Authorized transport in multiple TRP configurations

Abstract

Embodiments include methods for uplink (UL) transmission of data from a user equipment (UE) to multiple transport receiving points (TRPs) in a wireless network. Such methods include receiving from the wireless network configurations of multiple configured authorized ULCGs for resources used for UL transmission, wherein at least one of the ULCG configurations includes resources for transmission to the multiple TRPs. Such methods include selecting one or more of the ULCG configurations for transmission of data available at the UE based on characteristics of the data and characteristics of the radio channel between the UE and the respective TRP. Such methods include transmitting the data to one or more of the multiple TRPs on the resources of the selected one or more ULCG configurations. Other embodiments include supplementary methods for network nodes and UEs and network nodes configured to perform such methods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention is generally related to wireless communication networks, and specifically to improvements in uplink (UL) transmission from a wireless device to multiple Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) in a wireless network, for which the wireless device can select from multiple available transmission configurations. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, fifth-generation (“5G”) cellular systems (also known as New Radio (NR)) are being standardized within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR was developed for maximum flexibility in supporting a number of substantially different use cases. These use cases include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine-type communication (MTC), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), side-link device-to-device (D2D), and several other use cases. This disclosure is generally related to NR, but the following description of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology is provided for context, as it shares many characteristics with NR.

[0003] LTE is a general term for the so-called fourth-generation (4G) radio access technology, also known as Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), which was developed within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and initially standardized in Release 8 (Rel-8) and Release 9 (Rel-9). LTE targets a variety of licensed frequency bands and is accompanied by non-radio improvements to what is commonly referred to as System Architecture Evolution (SAE), which includes the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network.

[0004] LTE E-UTRAN includes one or more evolved Node Bs (eNBs), each of which can serve one or more cells through which User Equipment (UE) communicates with the LTE network. As used within the 3GPP standard, "User Equipment" or "UE" means any wireless communication device (e.g., a smartphone or computing device) capable of communicating with network equipment conforming to 3GPP standards (including E-UTRAN as well as UTRAN and / or GERAN), since third-generation ("3G") and second-generation ("2G") 3GPP RANs are generally known.

[0005] As defined by 3GPP, the E-UTRAN is responsible for all radio-related functions in the network, including radio bearer control, radio admission control, radio mobility control, scheduling, and the dynamic allocation of resources to the UE in the uplink (UL, i.e., UE to E-UTRAN) and downlink (DL, i.e., E-UTRAN to UE), as well as the security of communications with the UE. Typically, these functions reside in the respective eNBs, which communicate with each other via the X2 interface. The eNB is also responsible for the E-UTRAN interface to the EPC, specifically the S1 interface to the Mobility Management Entity (MME) and Serving Gateway (SGW). Typically, the MME / S-GW handles overall control of the UE and the data flow between the UE and the rest of the EPC. More specifically, the MME handles signaling protocols (e.g., Control Plane CP) between the UE and EPC, known as Non-Access Layer (NAS) protocols. The S-GW handles all Internet Protocol (IP) data packets (e.g., User Plane UP) between the UE and EPC and acts as a local mobility anchor for data bearers when the UE moves between eNBs.

[0006] Figure 1 A block diagram of an exemplary control plane (CP) protocol stack between a UE, eNB, and MME is shown. The exemplary protocol stack includes the Physical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and Radio Resource Control (RRC) layers between the UE and eNB. The PHY layer relates to how and what features are used to transfer data over transport channels on the LTE radio interface. The MAC layer provides data transfer services over logical channels, mapping logical channels to PHY transport channels and reallocating PHY resources to support these services. The RLC layer provides reordering, error detection and / or correction, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of data transferred to or from higher layers. The PDCP layer provides encryption / decryption and integrity protection for both the CP and the User Plane (UP), as well as other UP functions such as header compression. The exemplary protocol stack also includes Non-Access Layer (NAS) signaling between the UE and MME.

[0007] The RRC layer controls communication between the UE and eNB at the radio interface, as well as the UE's mobility between cells in the E-UTRAN. After the UE is powered on, it will be in...

[0008] The UE remains in the RRC_IDLE state until an RRC connection is established with the network, at which point it will transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state (e.g., in cases where data transfer may occur). After releasing the connection with the network, the UE returns to RRC_IDLE. In the RRC_IDLE state, the UE does not belong to any cell, no RRC context is established for the UE (e.g., in E-UTRAN), and the UE is not in UL synchronization with the network. Even so, the UE in the RRC_IDLE state is known in the EPC and has an assigned IP address.

[0009] Furthermore, in RRC_IDLE state, the UE's radio is active on discontinuous reception (DRX) scheduling configured by the upper layer. During the DRX live cycle (also known as the "DRX on-time duration"), the RRC_IDLE UE receives System Information (SI) broadcast by the serving cell, performs measurements of neighboring cells to support cell reselection, and monitors the paging channel for paging from the EPC via the eNB (the cell where its serving UE is camped). The UE must perform a random access (RA) procedure to move from RRC_IDLE.

[0010] The RRC_CONNECTED state. In the RRC_CONNECTED state, the serving UE's cell is known, and an RRC context is established for the UE in the serving eNB, enabling communication between the UE and the eNB. For example, the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI)—a UE identifier used for signaling between the UE and the network—is configured for UEs in the RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0011] The multiple access schemes used in LTE PHYs are based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) in the DL and on Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) with a cyclic prefix in the UL. To support transmission in both paired and unpaired spectrum, LTE PHYs support both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) (including both full-duplex and half-duplex operation) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). A combination of specific subcarriers in a specific symbol is called a Resource Element (RE). Depending on the modulation type and / or bit mapping constellation used for that RE, each RE is used to transmit a specific number of bits. Radio resources for LTE PHYs are also defined in terms of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs). Each PRB spans N times during the duration of a time slot. RB sc N subcarriers (i.e., N) DL symb or N DL symb (symbols), where N RB scIt is usually 12 or 24.

[0012] Typically, LTE physical channels correspond to sets of REs carrying information originating from higher layers. DL physical channels include the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The PDSCH is the primary physical channel for unicast DL data transmission, but it is also used for RAR (Random Access Response), certain SI blocks, and paging information transmission. The PBCH carries the basic SI required by the UE to access the network. The PDCCH is used to transmit Downlink Control Information (DCI), which includes scheduling information for DL ​​transmissions on the PDSCH, grants for UL transmissions on the PUSCH, and channel quality feedback (e.g., CSI) for the UL channel.

[0013] The UL physical channels include the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). PUSCH is the UL counterpart of PDSCH. PUCCH is used by the UE to transmit uplink control information (UCI), which includes HARQ feedback for eNB DL transmissions, channel quality feedback (e.g., CSI) for DL ​​channels, scheduling requests (SR), etc. PRACH is used for random access preamble transmission.

[0014] In addition, the LTE PHY includes various DL and UL reference signals, synchronization signals, and discovery signals. For example, a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) is transmitted in the DL (UL) to help the UE (eNB) receive the associated PDCCH (PUCCH) or PDSCH (PUSCH). A channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) is transmitted in the DL to enable channel quality feedback through the UE. A probe reference signal (SRS) is transmitted by the UE and enables the eNB to determine the UL channel quality.

[0015] UL and DL data transmissions (e.g., on PUSCH and PDSCH, respectively) can occur with or without explicit authorization or assignment of resources by the network (e.g., eNB). Typically, UL transmissions are often referred to as being “authorized” by the network (i.e., “UL Authorization”), while DL transmissions are often referred to as occurring on resources “assigned” by the network (i.e., “DL Assignment”). For transmissions based on explicit authorization / assignment, the DCI informs the UE of the radio resources to be used for UL transmissions / DL receptions. Conversely, transmissions / receptions without explicit authorization / assignment are typically configured to occur at a defined periodicity according to a predefined configuration. Such transmissions may be referred to as semi-permanent scheduling (SPS), configured authorization (CG), or unlicensed transmissions.

[0016] Fifth-generation (5G) NR technology shares many similarities with fourth-generation LTE. For example, NR uses CP-OFDM (Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) in the DL and both CP-OFDM and DFT-Extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the UL. As another example, in the time domain, NRDL and UL physical resources are organized into 1ms subframes of equal size. These subframes are further divided into multiple time slots of equal duration, each containing multiple OFDM-based symbols. As another example, the NRRRC layer includes...

[0017] The RRC_IDLE and RRC_CONNECTED states, but with the addition of what is called

[0018] The additional state RRC_INACTIVE has some properties similar to the "pause" condition used in LTE.

[0019] In addition to providing coverage via “cells” as in LTE, NR networks also provide coverage via “beams.” Typically, a DL “beam” is a coverage area of ​​a network-transmitted RS that can be measured or monitored by the UE. In NR, such RSs may include, for example, any of the following: SS / PBCH block (SSB), CSI-RS, third reference signal (or any other synchronization signal), positioning RS (PRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), etc. Typically, the SSB is available to any UE in any RRC state, while other RSs (e.g., CSI-RS, DM-RS, PTRS) are associated with a specific UE that has a network connection (i.e., is in the RRC_CONNECTED state).

[0020] NR uses two types of UL CG. Type 1 is configured only via RRC signaling. For Type 2, some parameters are pre-configured via RRC signaling, and some parameters are configured via MAC. The RRC configuration of the UL CG includes the configuredGrantTimer value used to control the UL Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) process via the "CG timer" in the UE. Relevant features of Autonomous Uplink (AUL) support autonomous HARQ retransmission using UL CG.

[0021] Each NR base station (also known as a "gNB") may include multiple Transmitting Points (TRPs) and / or be associated with them. Each TRP is typically an antenna array with one or more antenna elements and is located in a specific geographic location. In this way, a gNB associated with multiple TRPs can transmit the same or different signals from each of the TRPs. For example, a gNB may transmit different versions of the same signal to a single UE on multiple TRPs. As briefly mentioned above, each of the TRPs may also employ beamforming for transmission and reception toward the UE served by the gNB.

[0022] Transmitting data to multiple spatially separated TRPs can improve the reliability of UL transmissions, which can be important for 5G services such as URLLC. Even so, various issues, challenges, and / or difficulties exist related to using UL CG for UE transmissions to multiple TRPs. These issues, challenges, and / or difficulties require solutions to enable the reliability advantages of using multiple TRPs in 5G deployments. Summary of the Invention

[0023] Embodiments of this disclosure provide specific improvements to communication between user equipment (UE) and network nodes in a wireless communication network by facilitating solutions to overcome the exemplary problems outlined above and described in more detail below.

[0024] Some embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for UL transmission of data to multiple TRPs in a wireless network (e.g., E-UTRAN, NG-RAN). These exemplary methods may be performed by a UE (e.g., a wireless device, IoT device, modem, etc., or components thereof).

[0025] These exemplary methods may include receiving configurations from the wireless network for multiple Configurable Granting (UL CG) configurations for resources used for UL transmission. At least one of the UL CG configurations may include resources for transmission to multiple TRPs. These exemplary methods may also include selecting one or more of the UL CG configurations for transmission of data available at the UE based on characteristics of the data and characteristics of the radio channel between the UE and the respective TRP. These exemplary methods may also include transmitting the data to one or more of the multiple TRPs on resources of the selected one or more UL CG configurations.

[0026] In some embodiments, the characteristic associated with the radio channel includes radio channel quality. In such embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include determining the corresponding radio channel quality between the UE and the corresponding TRP based on one or more of the various metrics described herein. Alternatively, these exemplary methods may include receiving an indication of the corresponding radio channel quality from the wireless network.

[0027] In some embodiments, the characteristics associated with the radio channel may include latency characteristics. In some embodiments, the characteristics associated with the data may include quantity, rate of arrival, time of arrival, type of service, latency requirements, and reliability requirements.

[0028] In some embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities. In such embodiments, the selection operation may include selecting a UL CG configuration based on the arrival time of the data relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the respective UL CG configuration.

[0029] In some embodiments, the resources of the UL CG may be associated with a corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS). In such embodiments, the selection operation may include selecting a UL CG configuration that includes resources associated with one of the following: the highest capacity MCS or the most reliable MCS.

[0030] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs). In such embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies a specific number of TRPs and a corresponding number of repetitions of the TBs to be transmitted to the corresponding TRPs within that specific number of TRPs.

[0031] In some embodiments of these examples, the one or more repetitions are a single repetition. In such embodiments, the selection operation may include selecting a UL CG configuration that includes resources associated with the TRP having optimal radio channel quality toward the UE. In such embodiments, the transmission operation may include transmitting the single repetition of the TB to the TRP having optimal radio channel quality toward the UE.

[0032] In other embodiments of these embodiments, the one or more repetitions include multiple repetitions. In such embodiments, a first UL CG configuration and a second UL CG configuration are selected, and the transmission operation includes transmitting a first portion of the multiple repetitions on resources of the first UL CG configuration and transmitting a second portion of the multiple repetitions on resources of the second UL CG configuration.

[0033] In other embodiments of these examples, the plurality of UL CG configurations may include a first UL CG configuration identifying a first TRP to which all repetitions of a TB are transmitted, and a second UL CG configuration identifying the first TRP and a first number of repetitions, and a second TRP and a second number of repetitions. In such embodiments, when the first UL CG configuration is selected, the UE transmits the corresponding repetition of the TB to the first TRP in the corresponding transmission opportunity. Similarly, when the second UL CG configuration is selected, the UE transmits at least one of the first number of repetitions to the first TRP in one or more transmission opportunities, while simultaneously transmitting at least one of the second number of repetitions to the second TRP.

[0034] As a more detailed example of such an embodiment, one of the following first conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: transmitting the first number of single repetitions to the first TRP; or transmitting multiple of the first number to the first TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions. Furthermore, one of the following second conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: transmitting the second number of single repetitions to the second TRP; or transmitting multiple of the second number to the second TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions.

[0035] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs) associated with a HARQ process. In such embodiments, a first UL CG configuration and a second UL CG configuration are selected, and the transmission operation includes an initial transmission of the TB on resources of the first UL CG configuration and at least one retransmission of the TB on resources of the second UL CG configuration. In some embodiments of these embodiments, resources of the first UL CG configuration are associated with a first TRP, and resources of the second UL CG configuration are associated with a second TRP. In this way, the initial transmission and the at least one retransmission can be transmitted to different TRPs.

[0036] In some embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include receiving an indication from the wireless network that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process.

[0037] Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for receiving data via multiple TRPs for UL transmission (e.g., through a UE). These exemplary methods can be performed by network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc., or components thereof) in a wireless network (e.g., E-UTRAN, NG-RAN).

[0038] These exemplary methods may include transmitting to the UE a configuration of multiple Configurable Granting Codes (ULCGs) for resources used for UL transmissions. At least one of the ULCG configurations may include resources for transmissions to multiple Transfer Points (TRPs). These exemplary methods may also include receiving UL data from the UE via one or more of the multiple TRPs on resources of one or more of the ULCG configurations selected by the UE (e.g., in any of the ways outlined above).

[0039] In some embodiments, these exemplary methods may further include determining the appropriate radio channel quality between the UE and the appropriate TRP based on one or more metrics (described in more detail herein), and transmitting an indication of the determined radio channel quality to the UE.

[0040] In some embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities. In such embodiments, the selected UL CG (e.g., by the UE with respect to received data) is related to the arrival time of the data at the UE relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the corresponding UL CG configuration.

[0041] In some embodiments, the resources of the UL CG may be associated with a corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS). In such embodiments, the selected UL CG includes resources associated with either the highest capacity MCS or the most reliable MCS.

[0042] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs). In such embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies a specific number of TRPs and a corresponding number of repetitions of the TBs to be transmitted by the UE to the corresponding TRPs within that specific number of TRPs.

[0043] In some of these embodiments, the one or more repetitions are a single repetition. In such embodiments, the receiving operation includes receiving the single repetition of the TB via the TRP (e.g., as selected by the UE) having the best radio channel quality toward the UE.

[0044] In other embodiments of these embodiments, the one or more repetitions may include a plurality of repetitions. In such embodiments, the receiving operation may include receiving a first portion of the plurality of repetitions on a resource configured with a first UL CG, and receiving a second portion of the plurality of repetitions on a resource configured with a second UL CG.

[0045] In other embodiments of these embodiments, the plurality of UL CG configurations may include a first UL CG configuration identifying a first TRP to which all repetitions are transmitted, and a second UL CG configuration identifying the first TRP and a first number of repetitions, and a second TRP and a second number of repetitions. In such embodiments, the receiving operation may include one of the following: when the first UL CG configuration is selected, receiving a corresponding repetition of the TB via the first TRP in a corresponding transmission opportunity; or when the second UL CG configuration is selected, receiving at least one of the first number of repetitions via the first TRP in one or more of the transmission opportunities, while simultaneously receiving at least one of the second number of repetitions via the second TRP.

[0046] As a more detailed example of such an embodiment, one of the following first conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: receiving the first number of single repetitions via the first TRP; or receiving multiple of the first number via the first TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions. Furthermore, one of the following second conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: receiving the second number of single repetitions via the second TRP; or receiving multiple of the second number via the second TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions.

[0047] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs) associated with a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) process. In such embodiments, the receive operation may include receiving an initial transmission of the TB on a resource configured with the first UL CG and receiving at least one retransmission of the TB on a resource configured with the second UL CG. In some of these embodiments, the resource configured with the first UL CG is associated with a first TRP, and the resource configured with the second UL CG is associated with a second TRP. In this way, the initial transmission and at least one retransmission can be received via different TRPs.

[0048] In some of these embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include transmitting to the UE an indication that different ULCG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process. In such embodiments, the reception on resources of the second ULCG configuration may be based on this indication.

[0049] Other embodiments include UEs (e.g., wireless devices, IoT devices, etc., or components thereof) and network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc., or components thereof) configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Other embodiments include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, configure such UEs and network nodes to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

[0050] These and other embodiments provide a flexible and efficient technique that allows the UE to select from multiple multi-TRP configurations available for transmission of UL CG based on various factors, such as the UL data transmitted at the UE, UE power consumption, UL / DL radio channel conditions, etc. By selecting and utilizing multiple TRP configurations in this way, the UE can reduce power consumption and / or improve data transmission reliability and / or latency.

[0051] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the embodiments of this disclosure will become apparent when reading the following detailed description in light of the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below. Attached Figure Description

[0052] Figure 1 A block diagram of an exemplary control plane (CP) protocol stack between the UE, eNB, and MME is shown.

[0053] Figures 2-3 Two high-level views of an exemplary 5G network architecture are shown.

[0054] Figure 4 An example is shown where a UE receiver combines transmissions from two different Transmission Receiver Points (TRPs) in a wireless network (e.g., E-UTRAN, NG-RAN).

[0055] Figures 5A-5B Exemplary arrangements of multi-TRP transmission in 5G / NR networks based on multiple scheduling DCIs and a single scheduling DCI are shown.

[0056] Figure 6 Four resource configurations are shown for transmitting three (3) TB (or PDSCH) repetitions on different TRPs and / or using different Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) states.

[0057] Figures 7A-7B An exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the ConfiguredGrantConfig information element (IE) for NR type 1 and type 2 UL configured authorization RRC configuration is shown.

[0058] Figure 8An exemplary process for restricting autonomous UL transfers in the Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) process is shown.

[0059] Figure 9 An exemplary ASN.1 data structure of the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0060] Figures 10A-10B The present disclosure illustrates UE selection based on UL data arrival relative to transmission timing for UL CG configuration according to various exemplary embodiments.

[0061] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of an exemplary method (e.g., process) for a UE according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0062] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of an exemplary method (e.g., process) for a network node according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0063] Figure 13 Block diagrams of exemplary wireless devices or UEs according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0064] Figure 14 A block diagram of an exemplary network node (e.g., a gNB in ​​NG-RAN) in a radio access network according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0065] Figure 15 A block diagram is shown illustrating exemplary network configurations that can be used to provide over-the-top (OTT) data services between a host computer and a UE, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0066] Some embodiments of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0067] Generally, all terms used herein will be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant art, unless the context explicitly gives and / or implies a different meaning (in which different meanings are used). Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to a (a / an) / element, device, component, part, step, etc., will be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of that element, device, component, part, step, etc. Unless a step is clearly described as occurring after or before another step and / or implied that a step must occur after or before another step, the steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any of the embodiments may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the appended embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0068] In addition, the following terms are used throughout the instruction manual:

[0069] • Radio node: As used herein, “radio node” can be a “radio access node” or a “wireless device”.

[0070] • Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” (or equivalently a “radio network node,” “radio access network node,” or “RAN node”) can be any node operating in the radio access network (RAN) of a cellular communication network to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of radio access nodes include, but are not limited to, base stations (e.g., New Radio (NR) base stations (gNB) in 3GPP fifth-generation (5G) NR networks or enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in 3GPP LTE networks), base station distributed components (e.g., CU and DU), high-power or macro base stations, low-power base stations (e.g., micro base stations, pico base stations, femto base stations, femto base stations, etc.), integrated access backhaul (IAB) nodes, transmission points, remote radio units (RRU or RRH), and relay nodes.

[0071] • Core Network Node: As used in this document, a “core network node” is any type of node in the core network. Some examples of core network nodes include, for example, Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (SGW), Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (AMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), etc.

[0072] • Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” (or simply “WD”) is any type of device that accesses a cellular communication network (i.e., is served by a cellular communication network) wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Wireless communication may involve transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information through the air. Some examples of wireless devices include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), mobile type communication (MTC) devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. Unless otherwise noted, the term “wireless device” is used interchangeably with the term “user equipment” (or simply “UE”) herein.

[0073] • Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is part of the core network of a cellular communication network (e.g., the core network node discussed above) or part of a radio access network (e.g., the radio access node discussed above or an equivalent name). Functionally, a network node is a device that is capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in the cellular communication network to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device and / or to perform other functions (e.g., management) in the cellular communication network.

[0074] Note that this document focuses on 3GPP cellular communication systems, and thus, 3GPP terminology or similar terms are frequently used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to 3GPP systems. Furthermore, although the term "cell" is used herein, it should be understood that (particularly with respect to 5G NR) a beam can be used instead of a cell, and thus, the concepts described herein apply equally to both cells and beams.

[0075] As briefly mentioned above, transmitting data to multiple spatially separated TRPs can improve the reliability of UL transmissions, which can be important for 5G services such as URLLC. Even so, various issues, challenges, and / or difficulties exist related to using UL CG for UE transmissions to multiple TRPs. These issues, challenges, and / or difficulties are discussed in more detail following the introduction to 5G / NR networks.

[0076] Figure 2A high-level view of a 5G network architecture consisting of a next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 299 and a 5G core (5GC) 298 is shown. The NG-RAN 299 may include a set of gNodeBs (gNBs) connected to the 5GC via one or more NG interfaces, such as gNBs 200 and 250 connected via interfaces 202 and 252, respectively. Furthermore, the gNBs may be connected to each other via one or more Xn interfaces, such as Xn interface 240 between gNBs 200 and 250. Regarding the NR interface to the UE, each of the gNBs may support Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), or a combination thereof.

[0077] NG-RAN 299 is layered into a Radio Network Layer (RNL) and a Transport Network Layer (TNL). The NG-RAN architecture (i.e., NG-RAN logical nodes and the interfaces between them) is defined as part of the RNL. For each NG-RAN interface (NG, Xn, F1), the associated TNL protocols and functionalities are specified. The TNL provides services for user plane transport and signaling transport. In some exemplary configurations, each gNB connects to all 5GC nodes within an “AMF area” defined in 3GPP TS23.501. If security protection for CP and UP data on the TNL of the NG-RAN interface is supported, NDS / IP should be applied.

[0078] Figure 2 The NG RAN logical nodes shown (and described in 3GPP TS 38.301 and 3GPP TR 38.801) include a central (or centralized) unit (CU or gNB-CU) and one or more distributed (or decentralized) units (DU or gNB-DU). For example, gNB 300 includes gNB-CU 210 and gNB-DU 220 and 230. A CU (e.g., gNB-CU 210) is a logical node that hosts higher-layer protocols and performs various gNB functions, such as controlling the operation of the DU. Each DU is a logical node that hosts lower-layer protocols and, depending on the functional partitioning, may include various subsets of gNB functions. Thus, each of the CU and DU may include various circuitry required to perform its respective function, including processing circuitry, transceiver circuitry (e.g., for communication), and power supply circuitry. Furthermore, the terms "central unit" and "centralized unit" are used interchangeably herein, as are the terms "distributed unit" and "decentralized unit".

[0079] gNB-CU communicates through the corresponding F1 logic interface (such as...) Figure 2Interfaces 222 and 232 shown are connected to the gNB-DU. The gNB-CU and the connected gNB-DU are only visible to other gNBs and 5GC (as gNBs). In other words, the F1 interface is not visible outside the gNB-CU.

[0080] Figure 3 A high-level view of an exemplary 5G network architecture is shown, comprising a Next-Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 399 and a 5G Core (5GC) 398. As illustrated, the NG-RAN 399 may include gNBs 310 (e.g., 310a, 310b) and ng-eNBs 320 (e.g., 320a, 320b) interconnected to each other via respective Xn interfaces. The gNBs and ng-eNBs are also connected to the 5GC 398 via NG interfaces, and more specifically, to AMFs (Access and Mobility Management Functions) 330 (e.g., AMFs 330a, 330b) via respective NG-C interfaces, and to UPFs (User Plane Functions) 340 (e.g., UPFs 340a, 340b) via respective NG-U interfaces. In addition, AMF 330a and 330b can communicate with one or more policy control functions (PCF, such as PCF 350a and 350b) and network exposure functions (NEF, such as NEF 360a and 360b).

[0081] Each of the gNB 310 supports an NR radio interface, including Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), or a combination thereof. Conversely, each of the NG-eNB 320 supports an LTE radio interface, but unlike conventional LTE eNBs (such as...),... Figure 1 As shown in the diagram, it connects to the 5GC via the NG interface. Each of the gNB and ng-eNB can serve a geographic coverage area including one or more cells, such as... Figure 3 Cells 311a-311b and 321a-321b are illustrated in the example. As mentioned above, gNBs and ng-eNBs can also use various directional beams to provide coverage in their respective cells. Depending on the specific cell in which the UE 305 is located, the UE 305 can communicate with the gNB or ng-eNB serving that specific cell via either the NR or LTE radio interface.

[0082] Each of the gNBs 310 may include multiple Transmitting Points (TRPs) and / or be associated with multiple Transmitting Points (TRPs). Each TRP is typically an antenna array with one or more antenna elements and is located in a specific geographical location. In this way, a gNB associated with multiple TRPs can transmit the same or different signals from each of the TRPs. For example, a gNB may transmit different versions of the same signal to a single UE on multiple TRPs. As discussed above, each of the TRPs may also employ beaming for transmission and reception toward the UE served by the gNB.

[0083] In multi-TRP operation, the UE receives from (or transmits to) multiple TRPs in the NG-RAN. Prior to NRRel-16, multiple transmissions occurred on a single carrier, making all transmissions associated with a single cell (as opposed to CA utilizing multiple carriers / cells). A significant benefit of multi-TRP operation is reliability, which relates to spatial diversity achieved by using different transmission paths to / from the respective TRPs. More specifically, multi-TRP diversity helps reduce both obstruction (macro diversity) and rapid fading due to the combination of signal reflections at the receiver. The basic principle of the operation is to transmit multiple copies of the same data payload and combine them at the receiver to improve the receiver's ability to recover the data payload. Figure 4 An example of UE (430) combining transmissions from two different TRPs (i.e., TRP1 (410) and TRP2 (420)) is shown. This can also be considered as "instantaneous retransmission".

[0084] In NR, the PDCCH is confined to an area called a Control Resource Set (CORESET). A CORESET comprises multiple Resource Blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain (i.e., multiples of 12 REs) and 1-3 OFDM symbols in the time domain, as further defined in 3GPP TS 38.211 §7.3.2.2. A CORESET is functionally similar to a control area in an LTE subframe. However, in NR, each Resource Element Group (REG) includes all 12 REs of one OFDM symbol in an RB, while an LTE REG includes only four REs. The time-domain size of the CORESET can be configured by RRC parameters. In LTE, the frequency bandwidth of the control area is fixed (i.e., fixed to the total system bandwidth), while in NR, the frequency bandwidth of the CORESET is variable. CORESET resources can be indicated to the UE via RRC signaling.

[0085] Several signals can be transmitted from different antenna ports from the same base station (e.g., gNB) antenna. These signals can have the same large-scale characteristics, such as in parameters including Doppler frequency shift / spread, average delay spread, and / or average delay. These antenna ports are thus referred to as “quasi-co-location” or “QCL”. The network can signal to the UE that two antenna ports are QCL with respect to one or more parameters. Once the UE knows that two antenna ports are QCL with respect to a certain parameter (e.g., Doppler spread), the UE can estimate that parameter based on one antenna port and use that estimate when receiving from the other antenna port. Typically, the first antenna port is represented by a measurement reference signal such as CSI-RS (called the “source RS”), and the second antenna port is DMRS (called the “target RS”).

[0086] For example, if antenna ports A and B have a QCL (Quadrant-Clear) with respect to average delay, then the UE can estimate the average delay based on the signal received from antenna port A (source RS) and assume that the signal received from antenna port B (target RS) has the same average delay. This can be useful for demodulation because the UE can know the characteristics of the channel in advance when attempting to use DMRS to measure the channel.

[0087] The network signals to the UE about what assumptions can be made regarding QCL. In NR, the following four types of QCL relationships are defined between the transmitted source RS and the transmitted destination RS:

[0088] Type A: {Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average time delay, time delay spread}

[0089] Type B: {Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread}

[0090] Type C: {Average time delay, Doppler shift}

[0091] Type D: {Spatial Rx parameter}

[0092] QCL type D was introduced to facilitate beam management using analog beamforming, and it is referred to as "spatial QCL". Currently, there is no strict definition of spatial QCL, but it is understood that if two transmitting antenna ports are spatially QCL, then the UE can use the same Rx beam to receive them. When the QCL relationship is signaled to the UE, it includes not only information about the specific QCL type (e.g., A, B, C, or D), but also the serving cell index, BWP index, and source reference signal identifier (CSI-RS, TRS, or SSB).

[0093] QCL type D is most relevant for beam management, but it is also necessary to communicate the type A QCL RS relationship to the UEs so that they can estimate all relevant large-scale parameters. Typically, this is done by configuring the UE with a tracking reference signal (TRS, such as CSI-RS) for time / frequency offset estimation. For any QCL reference to be usable, the UE must receive it with a sufficiently good signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). In many cases, this constrains the specific TRS to be transmitted for a particular UE in a particular beam and / or beam configuration.

[0094] To introduce dynamism in beam and TRP selection, the UE can configure it via RRC signaling with N Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states, where N ranges from 128 in frequency range 2 (FR2, e.g., above 6 GHz) and up to eight in FR1 (e.g., below 6 GHz), depending on the UE's capabilities. Each configured TCI state includes parameters for QCL association between the source RS (e.g., CSI-RS or SS / PBCH) and the target RS (e.g., PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS antenna port). The TCI states can also be used to convey QCL information for receiving CSI-RS. The N states in the TCI state list can be interpreted as N possible beams transmitted by the network, or N possible TRPs used by the network to communicate with the UE.

[0095] More specifically, each TCI state may contain an ID along with QCL information for one or two source DL RSs, where each source RS is associated with a QCL type, serving cell index, BWP index, and source reference signal identifier (CSI-RS, TRS, or SSB). For example, two distinct CSI-RSs {CSI-RS1, CSI-RS2} can be configured in a TCI state as {qcl-type1, qcl-type2} = {type A, type D}. The UE can interpret this TCI state as meaning that the UE can derive the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread from CSI-RS1, and derive the spatial Rx parameters (e.g., the RX beam to be used) from CSI-RS2. In cases where QCL type D is not applicable (e.g., low-band or mid-band operation), the TCI state contains only a single source RS. However, unless specifically noted, references to a "pair" of source RSs include the case of a single source RS.

[0096] Furthermore, a first list of available TCI states can be configured for PDSCH, and a second list can be configured for PDCCH. This second list can contain pointers (called TCI state IDs) to a subset of the TCI states configured for PDSCH. For a UE operating in FR1, depending on the UE's capabilities, the network then activates one TCI state for PDCCH (i.e., by providing a TCI to the UE) and up to eight TCI states for PDSCH.

[0097] As an example, a UE can be configured with four active TCI states from a list of a total of 64 configured TCI states. Therefore, the other 60 configured TCI states are inactive, and the UE does not need to prepare estimates for the large-scale parameters for those states. Instead, the UE continuously tracks and updates the large-scale parameters for those four active TCI states by performing measurements and analyses on the indicated source RS for each of the four active TCI states. Each DCI used for PDSCH scheduling includes a pointer (or index) to one or two active TCI states for the scheduled UE. Based on this pointer, the UE knows which large-scale parameter estimate to use when performing PDSCH DMRS channel estimation and PDSCH demodulation.

[0098] Different values ​​that can be represented by pointers are called "code points". For example, a three-point pointer field can represent up to eight TCI code points. One or two TCI states can be mapped to each TCI code point. When one TCI state is mapped to a TCI code point, the indicated TCI state will be used for a single TRP transmission. When two TCI states are mapped to TCI code points, the indicated TCI states will be used for multiple TRP transmissions.

[0099] Grouping TCI states can be done via RRC or MAC CE signaling. In one option, TCI state sets are configured for the PDSCH via RRC, and each TCI state set contains one or two TCI states. The MAC CE mechanism in Rel-15 remains unchanged. In another option, TCI states are configured for the PDSCH via RRC, as in Rel-15. Furthermore, TCI states are selected via an enhanced MAC CE indication mechanism, thereby allowing one or two TCI states to be activated for each TCI code point in the DCI (e.g., associated with each TCI code point in the DCI).

[0100] Multi-TRP operations for PDSCH and / or PDCCH have been identified as an area for further enhancement to support more stringent requirements for latency, reliability, and / or robustness of URLLC. For PDCCH, the same DCI is repeated across multiple CORESETs because each CORESET is configured with a separate TCI state. Through this repetition, the UE can perform soft combinations of N PDCCH candidates to improve DCI detection reliability. Multi-TRP URLLC schemes were introduced for PDSCH in NR Rel-16, while PDCCH robustness achieved via multi-TRP URLLC is expected to be addressed in NR Rel-17.

[0101] Furthermore, 3GPP RAN1 agreed to support multiple DCI / multiple TRP transports for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB). Figure 5A An exemplary arrangement of multi-DCI / multi-TRP transport in an NR network is illustrated. In this arrangement, a single PDCCH can schedule two corresponding PDSCHs for the UE (530) independently of two separate TRPs (e.g., TRP1510 and TRP2520). This feature is particularly beneficial when different TRPs are connected via a non-ideal backhaul, in which case instantaneous joint scheduling across TRPs may be impractical or extremely limited due to the large latency in information exchange (e.g., CSI / data / scheduling) between TRPs.

[0102] Furthermore, 3GPP RAN1 also agreed to support single DCI / multiple TRP transmissions. Figure 5B An exemplary arrangement of a single DCI / multiple TRP transmission in an NR network is shown. In this arrangement, a single PDCCH (carrying a single DCI) schedules a single PDSCH, which includes different spatial layers transmitted by two TRPs (510, 520) to the same UE (530) using resources identified in the DCI.

[0103] As briefly mentioned above, reliability can be improved by transmitting multiple copies of the same data block, each associated with a different TRP or different TCI state. The repetition in the DL is described in section 5.1.2 of 3GPP TS 38.214 (v16.0.0), and the relevant parts are repeated below.

[0104] ***This is an excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.214***

[0105] When a PDSCH scheduled by DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 in a PDCCH (with a CRC scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, or CS-RNTI (with NDI=1)) is received, if the UE is configured with a pdsch-AggregationFactor in pdsch-config, the same symbol allocation is applied across consecutive time slots of the pdsch-AggregationFactor. When a PDSCH scheduled by DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 in a PDCCH (with a CRC scrambled by CS-RNTI (with NDI=0)) is received, or when a PDSCH scheduled and activated by DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 is received without a corresponding PDCCH transmission using sps-config, the same symbol allocation is applied in sps-config (if configured) or otherwise across consecutive time slots of the pdsch-AggregationFactor in pdsch-config. The UE can expect that the TB will be repeated within each symbol allocation in each of the consecutive time slots of the pdsch-AggregationFactor, and that the PDSCH is limited to a single transport layer. For a PDSCH scheduled by DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 in the PDCCH (with CRC scrambled by CS-RNTI (with NDI=0)) or a PDSCH scheduled without a corresponding PDCCH transmission using sps-config and activated by DCI format 1_1 or 1_2, the UE is not expected to be configured in sps-config (if configured) for a duration for receiving pdsch-AggregationFactor repetitions, or otherwise configured in pdsch-config for a duration greater than the duration derived from the periodicity P obtained from the corresponding sps-config. The redundancy version to be applied at the nth transmission time of the TB is determined according to Table 5.1.2.1-2, where n = 0, 1, ...

[0106] pdsch-AggregationFactor-1, and for PDSCHs scheduled without corresponding PDSCH transmissions using sps-config and activated by DCI format 1_1 or 1_2, assuming "rv indicated by the DCI scheduling the PDSCH" in Table 5.1.2.1-2 id "It is 0".

[0107] ***End of excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.214***

[0108] Similarly, the repetition in UL is described in section 6.1.2 of 3GPP TS 38.214 (v16.0.0), and the relevant parts are repeated below.

[0109] ***This is an excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.214***

[0110] For PUSCH repetition type A, when transmitting a PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_1 ​​or 0_2 in a PDCCH (with CRC scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, or CS-RNTI (with NDI=1)), the repetition quantity K is determined as follows:

[0111] - If numberofrepetitions exists in the resource allocation table, then the number of repetitions K is equal to numberofrepetitions;

[0112] - If the UE is configured with a pusch-AggregationFactor, then the number of repetitions K is equal to the pusch-AggregationFactor;

[0113] Otherwise, K = 1.

[0114] For PUSCH repetition type A, when K > 1, the same symbol allocation is applied across K consecutive time slots, and the PUSCH is limited to a single transport layer. The UE should repeat TB across K consecutive time slots in each time slot where the same symbol allocation is applied. The redundant version to be applied at the nth transmission time slot of TB is determined according to Table 6.1.2.1-2, where n = 0, 1, ..., K-1.

[0115] ***End of excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.214***

[0116] NR time slots can comprise 14 OFDM symbols for a normal cyclic prefix and 12 symbols for an extended cyclic prefix. As in LTE, an NR resource element (RE) consists of one subcarrier within a time slot, and a resource block (RB) consists of a group of 12 consecutive OFDM subcarriers for a time slot duration (e.g., 14 symbols). Furthermore, like LTE, NR supports time slot-based scheduling, but also includes Type B scheduling (called "micro-slots"). These are shorter than time slots, typically ranging from one symbol to one fewer symbol than a time slot (e.g., 13 or 11), and can begin at any symbol within a time slot. Micro-slots can be used if the transmission duration of a time slot is too long and / or the start of the next time slot (slot alignment) occurs too late.

[0117] Multi-antenna technology can be used to improve various aspects of communication systems (such as 5G / NR networks), including system capacity (e.g., more users per unit area per unit bandwidth), coverage (e.g., a larger area for a given bandwidth and number of users), and increased data rates per user (e.g., within a given bandwidth and area). Directional antennas can also ensure better wireless links when mobile or fixed equipment experiences time-varying channels.

[0118] The availability of multiple antennas at the transmitter and / or receiver can be used in different ways to achieve different objectives. For example, multiple antennas can provide diversity gain against radio channel fading. Multi-antenna transmitters can achieve diversity even without any knowledge of the channel between the transmitter and receiver, provided there is low cross-correlation between the channels of the different transmit antennas.

[0119] In other configurations, multiple antennas at the transmitter and / or receiver can be used to shape or "form" the overall antenna beam in some way (e.g., transmit and / or receive beams, respectively), where the general objective is to improve the received signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and ultimately improve system capacity and / or coverage. This can be accomplished, for example, by maximizing the overall antenna gain in the direction of the target receiver or transmitter or by suppressing specific major interfering signals.

[0120] Under relatively good channel conditions, channel capacity becomes saturated, making further improvements to SINR only offer limited increases in capacity. In such cases, using multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver can create multiple parallel communication "channels" on the radio interface. This can facilitate highly efficient use of available transmit power and available bandwidth, for example, resulting in very high data rates within limited bandwidth (without disproportionate degradation in coverage). These techniques are often referred to as "spatial multiplexing" or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna processing.

[0121] 5G networks are expected to operate in millimeter-wave (mmW) bands, such as 6 GHz and above. Radio signals in these bands suffer from high oxygen absorption, high penetration loss, and a variety of blocking problems. On the other hand, with wavelengths less than a centimeter, it is possible to pack a large number of antenna elements into a single antenna array with a compact form factor. Such arrays can solve many of the problems associated with the mmW band. Therefore, directional transmission and reception via antenna arrays are expected to be used by both the UE and gNB (or TRP) in 5G. However, depending on their respective radio architectures, such devices may be limited to transmitting / receiving simultaneously in a single (or a few) direction.

[0122] Figure 6Four possible resource configurations are shown for transmitting three (3) TB (or PDSCH) repetitions over different TRP and / or TCI states. In each case, the repetition is scheduled by a single PDCCH. Configuration (A) is an exemplary time-based PDSCH repetition where different TCI states 0-2 are used, but different copies of the TB are transmitted in consecutive time slots using a single frequency and a single spatial layer. This configuration is similar to what exists in NR Rel-15, which is configured with the RRC parameter pdsch-AggregationFactor. The corresponding PDSCH repetitions use a predefined sequence of redundant versions (RVs).

[0123] Configuration (B) is similar to (A), except that different replicas are transmitted in consecutive micro-slots within the time slots. This reduces latency compared to (A). Configuration (C) is an exemplary frequency-based PDSCH repeat where different replicas of the TB are transmitted in different frequency regions using different TCI states 0-2 but within the same symbol and through a single spatial layer. Configuration (D) is an exemplary spatial-based PDSCH repeat where two different replicas are transmitted on different spatial layers (e.g., via MIMO) using different TCI states 0-1.

[0124] NR supports two types of pre-configured UL resources, both similar to existing LTE semi-permanent scheduling (SPS) with some enhancements, such as support for transport block (TB) repetition. In Type 1, UL data transmission with configured authorization is based solely on RRC configuration without any L1 signaling. Type 2 is similar to LTE SPS features, with some parameters pre-configured via RRC and some physical layer parameters configured via MAC scheduling. L1 signaling is used for activation / deactivation of Type 2 authorization. For example, NR gNB explicitly activates...

[0125] The resources configured on the PDCCH, and the UE uses MAC control elements to confirm the receipt of activation / deactivation authorization.

[0126] Figures 7A-7B An exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the ConfiguredGrantConfig information element (IE) for NR type-1 and type-2 UL configured authorization RRC configuration is shown. Figures 7A-7BThe IE shown includes an srs-ResourceIndicator field, which points to one of the UL Probe Reference Signal (SRS) resources in the SRS resource configuration provided by the network via RRC signaling. The SRS resource can also be configured with a spatial relationship to a DL RS (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) or another UL SRS resource. In other words, the UE should transmit PUSCH based on the UL-configured authorization, using the same precoder or beamforming weights used for the transmission of the SRS identified by the srs-ResourceIndicator field and the SRS resource configuration.

[0127] As stated in the 3GPP TS 38.214 excerpt above, the same resource configuration is used for all K repetitions of the data transport block (TB), where K also includes the initial transport. Possible values ​​for K are {1, 2, 4, 8}. Figures 7A-7B The parameters repK and repK-RV define the K repetitions to be applied to the transmitted transport block and the redundancy version (RV) mode to be applied to the repetitions, respectively. The nth transmission timing (n = 1, 2, ..., K) of the K repetitions is associated with the (mod(n-1, 4)+1)th value in the configured RV sequence. The initial transmission of the transport block can begin at:

[0128] • If the configured RV sequence is {0, 2, 3, 1}, then it represents the first transmission opportunity with K repetitions.

[0129] • If the configured RV sequence is {0, 3, 0, 3}, then it is any one of the K repeated transmission opportunities associated with RV=0.

[0130] • If the configured RV sequence is {0, 0, 0, 0}, then it is any of the K repeated transmission opportunities except for the last transmission opportunity when K=8.

[0131] For any RV sequence, the repetition should terminate after transmitting K repetitions, or terminate at the last transmission opportunity among the K repetitions within the periodicity (P), or terminate when a UL grant for scheduling the same TB is received within P (whichever condition is met first). It is not expected that the UE will be configured with a transmission duration of K repetitions longer than the duration derived from P.

[0132] For both Type 1 and Type 2 PUSCH transmissions with configured authorization, when the UE is configured with repK > 1, the UE should repeat the TB across repK consecutive time slots with the same symbol allocation in each time slot. If the UE determines that the time slot configuration (as defined in 3GPP TS section 11.1) will instead indicate the symbol allocated for the PUSCH as a DL symbol, then for multi-slot PUSCH transmissions, the transmission on that time slot is omitted.

[0133] For both types, UL periodically via Figures 7A-7B The periodicity field is configured in the table below. Table 2 outlines the periodicity (in symbols) supported by various subcarrier spacings (SCS).

[0134] Table 2.

[0135]

[0136] For type 1 authorized configurations, time resources are configured via RRC signaling:

[0137] • timeDomainAllocation: An index to a table of 16 possible combinations of PUSCH mapping type (type A or type B), the start symbol S of the mapping (S = 0, 2, 4 or 8 OFDM symbols in the time slot), and the length L of the mapping (L = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14 OFDM symbols).

[0138] • timeDomainOffset: The offset of the resource in the time domain with respect to SFN=0.

[0139] For Type 2 configured authorization, the periodicity is configured by the RRC in the same manner as for Type 1, but the slot offset is dynamically indicated by the slot in which the UE receives the active Type 2 configured authorization DCI. In contrast to Type 1, the time domain allocation of the PUSCH is dynamically indicated by the DCI via the time domain resource assignment field (i.e., the slot / length indicator value SLIV) in the same manner as for the scheduled (non-CG) PUSCH.

[0140] After configuring UL authorization for CG type 1, the MAC entity should consider that the Nth sequential UL authorization occurs in a symbol that satisfies the following equation (1):

[0141] [(SFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + (slot number in frame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + symbol number in slot] = (timeDomainOffset × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + S + N × periodicity) modulo (1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot),

[0142] Where S is the start symbol defined by timeDomainAllocation.

[0143] Similarly, after configuring UL authorization for CG type 2, the MAC entity should consider that the Nth sequential UL authorization occurs in a symbol that satisfies the following equation (2):

[0144] [(SFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + (slot number in frame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + symbol number in slot] = [SFN] starttime ×numberOfSlotsPerFrame×numberOfSymbolsPerSlot+slot starttime ×numberOfSymbolsPerSlot+symbol starttime +N×periodicity] modulus(1024×numberOfSlotsPerFrame×numberOfSymbolsPerSlot)

[0145] Among them SFN starttime slot starttime and symbol starttime These are the SFN, time slot, and symbol for the first transmission of PUSCH after (re)initialization with configured UL authorization.

[0146] For example, assuming a subcarrier spacing of 30kHz, in order to configure UL resources on consecutive time slots, the UE must be configured with one of the following:

[0147] • Periodicity = 2 signs, S = 0, L = 2;

[0148] • Periodicity = 7 symbols, S = 0, L = 7; and

[0149] • Periodicity = 14 symbols (i.e., 1 time slot, n = 1), S = 0, L = 14

[0150] Where S is the start symbol, and L is the length of the PUSCH (in symbols) as configured in timeDomainAllocation.

[0151] The configured GrantTimer (CGT) is used to prevent the UL CG from overriding and / or preempting a TB scheduled via dynamic grant (i.e., a new transmission or retransmission), or an initial TB scheduled via another UL CG (i.e., a new transmission). However, there is no explicit HARQ ACK / NACK in Rel-15. Instead, the gNB implicitly indicates ACK by providing a UL grant for the new transmission.

[0152] The expiration indication of the CGT is for the ACK of the HARQ procedure associated with the UL CG. The CGT is (re)started for the associated HARQ procedure during PUSCH transmission based on dynamic granting (i.e., a new transmission or retransmission) or configured granting (i.e., a new transmission). The CGT is stopped when the UE has received a PDCCH indicating activation with configured granting type 2, or upon receiving an implicit ACK for the associated HARQ procedure (i.e., granting for a new transmission).

[0153] In NRRel-15, only the initial transmission of a Transport Block (TB) is allowed to use either type of UL CG. In other words, any HARQ retransmission of a TB must rely on dynamic UL authorization, indicated via the PDCCH addressed to the CS-RNTI. As briefly mentioned above, Autonomous Uplink (AUL) is being developed for NRRel-16. AUL intends to support autonomous HARQ retransmissions using configured authorization. In this arrangement, a new UE timer (called the "CG Retransmission Timer" or simply CGRT) is used to protect the HARQ process, allowing retransmissions to use the same HARQ process for both the transmission and retransmission of UL data Transport Blocks (TBs). The CGRT is... Figures 7A-7B The parameter cg-RetransmissionTimer shown in the diagram is configured to initiate CGRT for a HARQ procedure configured with AUL when using Configurable Data Transfer (CRT), and trigger another Configurable Retransmission when the CGRT expires.

[0154] This functionality helps the UE avoid halting the HARQ process if the gNB misses a UE-initiated HARQ transmission. However, an observed problem is that the UE might only initiate autonomous HARQ retransmissions for a long duration of HARQ, but the gNB might fail to receive the transmission, for example, due to poor radio channel quality or repeated Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) failure in the case of a shared channel. This is undesirable because the data in the TB may no longer be useful, and further retransmission attempts will unnecessarily congest the channel and affect the latency of other packets in the UL buffer.

[0155] The UE may eventually trigger an RLC layer retransmission for an RLC PDU that is undergoing HARQ retransmission. However, the retransmitted RLCPDU will occupy a different HARQ procedure, causing the UE to then maintain two HARQ procedures for the same RLC PDU during transmission, and the gNB's RLC receiver may receive a duplicate RLC PDU. This could create an RLC sequence number loopback problem. Furthermore, the second received RLC PDU may be treated as new data and passed to a higher layer instead of being discarded as a copy.

[0156] Therefore, limiting UE-triggered AUL retransmissions during HARQ procedures is necessary. To address this, the existing CGT is configured to indicate the maximum amount of time the UE must complete the transmission for the HARQ procedure. When the CGT expires, the UE should dump and flush the HARQ buffer used for this HARQ procedure and transmit the new data associated with it. If both the CGT and CGRT are configured for HARQ procedures, the two timers can operate in parallel. In this way, when the CGT is running for a HARQ procedure, the UE can use the CG resources for that procedure to perform HARQ retransmissions. The value used for the CGT should be longer than the value used for the CGRT. Figure 8 An example of the process described above is shown in the figure.

[0157] Multiple active UL CGs can be provided to the UE within its serving cell for the UE's active bandwidth portion (BWP). The availability of multiple CGs can, for example, enhance reliability and reduce latency for critical services. Furthermore, for NR (e.g., NR-U) in unlicensed spectrum, multiple CGs can allow the UE to switch to slot-based transmission after initiating a COT (Channel Occupancy Time) to minimize DMRS and UCI overhead.

[0158] One or more HARQ procedures can exist in the HARQ procedure pool assigned to each CG configuration. Separate CGT timers and CGRT settings also exist for each CG configuration. HARQ procedures can also be shared between CG configurations, which increases flexibility and avoids exhausting the limited HARQ procedure space for the UE.

[0159] A Logical Channel (LCH) can be mapped to multiple Garbage Collection (CG) configurations, allowing the UE to use multiple active CG resources simultaneously to transmit LCH data. If CG resources are used to transmit a Data Transfer (TB), the earliest arriving CG resource (from the set of CG resources mapped to the LCH) can be used to retransmit the TB, which helps reduce latency. However, the CG resource selected for retransmission should have the same size as the CG resource used for the initial transmission to avoid the need for rate matching. Furthermore, the UE should use the same HARQ procedure for both TB transmission and retransmission.

[0160] This should only be initiated when the initial transfer of a TB using the HARQ procedure.

[0161] The CGT for the HARQ process. The value of the CGT is set according to the configuration of the CG resources used for the initial transfer. In parallel, the CGRT should be (re)started for each transfer / retransmission attempt. For example, if the initial TB transfer uses resources in CG configuration 1, the CGRT is started using the timer values ​​included in CG configuration 1. If a TB retransmission is performed using resources in CG configuration 2, the CGRT needs to be restarted using the timer values ​​included in CG configuration 2.

[0162] The HARQ procedure number field in the UL DCI scrambled by CS-RNTI (e.g., formats 0_0 and 0_1) is used to indicate which CG configuration should be activated / deactivated / reactivated and which CG configurations should be released. In the DCI, the NDI in the received HARQ information is 0. Upon receiving an activation / deactivation / reactivation command, the UE sends an acknowledgment MACCE to the gNB, including a bitmap where each bit location corresponds to a specific CG configuration, for example, a bit location corresponding to a CG index.

[0163] Considering the above, using UL CG in a multi-TRP scenario presents several problems, challenges, and / or difficulties. For example, currently, UL CG is assumed for each individual TRP. When configured with multiple TRPs, UE behavior is unclear, e.g., whether and / or how to perform cross-TRP transmissions. Furthermore, the UE lacks the flexibility to modify and / or adjust the multi-TRP configuration. For example, a UE configured to transmit to both TRP1 and TRP2 cannot decide to transmit only to TRP2. Additionally, there is no defined mapping of multiple TB repetitions to specific TRPs. As an example, if the URLLC requires K repetitions, which of the K repetitions are transmitted by available TRPs is undefined. Moreover, there is no defined autonomous retransmission across multiple TRPs.

[0164] Therefore, embodiments of this disclosure provide a novel, flexible, and efficient technique that allows a UE to select from multiple multi-TRP configurations available for transmissions of UL CG. For example, the UE can select a specific multi-TRP configuration based on various factors such as the amount of UL data to be transmitted at the UE (e.g., quantity, rate of arrival, type of service, QoS requirements, etc.), UE energy consumption, UL radio channel conditions, etc. The UE can then transmit (or retransmit) UL data to multiple TRPs based on the selected configuration. By selecting and utilizing multi-TRP configurations in this way, the UE can reduce energy consumption and / or improve data transmission reliability and / or latency.

[0165] The following description of exemplary embodiments is given in the context of NR (including licensed and unlicensed operations, such as NR-U). Even so, NR-U is merely exemplary, and the embodiments are equally applicable to other licensed (e.g., LTE) and unlicensed (e.g., LTE LAA / eLAA / feLAA / MulteFire) operations. Generally, the embodiments are applicable to any UE-triggered transmissions that occur without receiving dynamically assigned resources from a serving network node (e.g., gNB).

[0166] According to a first group of embodiments, the UE is configured with one or more UL CG configurations, which include, contain, and / or are associated with a set of CG resources across multiple TRPs. Each of these UL CG configurations may be referred to as a "multi-TRP configuration" and may include the number of transmissions to each TRP, the TCI state of each TRP, the BWP / SCS of each TRP, etc. For example, CG resources including UL CG configurations may be associated with different TRPs (e.g., TRPi, where i = 1…N). Furthermore, for each time-domain transmission opportunity associated with a UL CG, multiple CG resources may exist in the frequency domain (e.g., time-overlapping resources). According to the various embodiments described below, the UE may use various techniques to determine which CG resource should be selected for each transmission opportunity.

[0167] In some embodiments, the UE can select CG resources for UL transmission associated with the highest quality DL radio channel from the TRP to the UE. The quality of the DL radio channel can be measured by the UE in various metrics, such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Received Signal Strength (RSSI), Signal-to-Interference Plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR), channel occupancy, Listen-After-Talk (LBT) failure, and Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) failure (e.g., counts or success / failure ratio).

[0168] In other embodiments, the UE may select a CG resource for UL transmission associated with the highest quality UL radio channel from the UE to the TRP. The UL radio connection quality can be measured by the UE in various metrics, including any of the following:

[0169] • UL delay, such as UP or CP delay in RAN, UE UP buffer queuing delay, etc.

[0170] • For example, UL retransmission ratio for HARQ or RLC.

[0171] • UL packet loss ratio, transmission reliability performance indicator, etc.

[0172] • UL LBT / CCA failure statistics measured by UE.

[0173] • UL RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, SIR, etc., measured by gNB and provided to UE.

[0174] In other embodiments, the UE may select CG resources for UL transmission that provide the highest UL bit rate and / or the shortest PUSCH transmission duration (e.g., the highest capacity modulation and coding scheme MCS). In other embodiments, the UE may select CG resources for UL transmission that provide the highest transmission reliability (e.g., the most reliable MCS).

[0175] In some embodiments, the network (e.g., gNB) can configure each UE to use one or more of the above selection criteria via dedicated RRC signaling, MAC CE, or DCI. In other embodiments, the network can broadcast system information (SI) indicating which of the selection criteria should be used by the UE in the cell.

[0176] In some embodiments, Figures 7A-7B The exemplary ASN.1 data structure of the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE shown can be enhanced by including additional parameters that facilitate the mapping between TB repetition and TRP. Figure 9 An exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE according to these embodiments is shown. Specifically, Figure 9 The data structure shown provides access to Figure 7A The data structure shown in the image is partially enhanced and can be combined with... Figure 7B The data structures shown are used together. These enhancements are indicated by dashed boxes.

[0177] Figure 9 The enhancements shown include number_of_TRPs_in_this_configuration (abbreviated as N). TRP ) and parameter repK_ro_TRPi, where i = 1…N TRP Each of these terms can take a value of {1, 2, 4, 8} similar to repK discussed above, and indicates the number of TB repetitions mapped to TRPi.

[0178] According to the second group of embodiments, the UE is configured with one or more UL CG configurations, which include, contain, and / or are associated with a set of CG resources across multiple TRPs. Each of these UL CG configurations may be referred to as a "multi-TRP configuration". For example, the CG resources including the UL CG configuration may be associated with different TRPs (e.g., TRPi, where i = 1…N). Furthermore, for each time-domain transmission opportunity associated with the UL CG, multiple CG resources may exist in the frequency domain (e.g., resources that overlap in time). According to the various embodiments described below, the UE may use various techniques to select the CG resources to be used for retransmission of the TB (e.g., toward another TRP different from the TRP used for the initial transmission).

[0179] In some embodiments, if a self-retransmission is triggered when the timer expires, and the UE has not yet received explicit or implicit positive HARQ feedback from the gNB, the UE can choose the same UL CG configuration for retransmission as used for the initial transmission (e.g., transmitted to the same TRP) or a different UL CG configuration. In some embodiments, the network can configure (e.g., via RRC signaling) whether the UE should use the same or a different UL CG configuration in this scenario.

[0180] In some embodiments, the UL CG configuration may include an indication of whether TB repetition is allowed and / or the number of repetitions allowed (e.g., in the IE field). For example, the UE may base its selection of the UL CG configuration on this indication and the level of reliability required for a particular TB.

[0181] In some embodiments, the UE may use different frequency resources that overlap in time (e.g., at the same transmission timing) to perform multiple retransmissions or repetitions of the TB. By performing multiple retransmissions simultaneously, the latency of receiving HARQ A / N from the gNB can be reduced compared to transmitting them sequentially (e.g., without intermediate responses).

[0182] In some embodiments, the UE may apply any of the same criteria discussed above (e.g., regarding the first group) to select CG resources for retransmission or duplication of the TB. For example, the UE is configured with first and second UL CG configurations, and selects CG resources in the first UL CG configuration for initial transmission according to the criteria described above. Subsequently, the UE may select different CG resources in the second UL CG configuration for retransmission or duplication of the same TB.

[0183] In some embodiments, the UE is configured with multiple UL CG configurations, each of which includes a set of periodic CG resources associated with one of a plurality of TRPs. Using the above example of two UL CG configurations and two TRPs, a first UL CG configuration may include periodic CG resources associated with a first TRP, and a second UL CG configuration may include periodic CG resources associated with a second TRP. Thus, the UE can select CG resources from the first UL CG configuration for initial transmission toward the first TRP, and select different CG resources from the second UL CG configuration for retransmission or repetition of the same TB toward the second TRP.

[0184] In some embodiments, multiple PUSCH repetitions can be transmitted to multiple TRPs at the same time or at different (i.e., non-overlapping) times. The PUSCH can be associated with dynamic UL licensing via DCI or with UL CG. Thus, these transmissions (repetitions) through multiple TRPs can belong to the same HARQ process or to different HARQ processes or sub-HARQ processes. Note that for a single HARQ process, repetitions associated with different TRPs can be considered separate sub-HARQ processes, and the gNB combines the transmissions of these sub-HARQ processes to derive a single transmission for the HARQ process.

[0185] In some embodiments, for a CG not associated with the DCI, PUSCH repetition toward multiple TRPs may be associated with a single CG or different CGs (e.g., each TRP is associated with a separate CG). In some embodiments, PUSCH repetition toward multiple TRPs may be time-aligned or unaligned. To align transmissions or repetitions, the gNB or UE may trigger a process in an aperiodic or periodic manner to align or synchronize the secondary TRPs with respect to the primary TRP.

[0186] In some embodiments, UL CG transmission toward multiple TRPs can be activated via a DCI from a single TRP. This DCI can provide the necessary information for CG allocation on multiple TRPs associated with a single CG or different CGs (e.g., each TRP is associated with a separate CG). In other embodiments, UL CG transmission toward multiple TRPs can be activated via multiple DCIs, where each DCI is associated with a different UL CG and each UL CG is associated with a different TRP.

[0187] As an illustrative example, the UE is configured with two different multi-TRP UL CG configurations (e.g., for TRP 1 and 2), both of which include K = 4 TB repeats. Configuration 1 (C1) includes four TB repeats to TRP1 and zero repeats to TRP2, while C2 includes two repeats to TRP1 and two repeats to TRP2. Data used for UL transmission may arrive at the UE at different times relative to the UL transmission timing available to the UE (e.g., provided by the user or application).

[0188] Figures 10A-10B The selection of UL CG configuration based on UL data arrival time relative to transmission timing is shown. Specifically, Figure 10A This illustrates the scenario where data 1 arrives before the four transmission opportunities available to the UE (1030). In this case, the UE selects C1 and transmits four repetitions to TRP1 (1010) during the corresponding transmission opportunities. Conversely, Figure 10B The diagram illustrates a scenario where data 2 arrives near the end of the second available transmission opportunity, leaving the UE with only two transmission opportunities remaining. In this case, the UE selects C2, and for a total of K = 4 repetitions, transmits one repetition to each of TRP1 (1010) and TRP2 (1020) during each of the two remaining transmission opportunities.

[0189] In the context of the example above, if only one repetition is configured (i.e., K=1), the UE can choose to include repetitions for better radio channel quality towards the UE.

[0190] The UL CG configuration of the CG resources for TRP (e.g., 1 or 2). This can be determined based on any of the metrics discussed above.

[0191] In some embodiments, the selection and configuration of which TRPs will be used may depend on the corresponding load of the TRPs and / or the interference created by transmissions toward the respective TRPs. In such cases, the selection of TRPs may be based on the geographical distribution of UEs within the cell.

[0192] Although the above description focuses on UL transfers using UL CG, the same principles can be applied to DL transfers based on semi-permanent scheduling (SPS). Furthermore, the same principles can be applied to dynamic UL licensing that includes repetitive processes.

[0193] Carrier aggregation (CA) was introduced in LTE Rel-10 to facilitate support for bandwidths greater than 20MHz while maintaining backward compatibility with LTE Rel-8. In CA, a wideband LTE carrier (e.g., wider than 20MHz) appears to the UE as multiple carriers (also known as “component carriers” or “CCs”). Each CC can also be referred to as a “cell,” and the complete set of CCs for the UE can be considered a “cell group.” In CA operation, the UE is always assigned a primary cell (PCell, serving cell) and may optionally be assigned one or more secondary cells (SCells). CA is also used in 5G / NR.

[0194] Although the above description focuses on UL transmissions to multiple TRPs, the same principle can be applied to choosing between configurations associated with UL transmissions to multiple cells or to multiple CCs deployed in a CA. In other words, the UE can select a multi-cell or multi-carrier configuration based on the same or different criteria, rather than selecting a multi-TRP configuration based on various criteria.

[0195] In some embodiments, different UEs may have different capabilities for selecting from configured ULCGs based on the principles described above. UEs may signal these capabilities to the network, which can then take them into account when providing ULCGs to such UEs.

[0196] refer to Figures 11-12 The embodiments described above are further illustrated. Figures 11-12 Exemplary methods for both the UE and the network node are described separately. In other words, refer to the following... Figures 11-12 The various features of the described operations correspond to the various embodiments described above. Furthermore, Figures 11-12 The exemplary methods shown can also be used in conjunction to provide the various benefits, advantages, and / or solutions described herein. Although Figures 11-12 Specific boxes are shown in a particular order, but the operations of the corresponding methods may be performed in a different order than shown, and may be combined and / or divided into boxes with different functionalities than those shown. Optional boxes or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

[0197] More specifically, Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method (e.g., process) for UL transmission of data to multiple TRPs in a wireless network according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 11 The exemplary methods shown can be implemented by a UE (e.g., a wireless device, an IoT device, etc.) such as those described herein with reference to other accompanying drawings.

[0198] An exemplary method may include the operation of block 1110, wherein the UE may receive configurations from a wireless network for a plurality of configured authorizations (UL CGs) for resources used for UL transmission. At least one of the UL CG configurations may include resources for transmission to a plurality of TRPs. An exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1150, wherein the UE may select one or more of the UL CG configurations for transmission of data available at the UE based on the characteristics of the data and / or the characteristics of the radio channel between the UE and the respective TRP. An exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1160, wherein the UE may transmit data to one or more of the plurality of TRPs on resources of the selected one or more UL CG configurations.

[0199] In some embodiments, characteristics associated with the radio channel include radio channel quality. In such embodiments, the exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1120 or block 1130. In block 1120, the UE may determine the corresponding radio channel quality between the UE and the corresponding TRP based on one or more of the following metrics: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Interference Plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR), Received Signal Strength (RSSI), Retransmission Ratio, Packet Loss Ratio, Channel Occupancy, Talk-After-Listen (LBT) Failure, and Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) Failure. Alternatively, in block 1130, the UE may receive an indication of the corresponding radio channel quality from the radio network. The received indication may be for any of the metrics used in block 1120, or for different metrics.

[0200] In some embodiments, characteristics associated with a radio channel may include latency characteristics. In some embodiments, characteristics associated with data may include quantity, rate of arrival, time of arrival, type of service, latency requirements, and reliability requirements.

[0201] In some embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities. In such embodiments, the selection operation of block 1150 may include the operation of sub-block 1151, wherein the UE may select a UL CG configuration based on the arrival time of data relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the respective UL CG configuration. Figures 10A-10B Two examples of these embodiments are shown.

[0202] In some embodiments, the resources of the UL CG may be associated with a corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS). In such embodiments, the selection operation of block 1150 may include the operation of sub-block 1152, wherein the UE can select a UL CG configuration that includes resources associated with one of the following: the highest capacity MCS or the most reliable MCS.

[0203] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs). In such embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies a specific number of TRPs and a corresponding number of repetitions of TBs to be transmitted to the corresponding TRPs within that specific number of TRPs. Figure 9 An example of such an embodiment is shown, namely, the configuredGrantConfig IE which includes such information.

[0204] In some of these embodiments, the one or more repetitions are a single repetition, i.e., a single repetition is transmitted in block 1160. In such embodiments, the selection operation of block 1150 may include the operation of sub-block 1153, wherein the UE can select a UL CG configuration, the UL CG configuration including resources associated with a TRP having the best radio channel quality toward the UE. In such embodiments, the transmission operation of block 1160 may include the operation of sub-block 1161, wherein the UE may transmit a single repetition of TB to a TRP having the best radio channel quality toward the UE.

[0205] In other embodiments of these examples, the one or more repetitions may include multiple repetitions. In such embodiments, first and second UL CG configurations are selected (e.g., in block 1150), and the transmission operation of block 1160 may include the operation of sub-blocks 1162-1163. In sub-block 1162, the UE may transmit a first portion of multiple repetitions on resources of the first UL CG configuration. In sub-block 1163, the UE may transmit a second portion of multiple repetitions on resources of the second UL CG configuration.

[0206] In other embodiments of these examples, the plurality of UL CG configurations may include a first UL CG configuration and a second UL CG configuration, wherein the first UL CG configuration identifies a first TRP to which all repetitions of the TB are transmitted, and the second UL CG configuration identifies the first TRP and a first number of repetitions, and a second TRP and a second number of repetitions. In such embodiments, the transmission operation of block 1160 includes the operation of sub-blocks 1164 or 1165. In sub-block 1164, when the first UL CG configuration is selected (e.g., in block 1150), the UE transmits the corresponding repetition of the TB to the first TRP in the corresponding transmission opportunity. In sub-block 1165, when the second UL CG configuration is selected (e.g., in block 1150), the UE transmits at least one of the first number of repetitions to the first TRP in one or more transmission opportunities, while simultaneously transmitting at least one of the second number of repetitions to the second TRP.

[0207] As a more detailed example of such an embodiment, one of the following first conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: transmitting a single repetition of a first quantity to a first TRP; or transmitting a plurality of first quantities to the first TRP in the respective plurality of frequency regions. Furthermore, one of the following second conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: transmitting a single repetition of a second quantity to a second TRP; or transmitting a plurality of second quantities to the second TRP in the respective plurality of frequency regions.

[0208] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs) associated with the HARQ procedure. In such embodiments, first and second UL CG configurations are selected, and the transmission operation of block 1160 may include the operations of sub-blocks 1166-1167. In sub-block 1166, the UE may transmit the initial transmission of a TB on the resources of the first UL CG configuration. In sub-block 1167, the UE may transmit at least one retransmission of a TB on the resources of the second UL CG configuration.

[0209] In some of these embodiments, the resources configured by the first UL CG are associated with a first TRP, and the resources configured by the second UL CG are associated with a second TRP. In this way, the initial transmission (e.g., in subframe 1166) and at least one retransmission (e.g., in subframe 1167) will be transmitted to different TRPs.

[0210] In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1140, wherein the UE can receive from the wireless network an indication that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process. In such embodiments, the selection of a second UL CG configuration (e.g., in block 1150) may be based on this indication.

[0211] also, Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method (e.g., process) for receiving UL transmissions of data via multiple TRPs in a wireless network according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 12 The exemplary method shown can be implemented by network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, etc., or components thereof) that communicate with the UE via multiple TRPs in a wireless network (e.g., E-UTRAN, NG-RAN), such as those described herein with reference to other accompanying figures.

[0212] An exemplary method may include the operation of block 1210, wherein a network node may transmit to the UE a configuration of multiple configured authorizations (UL CGs) for resources used for UL transmission. At least one of the UL CG configurations may include resources for UE transmission to multiple TRPs. The exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1250, wherein a network node may receive UL data from the UE via one or more of the multiple TRPs on resources of one or more of the UL CG configurations selected by the UE, for example, in any of the manner described above.

[0213] In some embodiments, the exemplary method may further include the operations of blocks 1220-1230. In block 1220, the network node may determine the corresponding radio channel quality between the UE and the corresponding TRP based on one or more of the following metrics: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Interference Plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR), Received Signal Strength (RSSI), Retransmission Ratio, Packet Loss Ratio, Channel Occupancy, Talk-After-Listen (LBT) Failure, and Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) Failure. In block 1230, the network node may send an indication of the determined radio channel quality to the UE.

[0214] In some embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities. In such embodiments, the UL CG selected by the UE (e.g., with respect to data received in block 1250) is related to the arrival time of the data at the UE relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the corresponding UL CG configuration. Figures 10A-10B Two examples of these embodiments are shown.

[0215] In some embodiments, the resources of a UL CG may be associated with a corresponding MCS. In such embodiments, the UL CG selected by the UE (e.g., based on data received in box 1250) includes resources associated with one of the following: the highest capacity MCS or the most reliable MCS.

[0216] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs). In such embodiments, each UL CG configuration identifies a specific number of TRPs and a corresponding number of repetitions of TBs to be transmitted by the UE to the corresponding TRPs within that specific number of TRPs. Figure 9 An example of such an embodiment is shown, namely, the configuredGrantConfig IE which includes such information.

[0217] In some of these embodiments, the one or more repetitions are a single repetition. In such embodiments, the reception operation of block 1250 may include the operation of sub-block 1251, wherein the network node may receive a single repetition of TB via a TRP having the best radio channel quality toward the UE (e.g., a TRP selected by the UE).

[0218] In other embodiments of these embodiments, the one or more repetitions include multiple repetitions. In such embodiments, the receiving operation of block 1250 may include the operation of sub-blocks 1152-1153, wherein the network node may receive a first portion of multiple repetitions on resources configured with a first ULCG and a second portion of multiple repetitions on resources configured with a second ULCG.

[0219] In other embodiments of these examples, the plurality of UL CG configurations may include a first UL CG configuration and a second UL CG configuration, wherein the first UL CG configuration identifies a first TRP to which all repetitions are transmitted, and the second UL CG configuration identifies the first TRP and a first number of repetitions, and a second TRP and a second number of repetitions. In such embodiments, the receiving operation of block 1250 includes the operation of sub-blocks 1254 or 1255. In sub-block 1254, when the first UL CG configuration is selected, the network node may receive a corresponding repetition of TB via the first TRP in a corresponding transmission opportunity. In sub-block 1255, when the second UL CG configuration is selected, the network node may receive at least one of the first number of repetitions via the first TRP in one or more transmission opportunities, while simultaneously receiving at least one of the second number of repetitions via the second TRP.

[0220] As a more detailed example of such an embodiment, one of the following first conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: receiving a first number of single repetitions via a first TRP; or receiving multiple first numbers via a first TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions. Furthermore, one of the following second conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: receiving a second number of single repetitions via a second TRP; or receiving multiple second numbers via a second TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions.

[0221] In some embodiments, the data includes transport blocks (TBs) associated with a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) process. In such embodiments, the receive operation of block 1250 may include one or more of the operations of sub-blocks 1256-1257. In sub-block 1256, the network node may receive an initial transmission of the TB on resources configured with a first UL CG. In sub-block 1257, the network node may receive at least one retransmission of the TB on resources configured with a second UL CG. For example, the initial transmission may or may not be received (e.g., due to dominant channel conditions), but any reception will occur on resources configured with the first UL CG. Similarly, retransmissions (one or more) may or may not be received (e.g., due to dominant channel conditions), but any reception will occur on resources configured with the second UL CG.

[0222] In some of these embodiments, the resources configured by the first UL CG are associated with a first TRP, and the resources configured by the second UL CG are associated with a second TRP. In this way, the initial transmission and at least one retransmission can be received via different TRPs (e.g., in subframes 1256-1257).

[0223] In some embodiments, the exemplary method may further include the operation of block 1240, wherein the network node may transmit to the UE an indication that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process. In such embodiments, reception on resources with a second UL CG configuration in sub-block 1257 may be based on this indication.

[0224] Although various embodiments have been described above in relation to methods, apparatuses, devices, computer-readable media, and receivers, those skilled in the art will readily understand that such methods can be embodied in various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, etc.

[0225] Figure 13 A block diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless device or user equipment (UE) configurable according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure (including by executing instructions on a computer-readable medium corresponding to or including any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described above). For simplicity, in the following description, the exemplary wireless device or UE will be referred to as "device 1300".

[0226] Exemplary device 1300 may include processor 1310, which may be operatively connected to program memory 1320 and / or data memory 1330 via bus 1370, which may include a parallel address and data bus, a serial port, or other methods and / or structures known to those skilled in the art. Program memory 1320 may store software code, programs, and / or instructions (in...) that are executed by processor 1310. Figure 13 The instructions are collectively shown as computer program product 1321, which can configure and / or facilitate device 1300 to perform various operations, including those described below. For example, the execution of such instructions can configure and / or facilitate exemplary device 1300 to communicate using one or more wired or wireless communication protocols, including one or more wireless communication protocols standardized by 3GPP, 3GPP2, or IEEE, such as those commonly referred to as 5G / NR, NR-U, LTE, LTE-A, LTE LAA / eLAA / feLAA, UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 1xRTT, CDMA2000, 802.11 WiFi, HDMI, USB, Firewire, etc., or any other current or future protocols that can be utilized in conjunction with radio transceiver 1340, user interface 1350, and / or host interface 1360.

[0227] As another example, processor 1310 can execute program code stored in program memory 1320, which corresponds to the MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP (e.g., for NR and / or LTE). As a further example, processor 1310 can execute program code stored in program memory 1320, which, together with radio transceiver 1340, implements corresponding PHY layer protocols, such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA).

[0228] Program memory 1320 may also include software code executed by processor 1310 to control the functions of device 1300, including configuring and controlling various components such as radio transceiver 1340, user interface 1350, and / or host interface 1360. Program memory 1320 may also include one or more application programs and / or modules comprising computer-executable instructions embodying any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein. Such software code may be specified or written using any known or future-developed programming language (e.g., Java, C++, C, Objective C, HTML, XHTML, machine code, and assembly language) as long as the desired functionality, for example, as defined by the implemented method steps, is preserved. Furthermore, or alternatively, program memory 1320 may include an external storage arrangement (not shown) remote from device 1300 from which instructions may be downloaded to program memory 1320 located within or removably coupled to device 1300 to enable the execution of such instructions.

[0229] Data memory 1330 may include a memory region for processor 1310 for storing variables used in the protocols, configurations, controls, and other functions of device 1300, including operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein, or operations including any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein. Furthermore, program memory 1320 and / or data memory 1330 may include non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), or combinations thereof. Additionally, data memory 1330 may include memory slots through which removable memory cards (e.g., SD cards, memory sticks, compact flash memory, etc.) in one or more formats can be inserted and removed. Those skilled in the art will recognize that processor 1310 may include multiple individual processors (including, for example, multi-core processors), each implementing a portion of the functionality described above. In such cases, multiple individual processors may be jointly connected to program memory 1320 and data memory 1330, or individually connected to multiple individual program memories and / or data memories. More generally, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various protocols and other functions of device 1300 can be implemented in many different computer arrangements, including but not limited to different combinations of hardware and software, such as application processors, signal processors, general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, fixed and / or programmable digital circuits, analog baseband circuits, radio frequency circuits, software, firmware, and middleware.

[0230] Radio transceiver 1340 may include radio frequency transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that facilitates communication between means 1300 and other devices supporting wireless communication standards and / or protocols. In some exemplary embodiments, radio transceiver 1340 includes transmitters and receivers that enable means 1300 to communicate with various 5G / NR networks according to various protocols and / or methods proposed for standardization by 3GPP and / or other standards bodies. For example, such functionality may cooperate with processor 1310 to implement a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technologies, as described herein with reference to other figures.

[0231] In some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver 1340 includes an LTE transmitter and receiver, which facilitates communication of the device 1300 with various LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), and / or NR networks according to standards published by 3GPP. In some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver 1340 includes circuitry, firmware, etc., necessary for the device 1300 to communicate with various 5G / NR, LTE, LTE-A, UMTS, and / or GSM / EDGE networks, also according to 3GPP standards. In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, the radio transceiver 1340 includes circuitry, firmware, etc., necessary for the device 1300 to communicate with various CDMA2000 networks according to 3GPP2 standards.

[0232] In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, the radio transceiver 1340 is capable of communicating using radio technologies operating in unlicensed frequency bands, such as IEEE 802.11 WiFi operating at frequencies in the 2.4, 5.6, and / or 60 GHz regions. In some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver 1340 may include circuitry, firmware, etc., necessary for the device 1300 to communicate using cellular protocols in unlicensed or shared spectrum (e.g., via NR-U, LTE LAA / eLAA / feLAA, MulteFire, etc.).

[0233] In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, the radio transceiver 1340 may include a transceiver capable of wired communication (e.g., using IEEE 802.3 Ethernet technology).

[0234] The functionality of the radio transceiver 1340, specific to each of these embodiments, may be coupled to and / or controlled by other circuitry in the device 1300, such as a processor 1310 that executes program code stored in the program memory 1320, which is associated with or supported by the data memory 1330.

[0235] User interface 1350 may take various forms depending on a specific embodiment of device 1300, or may be entirely absent from device 1300. In some exemplary embodiments, user interface 1350 may include a microphone, speaker, slide button, pressable button, display, touchscreen display, mechanical or virtual keypad, mechanical or virtual keyboard, and / or any other user interface features commonly found on mobile phones. In other embodiments, device 1300 may include a tablet computing device including a large touchscreen display. In such embodiments, one or more of the mechanical features of user interface 1350 may be replaced by equivalent or functionally equivalent virtual user interface features (e.g., virtual keypad, virtual buttons, etc.) implemented using a touchscreen display, as is well known to those skilled in the art. In other embodiments, device 1300 may be a digital computing device (such as a laptop computer, desktop computer, workstation, etc.) including a mechanical keyboard that may be integrated, detached, or removable depending on a particular exemplary embodiment. Such digital computing devices may also include a touchscreen display. Many exemplary embodiments of the device 1300 with a touchscreen display are capable of receiving user input, such as input related to the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein or otherwise known to those skilled in the art.

[0236] In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, device 1300 may include an orientation sensor, which may be used in various ways by the features and functions of device 1300. For example, device 1300 may use the output of the orientation sensor to determine when a user changes the physical orientation of the touchscreen display of device 1300. An indication signal from the orientation sensor may be used by any application executing on device 1300 such that when the indication signal indicates an approximate 90-degree change in the physical orientation of the device, the application may automatically change the orientation of the screen display (e.g., from portrait to landscape). In this exemplary manner, the application may maintain the screen display in a user-readable manner regardless of the physical orientation of the device. Furthermore, the output of the orientation sensor may be used in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0237] The control interface 1360 of device 1300 may take various forms depending on a particular exemplary embodiment of device 1300 and a particular exemplary embodiment of the specific interface requirements of other devices (with which device 1300 intends to communicate and / or control). For example, control interface 1360 may include an RS-232 interface, an RS-485 interface, a USB interface, an HDMI interface, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE (“Firewire”) interface, etc. 2Interface C, PCMCIA interface, etc. In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, control interface 1360 may include an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interface, as described above. In some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, control interface 1360 may include analog interface circuitry, including, for example, one or more digital-to-analog (D / A) and / or analog-to-digital (A / D) converters.

[0238] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above list of features, interfaces, and radio frequency communication standards is merely exemplary and not limited to the scope of this disclosure. In other words, device 1300 may include more than Figure 13 The functionalities shown include, for example, video and / or still image cameras, microphones, media players, and / or recorders. Furthermore, the radio transceiver 1340 may include circuitry necessary for communication using additional radio frequency communication standards, including Bluetooth, GPS, and / or other radio frequency communication standards. Additionally, the processor 1310 may execute software code stored in program memory 1320 to control such additional functionalities. For example, directional velocity and / or position estimates output from a GPS receiver may be available to any application executing on device 1300, including various exemplary methods and / or computer-readable media according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0239] Figure 14 A block diagram of an exemplary network node 1400 configurable according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, including those described above with reference to other figures. In some exemplary embodiments, network node 1400 may include a base station, eNB, gNB, or components thereof. Network node 1400 includes a processor 1410 operatively connected via a bus 1470 to program memory 1420 and data memory 1430, the bus 1470 including a parallel address and data bus, a serial port, or other methods and / or structures known to those skilled in the art.

[0240] Program memory 1420 can store software code, programs, and / or instructions (in) executed by processor 1410. Figure 14The instructions stored herein (collectively illustrated as computer program product 1421) can configure and / or facilitate network node 1400 to perform various operations including those described below. For example, executing such stored instructions can configure network node 1400 to communicate with one or more other devices using protocols according to various embodiments of this disclosure (including one or more exemplary methods and / or processes discussed above). Furthermore, executing such stored instructions can also configure and / or facilitate network node 1400 to communicate with one or more other devices using other protocols or protocol layers, such as one or more of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for NR, NR-U, LTE, LTE-A, LTE LAA / eLAA / feLAA, or any other higher-layer protocols utilized in combination with radio network interface 1440 and core network interface 1450. By way of example and without limitation, core network interface 1450 may include an S1 interface, and radio network interface 1450 may include a Uu interface, as standardized by 3GPP. The program memory 1420 may also include software code executed by the processor 1410 to control the functions of the network node 1400, including configuring and controlling various components such as the radio network interface 1440 and the core network interface 1450.

[0241] Data memory 1430 may include a memory region for processor 1410 for storing variables used in the protocols, configurations, control, and other functions of network node 1400. Thus, program memory 1420 and data memory 1430 may include non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, hard disk, etc.), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), network-based (e.g., “cloud”) storage devices, or combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art will recognize that processor 1410 may include multiple individual processors (not shown), each implementing a portion of the functionality described above. In such cases, multiple individual processors may be connected together to program memory 1420 and data memory 1430, or individually to multiple separate program and / or data memories. More generally, those skilled in the art will recognize that other functions and various protocols of network node 1400 may be implemented in many different combinations of hardware and software, including but not limited to application processors, signal processors, general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, fixed digital circuits, programmable digital circuits, analog baseband circuits, radio frequency circuits, software, firmware, and middleware.

[0242] Radio network interface 1440 may include transmitters, receivers, signal processors, ASICs, antennas, beamforming units, and other circuitry enabling network node 1400 to communicate with other devices, such as, in some embodiments, multiple compatible user equipment (UEs). In some exemplary embodiments, radio network interface 1440 may include various protocols or protocol layers, such as the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for NR, NR-U, LTE, LTE-A, and / or LTE LAA / eLAA / feLAA; improvements thereof, such as those described above; or any other higher-layer protocols utilized by radio network interface 1440. According to further exemplary embodiments, radio network interface 1440 may include a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technologies. In some embodiments, the functionality of such a PHY layer may be provided collaboratively by radio network interface 1440 and processor 1410, possibly in conjunction with program code in memory 1420 or computer program product 1421.

[0243] The core network interface 1450 may include transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry enabling the network node 1400 to communicate with other devices in the core network, such as, in some embodiments, a circuit-switched (CS) and / or packet-switched (PS) core network. In some embodiments, the core network interface 1450 may include an S1 interface standardized by 3GPP. In some exemplary embodiments, the core network interface 1450 may include one or more interfaces to one or more SGW, MME, SGSN, GGSN, and other physical devices, including functionality found in GERAN, UTRAN, E-UTRAN, and CDMA2000 core networks known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, these one or more interfaces may be multiplexed together on a single physical interface. In some embodiments, the lower layers of the core network interface 1450 may include one or more of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Internet Protocol over Ethernet (IP), SDH over fiber, T1 / E1 / PDH over copper, microwave radio, Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB), or other wired or wireless transmission technologies known to those skilled in the art.

[0244] The OA&M interface 1460 may include a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuitry enabling the network node 1400 to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for the purposes of operation, management, and maintenance of the network node 1400 or other network devices operatively connected to it. The lower layers of the OA&M interface 1460 may include one or more of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Internet Protocol over Ethernet (IP), SDH over fiber optics, T1 / E1 / PDH over copper, microwave radio, or other wired or wireless transmission technologies known to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one or more of the radio network interface 1440, core network interface 1450, and OA&M interface 1460 may be multiplexed together on a single physical interface, as in the examples listed above.

[0245] Figure 15 This is a block diagram of an exemplary communication network configured to provide over-the-top (OTT) data services between a host computer and a user equipment (UE) according to one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. The UE 1510 can communicate with a radio access network (RAN) 1530 via a radio interface 1520, which can be based on protocols described above, including, for example, LTE, LTE-A, and 5G / NR. For example, the UE 1510 can be configured and / or arranged as shown in the other figures discussed above. The RAN 1530 can include one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, controllers, etc.) operable in licensed spectrum bands, and one or more network nodes operable in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., using LAA or NR-U technologies), such as the 2.4-GHz band and / or the 5-GHz band. In such cases, the network nodes including the RAN 1530 can operate cooperatively using both licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

[0246] RAN 1530 can further communicate with core network 1540 according to the various protocols and interfaces described above. For example, one or more devices including RAN 1530 (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, etc.) can communicate with core network 1540 via core network interface 1550 described above. In some exemplary embodiments, RAN 1530 and core network 1540 can be configured and / or arranged as shown in the other figures discussed above. For example, an eNB including E-UTRAN 1530 can communicate with EPC core network 1540 via S1 interface, such as... Figure 1 As shown in the diagram. As another example, a gNB including the NRRAN1530 can communicate with the 5GC core network 1530 via the NG interface, such as... Figures 3-4 As shown in the image.

[0247] The core network 1540 can further interface with external packet data networks (in accordance with various protocols and interfaces known to those skilled in the art). Figure 15 The interface shown is the Internet 1550. Many other devices and / or networks, such as the exemplary host computer 1560, can also connect to and communicate via the Internet 1550. In some exemplary embodiments, the host computer 1560 may use the Internet 1550, core network 1540, and RAN 1530 as intermediaries to communicate with the UE 1510. The host computer 1560 may be a server (e.g., an application server) owned and / or controlled by a service provider. The host computer 1560 may be operated by an OTT service provider or by another entity representing the service provider.

[0248] For example, host computer 1560 may use the facilities of core network 1540 and RAN 1530 to provide over-the-top (OTT) packet data service to UE 1510, which may be unaware of the routing of outgoing / incoming communications to / from host computer 1560. Similarly, host computer 1560 may be unaware of the routing of transmissions from host computer to UE, for example, the routing of transmissions via RAN 1530. This can be achieved using... Figure 15 The exemplary configurations shown herein are for providing various OTT services, including, for example, streaming (one-way) audio and / or video from a host computer to a UE, interactive (two-way) audio and / or video between a host computer and a UE, interactive messaging or social communication, interactive virtual or augmented reality, etc.

[0249] Figure 15 The exemplary network shown may also include sensors and / or measurement processes for monitoring network performance metrics, including data rate, latency, and other factors improved by the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. The exemplary network may also include functionality for reconfiguring the link between endpoints (e.g., a host computer and a UE) in response to changes in measurement results. Such processes and functionalities are known and practiced; measurements can be facilitated via proprietary signaling between the UE and the host computer if the network hides or abstracts the radio interface from the OTT service provider.

[0250] The exemplary embodiments described herein provide a flexible and efficient technique that enables a UE to select from multiple multi-TRP configurations available for transmission of UL CG based on various factors, such as UL data to be transmitted at the UE, UE power consumption, UL / DL radio channel conditions, etc. By selecting and utilizing multiple TRP configurations in this way, the UE can reduce power consumption and / or improve data transmission reliability and / or latency. When used in NR UEs (e.g., UE 1510) and gNBs (e.g., gNBs including RAN 1530), the exemplary embodiments described herein can provide various improvements, benefits, and / or advantages that improve the performance of UE and OTT data services as experienced by OTT service providers and end users. These include more reliable UL data throughput and reduced UL latency without excessive UE power consumption or other reductions in user experience.

[0251] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of this disclosure. In light of the teachings herein, various modifications and variations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it will be understood that those skilled in the art will be able to design numerous systems, arrangements, and processes that, while not expressly shown or described herein, embody the principles of this disclosure and are thus within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, various exemplary embodiments can be used together and interchangeably with each other.

[0252] As used herein, the terminology may have the conventional meaning in the fields of electronic devices, electrical apparatus and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, outputs and / or display functions, etc., as those described herein.

[0253] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein can be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include multiple such functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and other digital hardware, such as digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more 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 the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause corresponding functional units to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0254] As described herein, devices and / or apparatuses may be represented by semiconductor chips, chipsets, or (hardware) modules including such chips or chipsets; however, this does not preclude the possibility that the functionality of a device or apparatus is implemented not in hardware but as a software module, such as a computer program or computer program product including executable software code for execution or execution on a processor. Furthermore, the functionality of a device or apparatus may be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus may also be considered as a component of multiple devices and / or apparatuses, whether functionally cooperative or independent of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed manner throughout the system, provided that the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered to be known to those skilled in the art.

[0255] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. It will also be understood that the terms used herein shall be interpreted as having the same meaning as they have in the context of this specification and in the relevant art, and shall not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined herein.

[0256] Furthermore, certain terms used in this disclosure (including the specification and drawings) may be used synonymously in certain circumstances (e.g., "data" and "information"). It should be understood that while these terms (and / or other terms that may be synonymous with each other) may be used synonymously herein, there may be instances where such terms are not intended to be used synonymously. Moreover, prior art not expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety is expressly incorporated herein by reference. All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0257] The technologies and devices described herein include, but are not limited to, the following examples:

[0258] A1. A method for uplink (UL) transmission of data from a user equipment (UE) to multiple transport receiving points (TRPs) in a wireless network, the method comprising:

[0259] Receive configurations from the wireless network for a plurality of configured authorizations (UL CGs) for resources used for UL transmissions, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for transmissions to a plurality of TRPs;

[0260] One or more of the UL CG configurations are selected for transmission of data available at the UE based on characteristics associated with the data and / or with the radio channel between the UE and the corresponding TRP; and

[0261] The data is transmitted to one or more of the plurality of TRPs on one or more of the selected UL CG configuration resources.

[0262] A2. The method according to embodiment A1, wherein:

[0263] The characteristics associated with the radio channel include radio channel quality; and

[0264] The method further includes one of the following:

[0265] The corresponding radio channel quality between the UE and the corresponding TRP is determined based on one or more of the following metrics: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR), Received Signal Strength (RSSI), Retransmission Ratio, Packet Loss Ratio, Channel Occupancy, Talk-After-Listen (LBT) Failure, and Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) Failure; or

[0266] Receive an indication of the quality of the corresponding radio channel from the wireless network.

[0267] A3. The method according to any one of embodiments A1-A2, wherein the characteristic associated with the radio channel includes time delay.

[0268] A4. The method according to any one of embodiments A1-A3, wherein the characteristics associated with the data include quantity, arrival rate, arrival time, service type, latency requirement, and reliability requirement.

[0269] A5. The method according to embodiment A4, wherein:

[0270] Each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities; and

[0271] Selecting one or more UL CG configurations involves selecting the UL CG configuration based on the arrival time of the data relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the respective UL CG configuration.

[0272] A6. The method according to any one of embodiments A1-A5, wherein:

[0273] The resources of the UL CG are associated with the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and

[0274] Selecting one or more UL CG configurations includes selecting a UL CG configuration that includes resources associated with one of the following: highest capacity MCS or most reliable MCS.

[0275] A7. The method according to any one of embodiments A1-A6, wherein:

[0276] The data includes transport blocks (TB);

[0277] Transmitting the data includes transmitting one or more repetitions of the TB, each repetition to one of the TRPs; and

[0278] Each UL CG configuration identifies a specific number of TRPs and a corresponding number of repetitions to be transmitted to that specific number of TRPs.

[0279] A8. The method according to embodiment A7, wherein:

[0280] The one or more repetitions are a single repetition; and

[0281] Selecting one or more UL CG configurations includes selecting a UL CG configuration that includes resources associated with the TRP having the best radio channel quality toward the UE.

[0282] A9. The method according to embodiment A7, wherein:

[0283] The one or more repetitions include multiple repetitions; and

[0284] Selecting one or more UL CG configurations includes selecting a first UL CG configuration for a first portion of the plurality of repetitions and a second UL CG configuration for a second portion of the plurality of repetitions.

[0285] A10. The method according to embodiment A7, wherein the plurality of UL CG configurations include:

[0286] The first UL CG configuration identifies all duplicate transmissions to the first TRP; and

[0287] The second UL CG configuration identifies the first TRP and the first number of repetitions, as well as the second TRP and the second number of repetitions.

[0288] A11. The method according to embodiment A10, wherein:

[0289] When the first UL CG configuration is selected, the corresponding repetition of the TB is transmitted to the first TRP in the corresponding transmission opportunity; and

[0290] When the second UL CG configuration is selected, at least one of the first quantity and at least one of the second quantity are simultaneously transmitted to the corresponding TRP in one or more of the transmission opportunities.

[0291] A12. The method according to embodiment A11, wherein:

[0292] One of the following first conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities:

[0293] Transmit the first number of single repetitions to the first TRP; or

[0294] Transmit the first quantity to the first TRP in the corresponding multiple frequency regions;

[0295] And one of the following second conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities:

[0296] Transmit the second number of single repetitions to the second TRP; or

[0297] The second quantity is transmitted to the second TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions.

[0298] A13. The method according to any one of embodiments A1-A6, wherein:

[0299] The data includes transport blocks (TB);

[0300] Transmitting the data includes transmitting the initial transmission of the TB and one or more retransmissions of the TB during Hybrid ARQ (HARQ); and

[0301] Select one of the UL CG configurations, including:

[0302] Select the first UL CG configuration for the initial transmission; and

[0303] Select a second UL CG configuration for at least one of the retransmissions.

[0304] A14. The method according to embodiment A13 further includes receiving an indication from the wireless network that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process, wherein the selection of the second UL CG configuration is based on the indication.

[0305] A15. The method according to any one of embodiments A13-A14, wherein:

[0306] The first UL CG configuration includes resources for transmission to the first TRP; and

[0307] The second UL CG configuration includes resources for transmission to the second TRP.

[0308] B1. A method for receiving uplink (UL) transmission of data via multiple Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) in a wireless network node, the method comprising:

[0309] The User Equipment (UE) is transmitted with configurations for multiple Configurable Granting Codes (UL CGs) for resources used for UL transmissions, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for transmissions to multiple Transmission Points (TRPs); and

[0310] UL data is received from the UE via one or more of the plurality of TRPs on one or more of the resources in one or more of the UL CG configurations selected by the UE.

[0311] B2. The method according to embodiment B1 further includes:

[0312] The corresponding radio channel quality between the UE and the corresponding TRP is determined based on one or more of the following metrics: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR), Received Signal Strength (RSSI), Retransmission Ratio, Packet Loss Ratio, Channel Occupancy, Talk-After-Listen (LBT) Failure, and Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) Failure; and

[0313] Send an indication of the determined radio channel quality to the UE.

[0314] B3. The method according to any one of embodiments B1-B2, wherein:

[0315] Each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities; and

[0316] The selected UL CG is related to the arrival time of the data at the UE relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the corresponding UL CG configuration.

[0317] B4. The method according to any one of embodiments B1-B3, wherein:

[0318] The resources of the UL CG are associated with the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and

[0319] The selected UL CG configuration includes resources associated with one of the following: the highest capacity MCS or the most reliable MCS.

[0320] B5. The method according to any one of embodiments B1-B4, wherein:

[0321] The data includes transport blocks (TB); and

[0322] Receiving the data includes receiving one or more repetitions of the TB, each via one of the TRPs; and

[0323] Each UL CG configuration identifies a specific number of TRPs and the corresponding number of repetitions to be transmitted on that specific number of TRPs.

[0324] B6. The method according to embodiment B5, wherein:

[0325] The one or more repetitions are a single repetition; and

[0326] The selected UL CG configuration includes resources associated with the TRP that has the best radio channel quality toward the UE.

[0327] B7. The method according to embodiment B5, wherein:

[0328] The one or more repetitions include multiple repetitions; and

[0329] Receiving the data includes:

[0330] Receive the first portion of the plurality of repetitions on the resources configured in the first UL CG, and

[0331] The second portion of the plurality of repetitions is received on the resources configured in the second UL CG.

[0332] B8. The method according to embodiment B5, wherein the plurality of UL CG configurations include:

[0333] The first UL CG configuration identifies all duplicate transmissions to the first TRP; and

[0334] The second UL CG configuration identifies the first TRP and the first number of repetitions, as well as the second TRP and the second number of repetitions.

[0335] B9. The method according to embodiment B8, wherein receiving the data includes:

[0336] When the first UL CG configuration is selected, the corresponding repetition of the TB is received via the first TRP in the corresponding transmission opportunity; and

[0337] When the second UL CG configuration is selected, at least one of the first quantity and at least one of the second quantity are simultaneously received via the corresponding TRP during one or more of the transmission opportunities.

[0338] B10. The method according to embodiment B9, wherein in each of the one or more transmission opportunities, one of the following first conditions applies:

[0339] Receive the first number of single repetitions via the first TRP; or

[0340] Receive multiple of the first quantity via the first TRP in the corresponding multiple frequency regions;

[0341] And one of the following second conditions applies:

[0342] Receive the second number of single repetitions via the second TRP; or

[0343] The second quantity is received via the second TRP in the corresponding multiple frequency regions.

[0344] B11. The method according to any one of embodiments B1-B4, wherein:

[0345] The data includes transport blocks (TBs) associated with the Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) process; and

[0346] Receiving the data includes:

[0347] Receive the initial transmission of the TB on the resources configured in the first UL CG; and

[0348] Receive at least one retransmission of the TB on the resources configured in the second UL CG.

[0349] B12. The method according to embodiment B11 further includes transmitting to the UE an indication that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process.

[0350] B13. The method according to any one of embodiments B11-B12, wherein:

[0351] The first UL CG configuration includes resources for transmission to the first TRP; and

[0352] The second UL CG configuration includes resources for transmission to the second TRP.

[0353] C1. A user equipment (UE) configured for uplink (UL) transmission of data to multiple transport receiving points (TRPs) in a wireless network, the UE comprising:

[0354] A radio transceiver circuit configured to communicate with the network node and at least the second UE; and

[0355] Processing circuitry operatively coupled to the radio transceiver circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the radio transceiver circuitry are configured to perform actions corresponding to those described in the embodiment.

[0356] The operation of the method described in any of A1-A15.

[0357] C2. A user equipment (UE) configured for uplink (UL) transmission of data to multiple transport receiving points (TRPs) in a wireless network, the UE being arranged to perform operations corresponding to the method described in any one of embodiments A1-A15.

[0358] C3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE) configured for uplink (UL) transmission of data to a plurality of transmit receiving points (TRPs) in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods described according to embodiments A1-A15.

[0359] C4. A computer program product including computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE) configured for uplink (UL) transmission of data to a plurality of transmit receiving points (TRPs) in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods described according to embodiments A1-A15.

[0360] D1. A network node configured to receive uplink (UL) transmission of data via a plurality of Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) in a wireless network, the network node comprising:

[0361] A radio network interface circuit configured to communicate with one or more UEs; and

[0362] A processing circuit is operatively coupled to the radio network interface circuit, whereby the processing circuit and the radio network interface circuit are configured to perform operations corresponding to any one of the methods described according to embodiments B1-B13.

[0363] D2. A network node configured to receive data via an uplink (UL) transmission through a plurality of Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) in a wireless network, the network node being arranged to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods described according to embodiments B1-B13.

[0364] D3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node configured to receive data via an uplink (UL) transmission through a plurality of Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) in a wireless network, configure the network node to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods described according to embodiments B1-B13.

[0365] D4. A computer program product including computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node configured to receive data via an uplink (UL) transmission through a plurality of Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) in a wireless network, configure the network node to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods described according to embodiments B1-B13.

Claims

1. A method for uplink UL transmission of data from a user equipment (UE) to multiple transmission receiving points (TRPs) in a wireless network, the method comprising: Receive (1110) from the wireless network a plurality of configured authorized UL CG configurations for resources used for UL transmission, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for transmission to a plurality of TRPs; (1150) One or more of the UL CG configurations are selected based on at least one of the following characteristics for the transmission of data available at the UE: the data and the radio channel between the UE and the corresponding TRP; as well as Transmit (1160) the data to one or more of the plurality of TRPs on one or more of the selected UL CG configuration resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Characteristics associated with the radio channel include radio channel quality; and The method further includes one of the following: The corresponding radio channel quality between the UE and the corresponding TRP is determined (1120) based on one or more of the following metrics: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP); Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ); Signal-to-noise ratio (SINR); Signal-to-interference ratio (SIR); Received signal strength (RSSI); Retransmission ratio; Packet loss ratio; Channel occupancy; Listen-before-talk (LBT) failure; And the Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) failed; or Receive (1130) an indication of the quality of the corresponding radio channel from the wireless network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, Characteristics associated with the radio channel include time delay.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The characteristics associated with the data include quantity, arrival rate, arrival time, service type, latency requirements, and reliability requirements.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: Each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities; and Selecting (1150) one or more UL CG configurations includes selecting (1151) UL CG configurations based on the arrival time of the data relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the respective UL CG configuration.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein: The resources configured in the UL CG are associated with the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and Selecting (1150) one or more UL CG configurations includes selecting (1152) a UL CG configuration that includes a resource associated with one of the following: the highest capacity MCS or the most reliable MCS.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein: The data includes transport block TB; and Each UL CG configuration identifier is: a specific number of TRPs, and a corresponding number of repetitions of the TB of the corresponding TRP to be transmitted to the specific number of TRPs.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The corresponding number of repetitions is a single repetition; and Selecting (1150) one or more UL CG configurations includes selecting (1153) a UL CG configuration that includes a resource associated with a TRP having the best radio channel quality toward the UE; Transmitting (1160) the data includes transmitting (1161) a single repetition of the TB to the TRP having the best radio channel quality toward the UE.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The corresponding number of repetitions includes multiple repetitions; and Select the first UL CG configuration and the second UL CG configuration; and The data transmitted (1160) includes: Transmit (1162) the first portion of the plurality of repetitions on the resources configured in the first UL CG; and Transmit (1163) the second portion of the plurality of repetitions on the resources configured in the second UL CG.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The selected one or more UL CG configurations include: The first UL CG configuration identifies all duplicate transmissions to the first TRP; and A second UL CG configuration identifies the first TRP and a first number of repetitions, and identifies the second TRP and a second number of repetitions.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The data transmitted (1160) includes: When the first UL CG configuration is selected, the corresponding repetition of the TB is transmitted to the first TRP in the corresponding transmission opportunity (1164); and When the second UL CG configuration is selected, at least one of the first number of repetitions (1165) is transmitted to the first TRP in one or more of the transmission opportunities, while at least one of the second number of repetitions is transmitted to the second TRP.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: One of the following first conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: Transmit the first number of single repetitions to the first TRP; or The first number of repetitions are transmitted to the first TRP in the corresponding multiple frequency regions; And one of the following second conditions applies to each of the one or more transmission opportunities: Transmit the second number of single repetitions to the second TRP; or The second number of repetitions are transmitted to the second TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein: The data includes transport blocks (TBs) associated with the hybrid ARQ HARQ process; Select the first UL CG configuration and the second UL CG configuration; as well as The data transmitted (1160) includes: Transmit (1166) the initial transmission of the TB on the resources configured in the first UL CG; as well as Transmit (1167) at least one retransmission of the TB on the resources configured in the second UL CG.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving (1140) an indication from the wireless network that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process, wherein the selection of the second UL CG configuration is based on the indication that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The resources configured in the first UL CG are associated with the first TRP; and The resources configured in the second UL CG are associated with the second TRP.

16. A method for receiving uplink UL transmission of data via multiple Transmitter Receiving Points (TRPs) in a wireless network node, the method comprising: Transmit (1210) to the User Equipment (UE) a plurality of configured authorized UL CG configurations for resources used for UL transmission, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for UE transmission to a plurality of TRPs; and On one or more of the UL CG configurations selected by the UE based on at least one of the following characteristics, UL data is received from the UE via one or more of the plurality of TRPs: the UL data and the corresponding radio channel between the UE and the corresponding TRP.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: The corresponding radio channel quality between the UE and the corresponding TRP is determined (1220) based on one or more of the following metrics: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP); Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ); Signal-to-noise ratio (SINR); Signal-to-interference ratio (SIR); Received signal strength (RSSI); Retransmission ratio; Packet loss ratio; Channel occupancy; Listen-before-talk (LBT) failure; And the Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) failed; as well as Send to the UE an indication of the radio channel quality determined by (1230).

18. The method of claim 16, wherein: Each UL CG configuration identifies multiple transmission opportunities; and The selected UL CG configuration is related to the arrival time of the UL data at the UE relative to the transmission opportunity identified by the corresponding UL CG configuration.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein: The resources configured in the UL CG are associated with the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and The selected UL CG configuration includes resources associated with one of the following: the highest capacity MCS or the most reliable MCS.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16-19, wherein: The UL data includes a transport block (TB); and Each UL CG configuration identifier: a specific number of TRPs, and a corresponding number of repetitions of the TB of the corresponding TRP to be transmitted by the UE to the specific number of TRPs.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: The corresponding number of repetitions is a single repetition; and Receiving (1250) the UL data includes receiving (1251) a single repetition of the TB via a TRP having the best radio channel quality toward the UE.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein: The corresponding number of repetitions includes multiple repetitions; and Receiving the data (1250) includes: Receive (1252) the first portion of the plurality of repetitions on the resources configured in the first UL CG, and The second part of the plurality of repetitions is received on the resource of the second UL CG configuration.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein, The selected one or more UL CG configurations include: The first UL CG configuration identifies all duplicate transmissions to the first TRP; and A second UL CG configuration identifies the first TRP and a first number of repetitions, and identifies the second TRP and a second number of repetitions.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein, Receiving the data (1250) includes: When the first UL CG configuration is selected, the corresponding repetition of the TB is received (1254) via the first TRP during the corresponding transmission opportunity; and When the second UL CG configuration is selected, at least one of the first number of repetitions is received (1255) via the first TRP in one or more of the transmission opportunities, while at least one of the second number of repetitions is received via the second TRP.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein in each of the one or more transmission opportunities, one of the following first conditions applies: Receive the first number of single repetitions via the first TRP; or The first number of repetitions are received via the first TRP in the corresponding multiple frequency regions; And one of the following second conditions applies: Receive the second number of single repetitions via the second TRP; or The second number of repetitions are received via the second TRP in the respective multiple frequency regions.

26. The method according to any one of claims 16-19, wherein: The data includes transport blocks (TBs) associated with the hybrid ARQ HARQ process; and Receiving (1250) the data includes one or more of the following: Receive the initial transmission of the TB (1256) on the resources configured in the first UL CG; and Receive at least one retransmission of the TB on the resource configured in the second UL CG (1257).

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising transmitting to the UE (1240) an indication that different UL CG configurations can be selected for transmission and retransmission in a single HARQ process.

28. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The resources configured in the first UL CG are associated with the first TRP; and The resources configured in the second UL CG are associated with the second TRP.

29. A user equipment (UE) (305, 430, 530, 1030, 1300, 1510) configured for uplink UL transmission of data to multiple transmission receiving points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (399, 1530), the UE comprising: A transceiver circuit (1340) configured to communicate with network nodes via the TRP; as well as A processing circuit (1310) operatively coupled to the transceiver circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the transceiver circuitry are configured to: Receive from the wireless network a plurality of configured authorized UL CG configurations for resources used for UL transmission, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for transmission to a plurality of TRPs; One or more of the UL CG configurations are selected for transmission of data available at the UE based on at least one of the following characteristics: the data and the radio channel between the UE and the corresponding TRP; as well as The data is transmitted to one or more of the plurality of TRPs on one or more of the selected UL CG configuration resources.

30. The UE according to claim 29, wherein, The processing circuit and the transceiver circuit are configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 2-15.

31. A user equipment (UE) (305, 430, 530, 1030, 1300, 1510) configured for uplink UL transmission of data to multiple transmission receiving points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (399, 1530), the UE comprising: processor; A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the UE to be further configured to: Receive from the wireless network a plurality of configured authorized UL CG configurations for resources used for UL transmission, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for transmission to a plurality of TRPs; One or more of the UL CG configurations are selected for transmission of data available at the UE based on at least one of the following characteristics: the data and the radio channel between the UE and the corresponding TRP; as well as The data is transmitted to one or more of the plurality of TRPs on one or more of the selected UL CG configuration resources.

32. The UE according to claim 31, wherein, When executed by the processor, the instructions cause the UE to be further configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 2-15.

33. A non-transitory computer-readable medium (1320) storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processing circuit (1310) of a user equipment (305, 430, 530, 1030, 1300, 1510) configured for uplink UL transmission of data to a plurality of transmission receiving points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (399, 1530), configure the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-15.

34. A computer program product (1321) including computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processing circuit (1310) of a user equipment (305, 430, 530, 1030, 1300, 1510) configured for uplink UL transmission of data to a plurality of transmission receiving points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (399, 1530), configure the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-15.

35. A network node (200, 250, 310, 320, 1400) configured to receive uplink UL transmissions of data via multiple Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (299, 399, 1530), the network node comprising: A radio network interface circuit (1440) configured to communicate with one or more user equipment (UE) devices (305, 430, 530, 1030, 1300, 1510) via the TRP; and The processing circuit (1410) is operatively coupled to the radio network interface circuit, whereby the processing circuit and the radio network interface circuit are configured to: Transmit (1210) to the User Equipment (UE) a plurality of configured authorized UL CG configurations for resources used for UL transmission, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for UE transmission to a plurality of TRPs; and On one or more of the UL CG configurations selected by the UE based on at least one of the following characteristics, UL data is received from the UE via one or more of the plurality of TRPs: the UL data and the radio channel between the UE and the corresponding TRP.

36. The network node according to claim 35, wherein, The processing circuit and the radio network interface circuit are further configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 17-28.

37. A network node (200, 250, 310, 320, 1400) configured to receive uplink UL transmissions of data via multiple Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (299, 399, 1530), the network node comprising: processor; A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, further configure the network node to: Transmit (1210) to the User Equipment (UE) a plurality of configured authorized UL CG configurations for resources used for UL transmission, wherein at least one of the UL CG configurations includes resources for UE transmission to a plurality of TRPs; and On one or more of the UL CG configurations selected by the UE based on at least one of the following characteristics, UL data is received from the UE via one or more of the plurality of TRPs: the UL data and the radio channel between the UE and the corresponding TRP.

38. The network node according to claim 37, wherein, When executed by the processor, the instructions cause the network node to be further configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 17-28.

39. A non-transitory computer-readable medium (1420) storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by processing circuitry (1410) of a network node (200, 250, 310, 320, 1400) configured to receive uplink UL transmissions of data via multiple Transmitter Receiving Points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (299, 399, 1530), configure the network node to perform the method according to any one of claims 16-28.

40. A computer program product (1421) including computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by processing circuitry (1410) of a network node (200, 250, 310, 320, 1400) configured to receive uplink UL transmissions of data via multiple transmission receiving points (TRPs) (410, 420, 510, 520, 1010, 1020) in a wireless network (299, 399, 1530), configure the network node to perform the method according to any one of claims 16-28.

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