Skipping transmission of uplink control information

Abstract

A method is disclosed, comprising: receiving a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating an indication that one or more unused configured licensed physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determining whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information based on one or more rules.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following example embodiments relate to wireless communications. Technical Background

[0002] Since energy and network resources are limited, it is desirable to provide solutions for energy saving and for optimizing the usage of network resources. Summary of the invention

[0003] The scope of protection sought by the various example embodiments is set out by the independent claims. Example embodiments and features described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims, if any, should be interpreted as useful examples for understanding the various embodiments.

[0004] According to an aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the device to at least: receive a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determine whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0005] According to another aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a component for receiving a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and a component for determining whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0006] According to another aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determining whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0007] According to another aspect, a computer program comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determining whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0008] According to another aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium comprising program instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receive a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determine whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0009] According to another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receive a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determine whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0010] According to another aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to at least: generate a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmit the configuration to the user equipment.

[0011] According to another aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a component for generating a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and a component for transmitting the configuration to the user equipment.

[0012] According to another aspect, a method is provided, comprising: generating a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmitting the configuration to the user equipment.

[0013] According to another aspect, a computer program is provided comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: generate a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmit the configuration to the user equipment.

[0014] According to another aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium comprising program instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: generate a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmit the configuration to the user equipment.

[0015] According to another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: generate a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmit the configuration to the user equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Hereinafter, various example embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0017] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication network is shown;

[0018] Figure 2 An example of uplink control information carried by a non-overlapping physical uplink control channel is shown;

[0019] Figure 3 An example of uplink control information multiplexed on a physical uplink shared channel is shown;

[0020] Figure 4 A signal flow graph is shown;

[0021] Figure 5 A signal flow graph is shown;

[0022] Figure 6 A signal flow graph is shown;

[0023] Figure 7 A signal flow graph is shown;

[0024] Figure 8 A signal flow graph is shown;

[0025] Fig. 9 A flow chart is shown;

[0026] Fig.10 A flow chart is shown;

[0027] Fig.11 An example of a single-stream traffic model for uplink video traffic is shown;

[0028] Fig.12 An example of the distribution of frame sizes is shown;

[0029] Fig.13 An example of an apparatus is shown; and

[0030] Fig.14 An example of an apparatus is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "one", "an" or "some" (multiple) embodiments in several places in the text, this does not necessarily mean that the same (multiple) embodiments are referenced each time, or that a particular feature applies only to a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0032] Some example embodiments described herein may be implemented in a wireless communication network including a radio access network based on one or more of the following radio access technologies (RATs): Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or any other second generation radio access technology, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS, 3G) based on basic Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Fourth Generation (4G), Fifth Generation (5G), 5G New Radio (NR), Advanced 5G (i.e., 3GPP NR Rel-18 and above), or Sixth Generation (6G). Some examples of radio access networks include Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA), or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN). The wireless communication network may also include a core network, and some example embodiments may also be applied to network functions of the core network.

[0033] It should be noted that the embodiments are not limited to the wireless communication networks given as examples, but those skilled in the art can also apply the solution to other wireless communication networks or systems with necessary characteristics. For example, some example embodiments can also be applied to communication systems based on the IEEE 802.11 specification or communication systems based on the IEEE 802.15 specification. IEEE is the abbreviation of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

[0034] Figure 1 An example of a simplified wireless communication network showing some physical and logical entities is depicted. Figure 1 The connections shown may be physical connections or logical connections. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that a wireless communication network may also include Figure 1 Other physical and logical entities than those shown.

[0035] However, the example embodiments described herein are not limited to the wireless communication networks given as examples, but those skilled in the art may apply the embodiments described herein to other wireless communication networks having necessary properties.

[0036] Figure 1 The exemplary wireless communication network shown includes an access network (eg, a radio access network (RAN)) and a core network 110 .

[0037] Figure 1A user equipment (UE) 100, 102 is shown that is configured to wirelessly connect to an access node (AN) 104 of an access network on one or more communication channels in a radio cell. AN 104 may be an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB for short), or a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB for short), or a next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB for short), providing a radio cell. A wireless connection (e.g., a radio link) from a UE to an access node 104 may be referred to as an uplink (UL) or a reverse link, and a wireless connection (e.g., a radio link) from an access node to a UE may be referred to as a downlink (DL) or a forward link. UE 100 may also communicate directly with UE 102 via a wireless connection commonly referred to as a side link (SL), and vice versa. It should be appreciated that the access node 104 or its functionality may be implemented using any node, host, server, or access point entity suitable for providing such functionality.

[0038] An access network may include more than one access node, in which case the access nodes may also be configured to communicate with each other via wired or wireless links. These links between access nodes may be used to send and receive control plane signaling, and also to route data from one access node to another.

[0039] An access node may include a computing device configured to control radio resources of the access node. An access node may also be referred to as a base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), an access point, a cell site, a radio access node, or any other type of node capable of wirelessly connecting to a UE (e.g., UE 100, 102). An access node may include or be coupled to a transceiver. From the transceiver of the access node, a connection may be provided to an antenna unit that establishes a bidirectional radio link to the UE 100, 102. The antenna unit may include an antenna or an antenna element, or multiple antennas or multiple antenna elements.

[0040] The access node 104 may also be connected to a core network (CN) 110. The core network 110 may include an evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or a fifth generation core network (5GC). The EPC may include network entities such as a serving gateway (S-GW for routing and forwarding data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW) for providing connectivity of UEs to external packet data networks, and a mobility management entity (MME). The 5GC may include one or more network functions, such as at least one of the following: a user plane function (UPF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a location management function (LMF), and / or a session management function (SMF).

[0041] The core network 110 can also communicate with one or more external networks 113 (such as a public switched telephone network or the Internet), or utilize services provided by them. For example, in a 5G wireless communication network, the UPF of the core network 110 can be configured to communicate with an external data network via an N6 interface. In an LTE wireless communication network, the P-GW of the core network 110 can be configured to communicate with an external data network.

[0042] The UE 100, 102 shown is a type of apparatus to which resources on the air interface can be allocated and assigned. The UE 100, 102 may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a terminal device, or a user equipment (to mention just a few names). The UE may be a computing device operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of computing devices: a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cell phone, a computing device including a wireless modem (e.g., an alarm or measuring device, etc.), a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a game console, a notebook, a multimedia device, a reduced capability (RedCap) device, a wearable device with a radio component (e.g., a watch, a headset, or glasses), a sensor including a wireless modem, or any computing device including a wireless modem integrated in a vehicle.

[0043] It should be understood that a UE may also be an almost exclusively uplink-only device, an example of which may be a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips to a network. A UE may also be a device with the ability to operate in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, a scenario in which objects may be provided with the ability to transmit data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. A UE may also utilize the cloud. In some applications, computations may be performed in the cloud or in another UE.

[0044] The wireless communication network can also support the use of cloud services, for example, at least a portion of the core network operations can be performed as a cloud service (this is in Figure 1 114). The wireless communication network may also include a central control entity or the like, which provides facilities for wireless communication networks of different operators to cooperate, for example, in spectrum sharing.

[0045] 5G enables the use of multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antennas in access nodes 104 and / or UEs 100, 102, many more base stations or access nodes than in LTE networks (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in collaboration with smaller sites, and employing various radio technologies depending on service requirements, use cases and / or available spectrum. 5G wireless communication networks can support a wide range of use cases and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of sharing data and various forms of machine-type applications, such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC), including vehicle safety, different sensors and real-time control.

[0046] In a 5G wireless communication network, access nodes and / or UEs may have multiple radio interfaces, namely below 6 GHz, centimeter wave and millimeter wave, and may also be integrated with existing legacy radio access technologies such as LTE. Integration with LTE may be implemented, for example, as a system in which macro coverage may be provided by LTE, and 5G radio interface access may come from small cells by aggregation to LTE. In other words, a 5G wireless communication network may support both inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as below 6 GHz-centimeter wave-millimeter wave). One of the concepts considered for use in a 5G wireless communication network may be network slicing, in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual subnetworks (network instances) may be created within substantially the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput and mobility.

[0047] In some example embodiments, an access node (e.g., access node 104) may include: a radio unit (RU), which includes a radio transceiver (TRX), i.e., a transmitter (Tx) and a receiver (Rx); one or more distributed units (DU) 105, which can be used for so-called layer 1 (Layer 1, L1) processing and real-time layer 2 (Layer 2, L2) processing; and a central unit (CU) 108 (also called a centralized unit), which can be used for non-real-time layer 2 and layer 3 (Layer 3, L3) processing. CU 108 can be connected to one or more DUs 105, for example, via an F1 interface. Such an embodiment of the access node can achieve the centralization of CU relative to the cell site and DU, while DU can be more distributed and can even be retained at the cell site. CU and DU together can also be referred to as baseband or baseband unit (BBU). The CU and DU may also be included in a radio access point (RAP).

[0048] CU 108 may be a logical node for hosting the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and / or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the NR protocol stack of the access node. DU 105 may be a logical node for hosting the radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and / or physical (PHY) layers of the NR protocol stack for the access node. The operation of the DU may be at least partially controlled by the CU. It should also be understood that the functional distribution between the DU 105 and the CU 108 may vary depending on the implementation. The CU may include a control plane (CU-control plane, CU-CP), which may be a logical node for hosting the control plane portion of the PDCP protocol of the NR protocol stack for the access node and the RRC. The CU may also include a user plane (CU-user plane, CU-UP), which may be a logical node for hosting the user plane portion of the PDCP protocol and the SDAP protocol of the CU for the access node.

[0049] The cloud computing system may also be used to provide the CU 108 and / or the DU 105. The CU provided by the cloud computing system may be referred to as a virtualized CU (vCU). In addition to the vCU, there may also be a virtualized DU (vDU) provided by the cloud computing system. In addition, there may also be a combination, where the DU may be implemented on a so-called bare metal solution, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a customer-specific standard product (CSSP) system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0050] The edge cloud can be brought into the access network (e.g., radio access network (RAN)) by leveraging network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN). Using the edge cloud can mean that the access node operations are to be performed at least in part in a computing system of a remote radio head (RRH) or a radio unit (RU) that is operatively coupled to the access node. It is also possible that the access node operations can be performed on a distributed computing system or a cloud computing system located at the access node. The application of the cloud RAN architecture enables RAN real-time functions to be performed at the access network (e.g., in the DU 105) and non-real-time functions to be performed in a centralized manner (e.g., in the CU 108).

[0051] It should also be understood that the functional distribution between core network operations and access node operations may be different, or even non-existent, in future wireless communication networks compared to LTE or 5G. Some other technological advances that may be used include big data and all-IP, which may change the way wireless communication networks are built and managed. 5G (or New Radio) NR wireless communication networks may support multiple layers, where multi-access edge computing (MEC) servers may be placed between the core network 110 and the access node 104. It should be understood that MEC may also be applied to LTE wireless communication networks.

[0052] The 5G wireless communication network ("5G network") may also include non-terrestrial communication networks, such as satellite communication networks, to enhance or supplement the coverage of the 5G radio access network. For example, satellite communications may support data transmission between the 5G radio access network and the core network, thereby achieving wider network coverage. Possible use cases may be to provide service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (IoT) devices or for passengers on vehicles, or to ensure service availability for critical communications and future railway / maritime / aviation communications. Satellite communications may utilize geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems, but may also utilize low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, in particular giant constellations (systems in which hundreds of (nano) satellites are deployed). A given satellite 106 in a giant constellation may cover several satellite-supporting network entities that create a ground cell. A ground cell may be created by a ground relay access node or by an access node 104 located on the ground or in a satellite.

[0053] It is obvious to those skilled in the art that Figure 1 The access node 104 depicted in the figure is only an example of a portion of an access network (e.g., a radio access network), and in practice, the access network may include multiple access nodes, the UE 100, 102 may access multiple radio cells, and the access network may also include other devices, such as physical layer relay access nodes or other entities. At least one of the access nodes may be a Home eNodeB or a Home gNodeB. A Home gNodeB or a Home eNodeB is a type of access node that can be used to provide indoor coverage within a home, office, or other indoor environment.

[0054] In addition, in a geographical area of ​​an access network (e.g., a radio access network), a plurality of different kinds of radio cells and a plurality of radio cells may be provided. A radio cell may be a macro cell (or umbrella cell), a large cell with a diameter of up to tens of kilometers, or a smaller cell, such as a micro cell, a femto cell or a pico cell. Figure 1 The access node(s) may provide any kind of these cells. A cellular radio network may be implemented as a multi-layer access network comprising several radio cells. In a multi-layer access network, one access node may provide one or more radio cells, so multiple access nodes may be needed to provide such a multi-layer access network.

[0055] In order to meet the demand for improving access network performance, the concept of "plug and play" access nodes can be introduced. In addition to home eNodeB or home gNodeB, access networks that can use "plug and play" access nodes can also include home node B gateways or HNB-GW ( Figure 1 The HNB-GW, which may be installed within an operator's access network, may aggregate traffic from a large number of Home eNodeBs or Home gNodeBs back to the operator's core network.

[0056] Capacity improvements and UE energy saving are considered in NR Release 18, for example for extended reality (XR) use cases. The focus of energy saving is mainly on enabling the configuration and adjustment of connected mode discontinuous reception (CDRX) parameters according to the XR traffic pattern. For capacity improvement, there is a protocol for a solution that meets the high data rate and low latency requirements of XR traffic.

[0057] In this regard, multiple CG PUSCH transmission opportunities in a period of a single configured grant (CG) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration have been agreed as a target for NR Release 18. In addition, dynamic indication of unused (multiple) CG PUSCH transmission opportunities by the UE based on uplink control information (UCI) has also been agreed as a target for NR Release 18.

[0058] Since XR video packets have varying frame sizes, indication of unused CG PUSCH opportunities may be beneficial in avoiding wasting unused (ie, unneeded) PUSCH resources and reducing UE power consumption.

[0059] The following agreement has been made regarding the indication of unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities in a multi-CG PUSCH configuration. First, for a CG PUSCH configuration, unused transmission occasion uplink control information (UTO-UCI) may be included in each CG PUSCH transmitted. UTO-UCI refers to a UCI that provides information about unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities. Secondly, when a CG PUSCH opportunity is indicated as "unused", the UE is not allowed to transmit CG PUSCH on that CG PUSCH opportunity. For any other CG PUSCH opportunity not indicated as "unused", the UE may be allowed to transmit or not transmit CG PUSCH on that CG PUSCH transmission opportunity.

[0060] Based on the above protocol, the UE may indicate via UTO-UCI the CG PUSCH transmission opportunities that the UE does not need (eg, does not have any UL user data to be transmitted therein). UTO-UCI can only be transmitted on PUSCH.

[0061] In addition to capacity enhancement opportunities (by allowing the network to reschedule a UE's unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities to other UEs), skipping (omitting) PUSCH transmissions may provide energy saving opportunities for the UE.

[0062] When there is no data to be transmitted, PUSCH transmission can be skipped and UL skipping is enabled. However, according to the current specification, uplink control information (UCI) transmitted by the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or UCI multiplexed on the PUSCH will always be transmitted. Therefore, the PUCCH or PUSCH scheduled to carry such UCI (according to the current specification) will be transmitted.

[0063] While capacity gains may result from reusing transmission resources, energy savings may require avoiding unnecessary transmissions. However, there is currently no solution for indicating unused transmissions of UCI (such as channel state information) that, in principle, could be delayed to a later transmission opportunity with minimal impact.

[0064] Depending on the configuration, UCI may be carried by a dedicated control channel (i.e., PUCCH) or multiplexed with an uplink data channel (i.e., PUSCH). UCI may include, for example, at least one of the following elements: hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, scheduling request (SR), and / or channel state information (CSI). HARQ feedback may refer to a HARQ acknowledgment (ACK) or a HARQ negative acknowledgment (NACK). It should be noted that not all of these different elements (HARQ feedback, SR, and CSI) are always carried by a single UCI. Depending on the circumstances, a single UCI may include one or more of these elements.

[0065] A RAN node (e.g., gNB) may require CSI reports from a UE to be able to select the best modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for DL ​​transmission. However, if the UE is in a no-mobility or low-mobility state, the channel between the UE and the RAN node is not expected to change significantly in the near future. Therefore, if there is also no other emergency information to be carried, and if the channel is not expected to change significantly, the UCI transmission carrying the CSI report may be skipped. The CSI may be configured to be transmitted periodically or semi-periodically.

[0066] However, according to the current specification, there may be situations where transmission of UCI carried by PUCCH or PUSCH may still need to be performed, even when there is no UE data to be transmitted and HARQ feedback. For example, this scenario may occur when the UE does not receive DL data before the scheduled UCI transmission, but UCI may still need to be transmitted due to periodic or semi-periodic CSI.

[0067] This may result in considerable overhead in terms of resource usage and UE power consumption (e.g., in cases where the CSI may be delayed until the next available transmission opportunity). For example, according to the current specification, when a PUSCH opportunity in a multiple CG PUSCH configuration is indicated as unused in the UTO-UCI, it may still need to be transmitted to carry UCI.

[0068] Figure 2An example of UCI carried by non-overlapping PUCCH 220, 221 is shown. When a dedicated non-overlapping PUCCH is scheduled to carry UCI, it is configured for periodic or semi-periodic CSI and HARQ feedback, which may always be transmitted (according to the current specification). In this case, UCI is still transmitted for periodic CSI reporting even when no HARQ feedback is to be transmitted to the RAN node.

[0069] exist Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, during the first DDDSU radio frame, no DL data is received in DL slots 201, 202, 203. Here, "D" refers to downlink slots, "S" refers to special slots, and "U" refers to uplink slots. A non-overlapping PUCCH 220 configured to carry UCI with periodic or semi-periodic CSI and HARQ feedback is scheduled in the same UL slot 205 as the PUSCH and UTO-UCI 230. In this case, since there is no UL data to be transmitted, the transmission of PUSCH 230 is skipped. However, due to the CSI, PUCCH 220 will still be transmitted. Similarly, in the subsequent DDDSU radio frame, PUCCH 221 is transmitted again in UL slot 210, although no DL data was received in the previous DL slot. PUSCH 231 is also transmitted in UL slot 210 due to UE UL data.

[0070] Figure 3 An example of UCI multiplexed on PUSCH 330, 331 is shown. When UCI (for carrying CSI and HARQ feedback) is configured to be multiplexed on PUSCH 330, 331, skipping PUSCH may not be possible due to periodic or semi-periodic CSI even when there is no UE UL data or HARQ feedback to be transmitted. This is because if there is UCI to be multiplexed on PUSCH resources, PUSCH transmission cannot be skipped according to current specifications.

[0071] exist Figure 3 In UL slot 305, there are two DD DSU radio frames in which PUSCH 330, 331 are transmitted. In UL slot 305, there is UL data to be transmitted, so PUSCH 330 is transmitted. However, in UL slot 310, PUSCH 331 is also transmitted due to periodic CSI, even when there is no UL data to be transmitted and no HARQ feedback.

[0072] In addition, there may be a scenario where the UE is configured to skip monitoring of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In such a case, the UE does not expect any reception of DL data, which means that there is no HARQ feedback to be reported. In this case, periodic reporting of CSI may not be necessary as long as skipping PDCCH monitoring is configured.

[0073] In addition, the UE may be configured to skip scheduled UL transmissions under certain conditions in a given (active) search space set group (SSSG). However, when the UE is required to monitor another SSSG (i.e., configured with SSSG switching), the UE may need to transmit frequent CSI reports even when there are no other reasons for UL transmissions. Such scenarios may also be considered for skipping UCI.

[0074] When the UE has no data to transmit in the UL and / or no HARQ feedback to report in the UL, the transmission of CSI is inefficient in terms of UE power consumption, resource usage and interference mitigation. The UE may benefit from additional energy savings by indicating unused PUCCH (e.g., UCI carrying periodic or semi-periodic CSI or PUSCH with multiplexed UCI). Therefore, in terms of UE energy savings and efficient resource usage, it may be beneficial to provide conditions or rules that may skip the transmission of UCI on PUCCH or multiplexed on PUSCH after the UE has signaled via UTO-UCI that certain CG PUSCH transmission opportunities will be "not used".

[0075] Some example embodiments may address the above issues by enabling a UE to skip transmission of UCI carried by a PUCCH or multiplexed on a PUSCH based on one or more rules configured by a RAN node (eg, based on whether the UCI is time sensitive).

[0076] For example, in conjunction with a UTO-UCI indication of an “unused” CG PUSCH transmission opportunity, the UE may be configured to allow skipping (or omitting) of UCI transmission on the corresponding time slot or transmission opportunity of PUCCH or PUSCH based on one or more of the following conditions: the PUSCH transmission does not carry any UL user data, the UCI transmission does not include HARQ feedback for DL ​​PDSCH transmission, the UCI only carries a CSI report, the UE is not in a high mobility state, the measured reference signal received power (RSRP) level from the RAN node is above a first threshold (e.g., s-MeasureConfig), and / or the time since the UE transmitted a previous CSI report is below a second threshold.

[0077] As an example, in Figure 2 In the embodiment, if the PUCCH carries CSI but has no HARQ feedback, the transmission of PUCCH 220, 221 may be skipped.

[0078] As another example, in Figure 3 In the embodiment, if the PUSCH carries CSI but has no UL data and no HARQ feedback, the transmission of PUSCH 331 may be skipped.

[0079] Alternatively or additionally, the skipping of UCI transmission (e.g., CSI) may be conditioned on DL energy saving techniques applied at the UE. For example, if the UE has been indicated to apply PDCCH skipping, and the UE indicates via UTO-UCI that certain CG PUSCH transmission opportunities are "unused", the UE may assume that UCI (e.g., CSI) transmission on PUCCH may also be skipped, or the UE may be allowed to indicate PUSCH with such UCI multiplexed as unused.

[0080] As another example, if the UE has been instructed, for example via downlink control information (DCI), to monitor based on a certain SSSG, and the UE indicates via UTO-UCI that certain CG-PUSCH transmission opportunities are "unused", the UE may assume that UCI (e.g., CSI) transmission on the PUCCH may also be skipped, or the UE may be allowed to indicate a PUSCH with such UCI multiplexed as unused.

[0081] UL transmission of UCI (eg, CSI) may be skipped in a time slot where UTO-UCI indicates a CG-PUSCH transmission opportunity as “unused”.

[0082] Alternatively, UL transmission of UCI (e.g., CSI) may be skipped in time slots falling between CG PUSCH transmission opportunities indicated as "unused" (i.e., used) by UTO-UCI, which also includes time slots in which no CG PUSCH transmission opportunity resides. For example, the UL time slots in which UCI transmission is skipped may refer to the time slots between the last CG PUSCH transmission opportunity indicated as used by UTO-UCI in a CG cycle and the first (used) CG PUSCH transmission opportunity of the next CG cycle, provided that the RAN node does not configure a threshold for the time between two consecutive CSI reports.

[0083] However, some example embodiments are described below using the principles and terminology of 5G radio access technology without limiting the example embodiments to 5G radio access technology.

[0084] Figure 4 A signal flow diagram according to an example embodiment is shown. Figure 4The UE 100 may be in a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED) with the RAN node 104. For example, the RAN node 104 may include a gNB.

[0085] refer to Figure 4 At 401, the RAN node 104 may select or determine one or more rules for the UE 100 from a set of predefined or preconfigured rules for skipping transmission of UCI, wherein the selection / determination is based on at least one of: whether the UE 100 is expected to transmit uplink user data, whether the UE 100 is expected to transmit HARQ feedback for downlink transmission, whether the UE 100 is expected to transmit CSI reports, whether the UE 100 is in a high mobility state, a measured RSRP level reported from the UE 100, a duration since the UE 100 transmitted a previous CSI report, or a downlink power saving setting of the UE 100. In an embodiment, these options may be included in a set of predefined or preconfigured rules, and the RAN node 104 may select one or more from the set.

[0086] In an embodiment, the RAN node 104 may configure the same one or more rules to all UEs in a cell of the RAN node. In another embodiment, the one or more rules are specific to one or more UEs (e.g., one or a subset of all UEs in a cell of the RAN node).

[0087] Herein, a high mobility state may mean, for example, that the UE 100 moves at or above a predetermined speed threshold, such as 5 kilometers per hour. The mobility state of the UE 100 may be determined based on how fast the channel conditions between the UE 100 and the RAN node 104 change.

[0088] At 402 , the RAN node 104 generates a configuration for the UE 100 indicating one or more rules.

[0089] At 403, the RAN node 104 transmits the configuration to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0090] At 404, UE 100 transmits an indication indicating one or more future unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities to RAN node 104. Alternatively, the indication may indicate that all CG PUSCH transmission opportunities in the reporting window are used (i.e., "not unused"). RAN node 104 receives the indication. The indication may refer to the above-mentioned UTO-UCI.

[0091] At 405, the UE 100 determines whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI based on one or more rules. The at least one scheduled transmission of UCI may be scheduled (by the RAN node 104) in one or more time slots including the one or more unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities indicated at 404 or in one or more time slots between the one or more unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities indicated at 404.

[0092] The one or more rules include at least a condition that an indication that one or more unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the UE 100. In this case, due to the indication transmitted at 404, the condition is satisfied.

[0093] The one or more rules may also include one or more additional conditions. For example, the one or more rules may indicate skipping at least one scheduled transmission of UCI based on at least one of the following conditions: if the at least one scheduled transmission does not carry any uplink user data, if the UCI does not carry HARQ feedback for a downlink transmission, if the UCI carries a CSI report, if the UE 100 is not in a high mobility state, if the measured RSRP level from the RAN node 104 at the UE 100 is above a first threshold, if the duration since the transmission of the previous CSI report is less than a second threshold, if the UE 100 is configured to skip PDCCH monitoring, and / or if SSSG switching is enabled at the UE 100.

[0094] Here, the terms "first threshold" and "second threshold" are used to distinguish the thresholds. In other words, the first threshold may be different from the second threshold. The first threshold and / or the second threshold may be set by the RAN node 104 in the configuration.

[0095] Based on the determination at 405, the UE 100 may skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI, or transmit at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI. In other words, the UE 100 may skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI based on the determination to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI. Alternatively, the UE 100 may transmit at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI based on the determination not to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI.

[0096] Figure 5 A method for skipping non-overlapping PUCCHs (eg, Figure 2 Signal flow diagram of UCI carried by PUCCH 220 or 221). Figure 5 The UE 100 may be in a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED) with the RAN node 104. For example, the RAN node 104 may include a gNB.

[0097] Reference Figure 5 At 501, the RAN node 104 generates a configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of UCI for the UE 100. For example, the RAN node 104 may select / determine one or more rules as described above in Figure 4 The 401 is described.

[0098] At 502, the RAN node 104 transmits a configuration to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0099] At 503, the RAN node 104 transmits the configuration for the CG PUSCH and the UTO-UCI to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration. The configuration of the UTO-UCI may also be pre-configured to the UE and does not need to be transmitted to the UE. Figures 5 to 8 In some embodiments, the UTO-UCI configuration is not transmitted to the UE. In addition, in the case where the configured grant has been semi-persistently scheduled, the CG PUSCH configuration can be skipped at this time.

[0100] One or more CG PUSCH transmissions may be configured by configuredGrantConfig. If the UE is provided with a value equal to 0 in configuredGrantConfig of the CGPUSCH configuration UTO-UCI If the value of nrof_UTO_UCI is set to 0, the UE may multiplex the UTO_UCI in each CG PUSCH transmission for CG PUSCH configuration. UTO-UCI At 504, UE 100 transmits UL data to RAN node 104 on the CG resources allocated by the configuration at 503, and an indication of one or more future unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities (i.e., UTO-UCI). RAN node 104 receives the UL data and the UTO-UCI.

[0101] O of UTO-UCI UTO-UCI The bits may have an order of start time in ascending order to the subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunity. UTO-UCI For unpaired spectrum operation, the subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunity O UTO-UCIInvalid ones, where the UE does not transmit PUSCH, may be excluded. A bit value of '0' may indicate that the UE may transmit CG PUSCH, and a bit value of '1' may indicate that the UE will not transmit CG PUSCH in the corresponding CG PUSCH transmission opportunity. When the UE indicates a value of '1' for a CG-PUSCH transmission opportunity through the UTO-UCI, the UE may continue to indicate a value of '1' for a CG PUSCH transmission opportunity through the UTO-UCI multiplexed in subsequent CG PUSCH transmissions, and the UE does not transmit CG PUSCH in the CG PUSCH transmission opportunity.

[0102] At 505 , when one or more CG PUSCH transmission opportunities are indicated as unused (at 504 ), the UE 100 determines whether at least one transmission of UCI is scheduled to be transmitted in or between one or more time slots including the one or more unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities indicated at 504 .

[0103] At 506, if UCI is scheduled, the UE 100 determines whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI based on one or more rules.

[0104] For example, if the UCI includes only CSI reporting information (and no other UCI, such as HARQ feedback), and it will be transmitted within a time slot from the first CG PUSCH transmission opportunity indicated as "unused" by the UTO-UCI and before the next CG-PUSCH transmission opportunity indicated as "unused", the UE 100 can determine to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI.

[0105] Alternatively, if the UCI includes HARQ feedback (instead of or in addition to CSI), the UE 100 may determine not to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI. In other words, in this case, the UE 100 may transmit at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI on the PUCCH regardless of the UTO-UCI indication of 504.

[0106] It should be noted that the determination of whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI may also be based on, for example, at least one of the following conditions: the UE 100 is not in a high mobility state, the measured RSRP level from the RAN node 104 is above a first threshold (e.g., s-MeasureConfig), or the time since the previous CSI report was transmitted is less than a second threshold.

[0107] At 507, UE 100 continues data transmission on the allocated CG resources.

[0108] At 508, the UE 100 continues data and UCI transmission on the allocated CG PUSCH resources or PUCCH resources.

[0109] Figure 6 shows a method for skipping a PUSCH (eg, Figure 3 330 or 331). Figure 6 The UE 100 may be in a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED) with the RAN node 104. For example, the RAN node 104 may include a gNB.

[0110] Reference Figure 6 At 601, the RAN node 104 generates a configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of UCI for the UE 100. For example, the RAN node 104 may select / determine one or more rules, as described above in Figure 4 The 401 is described.

[0111] At 602, the RAN node 104 transmits a configuration to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0112] At 603, the RAN node 104 transmits the configuration for the CG PUSCH and UTO-UCI to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0113] At 604, UE 100 transmits UL data to RAN node 104 on the CG resources allocated by the configuration at 603, and an indication indicating one or more future unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities (ie, UTO-UCI). RAN node 104 receives the UL data and the UTO-UCI.

[0114] At optional step 605, when evaluating whether one or more subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunities can be indicated as "unused" or "non-unused", the UE 100 determines whether at least one transmission of UCI is scheduled to be transmitted in one or more subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunities. In some other embodiments, the UE 100 determines the "unused" / "non-unused" CG PUSCH opportunities based on data in its buffer, and does not need to consider whether UCI is scheduled to be transmitted.

[0115] At 606, if UCI is scheduled in one or more subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunities, the UE 100 determines whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI based on one or more rules.

[0116] For example, if the UCI includes only CSI reporting information (and no other UCI, such as HARQ feedback), and there is no UL data to be transmitted in at least one transmission, the UE 100 may determine to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI on the PUSCH.

[0117] Alternatively, if the UCI includes HARQ feedback (instead of or in addition to the CSI), the UE 100 may determine not to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI. In other words, in this case, the UE 100 may transmit at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI on the PUSCH.

[0118] It should be noted that the determination of whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI may also be based on, for example, at least one of the following conditions: the UE 100 is not in a high mobility state, the measured RSRP level from the RAN node 104 is above a first threshold (e.g., s-MeasureConfig), or the time since the previous CSI report was transmitted is less than a second threshold.

[0119] At 607, based on the determination at 606, the UE 100 transmits an indication indicating whether one or more subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunities are "unused" or "non-unused" (i.e., UTO-UCI) to the RAN node 104. For example, if the UE 100 determines to skip at least one transmission of UCI, the UE 100 may indicate the corresponding one or more subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunities as "unused". Alternatively, if the UE 100 determines not to skip at least one transmission of UCI, the UE 100 may indicate the corresponding one or more subsequent CG PUSCH transmission opportunities as "non-unused" (i.e., used).

[0120] Figure 7 A signal flow diagram according to an example embodiment for skipping UCI when skipping PDCCH monitoring is configured is shown. Figure 7 The UE 100 may be in a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED) with the RAN node 104. For example, the RAN node 104 may include a gNB.

[0121] Reference Figure 7 At 701, the RAN node 104 generates a configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of UCI for the UE 100. For example, the RAN node 104 may select / determine one or more rules as described above in Figure 4 The 401 is described.

[0122] At 702, the RAN node 104 transmits a configuration to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0123] At 703, the RAN node 104 transmits the configuration for the CG PUSCH and UTO-UCI to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0124] At 704, the RAN node 104 transmits a configuration for PDCCH monitoring adaptation (ie, skipping PDCCH monitoring) to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0125] At 705, UE 100 transmits UL data to RAN node 104 on the CG resources allocated by the configuration at 703, and an indication indicating one or more future unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities (ie, UTO-UCI). RAN node 104 receives the UL data and the UTO-UCI.

[0126] At 706, the RAN node 104 transmits an indication indicating to skip PDCCH monitoring for a specific duration to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the indication.

[0127] At 707 , when one or more CG PUSCH transmission opportunities are indicated as unused (at 705 ), the UE 100 determines whether at least one transmission of UCI is scheduled to be transmitted in or between one or more time slots including the one or more unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities indicated at 705 .

[0128] At 708, when UCI is scheduled, the UE 100 determines whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI based on one or more rules.

[0129] For example, if the UCI transmission includes only CSI reporting information, and if skipping of PDCCH monitoring is configured at the UE 100, and / or the UE 100 is not expected to be scheduled with CSI reporting, at least until the next CG PUSCH transmission opportunity (skipping based on PDCCH monitoring), then the UE 100 may determine to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI. In this case, the UE 100 may transmit an indication to the RAN node 104 to indicate that the corresponding CG PUSCH transmission opportunity is "unused".

[0130] Alternatively, if the UCI includes HARQ feedback (instead of or in addition to the CSI), the UE 100 may determine not to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI. In other words, in this case, the UE 100 may transmit at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI regardless of the UTO-UCI indication of 705. The UE 100 may also transmit an indication to the RAN node 104 to indicate that the corresponding CG PUSCH transmission opportunity is "non-unused" (i.e., used).

[0131] It should be noted that the determination of whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI may also be based on, for example, at least one of the following conditions: the UE 100 is not in a high mobility state, the measured RSRP level from the RAN node 104 is above a first threshold (e.g., s-MeasureConfig), or the time since the previous CSI report was transmitted is less than a second threshold.

[0132] At 709, UE 100 continues data transmission on the allocated CG resources.

[0133] At 710, the UE 100 continues data and UCI transmission on the allocated CG PUSCH resources or PUCCH resources.

[0134] Figure 8 A signal flow diagram according to an example embodiment for skipping UCI when UL skipping is configured and SSSG switching is enabled (ie, the UE needs to monitor a different SSSG than the current SSSG) is shown. Figure 8 The UE 100 may be in a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED) with the RAN node 104. For example, the RAN node 104 may include a gNB.

[0135] Reference Figure 8 At 801, the RAN node 104 generates a configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of UCI for the UE 100. For example, the RAN node 104 may select / determine one or more rules, as described above in Figure 4 The 401 is described.

[0136] At 802, the RAN node 104 transmits a configuration to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0137] At 803, the RAN node 104 transmits the configuration for the CG PUSCH and UTO-UCI to the UE 100. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0138] At 804, the RAN node 104 transmits a configuration for PDCCH monitoring adaptation (ie, SSSG switching) to the UE 100, which indicates which (active) SSSG(s) the UE 100 is allowed to skip in the UL. The UE 100 receives the configuration.

[0139] At 805, UE 100 transmits UL data to RAN node 104 on the CG resources allocated by the configuration at 803, and an indication indicating one or more future unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities (ie, UTO-UCI). RAN node 104 receives the UL data and the UTO-UCI.

[0140] At 806, the RAN node 104 transmits an indication to the UE 100 indicating activation or switching to the selected SSSG (eg, SSSG #1) for which UL skipping is allowed.

[0141] At 807 , when one or more CG PUSCH transmission opportunities are indicated as unused (at 805 ), the UE 100 determines whether at least one transmission of UCI is scheduled to be transmitted in or between one or more time slots including the one or more unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities indicated at 805 .

[0142] At 808, if UCI is scheduled, the UE 100 determines whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI based on one or more rules.

[0143] For example, if the UCI transmission includes only CSI reporting information, and if the UE 100 is configured to monitor the selected SSSG (i.e., UL skipping is configured and SSSG switching is enabled), and / or the UE 100 is not expected to be scheduled with CSI reporting at least until the next CG PUSCH transmission opportunity (based on the PDCCH monitoring period), the UE 100 may determine to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI. In this case, the UE 100 may transmit an indication to the RAN node 104 to indicate that the corresponding CG PUSCH transmission opportunity is "unused".

[0144] Alternatively, if the UCI includes HARQ feedback (instead of or in addition to the CSI), and even if the UCI transmission will occur in one or more time slots in which the UTO-UCI indicates one or more unused CG PUSCH transmission opportunities, the UE 100 may determine not to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI. In other words, in this case, the UE 100 may transmit at least one scheduled transmission of the UCI regardless of the UTO-UCI indication of 805. The UE 100 may also transmit an indication to the RAN node 104 to indicate that the corresponding CG PUSCH transmission opportunity is "non-unused" (i.e., used).

[0145] It should be noted that the determination of whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of UCI may also be based on, for example, at least one of the following conditions: the UE 100 is not in a high mobility state, the measured RSRP level from the RAN node 104 is above a first threshold (e.g., s-MeasureConfig), or the time since the previous CSI report was transmitted is less than a second threshold.

[0146] At 809, the UE 100 continues data transmission on the allocated CG resources, which may be indicated as "non-unused" in the UTO-UCI, and / or switches (e.g., via DCI or timer) to another SSSG.

[0147] At 810, the UE 100 continues data and UCI transmission on the allocated CG PUSCH resources or PUCCH resources.

[0148] Fig. 9 A flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 1300 is shown. The apparatus 1300 may be or include or be comprised in a user equipment (UE) 100, 102, for example.

[0149] Reference Fig. 9 At block 901, the apparatus 1300 receives a configuration from the radio access network node 104, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping (ie, omitting) transmission of uplink control information. If one or more conditions are met, the one or more rules may indicate that uplink transmission may be skipped (omitted).

[0150] The one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that an indication of one or more unused configured granted physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities has been transmitted.

[0151] In block 902, the apparatus 1300 determines whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information based on one or more rules. In other words, the apparatus 1300 determines whether one or more conditions indicated by the one or more rules are satisfied.

[0152] The uplink control information may be carried on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or multiplexed on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0153] At least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information is scheduled in one or more time slots, the one or more time slots including one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities, or one or more time slots between one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities.

[0154] In block 903, based on determining to skip at least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information (block 902: yes), the apparatus 1300 may skip at least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information. The skipping means not transmitting at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information.

[0155] Alternatively, in block 903, based on determining not to skip at least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information (block 902: No), apparatus 1300 may transmit at least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information.

[0156] For example, one or more rules may indicate skipping of at least one scheduled transmission of uplink control information based on at least one of the following conditions: at least one scheduled transmission does not carry any uplink user data, the uplink control information does not carry hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for downlink transmission, the uplink control information carries a channel state information report, device 1300 is not in a high mobility state, a measured reference signal received power level from a wireless access network node is higher than a first threshold, a duration since transmission of a previous channel state information report is less than a second threshold, device 1300 is configured to skip physical downlink control channel monitoring, or search space set group switching is enabled at device 1300.

[0157] Fig.10 A flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 1400 is shown. For example, the apparatus 1400 may be or comprise or be included in a network node 104 of a radio access network.

[0158] Reference Fig.10In block 1001, the apparatus 1400 generates a configuration for the user equipment 100 indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of uplink control information. The one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment.

[0159] In block 1002 , the apparatus 1400 transmits a configuration to the user equipment 100 .

[0160] Apparatus 1400 may select / determine one or more rules from a set of predefined or preconfigured rules, wherein the selection / determination may be based on at least one of the following: whether user equipment 100 is expected to transmit uplink user data, whether user equipment 100 is expected to transmit hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for downlink transmission, whether user equipment 100 is expected to transmit a channel state information report, whether user equipment 100 is in a high mobility state, a measured reference signal received power level reported by user equipment 100, a time period since user equipment 100 transmitted a previous channel state information report, or a downlink energy saving setting of user equipment 100.

[0161] Above through Figures 4 to 10 The described blocks, related functions and information exchanges (messages) are not in absolute chronological order, and some of them may be executed simultaneously or in an order different from that described. Figure 5 Step 508 may alternatively be performed at Figure 5 before step 507, or Figure 7 Step 706 may alternatively be performed at Figure 7 before step 705, or Figure 8 Step 806 may alternatively be performed at Figure 8 805. Other functions may also be performed between or within them, and other information may be sent and / or other rules may be applied. Some blocks or parts of blocks or one or more pieces of information may also be omitted or replaced with corresponding blocks or parts of blocks or one or more pieces of information.

[0162] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is combined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0163] From both the UE and network perspectives, the above-described example embodiments may provide several technical advantages, such as reduced power consumption, more efficient use of radio resources, and reduced interference. For example, skipping UL PUCCH or PUSCH transmissions enables energy saving at the UE because a smaller number of transmissions will be performed. At the same time, the network (e.g., RAN node 104) may skip decoding of those radio resources that are dedicated to UE transmissions but ultimately remain unused. In addition, the pre-allocated UL transmissions that are skipped by the UE reduce the use of radio resources and the interference caused to other UEs (e.g., UEs near the cell edge).

[0164] Fig.11 An example of a single-flow traffic model for UL video traffic for XR services is shown, which can be used as an example to quantify the energy saving gains of a UE. Fig.11 In , XR traffic is modeled as a sequence of video frames arriving at the RAN node 104 according to the considered video frame rate and random jitter. The size of a given frame is also random according to a certain probability distribution. Fig.11 , packet 1101 (packet k) represents an Internet Protocol (IP) packet belonging to video frame k, and packet 1102 (packet k+1) represents an IP packet belonging to video frame k+1.

[0165] The size of the packets 1101, 1102 may be determined by a given data rate and frame rate, which may be modeled as random variables following a truncated Gaussian distribution with the following statistical parameters shown in Table 1 below. Table 1

[0166] In this model, the packet arrival rate can be determined by the frame generation rate (e.g., 60fps). Therefore, the average packet arrival period can be given by the inverse of the frame rate (e.g., 16.6667ms=1 / 60fps). The periodic arrival without jitter gives the arrival time of the packet at the RAN node 104 with index k (=1, 2, 3...), such as k / F*1000[ms]. Where F is the given frame generation rate (per second). Varying frame coding delays and network transmission times may introduce jitter in the packet arrival time at the RAN node 104. In this model, jitter is modeled as a random variable added on top of the periodic arrival. The jitter can follow a truncated Gaussian distribution with the following statistical parameters shown in Table 2. parameter unit Baseline value for evaluation average value ms 0 STD ms 2 Truncation range ms [-4,4] Table 2

[0167] Some examples of frame generation rates considered for XR services may include 30fps, 60fps, 90fps, and 120fps. In the evaluation of this article, 60fps is considered as the baseline.

[0168] Thus, the periodic arrival with jitter gives the arrival time of the packet with index k (=1, 2, 3...) as k / F*1000[ms]. Where F is a given frame generation rate (per second) and J is a random variable capturing the jitter. Note that the actual traffic arrival timing for traffic for a given UE may be shifted by an arbitrary offset that varies from UE to UE.

[0169] Assuming a video stream with data rate R = 10 Mbps and frame rate F = 60 fps, the single-stream traffic model provides Table 3 and Fig.12 The following statistical properties of the frame size distribution are shown in . parameter unit Baseline value for evaluation Average value: M byte 20833 STD byte 2187 Maximum byte 31250 Minimum byte 10416 Table 3

[0170] Fig.12 An example of a distribution 1200 of frame sizes is shown. Fig.12 The frame size distribution 1200 depicted in has been divided into three equally probable intervals (ie, all intervals have the same probability).

[0171] In this way, the transmission of the maximum size XR frame can be divided into three transmission opportunities, each transmission opportunity carrying a portion of the XR frame. In particular, the size of the transmission opportunity should be set to have enough radio resources to carry the difference between the maximum values ​​of two adjacent intervals.

[0172] Alternatively, the frame size distribution can be divided into three intervals of equal size (i.e., the size of each interval is equal to one-third of the maximum frame size). With this alternative partitioning of the frame size distribution, each transmission opportunity should be sized to have sufficient radio resources to carry at least one-third of the maximum frame size.

[0173] In the analysis of energy saving gains, alternatives with three equally probable intervals are analyzed. In order to provide an estimate of the potential energy saving gains, the following assumptions can be made.

[0174] As a first assumption, the system uses digital scheme 1 (ie, subcarrier spacing and slot duration equal to 30 kHz and 0.5 ms, respectively) and a time division duplex (TDD) radio frame "DDDSU".

[0175] As a second assumption, three CG configurations have been set up with the parameters indicated in Table 4. Each CG configuration has a CG period consisting of three transmission opportunities in three consecutive time slots.

[0176] As a third assumption, multiple radio resources are allocated to each transmission opportunity in each CG cycle according to the above-mentioned equal probability interval strategy. Table 4

[0177] Under these assumptions, in each CG period, an XR frame arrives with a 1 / 3 probability of being carried in a single CG opportunity (out of three CG opportunities), a 1 / 3 probability of being carried in two CG opportunities (out of three CG opportunities), and a 1 / 3 probability of being carried in three CG opportunities (out of three CG opportunities). Therefore, on average, the UE can cancel three CG opportunities in a period of 50ms. The energy saving gain also depends on the frequency of CSI reporting.

[0178] If the CSI is carried in the PUCCH, and the PUCCH falls in the same timeslot as the CG transmission opportunity on the PUSCH, there are a maximum of 9 CSI reports in a 50ms period. Therefore, the average energy saving gain for the UL is equal to 100*(3 / 9)=33.3%.

[0179] If the CSI reports have the same UL timeslot frequency, there are 20 CSI reports in a 50ms period, of which 3 can be cancelled. The minimum energy saving gain for UL is equal to 100*(3 / 20)=15%. Note that if more than one CSI report is skipped after UTO-UCI (e.g., skip all CSI until the next CG transmission opportunity), the average energy saving gain can still be achieved 100*(3 / 9)=33.3%.

[0180] Fig.13 An example of an apparatus 1300 including components for performing one or more of the above-described example embodiments is shown. For example, the apparatus 1300 may be an apparatus such as, or including, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102 or included therein. A user equipment may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a terminal device, or a user device.

[0181] The device 1300 may include a circuit or chipset suitable for implementing one or more of the example embodiments described above. For example, the device 1300 may include at least one processor 1310. The at least one processor 1310 interprets instructions (e.g., computer program instructions) and processes data. The at least one processor 1310 may include one or more programmable processors. The at least one processor 1310 may include programmable hardware with embedded firmware, and may alternatively or additionally include one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

[0182] At least one processor 1310 is coupled to at least one memory 1320. At least one processor is configured to read data from and write data to at least one memory 1320. At least one memory 1320 may include one or more memory units. A memory unit may be volatile or non-volatile. It should be noted that there may be one or more non-volatile memory units and one or more volatile memory units, or alternatively, one or more non-volatile memory units, or alternatively, one or more volatile memory units. Volatile memory may be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). Non-volatile memory may be, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical storage, or magnetic storage. In general, memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM). At least one memory 1320 stores computer-readable instructions that are executed by at least one processor 1310 to perform one or more of the above-described example embodiments. For example, non-volatile memory stores computer-readable instructions, and at least one processor 1310 executes instructions using volatile memory to temporarily store data and / or instructions. Computer-readable instructions may refer to computer program code.

[0183] The computer readable instructions may be pre-stored to at least one memory 1320, or alternatively or additionally, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. The execution of the computer readable instructions by at least one processor 1310 causes the device 1300 to perform one or more of the above-described example embodiments. That is, at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions may provide means for providing or causing the execution of any of the above-described methods and / or blocks.

[0184] In the context of this document, "memory" or "computer-readable medium" or "computer-readable medium" can be any non-transitory medium or medium or component that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device (such as a computer). The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0185] The device 1300 may also include or be connected to an input unit 1330. The input unit 1330 may include one or more interfaces for receiving input. The one or more interfaces may include, for example, one or more temperature, motion and / or direction sensors, one or more cameras, one or more accelerometers, one or more microphones, one or more buttons and / or one or more touch detection units. In addition, the input unit 1330 may include an interface to which an external device may be connected.

[0186] The device 1300 may also include an output unit 1340. The output unit may include or be connected to one or more displays capable of presenting visual content, such as a light emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and / or a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display. The output unit 1340 may also include one or more audio outputs. The one or more audio outputs may be, for example, a speaker.

[0187] The device 1300 also includes a connectivity unit 1350. The connectivity unit 1350 implements a wireless connection to one or more external devices. The connectivity unit 1350 includes at least one transmitter and at least one receiver that can be integrated into the device 1300 or the device 1300 can be connected to. The at least one transmitter includes at least one transmit antenna, and the at least one receiver includes at least one receive antenna. The connectivity unit 1350 may include an integrated circuit or a group of integrated circuits that provide wireless communication capabilities for the device 1300. Alternatively, the wireless connection may be a hardwired application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The connectivity unit 1350 may also provide a component for performing at least some of the blocks or functions of one or more of the example embodiments described above. The connectivity unit 1350 may include one or more components controlled by a corresponding control unit, such as: a power amplifier, a digital front end (DFE), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a frequency converter, a demodulator, a modulator, and / or an encoder / decoder circuit.

[0188] It should be noted that the device 1300 may further include Fig.13 Various components not described in the specification. The various components may be hardware components and / or software components.

[0189] Fig.14 An example of an apparatus 1400 comprising means for performing one or more of the above-described example embodiments is shown. For example, the apparatus 1400 may be a network node 104 such as a radio access network or an apparatus comprising or included therein.

[0190] A network node may also be referred to as, for example, a network element, a radio access network (RAN) node, a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) node, a NodeB, an eNB, a gNB, a base transceiver station (BTS), a base station, a NR base station, a 5G base station, an access node, an access point (AP), a cell site, a relay node, a repeater, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, an IAB donor node, a distributed unit (DU), a central unit (CU), a baseband unit (BBU), a radio unit (RU), a radio head, a remote radio head (RRH), or a transmission and reception point (TRP).

[0191] The device 1400 may include, for example, a circuit or chipset suitable for implementing one or more of the above-described example embodiments. The device 1400 may be an electronic device including one or more electronic circuits. The device 1400 may include communication control circuitry 1410, such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 1420 storing instructions 1422, which when executed by the at least one processor causes the device 1400 to perform one or more of the above-described example embodiments. Such instructions 1422 may, for example, include computer program code (software). The at least one processor and the at least one memory storing the instructions may provide a means for providing or causing the execution of any of the methods and / or blocks described above.

[0192] The processor is coupled to the memory 1420. The processor is configured to read data from the memory 1420 and write data to the memory 1420. The memory 1420 may include one or more memory cells. The memory cell may be volatile or non-volatile. It should be noted that there may be one or more non-volatile memory cells and one or more volatile memory cells, or alternatively, one or more non-volatile memory cells, or alternatively, one or more volatile memory cells. The volatile memory may be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). The non-volatile memory may be, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical storage, or magnetic storage. In general, the memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), rather than a limitation of data storage persistence (e.g., RAM to ROM). The memory 1420 stores computer-readable instructions executed by the processor. For example, the non-volatile memory stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor executes the instructions using the volatile memory to temporarily store data and / or instructions.

[0193] The computer readable instructions may be pre-stored in the memory 1420, or alternatively or additionally, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer readable instructions causes the device 1400 to perform one or more of the above functions.

[0194] Memory 1420 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and / or removable memory. The memory may include a configuration database for storing configuration data, such as a current neighbor cell list, and in some example embodiments, the structure of frames used in detected neighbor cells.

[0195] The device 1400 may also include or be connected to a communication interface 1430, such as a radio unit, including hardware and / or software for implementing a communication connection with one or more wireless communication devices according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface 1430 includes at least one transmitter (Tx) and at least one receiver (Rx) that can be integrated into the device 1400 or to which the device 1400 can be connected. The communication interface 1430 may provide a device for performing some of the blocks of one or more of the example embodiments described above. The communication interface 1430 may include one or more components controlled by a corresponding control unit, such as: a power amplifier, a digital front end (DFE), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a frequency converter, a demodulator, a modulator, and / or an encoder / decoder circuit.

[0196] The communication interface 1430 provides the apparatus with radio communication capabilities for communicating in a wireless communication network. The communication interface may, for example, provide a radio interface to one or more UEs 100, 102. The apparatus 1400 may also include or be connected to another interface towards the core network 110 (such as a network coordinator device or AMF), and / or to an access node 104 of the wireless communication network.

[0197] The apparatus 1400 may further include a scheduler 1440 configured to allocate radio resources. The scheduler 1440 may be configured together with the communication control circuit 1410, or may be configured separately.

[0198] It should be noted that the apparatus 1400 may further include Fig.14 Various components not described in the specification. The various components may be hardware components and / or software components.

[0199] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: a) a hardware circuit implementation only (such as an implementation in analog and / or digital circuitry only); and b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable): i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and ii) any portion of a hardware processor and software (including a digital signal processor, software and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone to perform various functions); and c) a hardware circuit and / or processor, such as (multiple) microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of a microprocessor(s), which requires software (e.g. firmware) to operate, but the software may not be present when the software is not required to operate.

[0200] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or its) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0201] The techniques and methods described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For hardware implementations, the devices of the example embodiments may be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, the implementation can be performed by a module of at least one chipset (e.g., a process, a function, etc.) that performs the functions described herein. The software code can be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit can be implemented within a processor or outside a processor. In the latter case, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various devices known in the art. In addition, the components of the system described herein can be rearranged and / or supplemented by additional components to facilitate the implementation of various aspects of its description, etc., and they are not limited to the precise configurations set forth in a given figure, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0202] It is obvious to those skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways within the scope of the claims. The embodiments are not limited to the above-described example embodiments, but can be varied within the scope of the claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly, and they are intended to illustrate rather than limit the embodiments.

[0203] This disclosure provides the following examples:

[0204] Example 1. A device for communication, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: receive a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determine whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0205] Example 2. The apparatus of Example 1, further caused to: skip the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on determining to skip the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information.

[0206] Example 3. The apparatus of Example 1, further caused to: transmit the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on determining not to skip the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information.

[0207] Example 4. An apparatus according to Example 1, wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping of the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on at least one of the following conditions: the at least one scheduled transmission does not carry any uplink user data, the uplink control information does not carry hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for downlink transmission, or the uplink control information carries a channel state information report.

[0208] Example 5. An apparatus according to Example 1, wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping of the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on at least one of the following conditions: the apparatus is not in a high mobility state, the measured reference signal received power level from the radio access network node is higher than a first threshold, or the duration since transmission of a previous channel state information report is less than a second threshold.

[0209] Example 6. An apparatus according to Example 1, wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping of the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based at least on a condition that the apparatus is configured to skip physical downlink control channel monitoring.

[0210] Example 7. An apparatus according to Example 1, wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping of the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based at least on a condition that enables search space set group switching at the apparatus.

[0211] Example 8. An apparatus according to Example 7, wherein the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information is scheduled in one or more time slots, the one or more time slots including the one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities, or the one or more time slots between the one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities.

[0212] Example 9. A device for communication, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: generate a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmit the configuration to the user equipment.

[0213] Example 10. The apparatus according to Example 9 is further caused to: determine the one or more rules based on at least one of the following: whether the user equipment is expected to transmit uplink user data; whether the user equipment is expected to transmit hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for downlink transmission; whether the user equipment is expected to transmit a channel state information report; whether the user equipment is in a high mobility state; the measured reference signal received power level reported by the user equipment, the duration since the user equipment transmitted a previous channel state information report, or the downlink energy saving setting of the user equipment.

[0214] Example 11. An apparatus comprising: a component for receiving a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and a component for determining whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0215] Example 12. An apparatus comprising: a component for generating a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and a component for transmitting the configuration to the user equipment.

[0216] Example 13. A method, comprising: receiving a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determining whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0217] Example 14. A method comprising: generating a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmitting the configuration to the user equipment.

[0218] Example 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising program instructions, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following: receive a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted; and determine whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on the one or more rules.

[0219] Example 16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising program instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: generate a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping the transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and transmit the configuration to the user equipment.

Claims

1. An apparatus for communication, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving a configuration from a radio access network node, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that an indication of one or more unused configured granted physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities has been transmitted; and Based on the one or more rules, it is determined whether to skip at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further caused to: Based on determining to skip the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information, the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information is skipped.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further caused to: Based on determining not to skip the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information, transmitting the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on at least one of the following conditions: the at least one scheduled transmission does not carry any uplink user data, The uplink control information does not carry hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for downlink transmission, or The uplink control information carries a channel state information report.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based on at least one of the following conditions: the device is not in a high mobility state, a measured reference signal received power level from the radio access network node is above a first threshold, or The time period since the previous channel state information report was transmitted is less than a second threshold.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based at least on a condition that the apparatus is configured to skip physical downlink control channel monitoring.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules indicate skipping of the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information based at least on a condition that enables search space set group switching at the apparatus.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the at least one scheduled transmission of the uplink control information is scheduled in one or more time slots, the one or more time slots including the one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities, or the one or more time slots between the one or more unused configured authorized physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities.

9. An apparatus for communication, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: generating a configuration for a user equipment, the configuration indicating one or more rules for skipping transmission of uplink control information, wherein the one or more rules include at least a condition indicating that one or more unused configured granted physical uplink shared channel transmission opportunities have been transmitted from the user equipment; and The configuration is transmitted to the user equipment.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further caused to: The one or more rules are determined based on at least one of the following: whether the user equipment is expected to transmit uplink user data; whether the user equipment is expected to transmit hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for downlink transmission; whether the user equipment is expected to transmit a channel state information report; whether the user equipment is in a high mobility state; a measured reference signal received power level reported by said user equipment, the length of time since the user equipment transmitted the previous channel state information report, or Downlink energy saving settings of the user equipment.

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