Energy-saving uplink grant selection for user equipment

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatus and computer readable storage media for uplink (UL) grant selection for user equipment (UE). The method includes determining a plurality of UL grants for transmission from a first device to a second device, the plurality of UL grants overlapping or not overlapping one another in at least one of a time domain or a frequency domain. The method further includes selecting at least one UL grant to be used for transmission from the plurality of UL grants based on the data available for transmission and a respective transport block size (TBS) corresponding to the plurality of grants; and transmitting data on the at least one UL grant. In this manner, energy savings can be achieved at the UE side without increasing complexity at the network side.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for uplink (UL) grant selection for a user equipment (UE). Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) initiated research on XR (such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), etc.) enhancements for New Radio (NR). For example, XR-specific energy-saving techniques will be studied to adapt to XR service characteristics such as periodicity, multiple streams, jitter, latency, reliability, etc. Summary of the invention

[0003] Generally, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for UL grant selection for a UE.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: determine multiple UL grants for transmission from the first device to a second device, the multiple UL grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: time domain or frequency domain. The first device is also caused to select at least one UL grant to be used for transmission from the multiple UL grants based on data available for transmission and corresponding transport block sizes (TBSs) corresponding to the multiple UL grants, and send data on the at least one UL grant.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to configure at least a plurality of UL grants for transmission from a first device to a second device, the plurality of UL grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: a time domain or a frequency domain. The second device is also caused to receive a data transmission from the first device on at least one UL grant.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes: determining multiple UL grants for transmission from a first device to a second device, the multiple UL grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: time domain or frequency domain. The method also includes: selecting at least one UL grant to be used for transmission from the multiple UL grants based on data available for transmission and corresponding TBSs corresponding to the multiple grants; and sending data on the at least one UL grant.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes: configuring multiple UL grants for at least transmission from a first device to a second device, the multiple UL grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: time domain or frequency domain; and receiving a data transmission from the first device on at least one UL grant.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a component for determining multiple UL grants for transmission from a first device to a second device, the multiple UL grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: time domain or frequency domain; a component for selecting at least one UL grant to be used for transmission from the multiple UL grants based on data available for transmission and corresponding TBSs corresponding to the multiple grants; and a component for sending data on at least one UL grant.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a component for configuring multiple UL authorizations for transmission from at least a first device to a second device, the multiple UL authorizations overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: time domain or frequency domain; and a component for receiving a data transmission from the first device on at least one UL authorization.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by at least one processor of a device, the device executes the method described in the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0011] Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The embodiments of the present disclosure are presented in the form of examples, and their advantages are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] Figure 1 shows an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2 A signaling diagram illustrating a procedure for UL grant selection for a UE according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating an example method for UL grant selection for a UE according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an example method for UL grant selection for a UE according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 5 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0018] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] The same or similar reference numbers may refer to the same or similar elements throughout the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are helpful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the ways described below.

[0021] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0022] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0023] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0024] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions 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, where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”.

[0025] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step "in response to A" does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after "A" occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0026] The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "include", "comprises", "has", "has", "includes", and / or "comprising" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0027] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions), and (c) hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g. firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0028] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in 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 portions of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers 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.

[0029] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols and / or any other protocols currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course communication technologies and systems of future types that can implement the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered to be limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0030] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved NodeB (e Node B or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device), a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) separation architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE toward a parent node, and a DU portion of the IAB node behaves like a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0031] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback facility, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of the IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0032] As used herein, the term "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, for example, communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the spatial domain, resources in the code domain, or any other resource that enables communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources, which are used to describe some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0033] Figure 1 1 shows an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110. Hereinafter, the terminal device 110 may also be referred to as UE 110 or first device 110.

[0034] The communication network 100 may further include a network device 120. Hereinafter, the network device 120 may also be referred to as a gNB 120 or a second device 120. The terminal device 110 may communicate with the network device 120.

[0035] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of network devices and terminal devices shown is given for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. Communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0036] In some example embodiments, the link from network device 120 to terminal device 110 may be referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 110 to network device 120 may be referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, network device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, terminal device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and network device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0037] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0038] As mentioned above, XR enhancement, especially XR-specific energy saving will be studied to adapt to XR service characteristics. XR enhancement can focus on connected mode discontinuous reception (DRX) enhancement and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring enhancement.

[0039] For example, it has been proposed that UL grants may be partially skipped to save power when not much data is to be sent.

[0040] However, the UE is allowed to skip the entire UL grant when there is nothing to transmit, or to send with full resources with padding added even if there is not enough data. If the UE is only allowed to use part of the UL grant, the gNB may require additional indications (e.g., uplink control information (UCI)) to be able to decode the transport block (TB). That is, the UE may have to inform the gNB which resources in the UL grant have been utilized or skipped. The UE may indicate the utilized or skipped grants through control signaling. Otherwise, the gNB may have to grant multiple configured grants (CGs) or dynamic grants (DGs) to the UE. The additional transmission of UCI indications that require higher reliability may also consume additional power, thus defeating the original purpose of energy saving.

[0041] If the UE is allowed to select from multiple UL grants without indication from the gNB, the complexity of blind decoding for the gNB may be increased.

[0042] Furthermore, due to rather sparse buffer status report (BSR) granularity and latency, the gNB may not know how much resources are needed to transmit the data and may therefore not guarantee activation of the correct resources. If new data arrives, the UE may discard outdated data due to expiration of the associated Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard timer.

[0043] Therefore, the mechanism for the UE to select an appropriate grant from multiple grants allocated by the gNB and coordinate the selection with the gNB still needs to be discussed.

[0044] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for UL grant selection for a UE is provided. In the solution, the gNB configures multiple UL grants for transmission from the UE to the gNB 120. The multiple uplink grants are configured to overlap or not overlap each other in the frequency domain and / or time domain. The UE determines multiple UL grants and selects at least one UL grant from the multiple UL grants based on the data available for transmission and the corresponding TBSs corresponding to the multiple uplink grants. Then, the UE sends data on the at least one uplink grant. In this way, energy saving can be achieved on the UE side without increasing the complexity on the network side.

[0045] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail as follows with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Reference now Figure 2 , which shows a signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, signaling diagram 200 involves UE 110 and gNB 120. For discussion purposes, reference is made to Figure 1 200. Figure 2A single UE 110 is shown in FIG. 1 , but it should be understood that there may be multiple UEs that perform similar operations as described below with respect to UE 110.

[0047] like Figure 2 As shown, gNB 120 may configure 202 a plurality of candidate UL grants for UL data transmission from UE 110. The plurality of candidate UL grants configured by gNB 120 may relate to a CG or a DG.

[0048] In some embodiments, multiple candidate UL grants may overlap or partially overlap with each other in the frequency domain and / or time domain. In some other embodiments, multiple candidate UL grants may not overlap with each other in the frequency domain and / or time domain.

[0049] If multiple candidate UL grants overlap or partially overlap with each other in the frequency domain and / or time domain, gNB 120 may also configure a different demodulation reference signal (DMRS) for each candidate UL grant, which may enable gNB 120 to decode the correct UL grant used for UL transmission by UE 110 without blind decoding. For example, different DMRS sequence initialization may be used.

[0050] The multiple candidate UL grants may also be configured with different TBSs.The multiple candidate UL grants may correspond to multiple transmission opportunities per cycle from which UE 110 may select for data transmission.

[0051] The gNB 120 may indicate 204 to the UE 110 candidate UL grants allocated by the gNB 120 that may be used for UL data transmission of the UE 110. The UE 110 may determine which UL grant may be considered for the data transmission.

[0052] It should be understood that all candidate UL grants allocated by gNB 120 may be considered for UL data transmission by UE 110. As described above, these candidate UL grants may or may not overlap with each other in the frequency domain and / or time domain.

[0053] For example, if the candidate UL grants that can be used for UL data transmission do not overlap with each other in the time domain or only partially overlap with each other in the time domain, the UE 110 may determine that part of the UL grants of the candidate UL grants are allowed to be used for UL data transmission based on the timing restriction. For example, the timing restriction may be referred to as a window in the time domain, e.g., within x ms. That is, a subset of the candidate UL grants within the window may be considered by the UE 110 for UL data transmission.

[0054] The timing limits or windows in the time domain may be preconfigured. Alternatively or optionally, the timing limits or windows in the time domain may be determined by gNB 120. For example, gNB 120 may determine UE-specific timing limits. gNB 120 may also determine timing limits per logical channel (LCH), per quality of service (QoS) flow, per protocol data unit (PDU) set, per CG configuration, or for multiple CG configurations.

[0055] The UE 110 may then select 206 at least one UL grant to be used for UL data transmission, e.g., from the candidate UL grants allocated by the gNB 120 or from a subset thereof.

[0056] UE 110 may select at least one UL grant to be used for UL data transmission based on the data available for UL transmission. The data available for UL transmission, i.e., how much data to send in the transmission, may include a possible Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) and corresponding subheader(s).

[0057] UE 110 may determine the corresponding TBS configured for the candidate UL grants and select a UL grant having a TBS that matches the size of the data available for UL transmission. The selected UL grant may be configured with a TBS that is closest to the size of the data available for UL transmission (i.e., equal to the data size or greater than the data size).

[0058] In some example embodiments, UE 110 may determine a corresponding TBS for a candidate UL grant based on the modulation and coding scheme information and the amount of allocated physical resources.

[0059] If UE 110 determines that no candidate UL grant is configured with a TBS sufficient for data available for UL transmission, UE 110 may select a UL grant configured with a maximum TBS among the candidate UL grants, or select a UL grant that occurs first. In this case, other UL grants (e.g., subsequently occurring (multiple) UL grants) among the candidate UL grants may also be selected for UL transmission, because the UL grant configured with the maximum TBS or the UL grant that occurs first may not have a sufficient TBS for data available for UL transmission.

[0060] UE 110 may also select at least one UL grant to be used for UL data transmission based on a delay budget for the UL traffic, which may be achieved by selecting at least one UL grant within a time window.

[0061] In some example embodiments, when determining the plurality of UL grants, UE 110 may also consider the priority(s) of the LCH(s) having data available for transmission and the logical channel prioritization restrictions for the LCH(s). When UE 110 selects at least one UL grant from the candidate UL grants, it may also consider the reliability of the UL grant (e.g., based on a modulation and coding scheme).

[0062] After determining at least one UL grant to be used for UL data transmission, UE 110 may send 208 data to gNB 120 using the at least one UL grant. Optionally, UE 110 may also send its buffer status report to indicate to gNB 120 that there is no more data to be sent, for example.

[0063] When gNB 120 receives the transmitted data, for example, in the case where different DMRS are configured for candidate UL grants that overlap with each other, gNB 120 may use different DMRS to decode the received transmission.

[0064] Alternatively, gNB 120 may also receive data through blind detection.

[0065] In this way, energy saving can be achieved by selecting an appropriate UL grant for data transmission. At the same time, corresponding mechanisms for reception and decoding can be implemented without increasing network complexity.

[0066] Figure 3 1 is a flow chart showing an example method 300 for UL grant selection for a UE according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 300 may be performed in a manner such as Figure 1 The method 300 is implemented at the first device 110 shown. For the purpose of discussion, the method 300 will refer to Figure 1 is described.

[0067] At 310, the first device 110 determines a plurality of uplink grants for transmission from the first device to the second device, the plurality of uplink grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of a time domain or a frequency domain.

[0068] In some example embodiments, if the multiple uplink grants are overlapping or partially overlapping, the multiple uplink grants are configured with different DMRSs by the second device.

[0069] In some example embodiments, if a set of candidate grants available for transmission are allocated by the second device and the set of candidate grants do not overlap with each other in the time domain or partially overlap with each other in the time domain, the first device may determine multiple uplink grants from the set of candidate grants based on a window in the time domain.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the window in the time domain is preconfigured or configured by the second device to the first device based on at least one of: the first device, the LCH associated with the transmission, the QoS associated with the transmission, the PDU set of the first device, or a corresponding configuration of at least one configured authorization in a set of candidate authorizations.

[0071] At 320, the first device selects at least one uplink grant from the plurality of uplink grants to be used for transmission based on the data available for transmission and the respective TBSs corresponding to the plurality of uplink grants.

[0072] In some example embodiments, if a first TBS corresponding to a first grant of the plurality of uplink grants matches a size of data available for transmission, the first device may select the first grant as the uplink grant to be used for transmission.

[0073] In some example embodiments, if no TBS in the corresponding TBS matches the size of data available for transmission, the first device may select at least one uplink grant to be used for transmission from a plurality of uplink grants, the at least one uplink grant comprising one of: an uplink grant corresponding to a maximum TBS in the plurality of uplink grants, or an uplink grant that occurs first in the plurality of uplink grants.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the TBS matches the size of the data available for transmission, including one of: the TBS is equal to the size of the data available for transmission, or the TBS exceeds the size of the data available for transmission and has a minimal difference with the size of the data.

[0075] In some example embodiments, the first device may select one or more uplink grants from the plurality of uplink grants as at least one uplink grant to be used for transmission in addition to the uplink grant that has been selected.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the first device may determine a transmission window based on a delay requirement of the transmission; and select at least one uplink grant to be used from a plurality of uplink grants based on the determined transmission window.

[0077] At 330, the first device sends data on at least one uplink grant.

[0078] In some example embodiments, the data available for transmission includes at least one of: data stored in a buffer of the first device, a medium access control-control element, one or more sub-headers, a buffer status report, or a fill buffer status report.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the first device may include a terminal device, and the second device may include a network device.

[0080] Figure 4 4 is a flow chart showing an example method 400 for UL grant selection for a UE according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be performed in a manner such as Figure 1 The method 400 is implemented at the second device 120 shown. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will refer to Figure 1 is described.

[0081] At 410, the second device configures a plurality of uplink grants for transmission from the first device to the second device, the plurality of uplink grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of a time domain or a frequency domain.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the second device may configure multiple uplink grants with different TBSs.

[0083] In some example embodiments, if the multiple uplink grants are overlapping or partially overlapping, the second device may configure different DMRSs for the multiple uplink grants.

[0084] In some example embodiments, if a set of candidate grants allocated by the second device that can be used for transmission do not overlap with each other in the time domain or partially overlap with each other in the time domain, the second device can determine a window in the time domain that is associated with the uplink grant determined by the first device for transmission.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the window in the time domain is preconfigured or configured by the second device to the first device based on at least one of: the first device, the LCH associated with the transmission, the QoS associated with the transmission, the PDU set of the first device, or a corresponding configuration of at least one configured authorization in a set of candidate authorizations.

[0086] At 420, the second device receives a data transmission from the first device on at least one uplink grant.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the at least one uplink grant includes a plurality of uplink grants, and the second device may receive data based on respective demodulation reference signals associated with the at least one uplink grant.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0089] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 300 (e.g., implemented at first device 110) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 300. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: means for determining a plurality of UL grants for transmission from a first device to a second device, the plurality of UL grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of: a time domain or a frequency domain; means for selecting at least one UL grant to be used for transmission from the plurality of UL grants based on data available for transmission and corresponding TBSs corresponding to the plurality of grants; and means for sending data on the at least one UL grant.

[0091] In some example embodiments, if the multiple uplink grants are overlapping or partially overlapping, the multiple uplink grants are configured with different DMRSs by the second device.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the means for determining a plurality of uplink grants includes means for determining a plurality of uplink grants from a set of candidate grants based on a window in the time domain in accordance with determining that a set of candidate grants available for transmission are allocated by a second device, and the set of candidate grants do not overlap with each other in the time domain or partially overlap with each other in the time domain.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the window in the time domain is preconfigured or configured by the second device to the first device based on at least one of: the first device, the LCH associated with the transmission, the QoS associated with the transmission, the PDU set of the first device, or a corresponding configuration of at least one configured authorization in a set of candidate authorizations.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the means for selecting at least one uplink grant includes means for selecting a first grant as an uplink grant to be used for transmission based on determining that a first TBS corresponding to a first grant among a plurality of uplink grants matches a size of data available for transmission.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the component for selecting at least one uplink grant includes: a component for selecting at least one uplink grant to be used for transmission from a plurality of uplink grants based on determining that no TBS in the corresponding TBS matches the size of data available for transmission, the at least one uplink grant including at least one of the following: an uplink grant corresponding to a maximum TBS in the plurality of uplink grants, or an uplink grant that occurs first in the plurality of uplink grants.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the TBS matches the size of the data available for transmission, including one of: the TBS is equal to the size of the data available for transmission, or the TBS exceeds the size of the data available for transmission and has a minimal difference with the size of the data.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for selecting one or more uplink grants from the plurality of uplink grants as the at least one uplink grant to be used for transmission in addition to the uplink grant that has been selected.

[0098] In some example embodiments, means for selecting at least one uplink grant includes means for determining a transmission window based on a delay requirement for transmission; and means for selecting at least one uplink grant to be used from a plurality of uplink grants based on the determined transmission window.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the data available for transmission includes at least one of: data stored in a buffer of the first device, a medium access control-control element, one or more sub-headers, a buffer status report, or a fill buffer status report.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the first device may include a terminal device, and the second device may include a network device.

[0101] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 400 (e.g., implemented at second device 120) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 400. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for configuring a plurality of UL grants for transmission from a first device to a second device, the plurality of UL grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of: a time domain, or a frequency domain; and means for receiving a data transmission from the first device on at least one UL grant.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for configuring a plurality of uplink grants having different transport block sizes TBS.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for configuring different demodulation reference signals for the multiple uplink grants if the multiple uplink grants overlap or partially overlap.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include a component for determining a window in the time domain associated with an uplink grant for transmission by the first device if a set of candidate grants available for transmission allocated by the second device do not overlap with each other in the time domain or partially overlap with each other in the time domain.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the window in the time domain is preconfigured or configured by the second device to the first device based on at least one of: the first device, the LCH associated with the transmission, the QoS associated with the transmission, the PDU set of the first device, or a corresponding configuration of at least one configured authorization in a set of candidate authorizations.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the at least one uplink grant comprises a plurality of uplink grants, and the means for receiving data comprises means for receiving the data based on respective demodulation reference signals associated with the at least one uplink grant.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0109] Figure 5 is a simplified block diagram of a device 500 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 500 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 110 or the network device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 500 includes one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to the processor 510, and one or more communication modules 540 coupled to the processor 510.

[0110] The communication module 540 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 540 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 540 may include at least one antenna.

[0111] As non-limiting examples, processor 510 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 500 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are controlled in time by a clock that synchronizes a main processor.

[0112] The memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 524, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 522 and other volatile memories that do not persist during a power outage.

[0113] Computer program 530 includes computer executable instructions executed by associated processor 510. The instructions of program 530 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Program 530 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 524. Processor 510 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 530 into RAM 522.

[0114] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of a program 530, so that the device 500 may execute the Figures 2 to 4 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the program 530 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 500 (such as in the memory 520) or other storage device accessible by the device 500. The device 500 may load the program 530 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 522 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible rather than a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0116] Figure 6 An example of a computer readable medium 600 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk.Computer readable medium 800 has program 530 stored thereon.

[0117] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof in non-limiting examples.

[0118] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product, which is tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions for executing any method as described above, such as those instructions included in a program module and executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0119] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0120] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier wave to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carrier waves include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0121] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0122] In addition, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or all the operations shown to be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be used as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0123] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Determining, at a first device, a plurality of uplink grants for transmission from the first device to a second device, the plurality of uplink grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: Time domain, or Frequency domain; selecting at least one uplink grant to be used for the transmission from the plurality of uplink grants based on data available for the transmission and respective transport block sizes TBS corresponding to the plurality of uplink grants; as well as The data is sent on the at least one uplink grant. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein if the multiple uplink grants are overlapping or partially overlapping, the multiple uplink grants are configured with different demodulation reference signals by the second device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a plurality of uplink grants comprises: According to determining that a set of candidate grants that can be used for the transmission are allocated by the second device, and the set of candidate grants do not overlap with each other in the time domain or partially overlap with each other in the time domain, the multiple uplink grants are determined from the set of candidate grants based on a window in the time domain.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the window in the time domain is preconfigured or configured by the second device to the first device based on at least one of the following: the first device, a logical channel associated with the transmission, a quality of service associated with said transmission, a set of protocol data units of the first device, or A corresponding configuration of at least one configuration authorization in the set of candidate authorizations.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein selecting the at least one uplink grant comprises: Based on determining that a first TBS corresponding to a first grant of the plurality of uplink grants matches a size of the data available for the transmission, the first grant is selected as an uplink grant to be used for the transmission.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein selecting the at least one uplink grant comprises: In response to determining that no TBS in the corresponding TBSs matches the size of the data available for the transmission, selecting at least one uplink grant to be used for the transmission from the plurality of uplink grants, the at least one uplink grant comprising at least one of: an uplink grant corresponding to the maximum TBS among the plurality of uplink grants, or The uplink grant that occurs first among the multiple uplink grants.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein matching a TBS to the size of the data available for the transmission comprises one of: The TBS is equal to the size of the data available for the transmission, or The TBS exceeds the size of the data available for the transmission and has a minimal difference from the size of the data.

8. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: One or more uplink grants are selected from the plurality of uplink grants as the at least one uplink grant to be used for the transmission in addition to the uplink grant that has been selected.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein selecting the at least one uplink grant comprises: determining a transmission window based on a delay requirement of the transmission; as well as At least one uplink grant to be used is selected from the plurality of uplink grants based on the determined transmission window.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the data available for the transmission comprises at least one of the following: data stored in a buffer of the first device, Media Access Control - Control Elements, One or more subheaders, Buffer status report, or Fill buffer status report.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

12. A method comprising: configuring, at a second device, a plurality of uplink grants for at least transmission from a first device to the second device, the plurality of uplink grants overlapping or non-overlapping with each other in at least one of the following: Time domain, or Frequency domain; as well as A data transmission is received from the first device on at least one uplink grant.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: The plurality of uplink grants having different transport block sizes TBS are configured.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, further comprising: If the multiple uplink grants are overlapping or partially overlapping, different demodulation reference signals are configured for the multiple uplink grants.

15. The method according to claim 12 or 13, further comprising: If a set of candidate grants allocated by the second device do not overlap with each other in the time domain or partially overlap with each other in the time domain, a window in the time domain is configured to the first device, the window being associated with determining the multiple uplink grants from the set of candidate grants that can be used for the transmission.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the window in the time domain is preconfigured or configured by the second device to the first device based on at least one of the following: the first device, a logical channel associated with the transmission, a quality of service associated with said transmission, a set of protocol data units of the first device, or A corresponding configuration of at least one configuration authorization in the set of candidate authorizations.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving the data comprises: The data is received based on a corresponding demodulation reference signal associated with the at least one uplink grant.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

19. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform at least the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

20. A second device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to perform at least the method of any one of claims 12 to 18.

21. An apparatus comprising: Means for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or the method of any one of claims 12 to 18.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or the method of any one of claims 12 to 18.

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