Prioritization between SR and HARQ-ACK

Abstract

Systems and methods related to prioritization of scheduling request (SR) and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device for prioritization between a scheduling request (SR) occasion and hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources includes prioritizing or multiplexing the SR occasion on a first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on a second PUCCH resource, the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlapping in time. In this way, a delay improvement for uplink (UL) is provided without introducing higher downlink (DL) load nor introducing inter-cell interference, as unnecessary retransmissions can be avoided.

Description

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 008,419, filed April 10, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to scheduling request (SR) and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback on the uplink in a cellular communication system. Background Technology

[0004] In New Radio (NR) Release 15, Uplink Control Information (UCI) consists of physical layer control information (which may be a scheduling request (SR)), a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) response received in response to the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and Channel State Information (CSI). UCI can be transmitted on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or multiplexed with uplink (UL) data on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). On the PUCCH, UCI is transmitted using one of four different PUCCH formats. When the number of UCI bits is 1 or 2 (this only occurs when the UCI consists of HARQ-ACK and / or SR), PUCCH format 0 and PUCCH format 1 are used. When the number of UCI bits exceeds two (this occurs if CSI is included (with or without HARQ-ACK / SR) or if the number of HARQ-ACK bits exceeds two (with or without SR), other formats are used. PUCCH format 0 and PUCCH format 2 are used for PUCCH transmission on 1 or 2 symbols.

[0005] SchedulingRequestResourceConfig is a resource configuration used for opportunities to transmit SRs. This configuration consists of an identifier pointing to a PUCCH resource and a time position and periodicityAndOffset that determine the timing of the SR transmission opportunity. The identified PUCCH resource specifies the starting frequency position (startingPRB) for that resource, and also specifies which PUCCH format should be used on that resource. For SRs, the PUCCH format is either format 0 or format 1. All formats specify the time position within the time slot using the parameters startingSymbolIndex and nrofSymbols. PUCCH format 0, PUCCH format 1, and PUCCH format 4 use a single physical resource block (PRB) in the frequency domain, while other formats can be configured with multiple PRBs.

[0006] A user equipment (UE) can be configured with multiple SR configurations, where each SR can be associated with a set of logical channels (LCHs), i.e., different SRs can be associated with different services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC).

[0007] In Release 15, a UE can be configured with up to four PUCCH resource sets, where each PUCCH resource set can consist of several PUCCH resources that can be used for UCI size ranges provided by the configuration, including HARQ-ACK bits. The first set can only apply to 1-2 UCI bits including HARQ-ACK information, and can have up to 32 PUCCH resources, while the other sets, if configured, are used for more than two UCI bits including HARQ-ACK, and each can use any of up to eight different PUCCH resources to implement. When a UE reports HARQ-ACK on PUCCH, it determines the PUCCH resource set based on the number of HARQ-ACK information bits it has to transmit and the PUCCH resource indicator field in the last received downlink control information (DCI) format 1_0 or DCI format 1_1, which has a value of a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator indicating a slot for PUCCH transmission that is the same as the slot associated with the next instance of one of the members of the PUCCH resource set. When the size of the determined PUCCH resource set is up to 8 (3-bit PUCCH resource indicator field), the PUCCH resource identification within the set is explicitly indicated by the PUCCH resource indicator field in the DCI. If the size of the PUCCH resource set is greater than 8, the PUCCH resource identification is determined by the index of the first control channel element (CCE) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception plus the PUCCH resource indicator field in the DCI.

[0008] When there are multiple types of UCI and the UE can have PUCCH resources for PUCCH transmissions of UCI that overlap in time, the UE uses a specified resolution procedure to resolve the time overlap. The result of the procedure is PUCCH resources that do not overlap in time and each of which carries UCI. If multiplexing is not possible, different UCI types can be multiplexed or dropped. There are also some Release 15 specific rules that cause some UCI bits of a certain type (e.g., CSI) to be dropped.

[0009] In Release 16, a 2-level priority index indication can be configured such that HARQ-ACK, SR and CSI can be indicated as high or low priority. The intention is to enable intra-UE prioritization between different services (such as eMBB and URLLC) running simultaneously in the UE. When there is a collision, for prioritization between PUCCH and PUSCH, a 2-level priority index is used at the physical layer. Priority index 0 is considered as low priority and priority index 1 is considered as high priority (i.e. more important). In Release 16, only UCIs with the same priority are multiplexed on PUCCH or PUSCH, and the Release 15 time overlap resolution procedure runs by priority. If there is still a time overlap between different priorities, the PUCCH or PUSCH of the lower priority is cancelled. For SR, the priority index can be configured in SchedulingRequestResourceConfig, while for HARQ-ACK in response to DCI, it can be indicated by a field in the DCI, or for SPS, it is configured by radio resource control (RRC) as for SR.

[0010] Sequences for PUCCH format 0 and PUCCH format 1

[0011] Both PUCCH format 0 and PUCCH format 1 use a sequence for PUCCH transmission. This information is carried by the cyclic shift of the sequence transmitted on the PUCCH resource. Therefore, both PUCCH format 0 and PUCCH format 1 are configured with an initialCyclicShift for determining the cyclic shift. For PUCCH format 0, the cyclic shift carries the information, while for PUCCH format 1, the information bit(s) (1 bit: binary phase shift keying (BPSK), 2 bits: quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK)) are first modulated to a complex-valued symbol, and then the complex-valued symbol is multiplied with the sequence.

[0012] As defined in 3GPP TS 38.211 (see e.g. v16.1.0), the cyclic shift a depends on the symbol and the number of slots, but also on the information carried by the sequence. The cyclic shift a varies as a function of the symbol and the number of slots according to

[0013]

[0014] wherein

[0015] · is the number of slots in a radio frame,

[0016] • l is the number of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in the PUCCH transmission, where l = 0 corresponds to the first OFDM symbol of the PUCCH transmission,

[0017] • l' is the index of the OFDM symbol in a slot corresponding to the first OFDM symbol of a PUCCH transmission in a slot given by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.213,

[0018] • m0 is given by 3GPP TS 38.213 for PUCCH formats 0 and 1, while for PUCCH formats 3 and 4, m0 is defined in subclause 6.4.1.3.3.1 of 3GPP TS 38.211,

[0019] • m cs = 0, except for PUCCH format 0, when it depends on the information to be transmitted according to subclause 9.2 of 3GPP TS 38.213, and

[0020] • is the number of subcarriers per resource block (RB).

[0021] The function n cs (n c , l) is given by

[0022]

[0023] where the pseudo-random sequence c(i) is defined by subclause 5.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.211, and is the number of symbols per slot. The pseudo-random sequence generator applies c init = n ID is initialized with n ID given by the higher layer parameter hoppingld if configured, otherwise where is the cell identity (ID).

[0024] When a UE transmits positive SR and at most two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 0, the UE then transmits PUCCH in the PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0 in the PRB(s) used for HARQ-ACK information, but with a different m cs if only SR is transmitted, PUCCH is transmitted on the PUCCH resource used for SR with m CS = 0.

[0025] As specified in Section 9.2.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.213 v15.8.0, when a PUCCH resource for SR and a PUCCH resource for HARQ-ACK overlap, the Rel-15 procedure for multiplexing SR and HARQ-ACK has the following limitations:

[0026] If the UE is to transmit a positive or negative SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 in a slot, the UE transmits only PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1.

[0027] There is also a proposal (see Section 5.2.2 of R1-2001016 and R1-2001027) to enhance this rule for high priority SR and HARQ-ACK, where the UE would prioritize SR instead. SUMMARY

[0028] Systems and methods related to prioritization of scheduling requests (SR) and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device for prioritization between a scheduling request (SR) occasion and hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources includes prioritizing or multiplexing the SR occasion on a first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on a second PUCCH resource, the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlapping in time. In this way, a delay improvement for uplink (UL) is provided without introducing higher downlink (DL) load, nor introducing inter-cell interference, as unnecessary retransmissions can be avoided.

[0029] In one embodiment, prioritizing or multiplexing the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource includes prioritizing or multiplexing the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource based on a priority of the SR and a priority of the HARQ-ACK information.

[0030] In one embodiment, the SR occasion uses PUCCH format 0 and the HARQ-ACK information uses PUCCH format 1.

[0031] In one embodiment, prioritizing or reusing SR timing on the first PUCCH resource and HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource includes: determining that the SR used for the SR timing is a negative SR, and in response to determining that the SR used for the SR timing is a negative SR, discarding the SR timing and sending one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1.

[0032] In one embodiment, prioritizing or multiplexing the SR timing on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource includes: determining that the SR used for the SR timing is not a negative SR, and determining whether one or more HARQ-ACK bits to be transmitted satisfy one or more conditions. Prioritizing or multiplexing the SR timing on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource further includes: in response to determining that the SR used for the SR timing is not a negative SR and determining that one or more HARQ-ACK bits to be transmitted satisfy one or more conditions, discarding one or more HARQ-ACK bits, and transmitting the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0. In another embodiment, prioritizing or multiplexing the SR timing on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource further includes: in response to determining that the SR used for the SR timing is not a negative SR and determining that one or more HARQ-ACK bits to be transmitted do not satisfy one or more conditions, discarding the SR timing, and transmitting one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1. In one embodiment, one or more conditions include: one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicating all ACKs, one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicating all NACKs, at least one of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicating ACKs, or at least one of the HARQ-ACK bits indicating NACKs.

[0033] In one embodiment, prioritizing or reusing the SR timing on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource includes: determining that the SR used for the SR timing is not a negative SR, and in response to determining that the SR used for the SR timing is not a negative SR, discarding one or more HARQ-ACK bits and sending the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0.

[0034] In one embodiment, prioritizing or multiplexing the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource includes determining that the SR for the SR occasion is not a negative SR, and in response to determining that the SR for the SR occasion is not a negative SR, dropping the SR occasion and transmitting the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1, while using a different cyclic shift than the initial scheduled cyclic shift.

[0035] In one embodiment, prioritizing or multiplexing the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource includes multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the first PUCCH resource by using a cyclic shift for a sequence for the SR, the cyclic shift being a function of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits.

[0036] In one embodiment, prioritizing or multiplexing the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource includes multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on one of the first PUCCH resource, the second PUCCH resource, or a modified PUCCH resource. In one embodiment, multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource includes transmitting a PUCCH on one of the first PUCCH resource, the second PUCCH resource, or a modified PUCCH resource; wherein the PUCCH includes HARQ feedback information and information indicating the SR appended to the HARQ feedback information.

[0037] In one embodiment, multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource includes appending information indicating the SR to HARQ feedback information used as an indication of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits.

[0038] In one embodiment, the one or more HARQ-ACK bits are two or more HARQ-ACK bits, and the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits are multiplexed on the second PUCCH resource by appending information indicating the SR to the HARQ feedback information, wherein the HARQ feedback information includes a single bit used as an indication of the two or more HARQ-ACK bits according to a predefined rule. In one embodiment, the predefined rule is one of the following rules: a predefined rule based on a bundling rule, wherein the single bit is determined to be a first value if the two or more HARQ-ACK bits are ACK, and otherwise, the single bit is determined to be a second value; a predefined rule that the single bit is 0 if at least one of the two or more HARQ-ACK bits is 0, and otherwise, the single bit is 1; or a predefined rule that the single bit is 1 if at least one of the two or more HARQ-ACK bits is 1, and otherwise, the single bit is 0.

[0039] In another embodiment, multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits includes multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource by using a cyclic shift of a sequence used to indicate whether the SR is a positive SR or a negative SR that is transmitted on the second PUCCH resource.

[0040] In one embodiment, multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits includes multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits using a modified PUCCH resource. In one embodiment, multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits using the modified PUCCH resource includes transmitting the HARQ-ACK bits on the modified PUCCH resource. In one embodiment, the transmission of the HARQ-ACK bits on the modified PUCCH resource indicates a positive SR.

[0041] In one embodiment, a starting physical resource block (PRB) for the first PUCCH resource and a starting PRB for the second PUCCH resource are not equal, the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH resource that has a same starting symbol index, initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain orthogonal cover code (OCC) as the second PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK information, and the modified PUCCH resource is located on a different PRB than an original PRB of the second PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK information. In one embodiment, the modified PUCCH resource is located on an original PRB of the first PUCCH resource for the SR.

[0042] In one embodiment, the starting PRB for the first PUCCH resource and the starting PRB for the second PUCCH resource are not equal, and the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH resource that has the same starting symbol index as the first PUCCH resource for the SR, but has the same initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain orthogonal cover code, OCC, as the second PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK information.

[0043] In one embodiment, the offset is further applied to the starting index of the modified PUCCH resource such that the modified PUCCH resource does not cross a slot boundary.

[0044] In one embodiment, the offset is further applied to the starting index of the modified PUCCH resource such that the modified PUCCH resource does not completely overlap with the second PUCCH resource.

[0045] In one embodiment, multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits includes transmitting the SR using the first PUCCH resource and transmitting the one or more HARQ-ACK bits using the modified PUCCH resource. In one embodiment, the modified PUCCH resource includes one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols from the second PUCCH resource that do not overlap in time with OFDM symbols of the first PUCCH resource. In one embodiment, the modified PUCCH resource further includes an additional OFDM symbol that is used as an uplink control information (UCI) or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbol that was originally determined for the second PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK information.

[0046] Embodiments of corresponding wireless communication devices are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a wireless communication device for prioritization between an SR occasion and HARQ-ACK information scheduled on overlapping resources is adapted to prioritize or multiplex the SR occasion on a first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on a second PUCCH resource, the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlapping in time.

[0047] In another embodiment, a wireless communication device for prioritization between an SR occasion and HARQ-ACK information scheduled on overlapping resources includes one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the wireless communication device to prioritize or multiplex the SR occasion on a first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on a second PUCCH resource, the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlapping in time.

[0048] Embodiments of a method performed by a base station are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a base station for prioritization of SR occasions and HARQ-ACK information scheduled on overlapping PUCCH resources includes receiving a PUCCH transmission on a PUCCH resource according to a prioritization or multiplexing scheme, the PUCCH transmission including a SR for an SR occasion configured on a first PUCCH resource, HARQ-ACK information scheduled on a second PUCCH resource, or information representing both the SR and the HARQ-ACK information. The PUCCH resource is: (a) the first PUCCH resource configured for the SR occasion, (b) the second PUCCH resource configured for the HARQ-ACK information, or (c) a modified PUCCH resource. The first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlap in time.

[0049] In one embodiment, the SR occasion uses PUCCH format 0 and the HARQ-ACK information uses PUCCH format 1.

[0050] In one embodiment, the SR is a negative SR, the PUCCH resource is the second PUCCH resource, and receiving the PUCCH transmission includes receiving one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1.

[0051] In one embodiment, the SR is a positive SR, the one or more HARQ bits satisfy one or more conditions, the PUCCH resource is the first PUCCH resource, receiving the PUCCH transmission includes receiving the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0, and discarding the HARQ-ACK information.

[0052] In one embodiment, the SR is a positive SR, the one or more HARQ bits do not satisfy one or more conditions, the PUCCH resource is the second PUCCH resource, receiving the PUCCH transmission includes receiving one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1, and discarding the SR.

[0053] In one embodiment, the one or more conditions include a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all ACKs, a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all NACKs, a condition that at least one of the one or more indicates an ACK, or a condition that at least one of the HARQ-ACK bits indicates a NACK.

[0054] In one embodiment, the SR is a positive SR, the PUCCH resource is a first PUCCH resource, receiving the PUCCH transmission comprises receiving the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0, and discarding the HARQ-ACK information.

[0055] In one embodiment, the SR is a positive SR, the PUCCH resource is a second PUCCH resource, receiving the PUCCH transmission comprises receiving the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1 while using a different cyclic shift from the initial scheduled cyclic shift, and discarding the SR occasion.

[0056] In one embodiment, the PUCCH resource is a first PUCCH resource, and the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits are multiplexed on the first PUCCH resource by using a cyclic shift for a sequence used for the SR, the cyclic shift being a function of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits.

[0057] In one embodiment, the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits are multiplexed on the PUCCH resource. In one embodiment, the PUCCH includes the HARQ feedback information and information indicating the SR appended to the HARQ feedback information.

[0058] In one embodiment, the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits are multiplexed on the second PUCCH resource by using a cyclic shift of a sequence used for indicating whether the SR is a positive SR or a negative SR transmitted on the second PUCCH resource.

[0059] In one embodiment, the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits are multiplexed on the modified PUCCH resource.

[0060] In one embodiment, the SR is received using the first PUCCH resource, and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits are received using the modified PUCCH resource.

[0061] Corresponding embodiments of a base station are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a base station for prioritization between scheduled SR occasions and HARQ-ACK information on overlapping PUCCH resources is adapted to receive a PUCCH transmission on a PUCCH resource including a SR for a SR occasion configured on a first PUCCH resource, HARQ-ACK information scheduled on a second PUCCH resource, or information representing both the SR and the HARQ-ACK information in accordance with a prioritization or multiplexing scheme. The PUCCH resource is: (a) the first PUCCH resource configured for the SR occasion, (b) the second PUCCH resource configured for the HARQ-ACK information, or (c) a modified PUCCH resource. The first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlap in time.

[0062] In one embodiment, a base station for prioritization between scheduled SR occasions and HARQ-ACK information on overlapping PUCCH resources includes processing circuitry configured to cause the base station to receive a PUCCH transmission on a PUCCH resource including a SR for a SR occasion configured on a first PUCCH resource, HARQ-ACK information scheduled on a second PUCCH resource, or information representing both the SR and the HARQ-ACK information in accordance with a prioritization or multiplexing scheme. The PUCCH resource is: (a) the first PUCCH resource configured for the SR occasion, (b) the second PUCCH resource configured for the HARQ-ACK information, or (c) a modified PUCCH resource. The first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlap in time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0063] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate various aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0064] Figure 1 shows one example of a cellular communications system in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0065] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a wireless communication device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) in accordance with at least some aspects of embodiments 1-A and 1-B described herein;

[0066] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) in accordance with at least some aspects of embodiment 1-C described herein;

[0067] Figure 4is a flowchart illustrating operations of a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) in accordance with at least some aspects of embodiments 1-D described herein;

[0068] Figure 5 An example is shown in which a UE will transmit a positive scheduling request (SR) in a slot in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and up to two hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) / negative acknowledgement (NACK) information bits (also referred to herein as HARQ information bits) in a resource using PUCCH format 1 that will overlap in time with the SR resource;

[0069] Figure 6 Based on Figure 5 An example is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure in which the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index, initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain orthogonal cover code (OCC) as PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information;

[0070] Figure 7 Based on Figure 5 An example is shown in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure in which the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index as PUCCH format 0, but the same initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain CCC as PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information;

[0071] Figure 8 An example is shown in which a UE will transmit a positive SR in a slot in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and up to two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 that will overlap in time with the SR resource;

[0072] Figure 9 Based on Figure 8 An example is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure in which the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index as PUCCH format 0, but the same initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain CCC as PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information;

[0073] Figure 10An example is shown in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure in which the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH format 1 with a starting symbol index equal to the starting symbol index of the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK plus an offset of -1 symbol and following other parameters (such as initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain OCC) of the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information;

[0074] Figure 11 An example is shown in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure in which the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH format 1 with a starting symbol index equal to the starting symbol index of the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK plus an offset of +1 symbol and following other parameters (such as initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain OCC) of the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information;

[0075] Figure 12 Based on Figure 5 An example embodiment in accordance with the disclosure is shown in which the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a pre-empted PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK with overlapping symbols (overlapping with PUCCH format 0 for SR) excluded;

[0076] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a wireless communication device, such as a UE, in accordance with at least some of the aspects related to the multiplexing embodiments described herein;

[0077] Figure 14 , Figure 15 and Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of a network node;

[0078] Figure 17 and Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of a wireless device;

[0079] Figure 19 An example embodiment of a communication system in which embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented is shown;

[0080] Figure 20 An example embodiment of a host computer, a base station and a UE of Figure 19 is shown;

[0081] Figure 21 , Figure 22 , Figure 23 and Figure 24 are flowcharts illustrating example embodiments of methods implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system of Figure 19 ; and

[0082] Figure 25 FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a base station or other network node according to embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0083] The embodiments set forth below represent the best of presently known embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments are presented by way of illustration only and are not intended as limitations on the concepts and applications of the present disclosure. As such, the embodiments set forth below are not exhaustive of the many embodiments that can represent the principles of the present disclosure and, appropriately adapted, the principles of the present disclosure can be applied to many other types of embodiments.

[0084] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they should be construed as broadly as permitted. To the extent certain drawings are not fully described, such omissions are incorporated by reference as is customary.

[0085] In general, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field of the disclosure, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context of their use. All references to a number of an element, device, article, composition, step, procedure, etc. are to be open-ended terms referring to such an element, device, article, composition, step, procedure, etc. of at least one, and can also include a larger number of such elements, devices, articles, compositions, steps, procedures, etc. unless the context specifically states otherwise. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order indicated. Any of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applicable to any other embodiment, as appropriate. Likewise, any of the features of any embodiment can be applicable to any other embodiment, as appropriate. Other objects, features, and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent in light of the following description.

[0086] Radio node: As used herein, a “radio node” is a radio access node or a wireless communication device.

[0087] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” or “radio access network node” is any node of a radio access network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of radio access nodes include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high- power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, etc.), a relay node, a network node that implements part of the functionality of a base station (e.g., a network node that implements a gNB-central unit (gNB-CU) or a network node that implements a gNB-distributed unit (gNB-DU)), or a network node that implements part of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.

[0088] Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements core network functionality. Some examples of core network nodes include, for example, a mobility management entity (MME), a packet data network gateway (P-GW), a service capability exposure function (SCEF), a home subscriber server (HSS), etc. Some other examples of core network nodes include nodes that implement an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a network slice selection function (NSSF), a network exposure function (NEF), a network function (NF) repository function (NRF), a policy control function (PCF), a unified data management (UDM), etc.

[0089] Communication Device: As used herein, a “communication device” is any type of device that has access to an access network. Some examples of communication devices include, but are not limited to: mobile phones, smartphones, sensor devices, meters, vehicles, household appliances, medical appliances, media players, cameras, or any type of consumer electronic, for example, but not limited to, TVs, radios, lighting arrangements, tablet computers, laptop computers, or personal computers (PCs). A communication device can be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that is enabled to communicate voice and / or data via a radio or wired connection.

[0090] Wireless communication device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which can be any type of wireless device that can access (i.e., be served by) a wireless network, such as a cellular network. Some examples of a wireless communication device include, but are not limited to: a user equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network, a machine-type communication (MTC) device, and an Internet of Things (IoT) device. Such a wireless communication device can be or can integrate into a mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance a TV, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop or PC. The wireless communication device can be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, which is enabled to communicate voice and / or data via a radio connection.

[0091] Network node: As used herein, “network node” is any node that is part of a RAN or core network of a cellular communications network / system.

[0092] Note that the description given herein focuses on 3GPP cellular communications systems, and thus, often uses terminology that is 3GPP or similar to 3GPP terminology. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to 3GPP systems.

[0093] Note that in the description herein, the term “cell” can be mentioned; however, especially with respect to 5G NR concepts, beams can be used instead of “cells”, and thus, it is noted that the concepts described herein equally apply to both cells and beams.

[0094] There are currently some challenges. Based on existing procedures specified by 3GPP for NR, if a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format 0 for scheduling request (SR) and PUCCH format 1 for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback (HARQ-ACK) overlap, the UE cannot multiplex SR and HARQ-ACK, and the UE prioritizes the HARQ / ACK transmission. This means that if SR is triggered, the UE drops the SR and only sends the HARQ-ACK.

[0095] From a latency perspective, the above restriction is undesirable, especially if the SR is associated with Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) traffic. Therefore, it can be attractive to enhance the rule such that the UE would instead transmit the SR if both the SR and HARQ-ACK information have high priority (priority index 1). However, upon receiving the SR, the gNB would only know that the HARQ-ACK was not transmitted. Since the UE can have failed to detect the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), the gNB would consider that the UE can have failed to detect the PDCCH and need to reschedule the data. This can reduce the soft-combining gain that can otherwise be achieved. Further, this scheme has the drawback that since URLLC has high reliability requirements, it can be that the HARQ-ACK indicates ACK most of the time. Therefore, omitting the HARQ-ACK indicating ACK results in unnecessary transmissions on both the PDCCH and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). This enhanced scheme would result in higher downlink (DL) load and increased DL inter-cell interference, which is undesirable from the perspective of URLLC.

[0096] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments can provide a solution to the foregoing or other challenges. Systems and methods for prioritization and / or multiplexing of SR using PUCCH format 0 and HARQ using PUCCH format 1 when PUCCH resources overlap are disclosed herein.

[0097] The systems and methods disclosed herein provide prioritization / multiplexing of SR and HARQ-ACK in scenarios where SR would be dropped in NR Rel-15.

[0098] Certain embodiments can provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Latency for uplink (UL) is improved (gNB is informed of the presence of SR) without introducing higher DL load or inter-cell interference due to avoidance of unnecessary retransmissions.

[0099] Figure 1One example of a cellular communications system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communications system 100 is a 5G system (5GS) that includes a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5G Core (5GC). In this example, the RAN includes base stations 102-1 and 102-2, which in the 5GS include NR base stations (gNBs) and optionally Next Generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (i.e., LTE RAN nodes connected to the 5GC), controlling corresponding (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2. The base stations 102-1 and 102-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 102 and individually as base station 102. Likewise, the (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells 104 and individually as (macro) cell 104. The RAN can also include a plurality of low-power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 controlling corresponding small cells 108-1 through 108-4. The low-power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 can be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations) or Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), among others. Notably, while not shown, one or more of the small cells 108-1 through 108-4 can alternatively be provided by base stations 102. The low-power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as low-power nodes 106 and individually as low-power node 106. Likewise, the small cells 108-1 through 108-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells 108 and individually as small cell 108. The cellular communications system 100 also includes a core network 110, which in the 5GS is referred to as the 5G Core (5GC). The base stations 102 (and optionally the low-power nodes 106) are connected to the core network 110.

[0100] The base stations 102 and the low-power nodes 106 serve wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 in the corresponding cells 104 and 108. The wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 112 and individually as wireless communication device 112. In the following description, the wireless communication devices 112 are typically UEs, and thus are sometimes referred to herein as UEs or UE 112, although the present disclosure is not limited to such.

[0101] A description is now provided of some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0102] 1. Prioritization

[0103] The present disclosure teaches enhanced methods for prioritization between an SR to be transmitted on a first PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 0 and one or two HARQ-ACK bits to be transmitted on a second PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 1. In one embodiment, the two PUCCH occasions overlap in time. One example condition is that the two PUCCH resources have the same starting symbol. Another example condition is that the two PUCCH resources overlap on at least one orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, but can or can not have the same starting symbol.

[0104] In this method, when the SR PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource overlap, the SR has priority over the HARQ-ACK under certain conditions.

[0105] In one variant, the embodiments described below apply only to SRs designated as high priority, while if the SR is designated as low priority, the Rel-15 procedure is reused. The HARQ-ACK has the same priority as the SR.

[0106] In another variant, the embodiments described below are applied regardless of the SR priority.

[0107] 1.1. Embodiment 1-A. Prioritization using scheduled PUCCH resources and cyclic shift

[0108] An SR can have one of two states, either a positive SR or a negative SR. A positive SR is that the UE is requesting to be scheduled. A negative SR is that the UE is not requesting to be scheduled. Note that there can be more than two SR states. Also, a positive SR is signaled while a negative SR corresponds to no transmission. This scheme using positive and negative SRs is referred to as on-off keying.

[0109] In one non-limiting embodiment,

[0110] • If the SR is a negative SR, the Rel-15 procedure is reused, i.e., the SR reporting occasion is dropped and only the HARQ-ACK bit(s) are transmitted on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 1 (also denoted as PF1);

[0111] • Otherwise (i.e., if the SR is a positive SR), the UE drops the HARQ-ACK bit(s) and transmits the SR using the SR PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 0 if the HARQ-ACK satisfies a pre-defined criterion.

[0112] o Otherwise (i.e., if the SR is a positive SR, but the HARQ-ACK bit(s) do not satisfy the predefined criteria), the UE drops the SR reporting occasion and transmits the HARQ-ACK information on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 1.

[0113] The predefined criteria can be one of the following options.

[0114] • In a first example, the predefined criteria is that one or both HARQ-ACK bits indicate all ACK.

[0115] • In a second example, the predefined criteria is that one or both HARQ-ACK bits indicate all NACK.

[0116] • In a third example, the predefined criteria is that at least one HARQ-ACK bit indicates ACK.

[0117] • In a fourth example, the predefined criteria is that at least one HARQ-ACK bit indicates NACK.

[0118] For the above four examples, if the probability of ACK is high (e.g., > 95%), the first example is preferred, while if the probability of ACK is low (e.g., > 50%), the second example is preferred. Thus, these two embodiments can be combined in another embodiment, where the UE can be semi-statically configured (e.g., via RRC) whether the rules in the first or second embodiment should be used.

[0119] 1.2. Embodiment 1-B. Prioritization using scheduled PUCCH resources and cyclic shift

[0120] Embodiment 1-A has the following problem: when transmitting the HARQ-ACK bit(s) using the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource (with format 1), the SR value (negative or positive) is indistinguishable.

[0121] To further prioritize the SR, the following alternative can be used.

[0122] • If the SR is a negative SR, the Rel-15 procedure is reused, i.e., the SR reporting occasion is dropped and only the HARQ-ACK bit(s) are transmitted on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 1;

[0123] • Otherwise (i.e., if the SR is a positive SR), the UE drops the HARQ-ACK bit(s) and transmits the SR using the SR PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 0 (also denoted as PF0).

[0124] 1.3. Embodiment 1-C. Prioritization using the scheduled PUCCH resource and a different cyclic shift of PF1

[0125] To transmit the SR and HARQ-ACK bits when the SR is positive, the following alternatives can be used.

[0126] • If the SR is negative SR, the Rel-15 procedure is reused, i.e., the SR reporting occasion is dropped and only the HARQ-ACK bit(s) are transmitted on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 1. The cyclic shift (CS) is the same as initially scheduled.

[0127] • Otherwise (i.e., if the SR is positive SR), the UE drops the SR reporting occasion and transmits the HARQ-ACK bit(s) using the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 1 while using a different cyclic shift than the one initially scheduled.

[0128] o One example is to increment the initial cyclic shift by 1.

[0129] o Another example is to increment the initial cyclic shift by 3.

[0130] 1.4. Embodiment 1-D. Prioritization using the scheduled PUCCH resource and a different cyclic shift of PF0

[0131] In one non-limiting embodiment, the UE transmits the SR using PUCCH format 0, where m is determined based on the HARQ-ACK bit(s) according to Table 1 or Table 2. CS .

[0132] Table 1: Sequence cyclic shift m for one HARQ-ACK information bit on SR PUCCH resource CS

[0133] HARQ-ACK value 0 1 Sequence cyclic shift m CS = x m CS = y

[0134] Table 2: Sequence cyclic shift m for two HARQ-ACK information bits on SR PUCCH resource CS

[0135]

[0136] The sequence cyclic shifts x, y, z, and w in Table 1 and Table 2 are such that they are different but also different from m CS = 0, i.e., for Table 1, 0 ≠ x ≠ y, and for Table 2, 0 ≠ x ≠ y ≠ z ≠ w. One example of x, y, z, and w that can be used is:

[0137] • Table 1 : x = 3, y = 9

[0138] • Table 2: x = 1, y = 4, z = 10, and w = 7

[0139] In one non-limiting embodiment, the UE transmits the SR using PUCCH format 0, where m is determined based on two HARQ-ACK bits according to Table 3 CS .

[0140] Table 3: Sequence cyclic shift m for two HARQ-ACK information bits on SR PUCCH resources CS

[0141] HARQ-ACK value {0,0} Else Sequence cyclic shift m CS = 3 m CS = 9

[0142] In one non-limiting embodiment, the UE transmits the SR using PUCCH format 0, where m is determined based on two HARQ-ACK bits according to Table 4 CS .

[0143] Table 4: Sequence cyclic shift m for two HARQ-ACK information bits on SR PUCCH resources CS

[0144] HARQ-ACK value {0,0} Else Sequence cyclic shift m CS = 3 m CS = 9

[0145] In one non-limiting embodiment, some RRC configuration determines whether any of the above rules should be used. For example, the UE can be configured with priorityPucchFormat0-over-PucchFormatl, if enabled / configured, it indicates the UE to apply one of the above rules.

[0146] 1.5. Example flowcharts

[0147] Figure 2is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a wireless communication device 112 (e.g., a UE) according to at least some aspects of embodiments 1-A and 1-B described above. Optional steps are represented by dashed boxes / shapes. As shown, the wireless communication device 112 receives a PUCCH resource configuration from a network node (e.g., a base station 102) (step 200). The PUCCH resource configuration configures a plurality of PUCCH resources including a first PUCCH resource (referred to herein as an SR resource) and a second PUCCH resource (referred to herein as a HARQ-ACK resource). These PUCCH resources at least partially overlap in time. The wireless communication device 112 performs a prioritization procedure by which the wireless communication device 112 determines whether to transmit an SR in the SR resource or a HARQ-ACK in the HARQ-ACK resource (step 202). The wireless communication device 112 then transmits the SR or the HARQ-ACK according to the prioritization (step 204). More specifically, the wireless communication device 112 determines whether the SR for the SR resource is a negative SR (step 202A). If so, the wireless communication device 112 drops the SR (i.e., drops the SR reporting occasion) (step 204A) and transmits the HARQ-ACK bit(s) on the HARQ-ACK resource with PUCCH format 1 (step 204B).

[0148] If the SR is a positive SR, the wireless communication device 112 operates differently depending on the particular embodiment. For embodiment 1-A, the wireless communication device 112 determines whether the HARQ-ACK bit(s) satisfy one or more conditions (step 202B), as described above with respect to embodiment 1-A. If the HARQ-ACK bit(s) do not satisfy the one or more conditions, the wireless communication device 112 drops the SR (i.e., drops the SR reporting occasion) (step 204A) and transmits the HARQ-ACK bit(s) on the HARQ-ACK resource with PUCCH format 1 (step 204B).

[0149] For embodiment 1-B, if the SR is a positive SR, the wireless communication device 112 drops the HARA-ACK bit(s) (step 204C) and transmits the SR using the SR resource with PUCCH format 0 (step 204D), as described above.

[0150] Figure 3is a flow diagram illustrating operations of a wireless communication device 112 (e.g., a UE) in accordance with at least some aspects of the above-described embodiment 1-C. Optional steps are represented by dashed boxes / shapes. As shown, the wireless communication device 112 receives a PUCCH resource configuration from a network node (e.g., a base station 102) (step 300). The PUCCH resource configuration configures a plurality of PUCCH resources including a first PUCCH resource (referred to herein as an SR resource) and a second PUCCH resource (referred to herein as a HARQ-ACK resource). These PUCCH resources at least partially overlap in time. The wireless communication device 112 performs a prioritization procedure by which the wireless communication device 112 determines whether to transmit HARQ-ACK in the HARQ-ACK resource or to transmit both SR and HARQ-ACK (step 302). The wireless communication device 112 then transmits HARQ-ACK or both SR and HARQ-ACK according to the prioritization (step 304). More specifically, the wireless communication device 112 determines whether the SR for the SR resource is a negative SR (step 302A). If so, the wireless communication device 112 drops the SR (i.e., drops the SR reporting occasion) (step 304A) and transmits the HARQ-ACK bit(s) on the HARQ-ACK resource with PUCCH format 1 (step 304B).

[0151] If the SR is a positive SR, the wireless communication device 112 drops the SR reporting occasion (step 304C) and transmits the HARQ-ACK bit(s) using the HARQ-ACK resource with PUCCH format 1 while using a different cyclic shift than the initially scheduled cyclic shift, as described above (step 304D). In this way, both the positive SR and the HARQ-ACK bit(s) are indicated.

[0152] Figure 4is a flowchart illustrating operations of a wireless communication device 112 (e.g., a UE) in accordance with at least some aspects of the above-described embodiment 1-D. Optional steps are represented by dashed boxes / shapes. As shown, the wireless communication device 112 receives a PUCCH resource configuration from a network node (e.g., a base station 102) (step 400). The PUCCH resource configuration configures a plurality of PUCCH resources including a first PUCCH resource (referred to herein as an SR resource) and a second PUCCH resource (referred to herein as a HARQ-ACK resource). These PUCCH resources at least partially overlap in time. The wireless communication device 112 transmits an SR on the PUCCH resource using a sequence cyclic shift as a function of HARQ bit(s), as described above (step 404). In one embodiment, step 404 is performed if the SR is a positive SR, but not if the SR is a negative SR. Further, in one embodiment, the HARQ-ACK resource is not used (i.e., the HARQ-ACK occasion is dropped because the HARQ-ACK bit(s) are indicated via the sequence cyclic shift for the transmitted SR) (step 402).

[0153] 2. Multiplexing

[0154] The present disclosure also teaches an enhanced method for multiplexing SR and HARQ-ACK, where from the UE, the SR is to be transmitted with PUCCH format 0 and one or two HARQ-ACK bits are to be transmitted with PUCCH format 1, where the two PUCCH transmissions will overlap in time.

[0155] The following embodiments apply to the case where both the SR and the HARQ-ACK have the same priority (e.g., both have a high priority index).

[0156] 2.1. Modified HARQ-ACK codebook

[0157] 2.1.1. Additional SR information

[0158] In one non-limiting embodiment, if the UE is to transmit an SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and one HARQ-ACK information bit in a resource using PUCCH format 1, which will overlap in time with the SR resource, the UE transmits a PUCCH with 2 bits of information using the PUCCH format 1 resource, where the first information bit is the HARQ-ACK bit and the second information bit corresponds to a positive (e.g., value 1) or negative (e.g., value 0) SR.

[0159] In one non-limiting embodiment, if the UE will transmit an SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and transmit one HARQ-ACK information bit in a resource using PUCCH format 1 that will overlap in time with the SR resource, the UE transmits a PUCCH with 2 bits of information using the PUCCH format 1 resource, where the first information bit is the HARQ-ACK information bit determined from the two information bits available using a pre-defined rule, and the second information bit corresponds to a positive (e.g., value 1) or negative (e.g., value 0) SR. The pre-defined rule at the UE to determine the HARQ-ACK information bit based on the two HARQ-ACK bits available can be one of the following options.

[0160] • In a first example, the pre-defined rule is based on a bundling rule where if both HARQ-ACK bits are ACK, the HARQ-ACK information bit is determined to be value 1 (or 0) and otherwise value 0 (or 1).

[0161] • In a second example, the pre-defined rule is if at least one of the available HARQ-ACK bits is 0, the HARQ information bit is 0 and otherwise 1.

[0162] • In a third example, the pre-defined rule is if at least one of the available HARQ-ACK bits is 1, the HARQ information bit is 1 and otherwise 0.

[0163] 2.1.2. Multiplexing SR information using cyclic shift offset

[0164] In one non-limiting embodiment, if the UE will transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and transmit up to two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 that will overlap in time with the SR resource, the UE transmits a PUCCH in the resource using PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information, where m CS = 6 or any non-zero value (instead of m CS = 0) for the value of the cyclic shift a as described in section 6.3.2.2.2 in TS 38.211 V16.1.0. The cyclic shift offset used for the PUCCH transmission indicates a positive SR.

[0165] If the UE will not transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and will transmit up to two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 that will overlap in time with the SR resource, the UE transmits a PUCCH in the resource using PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information, where mCS = 0. The cyclic shift offset for the PUCCH transmission indicates a negative SR.

[0166] 2.2. Modified PUCCH resource in case of positive SR

[0167] In one non-limiting embodiment, if the UE will transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and at most two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 (which will overlap in time with the SR resource) in a slot, the UE determines a modified PUCCH resource and transmits the HARQ-ACK information in the PUCCH using the modified PUCCH resource. The modified PUCCH resource for the PUCCH transmission indicates a positive SR.

[0168] If the UE will not transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and at most two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 (which overlaps in time with the SR resource) in a slot, the UE transmits the PUCCH in the resource using PUCCH format 1 for the HARQ-ACK information. The (unmodified) PUCCH resource for the PUCCH transmission indicates a negative SR.

[0169] In one version of the above embodiment, if the starting PRB configured for PUCCH format 0 for SR and PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK are not equal, the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index, initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain orthogonal cover code (OCC) as the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information. The modified PUCCH resource is located on a different PRB than the original PRB for PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK. As a preferred embodiment, the modified PUCCH resource is located on the original PRB for PUCCH format 0 for SR. Based on the example of overlapping PUCCH resources for SR and HARQ-ACK in Figure 5 illustrative examples are given in Figure 6

[0170] Figure 5 An example is shown where the UE will transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and at most two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 (which will overlap in time with the SR resource) in a slot.

[0171] Based on the example of overlapping PUCCH resources for SR and HARQ-ACK in Figure 5 Figure 6 ​​The modified PUCCH resource is shown to be determined as a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index, initial cyclic shift, number of symbols and time domain OCC as the PUCCH format 1 used for HARQ-ACK information, but with the same starting symbol index as the PUCCH format 0 originally configured for SR.

[0172] In another version of the above embodiment, if the starting PRBs configured for PUCCH format 0 for SR and PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK are not equal, the modified PUCCH resource is determined as a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index as the PUCCH format 0 originally configured for SR, but with the same initial cyclic shift, number of symbols and time domain CCC as the PUCCH format 1 used for HARQ-ACK information. The modified PUCCH resource is located on a different PRB than the original PRB for PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK. As a preferred embodiment, the modified PUCCH resource is located on the original PRB for PUCCH format 0 for SR. Based on the example of overlapping PUCCH resources for SR and HARQ-ACK in Figure 5 , illustrative examples are given in Figure 7 .

[0173] Based on the example of overlapping PUCCH resources for SR and HARQ-ACK in Figure 5 , Figure 7 The modified PUCCH resource is shown to be determined as a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index as the PUCCH format 0, but with the same initial cyclic shift, number of symbols and time domain CCC as the PUCCH format 1 used for HARQ-ACK information.

[0174] In one version of the above embodiment, if the starting PRBs configured for PUCCH format 0 for SR and PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK are equal, the modified PUCCH resource is determined as a PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index as the PUCCH format 0 originally configured for SR, but with the same initial cyclic shift, number of symbols and time domain CCC as the PUCCH format 1 used for HARQ-ACK information. If the PUCCH format 1 is 14 symbols long, the UE can only transmit a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information bits in using the PUCCH format 1 resource. Based on the example of overlapping PUCCH resources for SR and HARQ-ACK in Figure 8 , illustrative examples are given in Figure 10 .

[0175] Figure 8An example is shown where the UE will transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and up to two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 in a slot, which will overlap in time with the SR resource.

[0176] Based on Figure 8 , Figure 9 An example is shown where the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be PUCCH format 1 with the same starting symbol index as PUCCH format 0, but with the same initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time-domain OCC as PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information.

[0177] For the above description, if the modified PUCCH resource would be determined to cross a slot boundary or completely overlap with the original PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK, the starting symbol index of the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be equal to the starting symbol index of the original PUCCH 1 for HARQ-ACK plus an offset value. One or more offset values can be configured and one is used depending on how the SR resource overlaps with the HARQ-ACK resource.

[0178] In one example, in Figure 10 where the PUCCH format 0 for SR starts at the beginning of the first half of the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK, the starting symbol of the PUCCH format 0 for SR is reused, but other parameters from the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK would cause the modified PUCCH resource to cross a slot boundary. A negative offset value of -1 symbol is applied to the starting symbol index of the original PUCCH 1 for HARQ-ACK to determine the actual starting symbol of the modified PUCCH resource. In other words, Figure 10 An example is shown where the modified PUCCH resource is determined to be PUCCH format 1 with the starting symbol index equal to the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK plus an offset of -1 symbol. Other parameters, such as initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time-domain OCC, follow the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information.

[0179] In another example, in Figure 11In one non-limiting embodiment, if the UE is to transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and up to two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 in a slot, the UE determines a modified PUCCH resource for HARQ-ACK transmission and transmits the SR using the PUCCH format 0 resource and the HARQ-ACK information bits using the modified PUCCH resource. Figure 11 The modified PUCCH resource is shown to be determined as a PUCCH format 1 with a starting symbol index equal to the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK plus an offset of +1 symbol. Other parameters such as initial cyclic shift, number of symbols, and time domain OCC follow the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information.

[0180] 2.3. Pre-empted PUCCH resource for HARQ-ACK transmission

[0181] In one non-limiting embodiment, if the UE is to transmit a positive SR in a resource using PUCCH format 0 and up to two HARQ-ACK information bits in a resource using PUCCH format 1 in a slot, the UE determines a modified PUCCH resource for HARQ-ACK transmission and transmits the SR using the PUCCH format 0 resource and the HARQ-ACK information bits using the modified PUCCH resource.

[0182] In one version of the above embodiment, the modified PUCCH resource is a pre-empted PUCCH format 1 resource where OFDM symbols that overlap in time with the OFDM symbols of PUCCH format 0 are excluded. The remaining OFDM symbols of the modified PUCCH resource are used as UCI or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols as originally determined for the PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK information. In case of intra-slot frequency hopping enabled for PUCCH format 1, the PRB indices for each of the remaining symbols are the same as originally determined for PUCCH format 1. Based on Figure 5 Examples of PUCCH resources for overlapping SR and HARQ-ACK in Figure 12 are given in Figure 5 , Figure 12 The modified PUCCH resource is shown to be determined as a pre-empted PUCCH format 1 for HARQ-ACK where the overlapping symbols (that overlap with PUCCH format 0 for SR) are excluded.

[0183] In one version of the above embodiments, the modified PUCCH resource is used for HARQ-ACK transmission only if the number of remaining symbols (non-overlapping symbols) is greater than 3.

[0184] 2.4. Example flowcharts

[0185] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a wireless communication device 112 (e.g., a UE) in accordance with at least some of the above aspects related to multiplexing embodiments. Optional steps are represented by dashed boxes. As shown, the wireless communication device 112 receives a PUCCH resource configuration from a network node (e.g., a base station 102) (step 400). The PUCCH resource configuration configures a plurality of PUCCH resources including a first PUCCH resource (referred to herein as an SR resource) and a second PUCCH resource (referred to herein as a HARQ-ACK resource). These PUCCH resources at least partially overlap in time. The wireless communication device 112 multiplexes SR and HARQ-ACK bit(s) in accordance with any of the embodiments described above (step 1302). For example, in one embodiment, the wireless communication device 112 multiplexes SR and HARQ-ACK bit(s) using a modified HARQ-ACK codebook (step 1302A). This can be done, for example, by appending SR information to HARQ-ACK bit(s) (step 1302A1) or by using a cyclic shift offset (step 1302A2). In another embodiment, the wireless communication device 112 multiplexes SR and HARQ-ACK bit(s) using a modified PUCCH resource in case of positive SR (step 1302B). In another embodiment, the wireless communication device 112 multiplexes SR and HARQ-ACK bit(s) using a pre-empted SR resource for transmission of HARQ-ACK bit(s) (step 1302C).

[0186] 3. Different priorities

[0187] In the following embodiments, SR and HARQ-ACK have different priorities, and the above-mentioned rules are used based on the priorities of SR and HARQ-ACK.

[0188] In one example scenario, if SR and HARQ-ACK have the same priority, one of the rules in Section 1 or Section 2 is used, otherwise, the one with lower priority is dropped.

[0189] In another example embodiment, if SR has higher priority, one of the rules in Section 1 or Section 2 is used. Otherwise, SR is dropped / cancelled or multiplexed with HARQ-ACK according to one of the rules in Section 2.

[0190] 4. Additional details

[0191] A description of some additional details applicable to all of the described embodiments is now provided. However, first it should be noted that while the above description focused on the operation of the wireless communication device 112 or UE, there are embodiments corresponding to the operation of the base station 102 or gNB. For example, according to the embodiments described above, the base station 102 or gNB provides the configuration (or scheduling) of overlapping PUCCH resources to the wireless communication device 112 or UE and receives the prioritized or multiplexed UCI (i.e., SR, HARQ-ACK bit(s), or information representing both SR and HARQ-ACK bit(s) (i.e., multiplexed information)).

[0192] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio access node 1400 can be, for example, a base station 102 or 106 or a network node that implements all or part of the functions of the base station 102 or gNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio access node 1400 includes a control system 1402, which includes one or more processors 1404 (e.g., central processing units (CPUs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or the like), memory 1406, and a network interface 1408. The one or more processors 1404 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. In addition, the radio access node 1400 can include one or more radio units 1410 that each include one or more transmitters 1412 and one or more receivers 1414 coupled to one or more antennas 1416. The radio units 1410 can be referred to as, or be part of, radio interface circuitry. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1410 is external to the control system 1402 and is connected to the control system 1402 via, for example, a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1410 and possibly the antenna(s) 1416 are integrated with the control system 1402. The one or more processors 1404 operate to provide one or more functions of the radio access node 1400 as described herein. In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software that is stored, for example, in the memory 1406 and is executed by the one or more processors 1404.

[0193] Figure 15is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized embodiment of a radio access node 1400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The discussion applies equally to other types of network nodes. Further, other types of network nodes can have similar virtualized architectures. In addition, optional features are represented by dashed lines.

[0194] As used herein, a "virtualized" radio access node is an implementation of the radio access node 1400 in which at least a portion of the functions of the radio access node 1400 are implemented as virtual components running on physical processing node(s) in a network(s) (e.g., via virtual machines executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As illustrated, in this example, the radio access node 1400 can include a control system 1402 and / or one or more radio units 1410, as described above. The control system 1402 can be connected to the radio unit(s) 1410 via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The radio access node 1400 includes one or more processing nodes 1500 coupled to or included as part of a network(s) 1502. If present, the control system 1402 or radio unit(s) are connected to the processing node(s) 1500 via the networks 1502. Each processing node 1500 includes one or more processors 1504 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and / or the like), memory 1506, and a network interface 1508.

[0195] In this example, the functions 1510 described herein for the radio access node 1400 are implemented at the processing node(s) 1500 or distributed across the control system 1402 and / or radio unit(s) 1410 and the one or more processing nodes 1500 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 1510 described herein for the radio access node 1400 are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 1500. As will be appreciated, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 1500 and the control system 1402 is used to carry out at least some of the desired functions 1510. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system 1402 can not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 1410 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 1500 via an appropriate network interface(s).

[0196] In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of radio access node 1400 according to any of the embodiments described herein, or a node (e.g., processing node 1500) implementing one or more of the functions of radio access node 1400 in a virtual environment 1510, is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier containing the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

[0197] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1400 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 1400 includes one or more modules 1600, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 1600 provide the functionality of the radio access node 1400 described herein. This discussion is equally applicable to the processing node 1500 of Figure 15 the processing node 1500, where the modules 1600 can be implemented at one processing node 1500 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 1500 and / or across the processing node(s) 1500 and the control system 1402.

[0198] Figure 17 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 1700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 1700 includes one or more processors 1702 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and / or the like), memory 1704, and one or more transceivers 1706 each including one or more transmitters 1708 and one or more receivers 1710 coupled to one or more antennas 1712. The transceiver(s) 1706 include radio-front end circuitry connected to the antenna(s) 1712, which is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna(s) 1712 and the processor(s) 1702, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. The processors 1702 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceivers 1706 are also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 1700 described above can be fully or partially implemented in software that is, for example, stored in the memory 1704 and executed on the processor(s) 1702. Note that the wireless communication device 1700 can include Figure 17Additional components, not shown, can also be included, such as one or more user interface components (e.g., input / output interfaces, including displays, buttons, touchscreens, microphones, speaker(s), and / or the like, and / or any other components for allowing input of information into wireless communication device 1700 and / or allowing output of information from wireless communication device 1700), power supplies (e.g., battery and associated power circuitry), and the like.

[0199] In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of wireless communication device 1700 according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier containing the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

[0200] Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 1700 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 1700 includes one or more modules 1800, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 1800 provide the functionality of the wireless communication device 1700 described herein.

[0201] Reference Figure 19 According to an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 1900, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network 1902, such as a RAN, and a core network 1904. The access network 1902 comprises a plurality of base stations 1906A, 1906B, 1906C, such as Node B, eNB, gNB, or other types of wireless Access Points (AP), each defining a corresponding coverage area 1908A, 1908B, 1908C. Each base station 1906A, 1906B, 1906C is connectable to the core network 1904 over a wired or wireless connection 1910. A first UE 1912 located in coverage area 1908C is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1906C. A second UE 1914 in coverage area 1908A is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1906A. While a plurality of UEs 1912, 1914 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 1906.

[0202] The telecommunication network 1900 is itself connected to a host computer 1916, which can be understood as a server, server bank, cloud computing service, or any other remotely located computer system able to execute applications. The host computer 1916 can be implemented in hardware and / or software and / or firmware and / or any combination of them. The host computer 1916 can be operated by the service provider or the access network operator or a third party, e.g., a server pool provider. The connection 1918 between the telecommunication network 1900 and the host computer 1916 can be direct or it can pass through a third party network 1922. The third party network 1922 can be a public, private or host computer network and it can be a combination of two or more of these. The third party network 1922 can be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the third party network 1922 can comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0203] Figure 19 The communication system enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1912, 1914 and the host computer 1916. The connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1924. The host computer 1916 and the connected UEs 1912, 1914 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling over the OTT connection 1924 using the access network 1902, the core network 1904, any intermediate network 1922, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1924 can be transparent in the sense that the

[0204] Reference will now be made to Figure 20Example implementations of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs according to embodiments are described. In the communication system 2000, the host computer 2002 includes hardware 2004, which includes a communication interface 2006 configured to establish and maintain wired or wireless connections with different communication devices of the communication system 2000. The host computer 2002 also includes processing circuitry 2008, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 2008 may include one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 2002 also includes software 2010, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 2002 and executable by the processing circuitry 2008. The software 2010 includes a host application 2012. Host application 2012 is operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE 2014 connected via OTT connection 2016 terminated at UE 2014 and host computer 2002. When providing services to remote users, host application 2012 can provide user data sent using OTT connection 2016.

[0205] The communication system 2000 also includes a base station 2018, which is provided in the telecommunications system and includes hardware 2020 enabling the base station 2018 to communicate with the host computer 2002 and the UE 2014. The hardware 2020 may include a communication interface 2022 for establishing and maintaining wired or wireless connections with different communication devices of the communication system 2000, and for establishing and maintaining at least connections with areas located within the coverage area served by the base station 2018 (not shown in the diagram). Figure 20 The radio interface 2024 of the UE 2014 in the (Chinese) wireless connection 2026. The communication interface 2022 can be configured to facilitate a connection 2028 to the host computer 2002. The connection 2028 can be direct, or it can traverse the core network of the telecommunications system (in Figure 20 (Not shown) and / or one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 2020 of the base station 2018 also includes processing circuitry 2030, which may include one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 2018 also includes software 2032 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0206] The communication system 2000 further includes the UE 2014 already referred to. The UE 2014 has hardware 2034 that can include a radio interface 2036 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 2026 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 2014 currently is located. The hardware 2034 of the UE 2014 further includes processing circuitry 2038 which can comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 2014 further comprises software 2040 stored in or accessible by the UE 2014 and executable by the processing circuitry 2038. The software 2040 includes a client application 2042. The client application 2042 can be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 2014 with the support of the host computer 2002. In the host computer 2002, an executing host application 2012 can communicate with the executing client application 2042 via the OTT connection 2016 terminating at the UE 2014 and the host computer 2002. In providing the service to the user, the client application 2042 can receive request data from the host application 2012 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 2016 can carry both the request data and the user data. The client application 2042 can generate the user data by interacting with the user.

[0207] It should be noted Figure 20 that the host computer 2002, base station 2018, and UE 2014 illustrated in Figure 19 Fig. 2 can be similar or identical to the host computer 1916, one of the base stations 1906A, 1906B, 1906C, and one of the UEs 1912, 1914 of Figure 20 Fig. 1, respectively. That is, the inner workings of these entities can be as Figure 19 illustrated in Fig. 2 and independently, the surrounding network topology can be that of Fig. 1.

[0208] In Figure 20 Fig. 2, the OTT connection 2016 has been drawn as a dashed line to indicate that it is an abstraction of the physical connections that can be in place between the host computer 2002 and the UE 2014 via the base station 2018, and that the physical connections can comprise one or more segments of one or more networks. For example, the OTT connection 2016 can be implemented over a wired connection of a

[0209] The wireless connection 2026 between the UE 2014 and the base station 2018 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 2014 using the wireless connection 2026 forming the last segment of the OTT connection 2016.

[0210] A measurement procedure can be implemented for the purpose of monitoring the data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There can also be an optional network functionality to reconfigure the OTT connection 2016 between the host computer 2002 and the UE 2014, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality to reconfigure the OTT connection 2016 can be implemented in the software 2010 and the hardware of the host computer 2002 or in the software 2040 and the hardware of the UE 2014, or both. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) can be deployed in or in association with the communication devices through which the OTT connection 2016 passes; the sensors can participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 2010, 2040 can compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 2016 can include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 2018, and can be unknown or invisible to the base station 2018. Such procedures and functionalities can be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurement can involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer's 2002 measurement of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like. The measurement can be implemented in that the software 2010, 2040 causes messages to be sent using the OTT connection 2016 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

[0211] Figure 21 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a UE in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system can be the one Figure 19 and Figure 20 described with reference to the other figures herein. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only those portions of the reference signs that are necessary for understanding the embodiments are included in the present section, while the portions of the reference signs of the previously described embodiments that are relevant to but not necessary for understanding the present embodiments are not included in the present section. Figure 21Reference numerals are used in the accompanying drawings. In step 2100, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 2102 of step 2100 (which may be optional), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In step 2104, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying user data to the UE. In step 2106 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE. In step 2108 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0212] Figure 22 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be a reference. Figure 19 and Figure 20 The host computer, base station, and UE described herein. For the sake of simplicity in this disclosure, only [the specific components mentioned in this paragraph] are included. Figure 22 Reference numerals are used in the accompanying drawings. In step 2200 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In step 2202, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying user data to the UE. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may be carried out via a base station. In step 2204 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0213] Figure 23 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be a reference. Figure 19 and Figure 20 The host computer, base station, and UE described herein. For the sake of simplicity in this disclosure, only [the specific components mentioned in this paragraph] are included. Figure 23Reference numerals are used in the accompanying drawings. In step 2300 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 2302, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 2304 of step 2300 (which may be optional), the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 2306 of step 2302 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may also consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which user data is provided, in sub-step 2308 (which may be optional), the UE initiates the transmission of user data to the host computer. In step 2310 of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE.

[0214] Figure 24 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be a reference. Figure 19 and Figure 20 The host computer, base station, and UE described herein. For the sake of simplicity in this disclosure, only [the specific components mentioned in this paragraph] are included. Figure 24 Reference numerals are used in the accompanying drawings. In step 2400 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2402 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 2404 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0215] Figure 25is a flowchart illustrating operations of a base station 102 according to at least some embodiments described herein (e.g., in Sections 1, 2, and / or 3 above). Optional steps are represented by dashed lines / boxes. As shown, the base station 102 transmits, to a wireless communication device 112, a configuration of a first PUCCH resource (referred to herein as an SR PUCCH resource) for an SR occasion and a second PUCCH resource (referred to herein as a HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource) for HARQ-ACK information (step 2500). As described above, the SR PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource at least partially overlap in time. The base station 102 receives, from the wireless device 112, a PUCCH transmission on the PUCCH resources, where the PUCCH transmission includes an SR for an SR occasion for which the SR PUCCH resource is configured, HARQ-ACK information scheduled for the HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource, or both. For this PUCCH transmission, any of the embodiments described above (e.g., in Sections 1, 2, or 3) for prioritizing or multiplexing SR and HARQ-ACK information are used. Thus, the details above regarding these embodiments apply equally here, as they relate to the operation of the base station 102.

[0216] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits expressly mentioned herein can be performed by one or more virtual apparatuses, one or more functional units or modules thereof. Each virtual apparatus can comprise a plurality of these functional units. These functional units can be implemented via processing circuitry, which can include one or more microprocessor or microcontroller, and other digital hardware, which can include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose computer chips, etc. The processing circuitry can be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which can include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. The program code stored in memory includes program instructions for implementing one or more telecommunication and / or data

[0217] While the processes in the drawings can illustrate a particular sequence for executing an operation, it is to be understood that this sequence is an example (e.g., other sequences can be employed, certain operations can be combined, certain operations can be performed concurrently, etc.).

[0218] Some example embodiments of the present invention are as follows:

[0219] Group A Embodiments

[0220] Embodiment 1 : A method performed by a wireless communication device (112) for prioritization between a scheduled request, SR, occasion and a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, bit scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resources, the method comprising prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 402; 1302) an SR occasion (e.g., using PUCCH format 0) on a first PUCCH resource and HARQ-ACK information (e.g., using PUCCH format 1) on a second PUCCH resource, the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlapping in time.

[0221] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the SR occasion uses PUCCH format 0 and the HARQ-ACK information uses PUCCH format 1.

[0222] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises:

[0223] • determining (202A; 302A) whether an SR for the SR occasion is a negative SR; and

[0224] o in response to determining (202A; 302A) that an SR for the SR occasion is a negative SR:

[0225] • dropping (204A) the SR occasion; and

[0226] • transmitting (204B) one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1.

[0227] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises:

[0228] • determining (202A) that an SR for the SR occasion is not a negative SR; and

[0229] • in response to determining (202A) that an SR for the SR occasion is not a negative SR:

[0230] o determining (202B) whether one or more HARQ-ACK bits to be transmitted satisfy one or more conditions;

[0231] • dropping (204C) the one or more HARQ-ACK bits; and

[0232] • transmitting (204D) the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0.

[0233]

[0234] Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 4, wherein, in response to determining (202B, No) that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits to be transmitted do not satisfy the one or more conditions: dropping (204A) the SR occasion; and transmitting (204B) the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1.

[0235] Embodiment 6: The method of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein the one or more conditions comprise: a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all ACKs; a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all NACKs; a condition that at least one of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicates an ACK; or a condition that at least one of the HARQ-ACK bits indicates a NACK.

[0236] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises:

[0237] • determining (202A) whether an SR for the SR occasion is an affirmative SR or not;

[0238] • in response to determining (202A) that the SR for the SR occasion is not an affirmative SR:

[0239] • dropping (204C) the one or more HARQ-ACK bits; and

[0240] • transmitting (204D) the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0.

[0241] Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises:

[0242] ​• determining (302A) whether the SR for the SR occasion is not a positive SR; and

[0243] • responsive to determining (302A) that the SR for the SR occasion is not a positive SR:

[0244] • dropping (304C) the SR occasion; and

[0245] • transmitting (304D) one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1, while using a different cyclic shift than the initial scheduled cyclic shift.

[0246] Embodiment 9: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 402; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises multiplexing (402) an SR and one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the first PUCCH resource by using a cyclic shift for a sequence for the SR, the cyclic shift being a function of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits.

[0247] Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises multiplexing (1302) an SR and one or more HARQ-ACK bits on one of the first PUCCH resource, the second PUCCH resource, or a modified PUCCH resource.

[0248] Embodiment 11: The method of embodiment 10, wherein multiplexing (1302) the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource comprises appending (1302A) information indicating the SR (e.g., a first bit) to HARQ feedback information (e.g., a second bit) used as an indication of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits.

[0249] Embodiment 12: The method of embodiment 10, wherein multiplexing (1302) the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits comprises multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using a cyclic shift.

[0250] Embodiment 13: A method as claimed in Embodiment 10, wherein multiplexing (1302) the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits comprises multiplexing the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on a modified PUCCH resource.

[0251] Embodiment 14: A method as claimed in any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via a transmission to a base station.

[0252] Group B Embodiments

[0253] Embodiment 15: A method for prioritization between a scheduled request, SR, occasion and a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, bit scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resources performed by a base station, the method comprising: receiving uplink control information on a PUCCH resource according to a prioritization or multiplexing scheme, the UCI comprising a SR, one or more HARQ-ACK bits, or information representing both the SR and the one or more HARQ-ACK bits; wherein the PUCCH resource is: (a) a first PUCCH resource scheduled or configured for the SR, (b) a second PUCCH resource scheduled or configured for the one or more HARQ-ACK bits, or (c) a modified PUCCH resource; wherein the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlap in time.

[0254] Embodiment 16: A method as claimed in any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless communication device.

[0255] Group C Embodiments

[0256] Embodiment 17: A wireless communication device comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless communication device.

[0257] Embodiment 18: A base station comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the base station.

[0258] Embodiment 19: A user equipment, UE, comprising: an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals passing between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0259] Embodiment 20: A communication system including a host computer comprising processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment, UE, wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station's processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0260] Embodiment 21: The communication system of the preceding embodiment, further including the base station.

[0261] Embodiment 22: The communication system of the preceding 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0262] Embodiment 23: The communication system of the preceding 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0263] Embodiment 24: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0264] Embodiment 25: The method of the preceding embodiment, further comprising: at the base station, transmitting the user data.

[0265] Embodiment 26: The method of the preceding 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by execution of a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, execution of a client application associated with the host application.

[0266] Embodiment 27: A user equipment, UE, configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method according to any of the three preceding embodiments.

[0267] Embodiment 28: A communication system including a host computer comprising processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment, UE; wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0268] Embodiment 29: The communication system of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0269] Embodiment 30: The communication system of any of the two preceding embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0270] Embodiment 31: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0271] Embodiment 32: The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

[0272] Embodiment 33: A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment, UE, to a base station; wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the processing circuitry of the UE of any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0273] Embodiment 34: The communication system of any of the preceding embodiments, further including the UE.

[0274] Embodiment 35: The communication system of any of the two preceding embodiments, further including the base station, wherein the base station includes a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station.

[0275] Embodiment 36: The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

[0276] Embodiment 37: The communication system of the previous 4 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application thereby providing request data; and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

[0277] Embodiment 38: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted from the UE to the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0278] Embodiment 39: The method of the previous embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, providing user data to the base station.

[0279] Embodiment 40: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

[0280] Embodiment 41: The method of the previous 3 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application; and at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application; wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0281] Embodiment 42: A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment, UE, to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0282] Embodiment 43: The communication system of the previous embodiments, further comprising the base station.

[0283] Embodiment 44: The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0284] Embodiment 45: The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be transmitted by the host computer.

[0285] Embodiment 46: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data originated by the UE from the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0286] Embodiment 47: The method of the previous embodiments, further comprising: at the base station, receiving user data from the UE.

[0287] Embodiment 48: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the base station, initiating transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

[0288] Those skilled in the art will realize that improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure can readily occur. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless communication device (112) for prioritization between a scheduled request, SR, occasion and hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, information scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resources, the method comprising: prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302； 402; 1302) the SR occasion on a first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on a second PUCCH resource, the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlapping in time; wherein prioritizing or multiplexing (202) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises: determining (202A) whether a SR for the SR occasion is a non-definitive SR; and determining (202B) whether one or more HARQ-ACK bits of the HARQ-ACK information to be transmitted satisfy one or more conditions; in response to determining (202A) that the SR for the SR occasion is a non-definitive SR and determining (202B, yes) that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits satisfy the one or more conditions: dropping (204C) the one or more HARQ-ACK bits; and transmitting (204D) the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 402; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302; 402; 1302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource based on a priority of the SR and a priority of the HARQ-ACK information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, the SR occasion uses PUCCH format 0 and the HARQ-ACK information uses PUCCH format 1.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, prioritizing or multiplexing (202; 302) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource comprises: determining (202A; 302A) whether a SR for the SR occasion is a definitive SR; and in response to determining (202A; 302A) that the SR for the SR occasion is a definitive SR: dropping (204A) the SR occasion; and transmitting (204B) the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, prioritizing or multiplexing (202) the SR occasion on the first PUCCH resource and the HARQ-ACK information on the second PUCCH resource further comprises, in response to determining (202A) that the SR for the SR occasion is a non-definitive SR and determining (202B, no) that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits do not satisfy the one or more conditions, dropping (204A) the SR occasion; and transmitting (204B) the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, the one or more conditions comprise: a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all ACKs; a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all NACKs; a condition that at least one of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicates an ACK; or a condition that at least one of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicates a NACK.

7. A wireless communication device (112) for prioritization between a scheduled request, SR, occasion and hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, information scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resources, the wireless communication device (112) adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-6.

8. A wireless communication device (112; 1700) for prioritization between a scheduled request, SR, occasion and hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, information scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resources, the wireless communication device (112; 1700) comprising: one or more transmitters (1708); one or more receivers (1710); and processing circuitry (1702) associated with the one or more transmitters (1708) and the one or more receivers (1710), the processing circuitry (1702) configured to cause the wireless communication device (112; 1700) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-6.

9. A method performed by a base station for prioritization between a scheduled request, SR, occasion and hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, information scheduled on overlapping physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resources, the method comprising: receiving (2502) a PUCCH transmission on a PUCCH resource according to a prioritization or multiplexing scheme, the PUCCH transmission comprising a SR for an SR occasion configured on a first PUCCH resource, HARQ-ACK information scheduled on a second PUCCH resource, or information representing both the SR and the HARQ-ACK information; wherein the PUCCH resource is: (a) the first PUCCH resource configured for the SR occasion, (b) the second PUCCH resource configured for the HARQ-ACK information, or (c) a modified PUCCH resource; wherein the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource at least partially overlap in time; wherein the SR is a positive SR, the PUCCH resource is the first PUCCH resource, and in response to determining (202A) that the SR for the SR occasion is not a positive SR and determining (202B, YES) that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits of the HARQ-ACK information to be transmitted satisfy one or more conditions, receiving (2502) the PUCCH transmission comprises receiving the SR on the first PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0, and the HARQ-ACK information is dropped.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, the SR occasion uses PUCCH format 0, and the HARQ-ACK information uses PUCCH format 1.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein, the SR is a positive SR, the one or more HARQ bits do not satisfy one or more conditions, the PUCCH resource is the second PUCCH resource, receiving (2502) the PUCCH transmission comprises receiving the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1, and the SR is dropped.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein, the SR is a positive SR, the one or more HARQ bits do not satisfy one or more conditions, the PUCCH resource is the second PUCCH resource, receiving (2502) the PUCCH transmission comprises receiving the one or more HARQ-ACK bits on the second PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 1, and the SR is dropped.

13. The method of any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein, the one or more conditions comprise: a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all ACKs; a condition that the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicate all NACKs; a condition that at least one of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicates ACK; or a condition that at least one of the one or more HARQ-ACK bits indicates NACK.

14. A base station (102) for prioritization between a Scheduling Request, SR, occasion and Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest Acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, information scheduled on overlapping Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, resources, the base station (102) adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 9-13.

15. A base station (102; 1400) for prioritization between a Scheduling Request, SR, occasion and Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest Acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, information scheduled on overlapping Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, resources, the base station (102; 1400) comprising processing circuitry (1404; 1504) configured to cause the base station (102; 1400) to perform the method according to any one of claims 9-13.

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