Flexible data transmission method considering configuration of authorization timer

Abstract

An apparatus and method for flexible data transmission taking into account a configuration authorization (CG) timer are provided. A method may include receiving at least one configuration from at least one network entity. The method may also include estimating at least one received uplink grant for at least one criterion associated with the at least one configuration. The method may also include selecting at least one configuration authorization timer value based on the at least one estimate.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese invention patent application with the invention name "Flexible data transmission method considering the configuration of authorization timer" (application number 202110129386.6, application date January 29, 2021). Technical Field

[0002] Various communication systems may benefit from mechanisms related to configured grants (eg, configured grant timers). Background Art

[0003] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) introduces Configuration Grant (CG) to provide low-latency transmission opportunities, where once the CG is configured and activated, periodic transmission opportunities may be available to the user equipment (UE). With this feature, the UE can immediately send delay-sensitive data (e.g., ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC)) without the need for signaling exchanges (e.g., scheduling requests (SRs) or buffer status reports (BSRs)) to obtain uplink grants. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to one embodiment, a method may include receiving at least one configuration from at least one network entity. The method may also include: estimating at least one received uplink grant or at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of the at least one received uplink grant according to at least one criterion associated with the at least one configuration. The method may also include selecting at least one timer value based on the estimation.

[0005] In one variant, the at least one timer value is associated with a Configuration Grant (CG) timer or a Configuration Grant Retransmission timer.

[0006] In one variation, the at least one configuration may include one or more of: at least one first CG timer value, at least one second CG timer value, and at least one criterion configured for timer value selection.

[0007] In one variation, the method may further comprise starting at least one timer in accordance with the at least one selected configuration authorization timer value.

[0008] In one variant, the estimating may include estimating the at least one received uplink grant based on at least one logical channel priority.

[0009] In a variant, the method may further comprise sending at least one physical uplink shared channel associated with the at least one uplink grant to the at least one network entity.

[0010] According to another embodiment, a method may include receiving at least one configuration from at least one network entity. The method may also include estimating at least one operating state of at least one configuration grant timer related to at least one nominal hybrid automatic repeat request process based on the at least one received configuration. The method may also include initiating at least one action depending on the operating state of the configuration grant timer of the at least one nominal hybrid automatic repeat request process based on the operating state of the configuration grant timer of the at least one nominal hybrid automatic repeat request process being estimated to be running. The method may also include estimating at least one operating state of the CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process. The method may also include initiating at least one action depending on the operating state of the CG timer of the backup HARQ process. In response to determining that at least one operating state of the CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process is not running, at least one media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) may be generated and sent via at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) using the at least one backup HARQ process.

[0011] In one variation, the received at least one configuration may include information regarding one or more of at least one nominal HARQ process and at least one backup HARQ process.

[0012] In a variant, the method may further comprise sending at least one physical uplink shared channel to the at least one network entity.

[0013] According to another embodiment, a method may include receiving at least one mapping configuration from at least one network entity. The method may also include estimating at least one operating state of at least one configuration grant timer associated with at least one hybrid automatic repeat request process based on the received at least one mapping configuration. The method may also include initiating at least one action that depends on the operating state of the configuration grant timer of the hybrid automatic repeat request process. At least one new media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) may overwrite at least one existing transport block (TB) stored in a buffer of the at least one hybrid automatic repeat request process.

[0014] In one variation, at least one operational state of at least one configuration authorization timer may be associated with a total elapsed time that the at least one configuration authorization timer has run.

[0015] In one variation, the at least one new MAC PDU may include data from a first subset of at least one logical channel (LCH) between a first time and a second time.

[0016] In one variation, the at least one new MAC PDU containing data from the first or second subset of at least one LCH between the second time and the third time may overwrite the at least one existing TB.

[0017] In one variation, the method may further comprise processing at least one configuration grant opportunity for at least one new transmission.

[0018] In a variant, the method may further comprise generating at least one transport block.

[0019] In a variant, the method may further comprise sending at least one physical uplink shared channel to the at least one network entity.

[0020] Another embodiment may be directed to an apparatus that may include at least one processor and at least one memory and computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform a method according to any example embodiment or any variant described herein.

[0021] Another embodiment may be directed to an apparatus which may include means for performing a method according to any example embodiment or any variation described herein.

[0022] Another embodiment may be directed to a computer program product which may encode instructions for performing a process including a method according to any example embodiment or any variation described herein.

[0023] Another embodiment may be directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that may encode instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform a process including a method according to any example embodiment or any variation described herein.

[0024] Another embodiment may be directed to an apparatus which may include circuitry configured to perform a process including a method according to any example embodiment or any variation described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] For a proper understanding of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0026] Figure 1 shows an example of a signalling diagram according to some embodiments;

[0027] Figure 2 shows another example of a signaling diagram according to various embodiments;

[0028] Figure 3 shows another example of a signalling diagram according to some embodiments;

[0029] Figure 4 shows an example of user equipment having different permissions based on whether a transport block can be covered in accordance with certain embodiments;

[0030] Figure 5 An example of a flow chart of a method according to various embodiments is shown;

[0031] Figure 6 Another example of a flow chart showing a method according to some embodiments;

[0032] Figure 7 Another example of a flow chart illustrating a method according to certain embodiments;

[0033] Figure 8 Examples of various network devices according to various embodiments are shown;

[0034] Fig. 9 illustrates an example of a 5G network and system architecture according to some embodiments; and

[0035] Fig.10 An example of a flow chart of a method according to various embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] A hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier (ID) can be determined for each transmission on a CG occasion based on time parameters such as system frame number (SFN) / subframe / symbol number. Therefore, the HARQ process IDs for different occasions related to the CG may be different. In addition, when a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) (such as a dynamically granted PUSCH) using the HARQ process ID is sent, a CG timer can be started for a certain HARQ process. When the corresponding CG timer is running, the CG occasion that may use the same HARQ process cannot be used by the UE to transmit new data. Such a mechanism can be used to prevent the transport blocks (TBs) of dynamic PUSCH transmissions stored in the HARQ buffer from being overwritten by new data. Therefore, if the UE performs a new transmission on a CG occasion with the same HARQ process, the transport blocks originally stored in the HARQ buffer of the same process will be overwritten, resulting in undesirable data loss. Therefore, the timer can ensure the correct retransmission of the TB by retaining it in the HARQ buffer over time intervals.

[0037] As described in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.331, the CG timer value may be configured using Radio Resource Control (RRC) in the ConfiguredGrantConfig Information Element (IE), which may be configured as follows:

[0038]

[0039] According to 3GPP TS 38.321, the HARQ process ID can be determined by the UE based on the following formula:

[0040]

[0041]

[0042] As shown in the table above, the first short timer can have a first number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, such as 7, and the second long timer can have a second number of OFDM symbols, such as 40x14. However, these values ​​may be relative. For example, the CG timer can have two values, one greater than the other regardless of its value.

[0043] In 3GPP Release (Rel)-16, multiple CG configurations may be allowed, and multiple CGs may exist. The HARQ process ID may be calculated using a formula such as HARQ process ID = [floor(CURRENT_symbol / periodicity)] modulo nrofHARQ-Processes + HARQ_ID_offset. In this example, as described above, the offset may allow different CG configurations to utilize different HARQ processes to avoid the problem of dynamic PUSCH as described above.

[0044] As described above, the use of CG opportunities with the same HARQ process corresponding to the running CG timer can be prevented to protect TBs already in the HARQ buffer from being overwritten. However, as a result, when high-priority traffic arrives, the UE may not be able to use these prohibited CG opportunities to process the received traffic, thereby causing some delay to the high-priority traffic and reducing the advantage of CG.

[0045] Some 3GPP proposals attempt to address the above shortcomings. For example, even if the CG timer is running, if the UE intends to send URLLC data, the UE may still be allowed to use the CG opportunity of the corresponding HARQ process. This may be advantageous when the TB initially in the HARQ buffer conveys low priority data such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services. However, from a medium access control (MAC) perspective, the service priority levels may be reflected in the 16 logical channel (LCH) priorities, and small differences in LCH priorities (e.g., a new TB is only one level higher than the old TB in terms of LCH priority) may not justify overwriting the original TB with new data. In addition, if necessary, the overwriting may occur shortly after the CG timer is started, and the original TB may not have enough time to perform even one retransmission. Therefore, overwriting the original TB with new data is not always beneficial, and some techniques may achieve a better compromise.

[0046] Certain embodiments described herein may have various benefits and / or advantages to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings. Specifically, when the CG timer is running, the various embodiments described herein may provide a compromise between the delay performance of new data and the protection of TBs in the HARQ buffer. For example, certain embodiments may provide a mechanism that provides different levels of protection to TBs associated with different priorities in terms of how long the TBs are protected from being overwritten, while preventing low-priority TBs from occupying the HARQ process for too long and enabling faster transmission of higher priority data. In addition, some embodiments may provide at least one backup HARQ process that can be configured for new transmissions, thereby reducing the possibility of overwriting existing TBs stored in the buffer of the nominal HARQ process. In addition, some embodiments may gradually lift restrictions on HARQ process coverage based on how much time has passed since the CG timer was initially started, thereby providing more time for old TBs to be retransmitted before they may be overwritten by other new transmissions. Therefore, certain embodiments are directed to improvements in computer-related technologies such as wireless communication technologies.

[0047] Described herein are various techniques related to at least one CG timer, and some embodiments may also be applied to other timers configured to prevent TB wrapping, for example, at least one CG retransmission timer configured in NR-U to allow autonomous retransmission of a MAC protocol data unit (PDU). Specifically, such a timer may be started when a TB is generated but not sent due to a listen-before-talk (LBT) failure, and the associated HARQ process may not be used for new transmissions while the timer is running. By replacing the CG timer with a CG retransmission timer, several techniques described herein may be applied directly to the CG retransmission timer.

[0048] Throughout the present disclosure, a physical layer priority may relate to a priority of at least one radio resource such as a PUSCH, which may be indicated in a DCI configured for scheduling a PUSCH. 3GPP defines two levels of physical layer priorities. Similarly, a logical channel priority may relate to a priority of a traffic / service type. For example, a packet data unit generated for a PUSCH may contain data with multiple logical channel priorities. 3GPP defines 16 levels of logical channel priorities. In addition, since different logical channel priorities may be used to distinguish traffic, the logical channel priority may have 16 values ​​and / or may depend on a specific network implementation.

[0049] As described in further detail below, the criteria for selecting at least one CG timer value can be affected by physical layer priority and / or logical channel priority. For example, different CG timer values ​​can be selected based on whether the physical layer priority of the PUSCH is high priority (at least one first value, such as 1) or low priority (at least one second value, such as 0). Similarly, different CG timer values ​​can be selected based on the highest priority of the LCH having data transmitted by the PDU generated for the PUSCH. For example, a threshold level can be configured to determine the CG timer value, for example, if the highest LCH priority is above the threshold, a long CG timer can be selected, and if the highest LCH priority is lower than or equal to the threshold, a short CG timer can be selected.

[0050] Figure 1 1 shows an example of a signaling diagram illustrating communication between a network entity (NE) 120 and a UE 130. The NE 120 may be similar to the NE 810, and the UE 130 may be similar to the UE 820, each in Figure 8 Shown in.

[0051] At 101, the NE 120 may be configured to send at least one configuration, for example, at least one CG configuration, to the UE 130 via the RRC. In some embodiments, the at least one configuration may include one or more of at least one first CG timer value, at least one second CG timer value, and at least one criterion configured for timer value selection. For example, the at least one criterion may include one or more of at least one authorization priority level, at least one authorization parameter, and data carried by at least one PUSCH. In addition, one or more of the at least one first CG timer value and the at least one second CG timer value may be configured to indicate a time period during which the at least one timer should run once it is started.

[0052] At 103, the NE 120 may be configured to send at least one uplink grant to the UE 130, for example, at least one downlink control information (DCI) configured for dynamic grant scheduling. In some embodiments, the at least one uplink grant may include one or more of at least one grant characteristic and at least one parameter. For example, the at least one uplink grant may be associated with one or more of: at least one modulation / coding scheme (MCS), at least one transmission power, at least one multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) setting, at least one HARQ setting, at least one DCI format, at least one channel access priority category (CAPC), at least one physical layer priority value, and at least one repetition number. As an example, the at least one uplink grant may include at least one explicit indicator of at least one timer value, and the at least one explicit indicator is configured to indicate to the UE 130 that at least one timer is started accordingly after the PUSCH of the at least one uplink grant is sent. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one timer value may be implicitly indicated by the type of the uplink grant; for example, for dynamically granted PUSCH transmissions, one or more of CG type 1 and CG type 2 may trigger the CG timer to start at at least one different interval.

[0053] At 105, the UE 130 may be configured to evaluate the at least one received uplink grant according to the at least one criterion. For example, the UE 130 may be configured to check whether the at least one received uplink grant and / or at least one PUSCH related to the at least one uplink grant satisfies the at least one criterion.

[0054] At 107, the UE 130 may be configured to select one or more of the at least one CG timer values. For example, the UE 130 may be configured to select the at least one first CG timer value if at least one characteristic of the at least one uplink grant does not satisfy the at least one criterion. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 130 may be configured to select the at least one second CG timer value if the at least one uplink grant does satisfy the at least one criterion. In certain embodiments, where two CG timer values ​​have been configured, the UE 130 may be configured to select the at least one first CG timer value if none, all, or a predetermined threshold number of criteria are satisfied. Similarly, where more than two CG timer values ​​have been configured, the UE 130 may be configured to select at least one CG timer value that satisfies the highest number of criteria.

[0055] In some embodiments, UE 130 may perform the selection based on one or more of the following: the at least one grant characteristic, and at least one parameter configured to implicitly indicate a CG timer value that UE 130 should apply when the PUSCH of the grant is transmitted. For example, based on at least one explicit / implicit indication in the DCI, the dynamic grant may have a priority characterization, such as "high priority" or "low priority".

[0056] In various embodiments, the UE 130 may perform selection based on at least one type / priority of data transmitted by the PUSCH of at least one received uplink grant, which at least one type / priority may be associated with one or more of at least one parameter and at least one rule configured for at least one LCH corresponding to the data mapped to the at least one uplink grant, such as priority, priority bit rate (PBR), bucket size duration (BSD), and logical channel prioritization (LCP) restrictions. For example, if any data in the PUSCH is from an LCH with a priority higher than at least one threshold, at least one long CG timer value may be selected; otherwise, at least one short CG timer value may be selected. In some embodiments, the at least one short CG timer value may be less than or equal to at least one timer threshold, and the at least one long CG timer value may be greater than the at least one timer threshold.

[0057] In some embodiments, the at least one selected CG timer value may be 0, so that the timer does not start after the UE 130 sends the PUSCH. For example, the at least one CG timer value may be multiplied by a factor associated with a priority configured by the logical channel, resulting in a longer timer value for a higher priority value; a higher value of the priority parameter may be converted to a lower priority for the 3GPP data system design. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one CG timer value may be selected based on one or more of: at least one MAC CE type and at least one content transmitted by the triggered PUSCH (e.g., a BSR related to a high priority LCH or a low priority LCH); the presence of at least one MAC SDU associated with an SRB in the MAC PDU that triggers the PUSCH (e.g., data from a dedicated control channel (DCCH) or a common control channel (CCCH)); at least one type / priority of uplink control information (UCI) multiplexed in the triggered PUSCH (e.g., a high priority or low priority HARQ-ACK; a high priority or low priority scheduling request); at least one fifth generation quality of service indicator (5QI) / quality of service flow identifier (QFI) / PC5 quality of service indicator (PQI); and / or various QoS parameters associated with data transmitted by the MAC PDU that triggers the PUSCH, such as at least one packet delay budget (PDB) and / or at least one remaining time before a transmission deadline.

[0058] In various embodiments, the at least one CG timer value may be configured for each LCH. For example, the at least one CG timer value may be selected based on which at least one LCH mapped to the triggered PUSCH has the longest CG timer value and / or based on the LCH with the highest priority.

[0059] In some embodiments, the priority of the grant whose PUSCH triggers the CG timer to start and the priority of the CG can be taken into account, where two or more priority levels (e.g., "high" and "low") can be assigned to each grant. As an example, the at least one CG timer value can be selected based on at least one comparison of the priorities. Specifically, in the case where the CG priority is greater than or equal to the grant priority associated with triggering the PUSCH, at least one shorter CG timer value can be applied; otherwise, at least one longer timer value can be selected and started. In this way, a different CG timer can be used for each of at least one active CG configuration.

[0060] In some embodiments, where multiple CG configurations are active simultaneously, some HARQ processes may be used for more than one CG configuration, and / or at least one common CG timer may be applicable to all active CG configurations having at least one resource having the same HARQ process associated with triggering PUSCH. For example, when the CG timer is configured to be triggered for at least one HARQ process, if a separate CG timer is configured for each CG configuration, the UE 130 may not be configured as to which CG timer should be started. Therefore, timers for multiple CG configurations may also be selected based on the priority of triggering PUSCH. For example, where the priority of triggering PUSCH has a higher priority, the longest applicable CG timer may be selected, and where the priority of triggering PUSCH has a lower priority, the shortest applicable CG timer may be selected.

[0061] In another example, in a case where only possible CG timer values ​​of "long" and "short" are available, and if there are multiple CG configurations with resources for the same HARQ process, at least one CG timer for these CG configurations may be selected depending on whether at least one of these CG configurations has a higher or lower priority than triggering PUSCH. Specifically, if at least one of the CG configurations with the same resources for the same HARQ process as triggering PUSCH has a higher priority than triggering PUSCH, at least one short CG timer may be selected for all these CG configurations. Conversely, if none of the CG configurations with the same resources for the same HARQ process as triggering PUSCH has a higher priority than triggering PUSCH, at least one long CG timer may be selected for all these CG configurations.

[0062] In various embodiments, when at least one CG timer is selected and triggered, the UE 130 may notify the NE 120 of the at least one CG timer value that it has selected; thus, the NE 120 may be aware of the CG timer status and appropriately perform resource allocation. Such notification may include one or more of uplink control information (UCI), at least one MAC CE, and other types of uplink control signaling. In addition, the UE 130 may be configured to implicitly indicate the at least one selected CG timer value using at least one transmission setting for triggering the PUSCH. For example, different demodulation reference signal (DMRS) patterns / sequences and / or different uplink beam directions associated with triggering the PUSCH may be applied to indicate different CG timer values.

[0063] At 109, UE 130 may be configured to send at least one PUSCH associated with at least one grant to NE 120. Simultaneously or asynchronously with 109, at 111, UE 130 may be configured to start at least one timer according to at least one selected CG timer value. In some embodiments, based on the priority of the at least one grant, when the PUSCH associated with the at least one grant is sent, the at least one timer may be a "long" or "short" CG timer. For example, if the priority of the at least one grant is "high", UE 130 may start at least one "long" CG timer, thereby allowing UE 130 to protect its TB for a longer period of time and ensuring that the data transmitted by the PUSCH of the at least one grant can be reliably sent with sufficient retransmissions (if necessary). On the contrary, if the priority of the at least one grant is "low", UE 130 may start at least one "short" CG timer so that the TB prepared for the at least one grant does not occupy the HARQ buffer for too long and releases the HARQ process earlier for other services.

[0064] Figure 2 An example of a signaling diagram showing communication between NE 220 and UE 230 is shown. NE 220 may be similar to NE 810, and UE 230 may be similar to UE 820, each in Figure 8 Shown in.

[0065] At 201, NE 220 may send at least one configuration, for example, at least one CG configuration, to UE 230 via RRC. In some embodiments, the at least one configuration may include at least one CG timer and one or more of information related to at least one nominal HARQ process associated with at least one CG opportunity of the at least one CG configuration.

[0066] In some embodiments, for each CG opportunity, in addition to the nominal HARQ process that may be derived based on one or more of at least one SFN, at least one subframe, and at least one time slot number, the NE 220 may explicitly and / or implicitly provide the UE 230 with at least one backup HARQ process ID, which may be configured for the UE 230 to use for at least one new transmission when at least one CG timer of the nominal HARQ process is running. For example, the UE 230 may be configured with two (or more) HARQ PIDs associated with at least one CG opportunity (e.g., pre-configured by RRC and / or fixed by the specification).

[0067] In some embodiments, at least one backup HARQ process ID may be derived based on at least one implicit relationship with the nominal HARQ process, such as backup HARQ PID=(nominal HARQ PID+X)mod(N), where X may be an integer and N may be the total number of HARQ processes configured for the CG. Alternatively, in the case where multiple CG configurations are configured in the UE 230, the formula may be backup HARQ PID=(nominal HARQ PID+X)mod(N)+HARQ_ID_offset. When the initially determined nominal HARQ process ID cannot be used due to the at least one CG timer running, the UE 230 may start searching for a backup HARQ process by applying the formula with X=1, and start incrementing X by 1 if the determined HARQ process also has a CG timer running, until an available HARQ process is found, or until X becomes greater than or equal to the number of HARQ processes configured for a certain CG.

[0068] At 203, UE 230 may estimate at least one operating state of at least one CG timer associated with at least one nominal HARQ process. For example, UE 230 may determine whether at least one CG timer of the nominal HARQ process is running. Additionally or alternatively, UE 230 may estimate at least one backup HARQ process associated with the CG opportunity. In addition, in response to the estimation result, UE 230 may use at least one backup HARQ process associated with the CG opportunity to perform at least one initial transmission using the CG opportunity.

[0069] At 205, the UE 230 may initiate at least one action dependent on the operational state of the CG timer of the nominal HARQ process. For example, at 207, the UE 230 may estimate at least one operational state of the CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process, such as estimating whether the CG timer of the backup HARQ process is running, after the CG timer of the nominal HARQ process is determined to be running.

[0070] At 209, in response to determining in step 207 that at least one operational state of the CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process is not running, the UE 230 may initiate at least one action that depends on the operational state of the CG timer of the backup HARQ process. In some embodiments, if the CG timer corresponding to the backup HARQ process is not running, the UE 230 may perform a new transmission on a CG opportunity using the backup HARQ process. Otherwise, if the CG timers of both the nominal and backup HARQ processes are running, the UE may skip the CG opportunity.

[0071] In certain embodiments, the range of values ​​of X that the UE 230 may consider for the CG may be pre-configured, dynamically indicated by at least one MAC CE, and / or indicated in a DCI that schedules a dynamic PUSCH that triggers at least one CG timer. For subsequent transmissions associated with the CG opportunity, the UE 230 may fall back to the original formula and / or continue to apply the modified formula with the determined value of X. The UE 230 may also be configured to fall back to at least one formula, such as the formula provided above, after a configurable or pre-specified duration.

[0072] In some embodiments, the UE 230 may embed at least one indication in the PUSCH, such as in at least one MAC CE and / or in at least one multiplexed UCI, to inform the NE 220 whether the PUSCH is sent using the nominal HARQ PID or the backup HARQ PID. As a result, the NE 230 may be configured to schedule at least one retransmission grant with at least one correct HARQ process, if necessary. In addition, the UE 230 may be configured to use at least one transmission setting of the PUSCH to implicitly indicate whether the PUSCH is transmitted using at least one nominal HARQ PID or the backup HARQ PID. For example, at least one different DMRS pattern / sequence and / or different uplink beam direction associated with the PUSCH may be applied to indicate whether the PUSCH is transmitted using the nominal HARQ PID or the backup HARQ PID.

[0073] In various embodiments, UE 230 may be configured such that it is allowed to use at least one backup HARQ process only when UE 230 intends to send data from certain LCHs, such as data from LCHs having a priority above a threshold. In addition, whether the backup HARQ process can be used may also depend on other factors, such as the type / content MAC CE that the UE 230 intends to transmit on the new transmission; whether any data associated with the SRB (e.g., data from the CCCH or DCCH) will be included in the new transmission; whether the new transmission is actually an autonomous transmission of a MAC PDU that has been deprioritized and / or incompletely transmitted (e.g., due to prioritization or LBT failure within the UE); at least one CAPC that has been selected or will be selected for the MAC PDU to be sent on the new transmission; the amount of time that the data transmitted by the new transmission has been buffered (e.g., how long the data has been waiting in the queue), the amount of time remaining to the required delivery deadline of the data; and whether the new transmission will be multiplexed with UCI associated with high priority traffic (e.g., HARQ-ACK / NACK for a high priority PDSCH; a scheduling request triggered by at least one high priority LCH). In addition, these criteria (e.g., LCH priority) may also affect the at least one backup HARQ process set that the UE may consider (e.g., the range of allowed values ​​for X). For example, when data from a higher priority LCH is to be transmitted via a new transmission, a wider range of backup HARQ processes may be used. At 211, UE 220 may send at least one PUSCH to NE 230. For example, in response to determining that at least one operational state of a CG timer of at least one nominal HARQ process is running, at least one MAC PDU may be generated and sent via at least one PUSCH according to the at least one backup HARQ process.

[0074] At 213, NE 230 may process the at least one PUSCH with at least one appropriate HARQ process ID. In some embodiments, NE 230 may configure UE 220 with at least one instruction on how to derive the backup HARQ process for the at least one CG occasion. Then, upon receiving a PUSCH at each CG occasion, NE 230 may apply at least one appropriate HARQ process based on its knowledge of whether the configured grant timer for the nominal HARQ process is running.

[0075] Figure 3 An example of a signaling diagram illustrating communication between NE 320 and UE 330 is shown. NE 320 may be similar to NE 810, and UE 330 may be similar to UE 820, each in Figure 8 Shown in. Figure 3 The signaling diagram shown may be similar to Fig.10 Flowchart shown.

[0076] At 301, NE 320 may send at least one mapping configuration to UE 330. For example, the at least one mapping configuration may include one or more of at least one total elapsed time and at least one coverage behavior. At 303, UE 330 may process at least one CG opportunity for at least one new transmission.

[0077] At 305, UE 330 may evaluate at least one operational state of at least one CG timer of at least one corresponding HARQ process. For example, UE 330 may determine whether to allow overlay based on the content of the new TB and how much time has passed since the CG timer was initially started.

[0078] At 307, UE 330 may initiate at least one action that depends on the operating state of the HARQ process CG timer. In some embodiments, UE 330 may have at least one different permission that indicates whether a TB stored in a buffer of at least one HARQ process may be overwritten, which may depend on how much time has passed since the timer was initially started, such as Figure 4 As shown. For example, due to the transmission of at least one PUSCH, at least one CG timer may start running at point A, and the CG opportunity with the corresponding HARQ process may be completely prohibited for new transmission. Then, as the timer continues to run and reaches point B, the UE 330 can overwrite at least one existing TB stored in the buffer of at least the HARQ process only when the new MAC PDU contains data from the first subset of the LCH. When the timer reaches point C, the UE 330 may be further allowed to overwrite the existing TB if the new MAC PDU contains data from the first or second subset of the LCH. Finally, when the timer expires at point D, the TB stored in the HARQ buffer may be refreshed and the HARQ process may be used for any new transmission. Therefore, as the timer runs, the restrictions on TB coverage may be gradually relaxed. Before the timer expires, it may have been restarted several times due to each retransmission. Note that the total time elapsed since the timer was initially started may be independent of how many times the timer has been restarted. At 309, the UE 330 may generate at least one transport block for at least one new transmission. At 311, the UE 330 may send a transport block generated for the at least one new transmission to the NE 320 using at least one PUSCH.

[0079] Figure 5 It is shown that according to some embodiments, Figure 8 An example of a flowchart of a method performed by a UE such as UE 820 is shown.

[0080] At 501, such as via RRC, a Figure 8 At least one NE such as NE 810 shown in receives at least one configuration, for example, at least one CG configuration. In some embodiments, the at least one configuration may include one or more of the following: at least one first CG timer value, at least one second CG timer value, and at least one criterion configured for timer value selection. For example, the at least one criterion may include one or more of the following: at least one authorization priority level, at least one LCH priority, at least one authorization parameter, and data carried by at least one PUSCH. In addition, one or more of the at least one first CG timer value and the at least one second CG timer value may be configured to indicate a time period during which the at least one timer should run once it is started.

[0081] At 503, at least one uplink grant may be received from the at least one NE, for example, at least one DCI configured for dynamic grant scheduling. In some embodiments, the at least one uplink grant may include one or more of at least one grant characteristic and at least one parameter. For example, the at least one uplink grant may be associated with at least one modulation / coding scheme (MCS), at least one transmission power, at least one multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) setting, at least one HARQ setting, at least one DCI format, at least one channel access priority category (CAPC), at least one physical layer priority value, and at least one number of repetitions. As an example, the at least one uplink grant may include at least one explicit indicator of at least one timer value, which is configured to indicate to the UE130 that at least one timer is started accordingly after the PUSCH of the at least one uplink grant is sent. Additionally or alternatively, at least one timer value may be implicitly indicated by the type of the uplink grant; for example, for dynamically granted PUSCH transmissions, one or more of CG type 1 and CG type 2 may trigger the CG timer to start at at least one different interval.

[0082] At least one received uplink grant may be evaluated according to at least one criterion at 505. For example, at least one received uplink grant and / or at least one PUSCH related to the at least one uplink grant may be checked for satisfying the at least one criterion.

[0083] At 507, one or more of the at least one CG timer values ​​may be selected. For example, the at least one first CG timer value may be selected in a case where at least one characteristic of the at least one uplink grant does not satisfy the at least one criterion. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one second CG timer value may be selected in a case where the at least one uplink grant does satisfy the at least one criterion. In certain embodiments, where two CG timer values ​​have been configured, the at least one first CG timer value may be selected in a case where none, all, or a predetermined threshold number of criteria are satisfied. Similarly, where more than two CG timer values ​​have been configured, at least one CG timer value that satisfies the highest number of criteria may be selected.

[0084] In some embodiments, the selection may be performed based on one or more of at least one grant characteristic and / or at least one parameter configured to implicitly indicate a CG timer value that the UE should apply when the PUSCH of the grant is transmitted. For example, a dynamic grant may have a priority characterization, such as "high priority" or "low priority", based on at least one explicit / implicit indication in the DCI.

[0085] In various embodiments, the selection may be performed based on at least one type / priority of data transmitted by the PUSCH of at least one received uplink grant, which may be associated with at least one parameter / rule configured for at least one LCH corresponding to the data mapped to the at least one uplink grant, such as priority, PBR, BSD, and LCP restriction. For example, if any data in the PUSCH is from an LCH with a priority higher than at least one threshold, at least one long CG timer value may be selected; otherwise, at least one short CG timer value may be selected. In some embodiments, the at least one short CG timer value may be less than or equal to at least one timer threshold, and the at least one long CG timer value may be greater than the at least one timer threshold.

[0086] In some embodiments, the at least one selected CG timer value may be 0, which is configured so that the timer does not start after the UE sends a PUSCH. For example, the at least one CG timer value may be multiplied by a factor associated with the configured priority of the logical channel, resulting in a timer value that is longer for higher priority values; a higher value of the priority parameter may be converted to a lower priority for the 3GPP data system design. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one CG timer value may be selected based on one or more of: at least one MAC CE type and at least one content transmitted by the triggered PUSCH (e.g., a BSR related to a high priority LCH or a low priority LCH); the presence of at least one MAC SDU associated with an SRB in the MAC PDU that triggers the PUSCH (e.g., data from a dedicated control channel (DCCH) or a common control channel (CCCH)); at least one type / priority of uplink control information (UCI) multiplexed in the triggered PUSCH (e.g., a high priority or low priority HARQ-ACK; a high priority or low priority scheduling request); at least one fifth generation quality of service indicator (5QI) / quality of service flow identifier (QFI) / PC5 quality of service indicator (PQI); and / or various QoS parameters associated with data transmitted by the MAC PDU that triggers the PUSCH, such as at least one packet delay budget (PDB) and / or at least one remaining time before a transmission deadline.

[0087] In various embodiments, the at least one CG timer value may be configured for each LCH. For example, the at least one CG timer value may be selected based on which of the at least one LCH mapped to the triggered PUSCH has the longest CG timer value, and / or based on the LCH with the highest priority.

[0088] In some embodiments, the priority of the grant can be considered together with the priority of the CG, and the PUSCH of the grant triggers the CG timer to start, where two or more priority levels (e.g., "high" and "low") can be assigned to each grant. As an example, the at least one CG timer value can be selected based on at least one comparison of the priority. Specifically, in the case where the CG priority is greater than or equal to the grant priority associated with triggering the PUSCH, at least one shorter CG timer value can be applied; otherwise, at least one longer timer value can be selected and started. In this way, a different CG timer can be used for each of at least one active CG configuration.

[0089] In some embodiments, when multiple CG configurations are active simultaneously, some HARQ processes may be used for more than one CG configuration, and / or at least one common CG timer may be applied to all active CG configurations having at least one resource having the same HARQ process as that associated with the triggered PUSCH. For example, when the CG timer is configured to be triggered for at least one HARQ process, if a separate CG timer is configured for each CG configuration, the UE 130 may not be configured as to which CG timer should be started. Therefore, timers for multiple CG configurations may also be selected based on the priority of the triggered PUSCH. For example, in the case where the priority of triggering the PUSCH has a higher priority, the longest applicable CG timer may be selected, and in the case where the priority of triggering the PUSCH has a lower priority, the shortest applicable CG timer may be selected.

[0090] In another example, in a case where only possible CG timer values ​​of "long" and "short" are available, and if there are multiple CG configurations with resources for the same HARQ process, at least one CG timer for these CG configurations can be selected depending on whether at least one of these CG configurations has a higher or lower priority than triggering PUSCH. Specifically, if at least one of the CG configurations with the same resources for the same HARQ process as triggering PUSCH has a higher priority than triggering PUSCH, at least one short CG timer can be selected for all these CG configurations. On the contrary, if none of the CG configurations with the same resources for the same HARQ process as triggering PUSCH has a higher priority than triggering PUSCH, at least one long CG timer can be selected for all these CG configurations.

[0091] In various embodiments, when selecting and triggering at least one CG timer, UE 130 may notify NE 120 of at least one CG timer value that it has selected; thus, NE 120 may be aware of the CG timer status and appropriately perform resource allocation. Such notification may include one or more of uplink control information (UCI), at least one MAC CE, and other types of uplink control signaling. In addition, UE 130 may be configured to implicitly indicate the at least one selected CG timer value using at least one transmission setting for triggering PUSCH. For example, different demodulation reference signal (DMRS) patterns / sequences and / or different uplink beam directions associated with triggering PUSCH may be applied to indicate different CG timer values.

[0092] At 509, at least one PUSCH associated with at least one grant may be sent to at least one NE. Simultaneously or asynchronously with 509, at 511, at least one timer may be started based on at least one selected CG timer value. In some embodiments, based on the priority of the at least one grant, when the PUSCH associated with the at least one grant is sent, the at least one timer may be a "long" or "short" CG timer. For example, if the priority of the at least one grant is "high", at least one "long" CG timer may be started, thereby allowing the UE to protect its TB for a longer period of time and ensuring that the data transmitted by the PUSCH of the at least one grant can be reliably sent with sufficient retransmissions (if necessary). On the contrary, if the priority of the at least one grant is "low", at least one "short" CG timer may be started so that the TB prepared for the at least one grant does not occupy the HARQ buffer for too long and releases the HARQ process earlier for other services.

[0093] Figure 6 It is shown that according to some embodiments, Figure 8 An example of a flowchart of a method performed by a UE such as UE 820 is shown.

[0094] At 601, a data packet may be received from a server such as a server via RRC. Figure 8 At least one NE such as NE 810 shown in receives at least one configuration, for example, at least one CG configuration. In some embodiments, the at least one configuration may include at least one CG timer and one or more of information related to at least one nominal HARQ process of at least one CG opportunity associated with the at least one CG configuration.

[0095] In some embodiments, for each CG opportunity, in addition to a nominal HARQ process that may be derived based on one or more of at least one SFN, at least one subframe, and at least one time slot number, at least one backup HARQ process ID may be explicitly and / or implicitly received, which at least one backup HARQ process ID may be configured for the UE to use for at least one new transmission when at least one CG timer of the nominal HARQ process is running. For example, two (or more) HARQ PIDs are associated with at least one CG opportunity (e.g., pre-configured by RRC and / or fixed by a specification).

[0096] In some embodiments, at least one backup HARQ process ID may be derived based on at least one implicit relationship with the nominal HARQ process, such as backup HARQ PID=(nominal HARQ PID+X)mod(N), where X may be an integer and N may be the total number of HARQ processes configured for the CG. Alternatively, in the case where multiple CG configurations are configured in the UE 230, the formula may be backup HARQ PID=(nominal HARQ PID+X)mod(N)+HARQ_ID_offset. When the initially determined nominal HARQ process ID cannot be used due to the running of the at least one CG timer, the UE 230 may start searching for a backup HARQ process by applying the formula with X=1, and start incrementing X by 1 if the determined HARQ process also has a CG timer running, until an available HARQ process is found, or until X becomes greater than or equal to the number of HARQ processes configured for a certain CG.

[0097] At 603, at least one operating state of at least one CG timer associated with at least one nominal HARQ process may be estimated. For example, it may be determined whether at least one CG timer of the nominal HARQ process is running. Additionally or alternatively, at least one backup HARQ process associated with the CG opportunity may be estimated. Furthermore, in response to the estimation result, at least one backup HARQ process associated with the CG opportunity may be used to perform at least one initial transmission using the CG opportunity.

[0098] At 605, at least one action dependent on an operational state of a CG timer of a nominal HARQ process may be initiated. For example, at 607, at least one operational state of a CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process may be estimated after the CG timer of the nominal HARQ process is determined to be running, such as estimating whether the CG timer of the backup HARQ process is running.

[0099] At 609, in response to determining in step 607 that at least one operational state of the CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process is not running, at least one action dependent on the operational state of the CG timer of the backup HARQ process may be initiated. In some embodiments, if the CG timer corresponding to the backup HARQ process is not running, at least one new transmission may be performed on a CG opportunity using the backup HARQ process. Otherwise, if the CG timers of both the nominal and backup HARQ processes are running, the UE may skip the CG opportunity.

[0100] In certain embodiments, the range of values ​​of X that the UE may consider for the CG may be pre-configured, dynamically indicated by at least one MAC CE, and / or indicated in a DCI that schedules a dynamic PUSCH that triggers at least one CG timer. For subsequent transmissions associated with the CG opportunity, the UE may fall back to the original formula and / or continue to apply the modified formula with the determined value of X. The UE may also be configured to fall back to at least one formula provided above, for example, after a configurable or pre-specified duration.

[0101] In some embodiments, the UE may embed at least one indication in the PUSCH, for example in at least one MAC CE and / or in at least one multiplexed UCI, to inform the NE whether to use the nominal HARQ PID or the backup HARQ PID to send the PUSCH. As a result, the NE may be configured to schedule at least one retransmission grant with at least one correct HARQ process, if necessary. In addition, at least one indication may be sent, the at least one indication implicitly indicating whether to use at least one nominal HARQ PID or the backup HARQ PID to transmit the PUSCH using at least one transmission setting of the PUSCH. For example, at least one different DMRS pattern / sequence and / or different uplink beam direction associated with the PUSCH may be applied to indicate whether to use the nominal HARQ PID or the backup HARQ PID to send the PUSCH.

[0102] In various embodiments, the UE may be configured such that it is allowed to use at least one backup HARQ process only when the UE intends to send data from certain LCHs (such as data from an LCH with a priority above a threshold). In addition, whether the backup HARQ process can be used may also depend on other factors, such as the type / content MAC CE that the UE intends to transmit on the new transmission; whether any data associated with SRBs (e.g., data from CCCH or DCCH) is to be included in the new transmission; whether the new transmission is actually an autonomous transmission of a MAC PDU that has been deprioritized and / or incompletely transmitted (e.g., due to prioritization or LBT failure within the UE); at least one CAPC that has been selected or is to be selected for the MAC PDU to be transmitted on the new transmission; the amount of time that the data transmitted by the new transmission has been buffered (e.g., how long the data has been waiting in a queue); the amount of time remaining to the required delivery deadline for the data; and whether the new transmission will be multiplexed with UCI associated with high priority services (e.g., HARQ-ACK / NACK for a high priority PDSCH; a scheduling request triggered by at least one high priority LCH). In addition, these criteria (e.g., LCH priority) may also affect the at least one backup HARQ process set that the UE may consider (e.g., the allowed value range of X). For example, when data from a higher priority LCH is to be transmitted via a new transmission, a wider range of backup HARQ processes may be used. At 611, at least one PUSCH may be sent to at least one NE. For example, in response to determining that at least one operating state of a CG timer of at least one nominal HARQ process is running, at least one MAC PDU may be generated and sent via at least one PUSCH according to the at least one backup HARQ process.

[0103] Figure 7 It is shown that according to some embodiments, Figure 8 An example of a flowchart of a method performed by a UE such as UE 820 is shown in FIG. Figure 7 The flowchart shown can be similar to Fig.10 Flowchart shown.

[0104] At 701, at least one NE (such as Figure 8 NE 810 shown in FIG. 8 receives at least one mapping configuration. For example, the at least one mapping configuration may include one or more of at least one total elapsed time and at least one coverage behavior.

[0105] At 703, at least one CG opportunity for at least one new transmission may be processed.

[0106] At least one operational state of at least one CG timer of at least one corresponding HARQ process may be estimated at 705. For example, the UE may determine whether to allow overlay based on the content of the new TB and how much time has passed since the CG timer was initially started.

[0107] At 707, at least one action may be initiated depending on the operating state of the HARQ process CG timer. In some embodiments, the UE may have at least one different permission indicating whether a TB stored in a buffer of at least one HARQ process may be overwritten, which may depend on how much time has passed since the timer was initially started, such as Figure 4 As shown. For example, due to the transmission of at least one PUSCH, at least one CG timer may start running at point A, and the CG opportunity with the corresponding HARQ process may be completely prohibited for new transmission. Then, when time reaches point B, the UE can overwrite at least one existing TB stored in the buffer of at least the HARQ process only when the new MAC PDU contains data from the first subset of the LCH. When time reaches point C, if the new MAC PDU contains data from the first or second subset of the LCH, the UE may be further allowed to overwrite the existing TB stored in the buffer of at least the HARQ process. Finally, when the timer expires at point D, the TB stored in the HARQ buffer can be refreshed and the HARQ process can be used for any new transmission. Therefore, as the timer runs, the restrictions on TB coverage may be gradually relaxed. Before the timer expires, it may have been restarted several times due to each retransmission. Note that the total time elapsed since the timer was initially started may be independent of how many times the timer has been restarted. At 709, at least one transport block for at least one new transmission may be generated. At 711, the UE 330 may send at least one transport block generated for the at least one new transmission to at least one NE using at least one PUSCH.

[0108] Figure 8 An example of a system according to some example embodiments is shown. In an example embodiment, the system may include a plurality of devices, such as a network entity 810 and / or a user device 820.

[0109] The network entity 810 may be one or more of a base station such as an evolved Node B (eNB) or a 5G or new radio Node B (gNB), a serving gateway, a server and / or any other access node, or a combination thereof. In addition, the network entity 810 and / or the user equipment 820 may be one or more of a Citizen Broadband Radio Service Device (CBSD).

[0110] The network entity 810 may also include at least one gNB-CU, which may be associated with at least one gNB-DU. The at least one gNB-CU and the at least one gNB-DU may communicate via 5GC via at least one F1 interface, at least one Xn-C interface, and / or at least one NG interface.

[0111] User device 820 may include one or more of the following: a mobile device (such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, or a portable media player), a digital camera, a camcorder, a video game console, a navigation unit (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) device), a desktop or portable computer, a single-location device (e.g., a sensor or smart meter), or any combination thereof.

[0112] One or more of these devices may include at least one processor, indicated as 811 and 821, respectively. Processors 811 and 821 may be implemented by any computing or data processing device, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like. The processor may be implemented as a single controller or multiple controllers or processors.

[0113] At least one memory may be provided in one or more devices indicated by 812 and 822. The memory may be fixed or removable. The memory may include computer program instructions or computer code contained therein. The memories 812 and 822 may independently be any suitable storage device, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. A hard disk drive (HDD), random access memory (RAM), flash memory or other suitable memory may be used. The memory may be combined on a single integrated circuit as a processor, or may be separate from one or more processors. In addition, the computer program instructions stored in the memory and that may be processed by the processor may be in any suitable form of computer program code, such as a compiled or interpreted computer program written in any suitable programming language. The memory may be removable or non-removable.

[0114] Processors 811 and 821 and memories 812 and 822 or a subset thereof may be configured to provide Figure 1-7 Modules corresponding to the various blocks of the device. Although not shown, the device may also include positioning hardware, such as GPS or micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) hardware, which can be used to determine the location of the device. Other sensors (such as barometers, compasses, etc.) are also allowed and may be included to determine the location, altitude, orientation, etc.

[0115] like Figure 8As shown, transceivers 813 and 823 may be provided, and one or more devices may also include at least one antenna, illustrated as 814 and 824, respectively. The device may have many antennas, such as an antenna array configured for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication or multiple antennas for multiple radio access technologies. For example, other configurations of these devices may be provided. Transceivers 813 and 823 may be transmitters, receivers, or both transmitters and receivers, or may be units or devices configured for both sending and receiving.

[0116] The memory and computer program instructions may be configured with a processor for a particular device to cause a hardware device such as a user device to perform any of the processes described below (see, for example, Figure 1-7 ). Thus, in some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be encoded with computer instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform a process such as one of the processes described herein. Alternatively, some embodiments may be performed entirely in hardware.

[0117] In some embodiments, an apparatus may include a device configured to perform Figure 1-7 Circuitry for any process or function shown. For example, the circuitry may be a hardware-only circuit implementation, such as an analog and / or digital circuit. In another example, the circuitry may be a combination of hardware circuitry and software that work together to enable the device to perform various processes or functions (e.g., a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software or firmware, and / or any portion of a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor), software, and at least one memory). In yet another example, the circuitry may be a hardware circuitry and / or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that includes software such as firmware for operation. The software in the circuitry may not be present when not required for the operation of the hardware.

[0118] Fig. 9 An example of a 5G network and system architecture according to certain embodiments is shown. A plurality of network functions are shown, which may be implemented as software operating as part of a network device or dedicated hardware, implemented as a network device itself or dedicated hardware, or implemented as a virtual function operating as a network device or dedicated hardware. Fig. 9 The NE and UE shown may be similar to NE 810 and UE 820, respectively. The UPF may provide services such as intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, routing and forwarding of data packets, inspection of packets, user plane QoS processing, buffering of downlink packets, and / or triggering of downlink data notifications. The AF may primarily interface with the core network to facilitate application use of traffic routing and interact with the policy framework.

[0119] The features, structures or characteristics of certain embodiments described throughout the specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, throughout the specification, the use of the phrases "certain embodiments," "some embodiments," "other embodiments," or other similar language refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, throughout the specification, the appearance of the phrases "in certain embodiments," "in certain embodiments," "in other embodiments," or other similar language does not necessarily refer to the same set of embodiments, and the described features, structures or characteristics may be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner.

[0120] Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that certain embodiments described above may be practiced with processes in a different order and / or with hardware elements in a configuration different from that disclosed. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative configurations will be apparent while remaining within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, in order to determine the limits of the embodiments of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the appended claims.

[0121] Partial Glossary

[0122] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0123] 5G Fifth Generation

[0124] 5GC Fifth Generation Core

[0125] 5GS fifth generation system

[0126] 5QI Fifth Generation Service Quality Indicator

[0127] ASIC

[0128] BS Base Station

[0129] BSD Bucket Size Duration

[0130] BSR Buffer Status Report

[0131] CAPC Channel Access Priority

[0132] CCCH Common Control Channel

[0133] CE Control Elements

[0134] CG Configuration Authorization

[0135] CPU Central Processing Unit

[0136] DCCH dedicated control channel

[0137] DMRS demodulation reference signal

[0138] DCI downlink control information

[0139] DL Downlink

[0140] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0141] eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband

[0142] eNB Evolved Node B

[0143] EPS Evolved Packet System

[0144] gNBNext Generation Node B

[0145] GPS Global Positioning System

[0146] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0147] HARQ PID Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Process Identifier

[0148] HDD Hard Drive

[0149] IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

[0150] LBT listens first and speaks later

[0151] LCH logical channel

[0152] LCP logical channel prioritization

[0153] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0154] MAC Media Access Control

[0155] MCS modulation and coding scheme

[0156] MEMS Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems

[0157] MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output

[0158] MME mobility management entity

[0159] NAS non-access layer

[0160] NE network entity

[0161] NG Next Generation

[0162] NR New Radio

[0163] NR-U does not authorize new radio

[0164] OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0165] PBR Prioritized Bitrate

[0166] PDA Personal Digital Assistant

[0167] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0168] PDU protocol data unit

[0169] PQIPC5 Quality of Service Identifier

[0170] PUSCH Physical uplink shared channel

[0171] QFI Quality of Service Flow Identifier

[0172] QoS Quality of Service

[0173] RAM Random Access Memory

[0174] RAN Radio Access Network

[0175] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0176] SDU Service Data Unit

[0177] SFN System Frame Number

[0178] SR Dispatch Report

[0179] SRB Signalling Radio Bearer

[0180] TB Transfer Block

[0181] TR Technical Report

[0182] TS Technical Specifications

[0183] Tx

[0184] UCI Uplink Control Information

[0185] UE User Equipment

[0186] UL Uplink

[0187] URLLC ultra-reliable and low-latency communications

[0188] WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

[0189] According to a first embodiment, a method may include receiving at least one configuration from at least one network entity. The method may also include evaluating at least one received uplink grant for at least one criterion associated with the at least one configuration. The method may also include starting at least one timer according to at least one selected configuration grant timer value based on the at least one criterion.

[0190] In one variation, the at least one configuration may include one or more of: at least one first CG timer value, at least one second CG timer value, and at least one criterion configured for timer value selection.

[0191] In one variation, the method may further comprise starting at least one timer in accordance with the at least one selected configuration authorization timer value.

[0192] In one variation, the method may further comprise selecting one or more of the at least one configuration authorization timer value.

[0193] In a variant, the method may further comprise sending at least one physical uplink shared channel associated with the at least one uplink grant to the at least one network entity.

[0194] According to a second embodiment, a method may include receiving at least one configuration from at least one network entity. The method may also include estimating at least one operating state of at least one configuration grant timer related to at least one nominal hybrid automatic repeat request process based on the received at least one configuration. The method may also include initiating at least one action depending on the operating state of the configuration grant timer of the at least one nominal hybrid automatic repeat request process based on the operating state of the configuration grant timer of the at least one nominal hybrid automatic repeat request process being estimated to be running. The method may also include estimating at least one operating state of the CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process. The method may also include initiating at least one action depending on the operating state of the CG timer of the backup HARQ process. In response to determining that at least one operating state of the CG timer of at least one backup HARQ process is not running, at least one media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) may be generated and sent via at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) using the at least one backup HARQ process.

[0195] In one variation, the received at least one configuration may include information regarding one or more of at least one nominal HARQ process and at least one backup HARQ process.

[0196] In a variant, the method may further comprise sending at least one physical uplink shared channel to the at least one network entity.

[0197] According to a third embodiment, a method may include receiving at least one mapping configuration from at least one network entity. The method may also include estimating at least one operating state of at least one configuration grant timer associated with at least one hybrid automatic repeat request process based on the received at least one mapping configuration. The method may also include initiating at least one action that depends on the operating state of the configuration grant timer of the hybrid automatic repeat request process. At least one new media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) may overwrite at least one existing transport block (TB) stored in a buffer of the at least one hybrid automatic repeat request process.

[0198] In one variation, the at least one operational state of at least one configuration authorization timer may be associated with a total elapsed time that the at least one configuration authorization timer has been running.

[0199] In one variation, the at least one new MAC PDU may include data from a first subset of at least one logical channel (LCH) between a first time and a second time.

[0200] In one variation, at least one new MAC PDU containing data from the first subset or the second subset of at least one LCH between the second time and the third time may overlay the at least one existing TB.

[0201] In one variation, the method may further include processing at least one configuration grant opportunity for at least one new transmission.

[0202] In a variant, the method may further comprise generating at least one transport block.

[0203] In a variant, the method may further comprise sending at least one physical uplink shared channel to the at least one network entity.

[0204] According to the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment and the sixth embodiment, a device may include at least one processor, at least one memory and a computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to at least perform the method according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment and any variant thereof.

[0205] According to the seventh, eighth and ninth embodiments, an apparatus may include a module for executing the method according to the first, second, third and any variations thereof.

[0206] According to the tenth embodiment, the eleventh embodiment, and the twelfth embodiment, a computer program product may encode instructions for executing a process including the method according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, and any variations thereof.

[0207] According to the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may encode instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform a process including the method according to the first, second, third and any variations thereof.

[0208] According to the sixteenth embodiment, the seventeenth embodiment and the eighteenth embodiment, a computer program code may include instructions for executing the method according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment and any variations thereof.

[0209] According to the nineteenth embodiment, the twentieth embodiment, and the twenty-first embodiment, an apparatus may include a circuit configured to perform a process including the method according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, and any variations thereof.

Claims

1. A method comprising: receiving at least one configuration from at least one network entity; estimating at least one received uplink grant based on at least one criterion associated with the at least one configuration, the at least one criterion comprising at least one grant priority and at least one logical channel priority, wherein the estimating comprises estimating the at least one received uplink grant based on the logical channel priority and whether autonomous transmission has been configured; as well as At least one physical uplink shared channel associated with at least one uplink grant is sent to the at least one network entity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one timer value is associated with a Configuration Grant (CG) timer.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The value of the at least one timer value is a time period for which the at least one timer value should run once it is started.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one configuration includes one or more of: at least one first configuration grant (CG) timer value, at least one second configuration grant (CG) timer value, and at least one criterion configured for timer value selection.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one criterion further comprises at least one of: at least one authorization parameter, data carried by at least one physical uplink shared channel.

6. A device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving at least one configuration from at least one network entity; estimating at least one received uplink grant based on at least one criterion associated with the at least one configuration, the at least one criterion comprising at least one grant priority and at least one logical channel priority, wherein the estimating comprises estimating the at least one received uplink grant based on the logical channel priority and whether autonomous transmission has been configured; as well as At least one physical uplink shared channel associated with at least one uplink grant is sent to the at least one network entity.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein: At least one timer value is associated with the configuration authorization timer.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The value of the at least one timer value is a time period for which the at least one timer value should run once it is started.

9. The device according to claim 6, wherein: The at least one configuration includes one or more of the following: At least one first configuration grant (CG) timer value, at least one second configuration grant (CG) timer value, and at least one criterion configured for timer value selection.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The at least one criterion further comprises at least one of: at least one authorization parameter, data carried by at least one physical uplink shared channel.

11. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-5.

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