI format 1_1). The PUCCH resource used is indicated in the "PUCCHResource indicator" (PRI) field of the DL grant.

[0055] Multiple (different) PDSCHs can be directed to the same time slot for transmitting their respective HARQ-ACKs, and the bits of these HARQ-ACKs (in the same time slot) are then multiplexed by the UE into a single PUCCH, where the PUCCH resources are determined by the DL permission for scheduling the last PDSCH. Therefore, a PUCCH can contain multiple HARQ-ACKs for multiple PDSCHs. Figure 4 An example is shown where three DL licenses are sent to the UE via DCI#1, DCI#2, and DCI#3 in time slots n, n+1, and n+2, respectively. DCI#1, DCI#2, and DCI#3 schedule PDSCH#1, PDSCH#2, and PDSCH#3, respectively. DCI#1, DCI#2, and DCI#3 also indicate K1=3, K1=2, and K1=1, respectively. Since the K1 value indicates that the HARQ-ACK feedback for PDSCH#1, PDSCH#2, and PDSCH#3 are all sent in time slot n+4, the UE multiplexes all three HARQ-ACKs into a single PUCCH. The PUCCH multiplexing window is a time window during which a PDSCH can be multiplexed into that single PUCCH, where this PUCCH multiplexing window depends on the range of the K1 value. Figure 4 In the example shown, the PUCCH multiplexing window is from slot n to slot n+3, which means that the maximum K1 value is 4 slots.

[0056] CSI reports can be configured to be periodic, non-periodic, or semi-persistent and can be carried by either PUCCH or PUSCH; that is, UCI can be sent using PUSCH. Periodic CSI is sent using PUCCH, where CSI reports are sent periodically. Non-periodic CSI is sent using PUSCH and triggered by the CSI request field in the UL license, where only a single CSI report is sent. In semi-persistent CSI, CSI reports are sent periodically once activated by a lower layer and stop when deactivated by a lower layer. Semi-persistent CSI can be configured to be sent on either PUSCH or PUCCH, where semi-persistent CSI on PUSCH is activated and deactivated by DCI, while semi-persistent CSI on PUCCH is activated and deactivated by the MAC control element (CE).

[0057] In Rel-15, when a PUCCH carrying CSI conflicts with another PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK (with or without SR), the UE multiplexes CSI and HARQ-ACK / SR if the RRC parameter "simultaneousHARQ-ACK-CSl" is set to true. Otherwise, the UE discards CSI. This parameter is part of the PUCCH configuration and therefore applies to all PUCCH transmissions within the UE. The PUCCH resource used for transmitting multiplexed UCI (CSI and HARQ-ACK / SR) is selected from all overlapping PUCCHs.

[0058] When a PUCCH carrying a UCI conflicts with a PUSCH, the UCI from the PUCCH is multiplexed into the PUSCH. It should be noted that SRs are generally not multiplexed into the PUSCH, as it is more efficient to send data on the PUSCH (after all, an SR is simply a request for PUSCH resources) or to send a Buffer Status Report (BSR) within the PUSCH.

[0059] UCI multiplexing to PUSCH has two aspects: timing standards for conflicting PUCCH and PUSCH, and PUSCH resources used for UCI.

[0060] Timing standards for UCI multiplexing

[0061] When one or more PUCCHs collide with one or more PUSCHs, if these colliding channels meet the PDSCH and PUSCH timing criteria (also known as timeline criteria), the UCI from the PUCCH is multiplexed into the PUSCH, as shown below:

[0062] For a PUCCH that conflicts with a PUSCH and carries a HARQ-ACK, the earliest PUSCH or PUCCH in the conflict must be within the T range after the last PDSCH in the PUCCH multiplexing window has ended. proc，1Then it begins. T proc，1 This is the time required for the UE to process the PDSCH. Figure 5 An example is shown where DCI#1 and DCI#2 are DL licenses (DCI format 1_0 or DCI format 1_1), scheduling PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 respectively. For a PDSCH ending in slot n, a corresponding PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK is sent in slot n+K1, where the value of K1 is indicated in the "PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator" field of the DL license. In this example, at time t 10 To t 12 The PUCCHs carrying HARQ-ACKs for PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 are both in time slot n+4, therefore the HARQ-ACK bits for PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 are multiplexed into PUCCH#1. The PUCCH multiplexing window contains all PDSCHs that share the same PUCCH for their HARQ-ACK feedback. At time t6, the UL-licensed scheduling PUSCH#1 carried by DCI#3 is in time slot n+4. 11 The transmission proceeds, thus colliding with PUCCH#1. According to the timing standard, PUSCH#1 (the earliest and only PUSCH in the collision) is in the T sequence of PDSCH#2. proc，1 The timing is incorrect because the UCI from PUCCH#1 cannot be multiplexed into PUSCH#1. This is because the UE does not have enough time to process PDSCH#2 in time to multiplex the HARQ-ACK into PUSCH#1.

[0063] The earliest PUCCH or PUSCH in the conflict was one of the last UL-licensed PUSCHs dispatched in the conflict. proc，2 Then it begins, where T proc，2 This is the time taken by the UE to process the PUSCH. Figure 6 An example is shown where DCI#1 and DCI#2 are DL licenses, scheduling PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 respectively. The corresponding HARQ-ACKs for these PDSCHs are executed from time t8 to t9. 10 The scheduled PUCCH#1 bearer. At time t6, the UL license, carried by DCI#3, is issued between times t9 and t0. 11 Schedule PUSCH#1, thus causing a conflict with PUCCH#1. According to the time standard, PUCCH#1 is in the T time of DCI#3. proc，2 Since the UCI from PUCCH#1 cannot be reused in PUSCH#1, the UCI from PUCCH#1 must be used from within the UCI.

[0064] In Rel-15, the UE does not expect the gNB to schedule its PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH, which would violate the timing standard for UCI multiplexing on the PUSCH.

[0065] PUSCH resources for UCI multiplexing

[0066] In Rel-15, when the UCI carried by the PUCCH (or the CSI carried by the PUSCH) conflicts with the PUSCH carrying data, the UCI bits and data bits are multiplexed and transmitted on the PUSCH. Multiplexing is done by carrying the UCI onto the PUSCH resources; that is, some allocated PUSCH resources are used to carry the UCI, which reduces the resources available for the PUSCH data. The HARQ-ACK bits are multiplexed first, followed by the CSI bits. The number of resources (i.e., resource elements) that can be used is determined by two parameters: offset β. PUSCH And scaling factor α. β PUSCH The offset is signaled by the UL-licensed DCI carrying the PUSCH using the "beta_offset indicator" field, which indicates the four configured beta values. PUSCH One of the offset values. These four β values. PUSCH The offset values ​​are selected from the table defined in [4], where the minimum value is 1, i.e., β. PUSCH ≥1. The scaling factor α = {0.5, 0.65, 0.8, 1} is configured by RRC and sets the maximum number of REs (Resource Elements) as a percentage of the number of PUSCH REs that can be used for UCI.

[0067] Figure 7 The flowchart in the document summarizes the multiplexing process. When a PUCCH and PUSCH conflict is determined in step S1, the UE calculates the number of HARQ-ACK bits in step S3. ACK And the number of CRC bits L ACK Then multiply it by the β specified in the UL license. PUSCH (and determined by the UE in step S2), to determine the total number of bits required to carry these HARQ-ACKs. β PUSCH The offset is actually the redundancy level used for HARQ-ACK information. Then, in step S4, the UE calculates the number Q of modulation symbols. ACK (The modulation used depends on the scheduled PUSCH) and therefore the number of REs (resource elements) required. The UE then modulates the scaling factor α with the number of PUSCH REs M. PUSCH Multiplication determines the maximum allowed PUSCH RE that can be used for UCI. In step S5, the UE checks Q. ACK It does not exceed the maximum RE, if it does (i.e., Q) ACK>αM PUSCH Then, the actual number of REs that can be used, as determined by the UE in step S6, Q' ACK =αM PUSCH Otherwise, the actual number of REs is the calculated number of REs, i.e., Q' ACK =Q ACK And this is determined by the UE in step S7. Then, the UE will... ACK The symbols of HARQ-ACK modulation are carried over to PUSCH, where O is processed in step S9. ACK ≤2 bits (UE checks in step S8) use punching, otherwise around Q' in step S510 ACK The symbols are rate-matched to the PUSCH data symbols.

[0068] Then the process is repeated for CSI, that is, the UE calculates the number of CSI bits O in step S11. CSI and its CRC L CSI and with offset β PUSCH Multiplication. In step S12, the UE determines the number Q of modulation symbols. CSI This determines the number of REs required to carry CSI. Then, in step S13, the UE checks Q. CSI No more than the remaining PUSCH RE(αM) PUSCH -Q' ACK If it exceeds (i.e., Q), CSI >αM PUSCH -Q' ACK If so, then in step S14, the actual number of REs for CSI is Q' CSI Use the remaining PUSCH RE, i.e., Q' CSI =αM PUSCH -Q' ACK Otherwise, as determined by the UE in step S15, Q' CSI It is the number of CSI REs calculated, i.e., Q' CSI =Q CSI For CSI, only rate matching is used, i.e., around Q' in step S16. CSI The modulation symbols are rate-matched to the PUSCH data. It should be noted that the CSI UCI can include two types: Type 1 CSI and Type 2 CSI. Multiplexing of Type 1 CSI is performed first, followed by multiplexing of Type 2 CSI. This process then ends in step S17.

[0069] UCI-onto-PUSCH multiplexing takes precedence over HARQ-ACK bits, followed by type 1 CSI, and finally type 2 CSI. It should be noted that if there are not enough REs in the PUSCH, some CSI bits are multiplexed, and if there are no remaining REs, CSI bits may not be multiplexed.

[0070] PUSCH repeats

[0071] In Rel-15, slot-based PUSCH repetition, called PUSCH aggregation, was introduced to improve the reliability of PUSCH transmission. Figure 8 An example is shown where a PUSCH aggregation starting from slot n to slot n+3 is used to repeat a 4-symbol duration PUSCH, i.e., L=4, starting 2 symbols off the slot boundary, 4 times, i.e., K=4. The number of repetitions of the PUSCH aggregation is configured by RRC.

[0072] In PUSCH aggregation, specifically in slot-based PUSCH repetition where the PUSCH duration is shorter than the slot, the time interval between repetitions is observed. For Figure 8 The example in the text repeats PUSCH at the slot level, leaving a 10-symbol gap between consecutive repetitions. This gap introduces latency, which is unacceptable for URLLC where low latency is critical. Recognizing this, Rel-16eURLLC introduced PUSCH repetition, where PUSCH repetitions are performed back-to-back, thereby minimizing latency while improving reliability. Figure 9 An example is shown where a 4-symbol duration PUSCH (L=4) is repeated 4 times using Rel-16 PUSCH repetition, i.e., K N =4, with 2 symbols offset from the slot boundary. Here, there are no gaps between each repetition, so the entire repetition is completed within 16 symbols, compared to 56 symbols (4 slots) when using PUSCH aggregation. The number of repetitions in Rel-16 PUSCH is scheduled by UL permission and is only applicable to PUSCH mapping type B (i.e., PUSCH that can start at any symbol within a slot).

[0073] Because PUSCH mapping type B can begin at any symbol within a time slot, some of its repetitions may cross time slot boundaries or conflict with invalid OFDM symbols (e.g., downlink symbols), and these PUSCHs are segmented. For example, a PUSCH repetition scheduled by UL permission is called a nominal repetition, and if segmentation occurs on a nominal PUSCH into two or more PUSCH segments, these segments are called actual repetitions K. AIn other words, actual repetition refers to the actual number of PUSCH repetitions sent, which can be greater than the nominal number of repetitions, i.e., the number of scheduled repetitions. The PUSCH duration L and nominal repetition K are determined by the UL-permitted scheduling. N Give the absolute total duration of the PUSCH transmission; that is, K N ×L is the duration of the entire PUSCH transmission, so if it conflicts with any invalid OFDM symbol, these parts are discarded. Figure 10 Two examples of PUSCH segmentation are shown. K is sent at time t1. N =4, L=4 PUSCH, where the third nominal PUSCH repeat crosses the slot boundary at time t4. Therefore, the third nominal PUSCH repeat is segmented into two PUSCH repeats, so the actual number of repeats K A =5. Send another K at time t9. N =2, L=6 PUSCH, where at time t 10 and t 11 The first nominal PUSCH conflicts with two DU (or invalid) symbols. Therefore, the first nominal PUSCH is segmented into two repeated PUSCHs, resulting in an actual repetition count K. A =3. Because K N xL = 12 OFDM symbols is the total duration of PUSCH transmission, therefore at time t 10 and t 11 Two PUSCH symbols that conflict with a DU (or invalid) symbol are discarded.

[0074] UCI is reused on PUSCH repeat.

[0075] In Rel-15, since PUSCH aggregation is based on slot repetition and PUCCH cannot cross slot boundaries, PUCCH will only conflict with one instance of PUSCH aggregation. Therefore, when timing criteria are met, multiplexing UCI into conflicting PUSCH repetitions is straightforward. However, in Rel-16, PUCCH may conflict with multiple actual repetitions of PUSCH transmissions. Figure 11 An example is shown where DCI#1 and DCI#2 are DL licenses, scheduling PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 respectively. HARQ-ACK feedback for PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 is multiplexed in PUCCH#1. At time t6, DCI#3 is sent, its bearer used for time t8 to t9. 12 Send K N =2 and L=6 PUSCH UL license. First nominal PUSCH repeats with time t9 and t 10Due to invalid symbol conflicts, it is segmented into two PUSCH segments, giving the total actual repetition K. A =3. Therefore, PUCCH#1 conflicts with multiple actual PUSCH duplicates, that is, Figure 11 The second actual PUSCH repeats and the third actual PUSCH repeats.

[0076] Two issues were encountered when multiplexing the UCI from PUCCH onto PUSCH:

[0077] In which actual pusch repeat should the UCI be multiplexed?

[0078] How to determine PUSCH resources for UCI reuse?

[0079] Regarding the first question above, namely, in which actual PUSCH repeat should the UCI be multiplexed, the following options are proposed in [5]:

[0080] Option 1: UCI is reused in the first actual repeat, for which PUCCH and PUSCH are assumed to meet timeline criteria. For example, in Figure 11 In the process, the conflicting PUCCH and PUSCH meet the timeline criteria, so UCI is multiplexed into the first actual PUSCH repetition between time t8 and t9;

[0081] Option 2: The UCI is reused in the earliest actual repetition that meets the timeline criteria. For example, in Figure 12 In the process, DCI#1 and DCI#2 schedule PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 respectively, and their HARQ-ACK feedback occurs at time t. 10 to t 12 It is reused in PUCCH#1. DCI#3 scheduler K N PUSCH with L=2 and L=6 at times t8 and t 13 Send between. The first nominal PUSCH repeats at times t9 and t0. 10 It conflicts with two invalid symbols, so it is segmented into two actual PUSCHs, giving a total actual PUSCH repetition K. A =3. PUCCH#1 conflicts with some actual PUSCH duplications. In this example, the first actual PUSCH does not conform to the timeline criteria because it is at T proc，1 Beginning after PDSCH#2. In this option, the second actual PUSCH is the earliest PUSCH that meets the timeline criteria, therefore UCI is reused in the second actual PUSCH; and

[0082] Option 3: UCI is multiplexed into overlapping actual PUSCH repetitions with the maximum number of symbols (i.e., the longest duration). Using Figure 12 In the example, PUCCH#1 overlaps with the second and third actual PUSCHs, and because the third actual PUSCH has a longer duration, the UCI is reused in the third actual PUSCH.

[0083] Figure 7 The PUSCH resource for multiplexing UCI in Rel-15 is described. For the HARQ-ACK bit, it can be represented by the following equation (see [6]):

[0084]

[0085] variable Q' ACK O ACK L ACK β PUSCH M PUSCH and α Figure 7 As described in [the text]. TBS is the transport block size of the conflicting PUSCH, therefore the first part of the equation:

[0086]

[0087] Confirm Q ACK That is, the number of modulation symbols required by UCI. The second part of the equation:

[0088]

[0089] The number of resource elements (REs) that UCI can use is limited, and this number is determined by factor α.

[0090] The second question raised when multiplexing the UCI from PUCCH to PUSCH is how to calculate Q. ACK and Q' ACK [5] outlines three recommendations:

[0091] Option A: Q' ACK Based on the nominal PUSCH repetition, i.e., M PUSCH Both TBS and PUSCH are derived from the nominal PUSCH. Since the actual PUSCH repeat may have fewer REs than the nominal PUSCH, this option may result in UCI not having enough REs for reuse.

[0092] Option B: Q' ACK Based on actual PUSCH repetition, i.e., M PUSCHThe number of REs and TBS should be based on the actual PUSCH multiplexed by the UCI. This will result in the UCI having too few REs, as the actual PUSCH may have fewer REs than the nominal PUSCH, which impacts its reliability; and

[0093] Option C: Q ACK Based on the nominal PUSCH (i.e., the first part of the equation), and the maximum limit of RE (i.e., the second part of the equation) based on the actual PUSCH, the equation becomes:

[0094]

[0095] Among them, M Nominal M is the number of REs in the nominal PUSCH. Actual It is the number of REs in the actual PUSCH, that is, M Nominal ≥M Actual .

[0096] It has been recognized that the issues of selecting which actual PUSCH repeat and determining the PUSCH resources for UCI multiplexing should not be addressed separately, as they are related and addressing them individually is ineffective. If the selection of the actual PUSCH repeat is independent of the determination of PUSCH resources, the selected PUSCH repeat may not provide sufficient PUSCH resources for reliable transmission to UCI, as described in some suggested options for determining PUSCH resources for UCI (options A, B, and C as mentioned above). However, the prior art has not proposed a solution that takes both of these issues into account. Embodiments of this technology attempt to provide a solution that does indeed take both issues into account.

[0097] Enhance UCI multiplexing to PUSCH repetition

[0098] Figure 13 A partial schematic and partial message flow diagram representation of a wireless communication network including a communication device 131 and an infrastructure device 132 according to at least some embodiments of the present technology is shown. The communication device 131 is configured to transmit data to or receive data from the wireless communication network (e.g., infrastructure device 132) via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network. The communication device 131 and the infrastructure device 132 each include transceivers (or transceiver circuits) 131.1, 132.1 and controllers (or controller circuits) 131.2, 132.2. For example, each of the controllers 131.2, 132.2 may be a microprocessor, CPU, or dedicated chipset, etc.

[0099] like Figure 13As shown in the example, the transceiver circuit 131.1 and controller circuit 131.2 of the communication device 131 are configured to: determine 133 that the communication device 131 should transmit a first uplink signal 134, including control information, to the wireless communication network (e.g., to infrastructure equipment 132) in the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface; determine 135 that the communication device 131 should transmit a second uplink signal 136 to the wireless communication network (e.g., to infrastructure equipment 132), wherein the second uplink signal 136 will be transmitted multiple times 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4, each of which is a repetition of the second uplink signal 136, wherein the second uplink signal 136... Each repetition 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136 will be transmitted from a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface to other repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136; determining 137 that the resources of the first uplink signal 134 overlap at least partially in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal; multiplexing control information 138 to one or more repetitions of the second uplink signal 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4; and transmitting the multiplexed signal 139 to the wireless communication network (e.g., to infrastructure device 132). Here, the characteristics of one or more repeating resources 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the selected second uplink signal 136 satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0100] Those skilled in the art will understand that, typically, the second uplink signal will be an uplink data signal carried by a PUSCH repeat. However, in some cases, PUSCH repeats may not actually carry any data at all; for example, they may carry UCI, such as CSI. Therefore, although the second uplink signal can be understood (and is described in at least some examples or arrangements of embodiments of the present technology) as a data signal, the second uplink signal (and therefore its repeats) may in some cases carry only control information.

[0101] Essentially, embodiments of this technology propose selecting an actual PUSCH repetition with sufficient resources to support UCI so that UCI can be multiplexed onto it. Embodiments of this technology recognize that selecting a PUSCH repetition without considering the resources available for the selected PUSCH may result in insufficient resources for UCI, which could lead to failure to meet UCI's URLLC requirements. At least some embodiments of this technology broadly require the following two steps to be performed:

[0102] 1) Determine if the available resources are sufficient for each relevant actual PUSCH repeat (e.g., in terms of size, location, etc.); and

[0103] 2) Select one or more actual PUSCH repeats with sufficient resources.

[0104] Determine sufficient resources

[0105] When determining whether an actual PUSCH repeat has sufficient resources for UCI multiplexing, the UE may need to calculate the available resources for UCI in the actual PUSCH repeat and compare it with a threshold (UCI threshold). That is, in at least some arrangements of embodiments of this technology, if the available resources in the actual PUSCH are equal to or greater than the UCI threshold, it is considered to have sufficient resources. In other words, the characteristic is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than the uplink control information threshold.

[0106] In calculating the available resources (e.g., RE) for UCI in the actual PUSCH, Available At this time, the system needs to determine the portion of the resources available for UCI in the actual PUSCH repetition. The following paragraphs describe the arrangement of embodiments of the present technology that provide a solution to this requirement.

[0107] In some configurations, the available resources are the minimum value of resources determined by the α factor on the nominal PUSCH and all actual PUSCH resources. That is,

[0108]

[0109] Among them, M Nominal M is the total RE available in the nominal PUSCH repeat (i.e., excluding DMRS). Actual This is the total RE available in the actual PUSCH repetition. It should be noted that since the actual PUSCH repetition can have different sizes, Q... Available The available resource quantity is different for each actual PUSCH repetition. In other words, the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resources that the communication device can use for control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor (the total resource quantity of the entire non-segmented PUSCH, for example, if one is crossed by a PUSCH repetition, it is included on both sides of the time slot boundary, or the PUSCH includes invalid symbols, etc.), which is configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network. For example, as mentioned earlier... Figure 7As described, the scaling factor (i.e., α) indicates the percentage of the maximum number of resource elements available for uplink control information messages (e.g., the first uplink signal) to the number of resource elements of the uplink data channel carrying uplink data (i.e., the selected duplicate resources of the second uplink signal).

[0110] In some configurations, all resources in the actual PUSCH repeat can be used for UCI. This is the available resource, Q. Available =M Actual In other words, the amount of available resources is all the resources that a communication device can use for control information and / or data information. Those skilled in the art will understand that resources in a PUSCH repeat, even if partially allocated to uplink data, can be reallocated for UCI, for example, through puncturing or rate matching. In these arrangements, where the available resources Q... Available =M Actual It can reallocate all PUSCH resources for UCI.

[0111] In some arrangements, the resources available for UCI in the actual PUSCH repetitions are determined by the factor γ, i.e., Q. Available =γM Actual This factor γ can be configured in the RRC, indicated in the DCI, or specified in the specification. In other words, the amount of available resources is a factor of all resources that a communication device can use to control information and / or data information.

[0112] • In some implementations of these arrangements, the factor γ = α: or

[0113] In some implementations of these arrangements, the factor can be different for different actual PUSCH repetitions. This allows the network to prevent some actual PUSCH repetitions from carrying UCI, for example, by setting γ=0 or allowing some to dedicate all their resources to UCI, i.e., γ=1. In other words, in these implementations, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal is a repetition of the second uplink signal according to a logical repetition index associated with the second uplink signal, the factor depending on the repetition index of each repetition of the second uplink signal.

[0114] UCI threshold T UCI The uplink control information threshold (URLUC) is the minimum amount of resources required to carry UCI bits in a multiplexed PUSCH to meet reliability requirements. In other words, the URLUC threshold is the minimum amount of resources required to carry control information to meet one or more repeated reliability requirements for the selection of a first uplink signal and / or a second uplink signal. Here, typically, for a user plane latency of 1 ms, the URLUC reliability requirement for a single transmission of a 32-byte packet is 1-10. -5As mentioned above regarding [2].

[0115] In some arrangements, the UCI threshold is determined by β PUSCH Factor and nominal PUSCH repeat M Nominal Resource determination within the context. In other words, the uplink control information threshold is determined by the communication device based on the amount of available resources, the number of bits required to carry the control information, and an offset indicator that indicates the value used to multiply the number of bits required to carry the control information and the amount of available resources (which can be values ​​from one set of multiple sets, each set including multiple values). HARQ-ACK UCI bit T ACK CSI Part 1 T CSI-1 And CSI Part 2 T CSI-2 The threshold is defined as follows:

[0116]

[0117]

[0118]

[0119] in

[0120] • TBS is the nominal transport block size for PUSCH repetition;

[0121] ·O ACK and L ACK like Figure 7 As described in the text;

[0122] ·O CSI-1 and O CSI-2 These are the number of bits in CSI Part 1 and CSI Part 2, as described in [6];

[0123] and

[0124] L CSI-1 and L CSI-2 These are the CRC bits for CSI Part 1 and CSI Part 2, as described in [6].

[0125] This recognizes that β PUSCH The factor is used to ensure the required reliability of the UCI bit, therefore the required RE (or modulation symbol) should be based on β. PUSCH Factors. These arrangements in embodiments of the present technology can be implemented at least in the following ways:

[0126] ·T UCI =T ACK This implementation prioritizes the HARQ-ACK bit, ensuring that the actual PUSCH has enough bits to carry the HARQ-ACK bit;

[0127] ·T UCI =T ACK +T CSI-1 This implementation prioritizes the HARQ-ACK bit and the first part of the CSI bit.

[0128] ·T UCI =T ACK +T CSI-1 +T CSI-2 This implementation ensures that all UCI bits, HARQ-ACK, CSI Part 1, and CSI Part 2 can be transmitted in the actual PUSCH; and

[0129] ·T UCI =T ACK +T CSI-2 This implementation prioritizes the HARQ-ACK bit and the second part of the CSI.

[0130] In some configurations, there may be multiple UCI thresholds, T UCI-1 T UCI-2 T UCI-3 Etc. These arrangements can be used if more than one actual PUSCH repetition is used to carry UCI. In other words, the uplink control information threshold is one of multiple uplink control information thresholds, wherein the number of multiple uplink control information thresholds depends on the number of one or more repetitions of the selected second uplink signal.

[0131] Regarding the selection of actual PUSCH repetition, the arrangement of embodiments of this technology can be broadly classified into one of the following two categories:

[0132] • Repeated selection of a single actual PUSCH

[0133] Multiple actual PUSCH selections

[0134] In at least some arrangements of embodiments of this technology, the actual PUSCH repetitions considered are those that satisfy the timeline criteria described above. In other words, the characteristic is the temporal (i.e., temporally) position of the resource, and the predetermined condition is that the start of the resource's temporal position is later than a threshold time period following the most recently received downlink signal associated with one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal. Here, the threshold time period can define the amount of time required for the communication device to process the most recently received downlink signal.

[0135] The UE can then (or may otherwise) consider the remaining actual PUSCH repetitions that satisfy the timeline criteria according to the arrangement of embodiments of the technology described in the “Single Actual PUSCH Repetition Selection” and “Multiple Actual PUSCH Repetition Selection” sections below.

[0136] Single actual PUSCH repeated selection

[0137] In the following arrangement of embodiments of this technology, only a single actual PUSCH repeat is selected for multiplexing the UCI bit. In other words, the selected one or more repeats in the repeats of the second uplink signal are a selected repeat of the repeats of the second uplink signal.

[0138] In some configurations, for UCI reuse, actual PUSCH repetitions are considered when available resources are equal to or greater than the UCI threshold, i.e., Q. Available ≥T UCI In other words, the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, for which the resources include an amount of available resources equal to or greater than the uplink control information threshold. Here, as described above with respect to at least some arrangements of embodiments of the present technology, the uplink control information threshold may be the minimum amount of resources required to carry control information to meet the reliability requirements of one or more repetitions of the selection of the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal (as described above with reference to [2]).

[0139] In some arrangements, the earliest actual PUSCH among those actual PUSCHs considered for UCI multiplexing is selected. In other words, the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal that is the earliest in time for its resource. Figure 14 An example is shown where DCI#1 and DCI#2 schedule PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 respectively, and their corresponding HARQ-ACK feedbacks are multiplexed into PUCCH#1. At time t5, DCI#3, carrying UL authorization, is at time t7. 13 Scheduling K between N =3 and L=6 PUSCH, where it conflicts with an invalid symbol between times t8 and t9 and at time t 12 It crosses the time slot boundary. Therefore, based on the actual number of repetitions K... A =5, segmenting the PUSCH. Therefore, PUCCH#1 conflicts with the scheduled PUSCH. The first actual PUSCH repeats in T proc，1 It starts before the end, therefore it does not meet the timeline criteria, and UCI reuse is not further considered. Assume T UCI If at least three actual PUSCs are required, then only the third and fifth actual PUSCs repeat to satisfy the sufficient availability condition, i.e., Q. Available ≥T UCIIn these arrangements, the earliest actual PUSCH that satisfies all conditions is selected; therefore, a third actual PUSCH is selected for repeating for UCI multiplexing.

[0140] In some configurations, the actual PUSCH with the largest available resources is selected from among those actual PUSCHs considered for UCI multiplexing. In other words, the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one of the subsets of repetitions of the second uplink signal with the largest amount of available resources. Figure 15 An example is shown where PUCCH#1 carries HARQ-ACKs for PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2. At time t5, DCI#3, carrying a UF license, is present at times t8 and t9. 15 Scheduling K between N =4 and L=6 PUSCH, where the second nominal PUSCH is at time t 11 and t 12 The PUSCH is segmented based on the actual number of repetitions KA = 5 due to conflicts with invalid symbols. The times t8 and t... 10 The first actual push in T proc，1 It starts before it ends, therefore it does not meet the timeline criteria and is not considered for UCI reuse. Assuming a UCI threshold, T... UCI A practical PUSCH with at least 3 OFDM symbols is required, therefore the second, fourth, and fifth practical PUSCHs repeatedly satisfy Q. Available ≥T UCI Conditions. Based on these arrangements, the actual PUSCH with the largest resource is selected, and here, the fourth and fifth actual repetitions have the same amount of resources. In this example, the previously described configuration of selecting the earliest actual PUSCH among those considered for UCI multiplexing is combined; that is, the fourth actual PUSCH is selected for UCI multiplexing. In other words, if more than one repetition of a second uplink signal has a joint maximum available resource amount, then the one with the earliest time among these joint maximum resources is selected for UCI multiplexing.

[0141] In Rel-16, two physical layer priorities were introduced to handle intra-UE conflicts. If a lower-priority transmission conflicts with a higher-priority transmission, the lower-priority transmission is discarded; for example, URLLC transmission takes precedence over eMBB transmission. Therefore, when UCI and PUSCH have the same priority, UCI multiplexing to PUSCH occurs repeatedly, and for URLLC, transmission delay is significant. The following arrangement of embodiments of this technology takes delay into account.

[0142] In some configurations, for UCI multiplexing, consideration is given to the UCI time window W.UCI The actual PUSCH repetition overlaps within the inner overlap. This ensures that UCI is transmitted within a given delay that can be managed by the UCI time window. In other words, the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, for which the resources are at least partially overlapped in time with the uplink control information time window.

[0143] In some arrangements, the UCI time window W UCI Starts from the beginning of PUCCH and ends after the end of PUCCH. MUX In other words, the uplink control information time window is defined to start simultaneously with the resource availability of the first uplink signal and is set within a predetermined timer (e.g., it can be defined by the wireless communication network or in the specification, etc.) (i.e., T). MUX The duration after which the process ends. Figure 16 An example is shown, where from time t9 to t 11 PUCCH#1 is scheduled between PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2, carrying HARQ-ACK feedback for both PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2. At time t5, DCI#3, carrying UL-licensed data, is scheduled for K. N A PUSCH with L=4 and L=6 is segmented to give the actual repetition K. A =5. PUCCH#1 and PUSCH have a duplicate conflict, so its UCI is reused in PUSCH. The first actual PUSCH does not conform to the timeline standard because it is in T proc，1 It begins before the end of the period and is not considered for UCI multiplexing. Based on these arrangements, the UCI time window W... UCI Starting from the beginning of PUCCH#1 at time t9, and after the end of PUCCH#1 at time T... MUX Time t 14 End. Here, the second, third, and fourth actual pushes are repeated with W. UCI Because they overlap, they are therefore considered for UCI multiplexing. Using the maximum PUSCH resource method of the above arrangement according to embodiments of the present technology, the UE selects the fourth actual PUSCH reuse for UCI multiplexing.

[0144] In some arrangements, T MUX =0, meaning that for UCI multiplexing, only actual PUSCH repetitions that overlap with PUCCH are considered. In other words, the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, and its resources at least partially overlap with the resources of the first uplink signal.

[0145] In some configurations, for UCI multiplexing, only those fully contained within the UCI time window W are considered. UCIThe actual PUSCH repetition occurs within this context. In other words, the resources of the repetitive subset of the second uplink signal completely overlap in time with the uplink control information time window. Figure 16 In the example, only the second and third actual pusch repetitions are fully contained within W. UCI Therefore, they are considered for use in UCI multiplexing.

[0146] In some configurations, when none of the actual PUSCH repetitions has sufficient resources, i.e., none of the actual PUSCH repetitions meets any of the conditions mentioned above, the UE selects the earliest actual PUSCH repetition. In other words, if the resource characteristics of none of the repetitions of the second uplink signal meet predetermined conditions, then one or more of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal are the ones that are time-sequentially located for their resources.

[0147] In some configurations, when none of the actual PUSCH repetitions has sufficient resources, i.e., none of the actual PUSCH repetitions satisfy any of the conditions mentioned above, the UE selects the PUSCH with the maximum resources, and if more than one PUSCH has the maximum resources (e.g., ...), Figure 16 If the fourth and fifth actual PUSCH repetitions in the second uplink signal are selected, then the earliest PUSCH repetition among those with the maximum resources is chosen. In other words, if none of the repetitions of the second uplink signal have resource characteristics that meet predetermined conditions, then one or more of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal are those with the maximum amount of available resources. Furthermore, if more than one repetition of the second uplink signal has a joint maximum amount of available resources, then the earliest one in time among these joint maximum resources is selected for UCI multiplexing.

[0148] In some configurations, when none of the actual PUSCH repetitions has sufficient resources, the UE considers multiplexing the UCI across multiple actual PUSCH repetitions. In other words, one or more of the selected second uplink signal repetitions are repetitions of multiple selected second uplink signals.

[0149] Multiple actual PUSCH repeated selections

[0150] In the following arrangement of embodiments of this technology, UCI is multiplexed across multiple actual PUSCH repeats. This can be done if the UE fails to find a single actual PUSCH repeat that satisfies the resource requirements, or regardless of whether any single actual PUSCH repeat satisfies the resource requirements. Here, if the resource characteristics of none of the multiple repeats of the selected second uplink signal individually satisfy a predetermined condition, the communication device can determine that one or more repeats of the selected second uplink signal are repeats of the selected multiple second uplink signals.

[0151] The above resource conditions (i.e., Q) must be met. Available ≥T UCI The actual PUSCH repetition of the time standard is referred to as a qualified actual PUSCH repetition. In other words, the characteristic is the time position of the resource, and the predetermined condition is that the start of the time position of the resource is later than a threshold time period after the most recently received downlink signal associated with one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal, wherein the resources comprising each subset of two or more repetitions of the second uplink signal include an amount of available resources equal to or greater than the uplink control information threshold, each of the two or more repetitions of the second uplink signal is a qualified repetition of the second uplink signal, and wherein the selected multiple repetitions of the second uplink signal are each qualified repetition of the second uplink signal.

[0152] In some configurations, all eligible actual PUSCH repeats are used for UCI multiplexing. In other words, at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the multiple eligible repeats of the second uplink signal.

[0153] In some arrangements, it also overlaps / is included in the UCI time window W. UCI (As mentioned above, it can be defined to start simultaneously with the first uplink signal and within a predetermined timer (e.g., it can be defined by the wireless communication network or in the specification, etc.) (i.e., T) MUX All eligible actual PUSCH repetitions within the duration ending after the event are used for UCI multiplexing. In other words, at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed to each of the multiple eligible repetitions of the second uplink signal, with its resources overlapping at least partially in time with the uplink control information time window.

[0154] In some configurations, N actual PUSCHs are used for UCI multiplexing. In other words, at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into a specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal. The value N can be an RRC configuration, indicated in the DCI, or specified in the specification.

[0155] In some configurations, the first N valid actual PUSCH repetitions are used for UCI multiplexing. In other words, the specified number of valid repetitions of the second uplink signal are those that are the earliest located in time for their resources.

[0156] In some configurations, the largest N qualified actual PUSCH repetitions are used for UCI multiplexing. In other words, the specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal is those that have the largest available resource quantity for their respective resources.

[0157] In some arrangements, according to the previously described arrangements, these N qualified actual PUSCH overlap or are contained within the UCI time window W. UCI In other words, the specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal are those whose resources are at least partially time-dependent with the uplink control information time window (as mentioned above, this time window can be defined to start simultaneously with the resources of the first uplink signal and within a predetermined timer (e.g., it can be defined by the wireless communication network or in the specification, etc.)) (i.e., T MUX The duration of the end after the end) overlapping repetition.

[0158] In some arrangements, UCI is repeated in multiple selected actual PUSCH repetitions. In other words, control information is fully multiplexed into each of the multiple repetitions of the selected second uplink signal. These arrangements improve the reliability of UCI, at a certain efficiency cost. These arrangements also recognize that a large β... PUSCH The factor requires significant resources from actual PUSCH repetitions, thus allowing for the use of a smaller β. PUSCH The factor is compensated for by repetition on multiple actual PUSCH repetitions.

[0159] In some arrangements, the UCI is divided across multiple actual PUSCH repetitions. In other words, different portions of the control information are multiplexed into each of the multiple repetitions of the selected second uplink signal. Multiple UCI thresholds can be used here. These arrangements are advantageous, but not limited to situations where a single actual PUSCH does not have sufficient resources to contain the entire UCI bit.

[0160] In some arrangements, the UCI is divided such that the HARQ-ACK bit is in one actual PUSCH repetition, while the CSI bit is in other actual PUSCH repetitions. Of course, if the UCI does not include the HARQ-ACK bit (or even if it does), the first and second parts of the CSI can be in different actual PUSCH repetitions. In other words, different parts of the control information include different types of uplink control information. Here, at least a first part of the control information may include feedback information on whether the communication device has successfully received the downlink signal, and at least a second part of the control information may include Channel State Information (CSI), which indicates one or more communication characteristics of the uplink data message transmitted by the communication device. Here, different thresholds are used for different parts of the UCI bits. That is, for the HARQ-ACK bit, consider UCI threshold = T. ACK That is, satisfying Q Available ≥T ACK The actual PUSCH is used for multiplexing. Similarly, for multiplexing CSI Part 1 and CSI Part 2, consider satisfying Q respectively. Available ≥T CSI-1 and Q Available ≥T CSI-2 The actual PUSCH is used to reuse the respective CSI parts. If both CSI Part 1 and CSI Part 2 are reused in the same actual PUSCH repetition, then the resource condition is Q. Available ≥T CSI-1 +T CSI-2 In other words, the resource conditions for a valid actual PUSCH repetition are:

[0161] • For the multiplexing of the HARQ-ACK bit, a qualified actual PUSCH has available resource Q. Available ≥T ACK .

[0162] • For reuse of CSI Part 1, a qualified actual PUSCH has available resources Q Available ≥T CSI-1 .

[0163] • For the reuse of CSI Part 2, a qualified actual PUSCH has available resource Q. Available ≥T CSI-2 .

[0164] • For the multiplexing of CSI Part 1 and Part 2 bits, a qualified actual PUSCH has available resource Q. Available ≥T CSI-1 +T CSI-2 .

[0165] In some configurations, if none of the actual PUSCH repetitions meet the condition for reusing two CSI parts, i.e., none of them satisfy resource condition Q, Available ≥T CSI-1 +T CSI-2 Then, CSI Part 1 and CSI Part 2 bits are multiplexed into separate qualified actual PUSCH repeats. In other words, if none of the multiple qualified repeats of the second uplink signal has resources that include a sufficiently large amount of available resources for the entire control information, at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the multiple qualified repeats of the second uplink signal.

[0166] In some arrangements where the HARQ-ACK bit and CSI bit are multiplexed into individual actual PUSCH repeats, the HARQ-ACK bit is multiplexed into the earliest qualified actual PUSCH repeat, where Q... Available ≥T ACK In other words, at least a first portion of the control information is multiplexed into one or more repetitions of a selected second uplink signal, for which the resource is located earliest in time. Here, the CSI can be periodic or can be sent in response to a command from the network, and the uplink data message for which the CSI is sent can be as follows: Figure 13 The second uplink signal 136 shown can be any other uplink data message. Then, the CSI bit is multiplexed into the earliest remaining qualified actual PUSCH repeat, where Q... Available ≥T CSI-1 +T CSI-2 If CSI Part 1 and CSI Part 2 are multiplexed in separate actual PUSCH repetitions, then CSI Part 1 bits are considered first, followed by CSI Part 2 bits. In other words, the resources of one or more of the selected second uplink signals to which at least the second part of the control information is multiplexed are the earliest of the remaining eligible repetitions of the second uplink signals to which at least the first part of the control information is not multiplexed.

[0167] Figure 17 An example is shown, similar to Figure 16 But the UCI time window W UCI Extension (from time t9 to t) 15(between) to include the fifth actual PUSCH repetition. Here, the qualified actual PUSCH repetitions for HARQ-ACK are the second, fourth, and fifth actual PUSCH repetitions. Since the second PUSCH is the earliest qualified PUSCH, the HARQ-ACK bit is multiplexed into the second PUSCH. Then, the CSI bit is multiplexed into the first remaining qualified actual PUSCH, which in this case is the fourth actual PUSCH.

[0168] In some configurations, the HARQ-ACK bit is multiplexed into the largest valid actual PUSCH repeat. Then, the CSI bit is multiplexed into the largest remaining valid actual PUSCH repeat. Figure 17 In the example, the qualified actual PUSCH repetitions for the HARQ-ACK bit are the second, fourth, and fifth actual PUSCH repetitions. The HARQ-ACK bit is multiplexed into the fourth actual PUSCH because it is the largest PUSCH and, in this case, an earlier PUSCH among those with the largest resources. Then, the CSI bit is multiplexed into the fifth actual PUSCH, which is the remaining actual PUSCH with the largest resources. In other words, at least a first portion of the control information is multiplexed into one or more of the selected second uplink signal repetitions, for which the maximum amount of available resources is available. Then, the resources of the selected second uplink signal repetitions to which at least a second portion of the control information is multiplexed are those with the maximum amount of available resources from the remaining qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal to which at least a first portion of the control information is not multiplexed.

[0169] In some configurations, the HARQ-ACK bit is multiplexed to the largest eligible actual PUSCH, while the CSI bit is multiplexed to the earliest remaining eligible actual PUSCH. In other words, at least a first portion of the control information is multiplexed to one or more repetitions of the selected second uplink signal, for which the maximum amount of available resources is available. Then, the resources to which at least a second portion of the control information is multiplexed to one or more repetitions of the selected second uplink signal are the earliest among the resources of the remaining eligible repetitions of the second uplink signal to which at least a second portion of the control information is not multiplexed.

[0170] In some arrangements, the HARQ-ACK bit is multiplexed to the earliest qualified actual PUSCH, while the CSI bit is multiplexed to the largest remaining qualified actual PUSCH. In other words, at least a first portion of the control information is multiplexed to one or more of the selected second uplink signals whose resources are located earliest in time. Then, the resources of the selected second uplink signals to which at least a second portion of the control information is multiplexed are those with the largest available resource quantity among the remaining qualified repetitions of the second uplink signals to which at least a second portion of the control information is not multiplexed.

[0171] It should be noted that UCI can include HARQ-ACK bits but not CSI bits, and vice versa. It should also be noted that UCI can be carried by PUSCH (e.g., CSI bits), so a collision could be between a PUSCH carrying CSI and a PUSCH carrying data.

[0172] Flowchart representation

[0173] Figure 18 A flowchart illustrating a first example communication process in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present technology is shown. Figure 18 The process shown is a method of operating a communication device in a wireless communication network, the communication device being configured to send data to or receive data from infrastructure equipment.

[0174] The method begins at step S21. The method includes, in step S22, determining that the communication device should transmit a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network in a set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface. Then, the process moves to step S23, which involves determining that the communication device should transmit a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be transmitted multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, wherein each repetition of the second uplink signal will be transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface. Next, in step S24, the method includes determining that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal. Then, the process includes, in step S25, multiplexing the control information into one or more resources of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal, and then in step S26, transmitting the multiplexed signal to the wireless communication network. Here, the characteristics of the selected one or more repetitions of the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions. The method ends at step S27.

[0175] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 18The method shown can be adapted to embodiments of the present technology. For example, the method may include other intermediate steps, or these steps may be performed in any logical order.

[0176] Although mainly through Figure 13 The example communication system shown illustrates an embodiment of this technology, and further references are made to... Figures 14 to 17 Those skilled in the art will understand that these principles can be applied in the same way to other systems similar to those described herein.

[0177] Those skilled in the art will further understand that such infrastructure equipment and / or communication devices as defined herein can be further defined according to the various setups and embodiments discussed in the preceding paragraphs. Those skilled in the art will further understand that such infrastructure equipment and communication devices as defined and described herein can form part of communication systems other than those defined in this disclosure.

[0178] The following numbered paragraphs provide further illustrative aspects and features of this technology:

[0179] Paragraph 1. A method for operating a communication device in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:

[0180] The communication device is determined to send a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network using the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface.

[0181] The communication device is determined to send a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be sent multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal being sent to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface.

[0182] It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0183] The control information is multiplexed into one or more selected resources in the repetition of the second uplink signal, and

[0184] The multiplexed signal is sent to the wireless communication network.

[0185] Wherein, the characteristics of one or more duplicate resources of the selected second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0186] Paragraph 2. According to the method described in paragraph 1, wherein the feature is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than the uplink control information threshold.

[0187] Paragraph 3. According to the method described in paragraph 2, wherein the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resource quantity that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network.

[0188] Paragraph 4. The method according to paragraph 2 or paragraph 3, wherein the available resource quantity is all the resources that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information.

[0189] Paragraph 5. The method according to any one of paragraphs 2 to 4, wherein the amount of available resources is a factor of all resources that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information.

[0190] Paragraph 6. The method according to paragraph 5, wherein each of the plurality of transmissions of the second uplink signal is a repetition of the second uplink signal based on a logical repetition index associated with the second uplink signal, and wherein the factor depends on the repetition index of each repetition of the second uplink signal.

[0191] Paragraph 7. The method according to any one of paragraphs 2 to 6, wherein the uplink control information threshold is the minimum amount of resources required to carry the control information to satisfy one or more repeatable reliability requirements of the selection of the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal.

[0192] Paragraph 8. The method according to any one of paragraphs 2 to 7, wherein the uplink control information threshold is determined by the communication device based on the amount of available resources, the number of bits required to carry the control information, and an offset indicator indicating a value for multiplying by the number of bits required to carry the control information and the amount of available resources.

[0193] Paragraph 9. The method according to any one of paragraphs 2 to 8, wherein the uplink control information threshold is one of a plurality of uplink control information thresholds, wherein the number of the plurality of uplink control information thresholds depends on one or more repetitions of the selection of the second uplink signal.

[0194] Paragraph 10. The method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 9, wherein the feature is the time position of the resource, and the predetermined condition is that the start of the time position of the resource is later than a threshold time period following the most recently received downlink signal associated with one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal.

[0195] Paragraph 11. The method according to paragraph 10, wherein the threshold time period defines the amount of time required for the communication device to process the most recently received downlink signal.

[0196] Paragraph 12. The method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 11, wherein one or more of the selections in the repetitions of the second uplink signal is one of the selections in the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0197] Paragraph 13. According to the method described in paragraph 12, wherein the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one of a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, and for the second uplink signal, the resources include an amount of available resources equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold.

[0198] Paragraph 14. The method according to paragraph 13, wherein the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one of the subsets of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, and for the second uplink signal, the resource is the earliest located in time.

[0199] Paragraph 15. The method according to paragraph 13 or paragraph 14, wherein the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one of the subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal having the maximum available resources.

[0200] Paragraph 16. The method according to any one of paragraphs 12 to 15, wherein the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one of a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, and for the second uplink signal, the resource at least partially overlaps with the uplink control information time window in time.

[0201] Paragraph 17. According to the method described in paragraph 16, wherein the uplink control information time window is defined as a duration that starts simultaneously with the resource of the first uplink signal and ends after a predetermined timer expires.

[0202] Paragraph 18. The method according to paragraph 16 or paragraph 17, wherein the resources of the repeating subset of the second uplink signal completely overlap in time with the uplink control information time window.

[0203] Paragraph 19. The method according to any one of paragraphs 12 to 18, wherein the selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one of a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, and for the second uplink signal, the resource at least partially overlaps with the resource of the first uplink signal.

[0204] Paragraph 20. The method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 19, wherein if the characteristics of the resource of none of the repetitions of the second uplink signal satisfy the predetermined condition, then the selected one or more of the repetitions of the second uplink signal are one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal in which the resource is located earliest in time.

[0205] Paragraph 21. The method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 20, wherein if the characteristics of the resource of none of the repetitions of the second uplink signal satisfy the predetermined condition, then the selected one or more of the repetitions of the second uplink signal is the one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal with the largest amount of available resources.

[0206] Paragraph 22. The method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 21, wherein one or more of the selections in the repetitions of the second uplink signal are multiple selections in the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0207] Paragraph 23. According to the method described in paragraph 22, wherein if the characteristics of the resource of none of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal individually satisfy the predetermined condition, the communication device determines that the selected one or more repetitions of the second uplink signal are multiple repetitions of the selected second uplink signal.

[0208] Paragraph 24. The method according to paragraph 22 or paragraph 23, wherein the feature is the time position of the resource, and the predetermined condition is that the start of the time position of the resource is later than a threshold time period following the most recently received downlink signal associated with one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal.

[0209] Wherein, the resources comprising each subset of two or more repetitions of the second uplink signal include an amount of available resources equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold, and each of the two or more repetitions of the second uplink signal is a qualified repetition of the second uplink signal, and

[0210] Wherein, the selected multiple repetitions of the second uplink signal are each qualified repetition of the second uplink signal.

[0211] Paragraph 25. The method according to paragraph 24, wherein at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0212] Paragraph 26. The method according to paragraph 25, wherein if the resources of none of the plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal include a sufficiently large amount of available resources for the entire control information, at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0213] Paragraph 27. The method according to any one of paragraphs 24 to 26, wherein at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal, wherein the resource at least partially overlaps with the uplink control information time window in time for the second uplink signal.

[0214] Paragraph 28. The method according to any one of paragraphs 24 to 27, wherein at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed to a specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0215] Paragraph 29. The method according to paragraph 28, wherein the specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal are those of the resource that is located earliest in time.

[0216] Paragraph 30. The method according to paragraph 28 or paragraph 29, wherein the specified number of the plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal are those of the resource having the maximum available resource quantity.

[0217] Paragraph 31. The method according to any one of paragraphs 28 to 30, wherein the specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal are those resources that at least partially overlap with the uplink control information time window in time.

[0218] Paragraph 32. The method according to any one of paragraphs 24 to 31, wherein the control information is fully multiplexed into each of the plurality of repetitions of the selection of the second uplink signal.

[0219] Paragraph 33. The method according to any one of paragraphs 24 to 32, wherein different portions of the control information are multiplexed into each of the plurality of repetitions of the selection of the second uplink signal.

[0220] Paragraph 34. According to the method described in paragraph 33, wherein the different portions of the control information include different types of uplink control information.

[0221] Paragraph 35. The method according to paragraph 34, wherein at least a first portion of the control information includes feedback information on whether the communication device has successfully received a downlink signal, and wherein at least a second portion of the control information includes channel state information (CSI) indicating one or more communication characteristics of an uplink data message transmitted by the communication device.

[0222] Paragraph 36. The method according to paragraph 35, wherein the at least first portion of the control information is multiplexed into one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the selected second uplink signal, for which the resource is the earliest located in time.

[0223] Paragraph 37. The method according to paragraph 36, wherein one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the selected second uplink signal to which the control information at least the second portion is multiplexed are the earliest of the resources of the remaining plurality of eligible repetitions of the second uplink signal to which the control information at least the first portion is not multiplexed.

[0224] Paragraph 38. The method according to paragraph 36 or paragraph 37, wherein the resources of one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the selected second uplink signal to which the control information at least the second portion is multiplexed are those resources of the remaining plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal to which the control information at least the first portion is not multiplexed have the largest amount of available resources.

[0225] Paragraph 39. The method according to any one of paragraphs 35 to 38, wherein the at least first portion of the control information is multiplexed to one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the selected second uplink signal, for which the resource has a maximum amount of available resources.

[0226] Paragraph 40. The method according to paragraph 39, wherein the resources of one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the selected second uplink signal to which the control information at least the second portion is multiplexed are those resources of the remaining plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal to which the control information at least the first portion is not multiplexed have the largest amount of available resources.

[0227] Paragraph 41. The method according to paragraph 39 or paragraph 40, wherein one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the selected second uplink signal to which the control information at least the second portion is multiplexed are the earliest of the remaining plurality of eligible repetitions of the second uplink signal to which the control information at least the first portion is not multiplexed.

[0228] Paragraph 42. A communication device suitable for wireless communication networks, the communication device comprising:

[0229] Transceiver circuitry configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface, and

[0230] The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to:

[0231] The communication device is determined to send a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network from the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface.

[0232] The communication device is determined to send a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be sent multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal being sent to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface.

[0233] It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0234] The control information is multiplexed into one or more selected resources in the repetition of the second uplink signal, and

[0235] The multiplexed signal is sent to the wireless communication network.

[0236] Wherein, the characteristics of one or more duplicate resources of the selected second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0237] Paragraph 43. A circuit for a communication device suitable for a wireless communication network, the circuit comprising:

[0238] Transceiver circuitry configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface, and

[0239] The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to:

[0240] The transceiver circuit is determined to transmit a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network from the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface.

[0241] The transceiver circuitry is determined to transmit a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be transmitted multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal being transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface.

[0242] It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0243] The control information is multiplexed into one or more selected resources in the repetition of the second uplink signal, and

[0244] The multiplexed signal is sent to the wireless communication network.

[0245] Wherein, the characteristics of one or more duplicate resources of the selected second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0246] Paragraph 44. A method of operating infrastructure equipment constituting part of a wireless communication network, the method comprising...

[0247] The uplink resource set of the wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment is allocated, wherein the communication device will send a first uplink signal including control information to the wireless communication network.

[0248] Multiple sets of uplink resources are allocated to the wireless access interface, wherein the communication device will send a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be sent multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, wherein each repetition of the second uplink signal will be sent to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different one of the multiple uplink resource sets of the wireless access interface.

[0249] It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0250] Receive one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal from the communication device, and

[0251] The control information is extracted from one or more selected repetitions of the received second uplink signal, the control information having been multiplexed by the communication device into one or more repetitions of the selected second uplink signal.

[0252] Wherein, the characteristics of one or more duplicate resources of the selected second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0253] Paragraph 45. An infrastructure device forming part of a wireless communication network, said infrastructure device comprising

[0254] Transceiver circuitry configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, and

[0255] The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to:

[0256] The uplink resource set of the wireless access interface is allocated, wherein the communication device will send a first uplink signal including control information to the wireless communication network.

[0257] Multiple sets of uplink resources are allocated to the wireless access interface, wherein the communication device will send a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be sent multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, wherein each repetition of the second uplink signal will be sent to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different one of the multiple uplink resource sets of the wireless access interface.

[0258] It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0259] Receive one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal from the communication device, and

[0260] The control information is extracted from one or more selected repetitions of the received second uplink signal, the control information having been multiplexed by the communication device into one or more repetitions of the selected second uplink signal.

[0261] Wherein, the characteristics of one or more duplicate resources of the selected second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0262] Paragraph 46. A circuit for an infrastructure device forming part of a wireless communication network, the circuit comprising...

[0263] Transceiver circuitry configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, and

[0264] The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to:

[0265] The uplink resource set of the wireless access interface is allocated, wherein the communication device will send a first uplink signal including control information to the wireless communication network.

[0266] Multiple sets of uplink resources are allocated to the wireless access interface, wherein the communication device will send a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be sent multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, wherein each repetition of the second uplink signal will be sent to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different one of the multiple uplink resource sets of the wireless access interface.

[0267] It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with the resources of at least one of the repetitions of the second uplink signal.

[0268] Receive one or more of the plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal from the communication device, and

[0269] The control information is extracted from one or more selected repetitions of the received second uplink signal, the control information having been multiplexed by the communication device into one or more repetitions of the selected second uplink signal.

[0270] Wherein, the characteristics of one or more duplicate resources of the selected second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0271] It should be understood that, for clarity, the above description has referenced various functional units, circuits, and / or processors in the embodiments. However, it will be apparent that any suitable functional distribution among the various functional units, circuits, and / or processors may be used without departing from the embodiments.

[0272] The described embodiments can be implemented in any suitable form, including hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. The described embodiments can optionally be implemented, at least in part, as computer software running on one or more data processors and / or digital signal processors. Elements and components of any embodiment can be implemented physically, functionally, and logically in any suitable manner. In practice, the function can be implemented in a single unit, multiple units, or as part of other functional units. Thus, the disclosed embodiments can be implemented in a single unit or can be physically and functionally distributed among different units, circuits, and / or processors.

[0273] Although this disclosure has been described in conjunction with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein. Furthermore, while a feature may appear to be described in conjunction with a particular embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various features of the described embodiments can be combined in any manner suitable for implementing the technology.

[0274] References

[0275] [1]Holma H. ​​and Toskala A, "LTE for UMTS OFDMA and SC-FDMA based radioaccess", John Wiley and Sons, 2009.

[0276] [2]TR 38.913, "Study on Scenarios and Requirements for Next Generation Access Technologies (Release 14)", 3 rd Generation Partnership Project, v14.3.0.

[0277] [3]RP-190726, "Physical layer enhancements for NR ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC)", Huawei, HiSilicon, RAN#83.

[0278] [4]TS 38.213, "NR; Physical layer procedures for control (Release15)", 3 rd Generation Partnership Project, v15.8.0.

[0279] [5]R1-2001401,“Summary of email discussion[100e-NR-Llenh_URLLC-PUSCH_Enh-01](AI 7.2.5.3),”Nokia,Nokia Shanghai Bell,RANl#100-e。

[0280] [6]TS38.212,“NR:Multiplexing and channel coding(Release 16)”v16.0.0。

Claims

1. A method for operating a communication device in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: The communication device is determined to send a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network using the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface. It is determined that the communication device should send a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein, The second uplink signal will be transmitted multiple times, and each transmission of the second uplink signal is a repetition of the second uplink signal. Each repetition of the second uplink signal will be transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the radio access interface. It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with at least one of the repeated resources of the second uplink signal. The control information is multiplexed into one or more of the selected repeating resources of the second uplink signal, and The multiplexed signal is transmitted to the wireless communication network. Wherein, the characteristics of one or more of the repeated resources selected by the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions. The feature is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold. Wherein, the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resource quantity that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The uplink control information threshold is the minimum amount of resources required to carry the control information in a manner that satisfies one or more repeated reliability requirements of the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The uplink control information threshold is determined by the communication device based on the available resources, the number of bits required to carry the control information, and an offset indicator, wherein the offset indicator indicates a value to be multiplied by the number of bits required to carry the control information and the available resources.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The uplink control information threshold is one of a plurality of uplink control information thresholds, wherein the number of the plurality of uplink control information thresholds depends on the number of one or more repetitions of the selected second uplink signal.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The feature is the time position of the resource, and the predetermined condition is that the start of the time position of the resource is later than a threshold time period after the latest received downlink signal associated with one of the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The threshold time period defines the amount of time required for the communication device to process the latest received downlink signal.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The selected one or more repetitions of the second uplink signal is a selected repetition of the second uplink signal.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The selected repetition of the second uplink signal is a repetition in a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, wherein the resources for the repetition in the subset include an amount of available resources equal to or greater than the uplink control information threshold.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one repetition in the subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, wherein the resource for the one repetition in the subset is the earliest in time.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The selected repetition of the second uplink signal is one repetition in the subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, wherein the one repetition in the subset has the maximum amount of available resources.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The selected repetition of the second uplink signal is a repetition within a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, wherein the resources for the repetition within the subset at least partially overlap with the uplink control information time window in time.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The uplink control information time window is defined to last for a period of time that starts simultaneously with the resource of the first uplink signal and ends after a predetermined timer has expired.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The resources of the repeating subset of the second uplink signal completely overlap with the uplink control information time window in time.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The selected repetition of the second uplink signal is a repetition in a subset of the repetitions of the second uplink signal, wherein the resources for the repetition in the subset at least partially overlap with the resources of the first uplink signal.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein, If none of the repeated resources in the second uplink signal meet the predetermined condition, then the selected one or more repeated resources of the second uplink signal are the earliest repeated resources in time among the repeated resources of the second uplink signal.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein, If none of the repeated resources in the second uplink signal meet the predetermined conditions, then the selected one or more repeated resources of the second uplink signal are the repeated resources with the largest available amount among the repeated resources of the second uplink signal.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The selected one or more repetitions of the second uplink signal are the selected multiple repetitions of the second uplink signal.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, If none of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal individually satisfies the predetermined condition, then the communication device determines that one or more of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal are selected repetitions of the second uplink signal.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The feature is the temporal position of the resource, and the predetermined condition is that the start of the temporal position of the resource is later than a threshold time period following the most recently received downlink signal associated with either the first uplink signal or the second uplink signal. Wherein, the resources comprising each subset of two or more repetitions of the second uplink signal include an amount of available resources equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold, and each of the two or more repetitions of the second uplink signal is a qualified repetition of the second uplink signal, and Wherein, the selected plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal are each qualified repetition of the second uplink signal.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, At least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein, If none of the multiple qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal includes a sufficiently large amount of available resources for the entire control information, at least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the multiple qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein, At least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into each of the plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal, wherein the resources for each of the plurality of qualified repetitions overlap at least partially in time with the uplink control information time window.

23. The method according to claim 19, wherein, At least a portion of the control information is multiplexed into a specified number of repetitions of a plurality of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein, The specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal are the repetitions that are located earliest in time in which the resource is located.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein, The specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal are repetitions with the maximum available resource quantity.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein, The specified number of qualified repetitions of the second uplink signal are repetitions in which the resource overlaps at least partially with the uplink control information time window in time.

27. The method according to claim 19, wherein, The control information is fully multiplexed into each of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal.

28. The method according to claim 19, wherein, Different portions of the control information are multiplexed into each of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein, The different parts of the control information include different types of uplink control information.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein, At least a first portion of the control information includes feedback information on whether the communication device has successfully received a downlink signal, and wherein at least a second portion of the control information includes channel state information (CSI), the CSI indicating one or more communication characteristics of an uplink data message sent by the communication device.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein, The resources in the selected plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal, at least the first portion of the control information, are located in the earliest one or more repetitions in time.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein, One or more repeated resources of the selected plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal that are multiplexed by the at least second part of the control information are: the earliest time-ordered resource among the remaining plurality of eligible repeated resources of the second uplink signal that are not multiplexed by the at least first part of the control information.

33. The method according to claim 31, wherein, One or more repeated resources of the selected plurality of repeats of the second uplink signal that are multiplexed by the at least second part of the control information are: the resources with the largest amount of available resources among the remaining plurality of qualified repeated resources of the second uplink signal that are not multiplexed by the at least first part of the control information.

34. The method according to claim 30, wherein, The at least first portion of the control information is multiplexed into one or more of the selected repetitions of the second uplink signal, where the resource has the largest available resource quantity.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein, One or more repeated resources of the selected plurality of repeats of the second uplink signal that are multiplexed by the at least second part of the control information are: the resources with the largest amount of available resources among the remaining plurality of qualified repeated resources of the second uplink signal that are not multiplexed by the at least first part of the control information.

36. The method according to claim 34, wherein, One or more repeated resources of the selected plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal that are multiplexed by the at least second part of the control information are: the earliest time-ranked resource among the remaining plurality of eligible repeated resources of the second uplink signal that are not multiplexed by the at least first part of the control information.

37. A communication device suitable for wireless communication networks, the communication device comprising: The transceiver circuitry is configured to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface. The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to: The communication device is determined to send a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network from the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface. The communication device is determined to send a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be sent multiple times, each of the multiple transmissions of the second uplink signal is a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal will be sent to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface. It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with at least one of the repeated resources of the second uplink signal. The control information is multiplexed into one or more of the selected repeating resources of the second uplink signal, and The multiplexed signal is transmitted to the wireless communication network. Wherein, the characteristics of one or more of the repeated resources selected by the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions. The feature is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold. Wherein, the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resource quantity that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network.

38. A circuit for a communication device suitable for a wireless communication network, the circuit comprising: The transceiver circuitry is configured to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface. The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to: The transceiver circuit is determined to transmit a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network from the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface. The transceiver circuit is determined to transmit a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network, wherein the second uplink signal will be transmitted multiple times, each transmission of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal being transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface. It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with at least one of the repeated resources of the second uplink signal. The control information is multiplexed into one or more of the selected repeating resources of the second uplink signal, and The multiplexed signal is transmitted to the wireless communication network. Wherein, the characteristics of the selected one or more duplicate resources of the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions. The feature is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold. Wherein, the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resource quantity that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network.

39. A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network, the method comprising: An uplink resource set is allocated to the wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, wherein the communication device will transmit a first uplink signal including control information to the wireless communication network from the uplink resource set. The communication device allocates multiple uplink resource sets to the wireless access interface, wherein the communication device transmits a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network from the multiple uplink resource sets, wherein the second uplink signal is transmitted multiple times, each transmission of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal being transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal from a different set of the multiple uplink resource sets of the wireless access interface. It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with at least one of the repeated resources of the second uplink signal. Receive one or more repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal from the communication device, and The control information is extracted from one or more selected repetitions of the received second uplink signal, the control information having been multiplexed by the communication device into the resources of the one or more selected repetitions of the second uplink signal. Wherein, the characteristics of the selected one or more duplicate resources of the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions. The feature is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold. Wherein, the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resource quantity that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network.

40. An infrastructure device forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising: The transceiver circuitry is configured to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment. The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to: Allocate the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface, wherein, The communication device will send a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network from the uplink resource set. The communication device allocates multiple uplink resource sets to the wireless access interface, wherein the communication device transmits a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network from the multiple uplink resource sets, wherein the second uplink signal is transmitted multiple times, each transmission of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal being transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal from a different set of the multiple uplink resource sets of the wireless access interface. It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with at least one of the repeated resources of the second uplink signal. Receive one or more repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal from the communication device, and The control information is extracted from one or more selected repetitions of the received second uplink signal, the control information having been multiplexed by the communication device into the resources of the one or more selected repetitions of the second uplink signal. Wherein, the characteristics of the selected one or more duplicate resources of the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions. The feature is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold. Wherein, the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resource quantity that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network.

41. A circuit for an infrastructure device forming part of a wireless communication network, the circuit comprising: The transceiver circuitry is configured to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment. The controller circuit is configured to combine with the transceiver circuit to: Allocate the uplink resource set of the wireless access interface, wherein, The communication device will send a first uplink signal, including control information, to the wireless communication network from the uplink resource set. The communication device allocates multiple uplink resource sets to the wireless access interface, wherein the communication device transmits a second uplink signal to the wireless communication network from the multiple uplink resource sets, wherein the second uplink signal is transmitted multiple times, each transmission of the second uplink signal being a repetition of the second uplink signal, and each repetition of the second uplink signal being transmitted to other repetitions of the second uplink signal from a different set of the multiple uplink resource sets of the wireless access interface. It is determined that the resources of the first uplink signal at least partially overlap in time with at least one of the repeated resources of the second uplink signal. Receive one or more repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second uplink signal from the communication device, and The control information is extracted from one or more selected repetitions of the received second uplink signal, the control information having been multiplexed by the communication device into the resources of the one or more selected repetitions of the second uplink signal. Wherein, the characteristics of the selected one or more duplicate resources of the second uplink signal satisfy predetermined conditions. The feature is the amount of available resources, and the predetermined condition is that the amount of available resources is equal to or greater than an uplink control information threshold. Wherein, the available resource quantity is the minimum of the resource quantity that the communication device can use for the control information and / or data information and the total available resource quantity determined by the communication device according to a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is configured via RRC signaling from the wireless communication network.

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