Uplink control information conflict handling

Abstract

The invention relates to uplink control information collision handling. Embodiments of apparatus, systems, and methods for a user equipment device (UE) to group transmissions into one or more groups of transmissions (e.g., with various priority levels and / or transmission types) are presented herein. The UE may resolve conflicts, for example, according to one or more processes described herein. The UE may transmit the transmission according to the resolution.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 202010808497.5, application date August 12, 2020, and invention name “Uplink Control Information Conflict Handling”.

[0002] Priority claim

[0003] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 887,427, entitled “Uplink Control Information Collision Handling,” filed on August 15, 2019, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully and completely set forth herein. Technical Field

[0004] The present application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for transmitting uplink control information. Background Art

[0005] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. Wireless devices, especially wireless user equipment devices (UE), have become widespread. In addition, there are various applications (or applications) hosted on user devices that perform or rely on wireless communication, such as applications that provide messaging, email, browsing, video streaming, short videos, voice streaming, real-time games or other various online services.

[0006] In some cases, such as in 5G New Radio (NR), various service types with different reliability and / or latency requirements may be supported. For UEs running hybrid services, the requirements for uplink control information may be significantly different. Thus, improvements are desired in the art. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention discloses technologies, devices, systems and methods for a user equipment (UE) device to perform transmission of various types of information (e.g., uplink control information (UCI)) associated with one or more service types. The UE may include at least one antenna for performing wireless communication, a radio component coupled to the at least one antenna, and a processor coupled to the radio component, and may be configured to communicate with a wireless (e.g., cellular) network in a wireless manner via at least one type of radio access technology (RAT).

[0008] In some embodiments, the UE may group uplink transmissions into one or more groups of transmissions (e.g., with various priority levels and / or transmission types). For example, according to one or more embodiments described herein, the UE may resolve conflicts between two or more uplink transmissions. The UE may transmit the transmissions according to the resolution.

[0009] In some embodiments, the non-transitory memory medium may include program instructions executable by the UE, which, when executed, cause the UE to perform at least a portion or all of the above operations. In some embodiments, the method performed by the UE may include the UE performing the above operations. In some embodiments, the method performed by the base station or network element may include the base station or network element performing the corresponding operations.

[0010] The present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the themes described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be interpreted as narrowing the scope or essence of the themes described in this invention in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the themes described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] A better understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein may be obtained when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 illustrating an exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0013] Figure 2 illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is shown;

[0015] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 6 and Figure 7 illustrates an example of a 5G NR base station (gNB) according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for uplink control information (UCI) collision handling according to some embodiments;

[0019] Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary priority order indicator (POI) according to some embodiments;

[0020] Fig.10 illustrating an exemplary packet for uplink transmission according to some embodiments; and

[0021] Figures 11 to 14 Example techniques for multiplexing uplink transmissions in accordance with some embodiments are shown.

[0022] Although the present invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternative forms falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Acronyms

[0024] The following acronyms may be used in this patent application:

[0025] UE: User Equipment

[0026] BS: Base Station

[0027] ENB: eNodeB (base station)

[0028] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0029] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0030] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0031] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0032] E-UTRAN: Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN

[0033] CN: Core Network

[0034] EPC: Evolved Packet Core

[0035] MME: Mobility Management Entity

[0036] HSS: Home Subscriber Server

[0037] SGW: Serving Gateway

[0038] PS: Packet Switching

[0039] CS: Circuit Switched

[0040] EPS: Evolved Packet Switching System

[0041] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0042] IE: Information Element

[0043] QoS: Quality of Service

[0044] QoE: Quality of Experience

[0045] TFT: Business Flow Template

[0046] RSVP: Resource Reservation Protocol

[0047] API: Application Programming Interface

[0048] the term

[0049] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0050] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, for example, CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0051] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0052] Programmable hardware elements - include a variety of hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0053] Computer System—Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0054] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptop computers, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), personal digital assistants, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is convenient for a user to carry and capable of wireless communication.

[0055] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0056] Communication Device - Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, which may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0057] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0058] Processing element - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0059] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22 MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0060] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0061] Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without requiring user input to directly specify or perform the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without requiring any user input to specify the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0062] Approximately - refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0063] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0064] Configured to - Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some environments, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a circuit system that performs one or more tasks during operation." Thus, the component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, circuits that form the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.

[0065] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0066] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communications systems

[0067] Figure 1 A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of possible systems, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0068] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B, etc. to user equipment 106N through a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as UE or UE device.

[0069] Base station (BS) 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with user equipment 106A-106N.

[0070] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102 and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of RATs, which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) (associated with, for example, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) or Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) air interfaces), LTE, Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), 3GPP2 (3rd Generation Partnership Project 2) Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000) (e.g., Radio Transmission Technology (1xRTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (1xEV-DO), High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), Enhanced High Speed ​​Packet Data (eHRPD)), etc. It should be noted that if the base station 102 is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". It should be noted that if base station 102 is implemented in a 5G NR environment, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or a "gNB".

[0071] As shown, base station 102 may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102 may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102 may provide UE 106 with various telecommunication capabilities such as voice, short message service (SMS), and / or data services.

[0072] Base station 102 and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may thus provide a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs 106A-106N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0073] Thus, although base station 102 may function as Figure 1 106A-106N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (possibly provided by other base stations 102B-102N), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity of service area size. Other configurations are also possible.

[0074] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to a New Radio Communications Core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more Transition and Reception Points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0075] It should be noted that UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., Advanced Television Systems Committee-Mobile / Handheld (ATSC-M / H)), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0076] Figure 2 A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A-106N) is shown in accordance with some embodiments in communication with base station 102. UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0077] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0078] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for multiple input, multiple output or "multiple input-multiple output" (MIMO) antenna systems) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0079] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). Similarly, BS 102 may also include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). In order to receive and / or transmit such directional signals, the antennas of UE 106 and / or BS 102 may be configured to apply different "weights" to different antennas. The process of applying these different weights may be referred to as "precoding".

[0080] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0081] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0082] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (such as a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components can be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 can be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 300 can be (for example, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0083] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuits 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0084] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 335 and 336 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 337 and 338. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0085] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include dedicated receive chains (which include and / or are (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) coupled to a dedicated processor and / or radio component) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain as well as the shared transmit chain.

[0086] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0087] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345 .

[0088] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 306, a read-only memory (ROM) 350, a NAND flash memory 310)) and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, the short-range wireless communication circuit 229, the cellular communication circuit 330, the connector I / F 320, and / or the display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0089] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may be configured to transmit a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT and to transmit an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit a request to attach to a second network node. The request may include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first and second network nodes. In addition, the wireless device may be configured to receive an indication that a dual connection (DC) has been established with the first and second network nodes.

[0090] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing features of using multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier (e.g., and / or multi-frequency carriers) and various other technologies described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention.

[0091] In addition, as described in the present invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0092] In addition, as described in the present invention, the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may each include one or more processing elements and / or processors. In other words, one or more processing elements / processors may be included in the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements / processors may be included in the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329.

[0093] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0094] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0095] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0096] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0097] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0098] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The radio component 430 and the at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106. The antenna 434 may communicate with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0099] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5GNR radio component for performing communications according to 5GNR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0100] As further described later herein, BS102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting a specific implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the BS102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

[0101] In addition, as described herein, the one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the one or more processors 404.

[0102] In addition, as described herein, radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0103] Figure 5 —Block diagram of cellular communication circuit

[0104] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of is only one example of possible cellular communication circuitry; other circuitry, such as circuitry that includes or is coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, is also possible. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0105] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 3 In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include dedicated receive chains (which include and / or are (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) coupled to dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include modem 510 and modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as, for example, LTE or LTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as, for example, 5GNR.

[0106] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0107] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0108] In some embodiments, the switch (e.g., and / or a combiner, multiplexer, etc.) 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0109] In some embodiments, modems 510 and modems 520 may be configured to transmit simultaneously, receive simultaneously, and / or transmit and receive simultaneously. Thus, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmit according to both a first RAT (e.g., supported via modem 510) and a second RAT (e.g., supported via modem 520), combiner 570 may be switched to a third state that allows modems 510 and 520 to transmit signals according to the first RAT and the second RAT (e.g., via transmit circuitry 534 and 544 and transmit circuitry of UL front end 572). In other words, the modems may coordinate communication activities, and each modem may perform transmit and / or receive functions at any time as needed.

[0110] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be configured to transmit a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT via the first modem when the switch is in the first state, and to transmit an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT via the first modem when the switch is in the first state. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit a request to attach to the second network node via the second radio component when the switch is in the second state. The request may include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first and second network nodes. In addition, the wireless device may be configured to receive an indication that a dual connection with the first and second network nodes has been established via the first radio component.

[0111] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing features of using multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier and various other technologies described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0112] In some embodiments, processors 512, 522, etc. may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processors 512, 522, etc. may be configured as programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays or as application-specific integrated circuits or a combination thereof. In addition, as described in the present invention, processors 512, 522, etc. may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processors 512, 522, etc. may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522, etc. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522, etc.

[0113] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the use of multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier and various other technologies described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0114] Figure 6-Figure 7 —5G NR architecture

[0115] In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communications will initially be deployed in parallel with other wireless communications standards (e.g., LTE). Figure 6 Detailed implementation of possible standalone (SA) of a Next Generation Core (NGC) network 606 and a 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), dual connectivity between LTE and 5G New Radio (5G NR or NR), such as according to Figure 7 The exemplary non-standalone (NSA) architecture shown has been specified as part of the initial deployment of NR. Figure 7 As shown, the evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate with the current LTE base station (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, the eNB 602 may communicate with the 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), and data may be transferred between the EPC network 600 and the gNB 604. In some cases, the gNB 604 may also have at least a user plane reference point with the EPC network 600. Thus, the EPC network 600 may be used (or reused), and the gNB 604 may serve as additional capacity for the user equipment, for example, to provide increased downlink throughput for the UE. In other words, LTE may be used for control plane signaling, and NR may be used for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish a connection with the network, and NR may be used for data services. It should be understood that many other non-independent architecture variants are possible.

[0116] Figure 8 - Uplink Control Information (UCI) conflict handling

[0117] In some embodiments, the 5G NR network may be designed to support three main service categories: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC). These different service categories may have significantly different delay requirements and reliability requirements. As an example, the delay and / or reliability targets of two services such as eMBB and URLLC may be summarized as follows. For eMBB, an average delay of less than 4ms may be expected (e.g., in the downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL) direction), while for URLLC, an average delay of less than 0.5ms may be expected (e.g., DL and / or UL). In addition, compared to URLLC, which may have a target block error rate (BLER) of 0.000001, the reliability target expected by eMBB may be a BLER of less than 0.1. In other words, the delay and reliability targets / requirements for URLLC services may be many times higher (e.g., stricter or more stringent) than those for eMBB services. It is worth noting that, in contrast, eMBB may focus on high-throughput applications (e.g., gaming, streaming), whereas URLLC may focus on high reliability and minimal latency use cases (e.g., factory automation, vehicle automation, and remote surgery, etc.). It should be understood that in the present disclosure, for ease of explanation, phrases similar to "high (e.g., or higher) reliability target" may be used to refer to either or both of high (higher) reliability and / or low (lower) latency; phrases similar to "low (lower) reliability target" may refer to lower reliability and / or higher latency. Therefore, eMBB may have a higher throughput target than URLLC, and URLLC may have a higher reliability target (e.g., including a lower latency target) than eMBB.

[0118] Thus, for a UE 106 communicating according to multiple service categories, the reliability and delay targets may vary significantly. In addition, the targets for UCI transmitted on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) may be significantly different from the targets for PUSCH data. The reliability and delay targets on UCI may be higher or lower than those on PUSCH data. For example, when a UL hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK) (e.g., PUCCH) of DL URLLC data is transmitted while UL eMBB data (e.g., PUSCH) is transmitted, the reliability target of the HARQ-ACK of the URLLC PUSCH may be higher. Conversely, when a CQI report (e.g., PUCCH) for eMBB is transmitted simultaneously with URLLC data (e.g., PUSCH), the UCI (e.g., in this example, the CQI report) reliability target may be lower than the reliability target of the PUSCH of the URLLC service.

[0119] Therefore, how to design UCI transmission schemes with different service types (e.g., on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or PUSCH) may be a key issue in achieving efficient 5G NR UL resource utilization for mixed service type use cases. In addition, it may be advantageous to design such schemes to avoid excessive UL control overhead, for example, to ensure the best throughput performance for eMBB but still meet the strict reliability / latency targets of URLLC.

[0120] Figure 8 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary aspects of a scheme for transmitting information (eg, UCI). Figure 8 The technology can allow the UE to classify and prioritize transmissions, for example, to efficiently use resources and meet reliability targets for various service types. Figure 8 The techniques may allow the UE to perform this classification and prioritization at a low layer (e.g., at the physical (PHY) layer), for example, thereby avoiding or minimizing processing delays associated with performing such functions at a high layer (e.g., a radio resource control (RRC) layer). Figure 8Aspects of the method may be implemented by a UE 106 in communication with a BS 102 as shown in the figures and described with respect to the figures, or more generally, in other devices in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the figures as desired. For example, a processor (or multiple processors) of a UE (e.g., processor 302, a processor associated with communication circuit 329 or 330 such as processor 512 and / or 522, etc.), a base station (e.g., in various possibilities, processor 404, or a processor associated with a radio component 430 and / or a communication link 432), or a network element (e.g., any component of NGC 606, EPC 600, etc.) may cause the UE or base station to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown. For example, a baseband processor of a UE may cause the UE to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown. It is noted that while at least some elements of the method are described in a manner involving the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with 3GPP specification documents, such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and aspects of the method may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as desired. In addition, the method may be applied in other scenarios (e.g., between multiple UEs, e.g., in device-to-device communications). Similarly, it should be noted that although at least some elements of the method are described in relation to UL transmissions, such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and aspects of the method may be used in UL and / or DL ​​communications as desired. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0121] According to some embodiments, UE 106 may establish a connection with BS 102 (802). The connection may be or include, for example, a cellular connection operating according to one or more wireless standards. According to some embodiments, the connection may include a WLAN connection, for example, in addition to or in lieu of a cellular connection. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the connection may include a cellular connection using an unlicensed spectrum.

[0122] The UE and the BS may, for example, exchange data and / or control information in the UL and / or DL ​​directions. For example, the BS may use radio resource control (RRC) signaling (and / or other higher layer signaling) to configure the UE to classify and / or prioritize various transmissions according to the techniques described herein. Such configuration may include any of various details, information, etc. For example, priority information for various types (e.g., type 2, as discussed further below) of UL transmissions may be provided. Similarly, coding rate information for various types of UL transmissions may be provided.

[0123] In some embodiments, the UE may indicate one or more characteristics of the UE such as UE capability information to the BS. For example, the UE may transmit an indication of the minimum processing time (e.g., N'symbols) of a higher priority UL transmission (e.g., a PUSCH associated with a URLLC service). For example, N' may represent the processing time of a URLLC data transmission represented by a symbol. In addition, the UE may transmit a separate value d>=0, indicating the additional amount of time (e.g., measured in symbols) required on top of the symbol to perform the operation N' further described below (e.g., discarding or interrupting overlapping uplink transmissions of lower priority). Such indications may be signaled as part of the UE capability information. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, some parameters (e.g., d values) may be hard-coded and predefined in the 3GPP specification or other standard documents, and therefore may not be indicated to the network by the UE.

[0124] The network and / or BS may schedule UL transmissions based on an indication of a minimum processing time (e.g., N=N'+d) from the UE. For example, the network may schedule DL transmissions to the UE at a first time such that the UE (e.g., taking into account the processing time) may be expected to respond with a HARQ-ACK bit at an appropriate time (e.g., on an appropriate PUSCH and / or PUCCH resource) consistent with the indicated N' and d values.

[0125] According to some embodiments, the UE 106 may group one or more (e.g., UL) transmissions (804). Among various possibilities, the transmissions may be grouped based on priority level and / or transmission type. The transmissions may be grouped, for example, at a physical (PHY) layer or other lower layer of the UE. For example, the application layer of the UE may generate a transmission and provide the transmission to a lower layer for transmission. The lower layer may perform grouping and / or other functions before the transmission. The UE may group the transmissions according to priority level, for example, the UE may determine a corresponding priority level of a corresponding transmission in a plurality of transmissions, and divide / classify the plurality of transmissions into groups based on the corresponding priority level. In other words, for a transmission of a time slot, the UE may determine a priority level and add the transmission to a group corresponding to the priority level.

[0126] For example, priority levels may be associated with various service types (e.g., 5G service types). For example, UL RRC transmissions may be associated with a first priority level, eMBB transmissions may be associated with a second priority level, and mMTC communications may be associated with a third priority level. In some embodiments, UL RRC transmissions may be assigned a higher priority than eMBB or mMTC communications. In addition, UL transmissions with eMBB may be assigned a higher priority than mMTC priority. In some embodiments, additional or different priority levels may be associated with other attributes (e.g., application type, etc.).

[0127] In some embodiments, in order to group transmissions by priority, transmissions may first be classified into two categories / types, e.g., depending on whether there is a downlink control information (DCI) format associated with the transmission (e.g., a DCI format may be associated with one or more UL channels, and vice versa). For example, the two types may be referred to as category or type 1 (hereinafter referred to as "category 1") and category or type 2 (hereinafter referred to as "category 2") UL transmissions.

[0128] Category 1 UL transmissions may include HARQ-ACK information, aperiodic channel state information (A-CSI), and / or PUSCH (eg, based on dynamic scheduling and / or based on a Type 1 Configuration Grant (CG)), as well as other exemplary transmissions.

[0129] It should be noted that various 3GPP standard documents may describe Type 1 and / or Type 2 Configuration Grants (CGs). Type 1 CGs may be grants for multiple UEs to share periodically allocated resources and may be signaled using RRC. Type 2 CGs may be configured by RRC and may be activated and / or deactivated using L1 (e.g., PHY) signaling. It should be understood that, as used herein, the terms Category 1 transmission and Category 2 transmission are distinct from Type 1 CG and Type 2 CG.

[0130] The association between each Category 1 UL channel and the corresponding DCI format is provided in Table 1 .

[0131]

[0132] Category 2 UL transmissions may include all other UL transmissions not associated with a DCI format, such as scheduling requests (SRs), periodic channel state information (P-CSI), and / or PUSCH based on type 1 and / or type 2 CGs (CG-PUSCH).

[0133] The UE may determine the priority level of the Category 1 UL transmission based on the DCI format or an indication in the DCI format, for example, at a lower layer such as a physical (PHY) layer. For example, according to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the priority level of the Category 1 UL transmission may be explicitly indicated by an information field (IE) in the associated DCI format. Examples of such indications are described in Fig. 9 The priority order indicator (POI) can be 0 or X bits. The number of priority orders can be associated with 2 X , ranging from 0 to 2 X -1. For example, if there are two priority levels (e.g., a first level for URLLC and a second level for eMBB), the length of the POI (e.g., X) may be 1 bit to indicate which of the two priority levels is associated with the DL transmission. Similarly, if three levels are included, X may be 2 (e.g., the POI may be X=2 bits long and 2X -1=2 2 -1=3 priority). Thus, based on the POI field of a DL transmission, the UE may determine (eg, at the PHY layer, eg, without querying higher layers such as an application layer or an application processor) the priority level of the corresponding UL transmission (eg, UCI).

[0134] In some designs, the presence and number of bits of the POI field (e.g., X value) in the associated DCI format may be configurable by higher layers. More specifically, for UEs that support only one service type (e.g., eMBB or URLLC service, but not both), or for situations where only one service type is activated during a particular time period, the POI field may not exist (e.g., the POI field may be 0 bits). In other words, if multiple priorities are configured for the UE (e.g., simultaneously or at overlapping times), the BS may use the POI field to signal the priority to the UE in one or more DL transmissions, and if only a single priority is configured for the UE, the BS may not use the POI field (e.g., X=0). For example, if both of two services are activated at a given UE, the UL transmission of the URLLC service may be indicated with a higher priority than the corresponding eMBB service, e.g., via a POI or another indication.

[0135] The priority levels for various types of Category 2 UL transmissions may be configured by higher layers (e.g., RRC signaling) as part of the configuration (e.g., in 802). For example, a priority level may be assigned to one or more of: Type 1 CG PUSCH, SR transmission, and P-CSI report. The priority levels for these types of UL transmissions may be the same or different. Thus, the PHY layer of the UE may determine the priority level for Category 2 UL transmissions based on the type of transmission (e.g., as indicated in the configuration information).

[0136] For example, the UE may determine that the UL transmission is not associated with DCI, e.g., determining that the UL transmission is a category 2 transmission. The UE may determine the type of transmission (e.g., a type 1 CG PUSCH, SR transmission, or P-CSI report, or other types of UL transmissions not associated with DCI), and based on the type of transmission, the UE may determine a priority level (e.g., based on configuration information of the transmission type).

[0137] Thus, the UE may determine, for example, at the PHY layer, a priority level for transmissions of one or both of Category 1 and Category 2 based on the POI and / or configuration information. The UE may group transmissions by priority level, for example, by determining the priority levels of the respective transmissions and comparing these priority levels. For example, a group of transmissions having a first priority level may include any number of Category 1 UL transmissions (e.g., if multiple services are active at the UE, the priority levels of these transmissions may be determined based on the respective POIs). In addition, the group of transmissions having a first priority level may include any number of Category 2 UL transmissions (e.g., the priority levels of these transmissions may be determined based on the respective types of UL transmissions). In some embodiments, the category may be associated with the manner in which the priority level is determined; the category may not directly indicate the priority level.

[0138] According to some embodiments, the UE may detect and resolve any (e.g., inter-priority and / or intra-group) conflicts (806). A conflict may be a situation where multiple transmissions overlap in the time domain. The UE may detect and resolve conflicts at the UE's PHY layer and / or another lower layer. For example, the UE's baseband processor or modem may perform the processing required to detect and resolve conflicts independently of the device's application layer or other higher layers. Exemplary conflict resolution includes: delaying or dropping one or more transmissions (e.g., scheduling a transmission later or not transmitting at all); stopping one or more transmissions early (e.g., allowing a second higher priority transmission to start); adjusting the amount of time and / or frequency resources allocated to one or more transmissions (e.g., reducing the amount of resources for one transmission so that more resources are available for higher priority transmissions, for example, so that a higher priority transmission can be performed at a coding rate or MCS sufficient to meet a high reliability target (e.g., a BLER less than a threshold)); and / or adjusting the start time of one or more transmissions (e.g., so that a low delay target transmission can start early enough to meet the delay target). It should be understood that the conflict resolution techniques described herein may be applicable to conflicts of one or more 5G service types. According to some embodiments, these collision resolution techniques may be applied on very small time scales, for example, within a time slot or a small number of symbols.

[0139] As used herein, an inter-priority or inter-group conflict may refer to transmissions of different priority levels (e.g., a conflict of one or more transmissions of a first priority level with a conflict of one or more transmissions of a second priority level). For example, in the event of a conflict between groups with different priority levels (e.g., an inter-priority conflict), the transmissions of the lower priority group may be delayed (e.g., delayed to a later symbol within a time slot and / or delayed to a later time slot) to accommodate the transmissions of the higher priority group. An intra-group conflict may refer to a conflict between multiple transmissions of the same priority level (e.g., within a group). For example, a UE may determine resources (e.g., an amount of time and / or frequency resources and / or location / time of resources) for multiplexing transmissions within a group of transmissions, for example, to resolve intra-group conflicts. In some embodiments, some transmissions (e.g., within a group) may be dropped or delayed, for example, based on intra-group conflicts. Various processes and / or rules for resolving conflicts, for example, within a time slot are discussed below.

[0140] A first process for resolving (e.g., inter-priority) conflicts may include dropping lower priority transmissions in order to prioritize (or transmit) higher priority transmissions. For example, when there is a conflict between transmissions with different priorities, the transmission with the lower priority may be dropped or stopped in advance (e.g., starting from the first symbol that overlaps with the UL transmission with the higher priority order). Fig.10 An exemplary time slot according to some embodiments is shown (e.g., having 14 symbols in the time domain, e.g., arranged along the horizontal axis; the vertical axis may represent frequency domain resources) having overlapping transmissions at two priority levels: a higher priority 1 (P1) and a lower priority 2 (P2).

[0141] In some embodiments, two P1 transmissions may form a first group associated with the same URLLC service type. For example, the first P1 transmission (e.g., starting from the 4th symbol) may be a PUCCH transmission with HARQ-ACK, and the second P1 transmission (e.g., starting from the 10th symbol) may be a PUSCH transmission with A-CSI transmission. Similarly, two P2 transmissions may form a second group associated with, for example, an eMBB service type. The first P2 transmission may be a PUCCH transmission with HARQ-ACK, and the other transmission may be a PUCCH with an SR transmission. Transmissions may be multiplexed within each of a plurality of groups according to the processes described herein (e.g., see the discussion of various processes for intra-group transmissions discussed below). In addition, in some cases, transmissions may be multiplexed between groups.

[0142] In some embodiments, some or all of the P2 transmissions may be discarded based on the P1 transmission (e.g., according to the first process). For example, the P2 transmission may stop at symbol 4, for example, when the transmission of the first P1 transmission begins. In other words, the P1 transmissions may be grouped, and the group of P1 transmissions may extend from the 4th symbol to (e.g., including) the 12th symbol. The group of P1 transmissions may have a higher priority than the group of P2 transmissions (e.g., the P2 transmissions may include the transmission of all symbols of the time slot). The P2 transmissions may be performed during the first three symbols of the time slot. The P2 transmissions may be discarded (e.g., delayed later) during the 3rd symbol to the 12th symbol of the time slot, for example to allow the transmission of the P1 transmission group. The P2 transmissions may be resumed in the 13th and 14th symbols of the time slot. It should be noted that the P2 transmissions / data that have been transmitted during the 3rd symbol to the 12th symbol may be transmitted starting from the 13th symbol and the 14th symbol or later (e.g., in a later time slot). In some embodiments, among various possibilities, conflict resolution (eg, multiplexing) within each group (eg, a separate P1 group and a separate P2 group) may be performed according to one or more of the intra-group processes discussed herein.

[0143] In some embodiments, the UE may allocate additional resources (e.g., additional symbols, such as the 13th and 14th symbols, etc.) to the P1 group in order to meet the reliability and / or delay targets of the P1 group. For example, allocating additional resources to the P1 group may allow the P1 transmission to proceed using a lower modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

[0144] In some embodiments, the minimum processing time for a UL channel with a higher priority order (e.g., P1, e.g., associated with a URLLC service) may be increased by the number of symbols d (e.g., d>=0), which accounts for the interruption time of the discard operation, e.g., due to the sharing of processing capabilities at the UE side. In other words, the processing of the P1 transmission may be slower by d symbols due to the processing of detecting a conflict and discarding the P2 transmission. For example, if processing a transmission would take 10 symbols without comparing priority levels (e.g., N'=10), and processing a transmission including comparing priority levels and discarding transmissions (e.g., if an overlap is found) takes 11 symbols (e.g., N=N'+d), then d may be equal to 1. In some embodiments, the value of d (e.g., and / or the total processing time, including processing associated with comparison and discarding) may be indicated as part of the UE capability, e.g., or may be predefined in 3GPP or other specifications.

[0145] A second process for resolving (e.g., inter-priority) conflicts may involve transmission of SRs and data. In the event of a conflict between an SR (e.g., to be transmitted on a PUCCH or potentially a PUSCH) and data on other channels (e.g., a PUSCH), various UE behaviors for selecting resources may be applied depending at least on the type of overlapping UL transmissions. In other words, the UE may adjust one or more UL transmissions to fit the selected resources in response to the conflict by selecting resources and adjusting the transmissions.

[0146] As a first example, in the case of a positive SR (e.g., the UE has data to transmit and is ready to request a UL grant via a SR), the UE may discard PUSCH data with a lower priority order and transmit a SR with a higher priority order. For example, the PUSCH data may be associated with eMBB, while the SR may be associated with URLLC. Alternatively, in the case where the PUSCH data has a higher priority, the UE may discard the SR and transmit the PUSCH data. This design may provide the benefit of simplicity, but may result in a loss of PUSCH throughput for lower priority services (e.g., eMBB).

[0147] As a second example, the UE may multiplex SR (e.g., with a higher priority order) and PUSCH (e.g., with a lower priority order) in PUSCH resources. In this method, the UE may be configured with different β offset values ​​for different priority orders. The UE may use different β offset values ​​to determine the number of resources (e.g., the number of resource elements (REs) and / or other time / frequency resources) and / or the location of resources for multiplexing SR information in PUSCH in different priority orders. For example, the β offset may be as follows:

[0148]

[0149] In some designs, the two beta offset values ​​can be configured to have a one-to-one association with the priority order. For example, the first beta offset:

[0150]

[0151] In case the two β offset values ​​overlap, then it can be used to calculate the number of resources used for SRs with priority order 0 in PUSCH with a different priority order (e.g., priority order 1). Second β offset:

[0152]

[0153] In the case where two β offset values ​​overlap, it can be used to calculate the amount of resources for a SR with priority order 1 in a PUSCH with a different priority order (e.g., priority order 0). In other words, the UE can apply the β offset to determine the type of resources to be used (e.g., and / or the amount of resources) in order to multiplex the SR with UL data for transmission in the PUSCH. For example, if the priority of the SR is higher than the priority of the PUSCH data, relatively more resources can be allocated to the SR (e.g., the resource allocation for the PUSCH data can be reduced, leaving more resources available for the SR, such as for a lower coding rate for the SR, for example, to improve the probability of successful decoding, thereby improving the reliability of the SR transmission), and the resources can be located earlier (e.g., for lower latency for the SR). In contrast, if the priority of the SR is lower than the priority of the PUSCH data, relatively fewer resources can be allocated to the SR (e.g., for a lower coding rate for the PUSCH data), and the resources can be located later (e.g., for lower latency for the PUSCH data). In various embodiments, the β offset can be used to determine the amount of resources used for the SR and / or the location of the resources used for the SR.

[0154] In some embodiments, the beta offset is equal to zero:

[0155]

[0156] A beta offset that may be supported and is equal to zero may be dynamically indicated as part of the DCI format for scheduling PUSCH transmissions. If the SR has a relatively low priority (e.g., an SR for an eMBB service) compared to the PUSCH priority order (e.g., PUSCH for URLLC), the method may provide the network with the flexibility to allow the UE to skip SR transmission (e.g., a beta offset equal to zero may indicate that the SR should not be transmitted by the UE). In addition, if the beta offset is indicated in the DCI as being equal to zero and the PUSCH and the SR have the same priority order, the UE may hide (e.g., not transmit) the SR and may (e.g., only) transmit a corresponding buffer status report (BSR) on the PUSCH channel (e.g., multiplexed with PUSCH data). For example, based on a beta offset equal to 0, the UE may indicate that it has UL data to transmit (e.g., via a BSR) without transmitting the SR, thereby freeing up more resources for PUSCH transmission.

[0157] In some embodiments, if the end symbol of the PUSCH is not later than the end symbol of the PUCCH configured for SR transmission, the SR (e.g., on the PUCCH) may be multiplexed into the PUSCH (e.g., data) transmission. Otherwise, for example, if the last symbol of the PUSCH data is after the last symbol of the PUCCH (e.g., for SR), the UE may discard the SR transmission. In some embodiments, if the PUSCH extends beyond the PUCCH, such discarding of the SR may be applied when the priority order of the SR and PUSCH data is the same (e.g., when the β offset is not applied), and the multiplexing may be performed according to the β offset in the case of different priority levels. In some embodiments, if the PUSCH extends beyond the PUCCH, such discarding of the SR may be applied regardless of whether the priority order of the SR and PUSCH data is the same or different (e.g., whether the β offset may be applied).

[0158] A third process for (e.g., inter-priority) collisions may involve HARQ ACK / NACK and / or channel state information (CSI) (e.g., UCI in addition to SR) and data. In the event of a collision between ACK / NACK or CSI (e.g., to be transmitted on PUCCH or possibly PUSCH) and data, various UE behaviors may be applied, e.g., to adjust one or more UL transmissions to fit the selected resources.

[0159] As an example, multiple sets of β offset values ​​are given by:

[0160]

[0161] It can be configured by higher layers according to a separate β offset value (e.g., an offset value table) for HARQ-ACK (e.g., and / or NACK) multiplexing in PUSCH, where i is a set index. Each set:

[0162]

[0163] It can include several elements, such as:

[0164]

[0165] For use by a UE in a case where the UE multiplexes HARQ-ACK in a PUSCH. If the UE multiplexes up to 2 HARQ-ACK bits, more than 2 bits and up to 11 bits, and more than 11 bits in a PUSCH, respectively, the corresponding elements may be used. It should be understood that any range / threshold for the number of HARQ-ACK bits may be used as desired, and a different number of β offset elements (e.g., possibly more than 3) may be used. For example, based on the number of bits of HARQ-ACK (e.g., and / or NACK) information to be transmitted, and further based on the relative priority of the HARQ-ACK information relative to the PUSCH data, the UE may determine the resources for multiplexing the HARQ-ACK information with the PUSCH data. Similar to the (e.g., second) process for SR transmission, if the HARQ-ACK information has a higher priority, the β offset set may provide more and / or earlier resources for the HARQ-ACK information, and thus better delay and / or reliability performance may be achieved.

[0166] As a second example, two sets of beta offset values:

[0167]

[0168] can be configured for part 1 CSI reporting and part 2 CSI reporting, where i is the set index. The pairs in set 0 can be described as:

[0169]

[0170] And the pairs in set 1 can be described as:

[0171]

[0172] in:

[0173]

[0174] The pairs in set 0 can be used for UEs multiplexing up to 11 bits of CSI, and the pairs in set 1 can be used for CSI reports multiplexing more than 11 bits. It should be understood that thresholds other than 11 bits can be used as needed. In addition, additional beta offset value sets can be used as needed.

[0175] In some embodiments, the set index and β offset value for multiplexing the HARQ-ACK or CSI part within the indicated set may be signaled to the UE via the DCI format of the scheduled PUSCH transmission or via higher layers (eg, higher layer signaling such as RRC).

[0176] In another embodiment, the beta offset value for multiplexing the HARQ-ACK or CSI part within the indicated set may be signaled to the UE by the DCI format for scheduling PUSCH transmission or by a higher layer. However, the set index may be determined based on a priority order (e.g., a priority order of transmissions adjusted based on the beta offset value), which may be signaled by the POI field in the DCI format and / or configured by RRC signaling. More specifically, a set of beta offset values ​​may be configured or implicitly determined for a PUSCH with a particular service type. As an example, set 0 may be used for HARQ-ACK or CSI feedback for URLLC services (e.g., for higher reliability transmissions), while a second set (e.g., set 1) may be used for HARQ-ACK or CSI associated with eMBB services (e.g., with lower reliability targets).

[0177] Fig.11 is a flow chart of a method according to the third process. Fig.11 , the UE may determine that two or more transmissions (e.g., and / or transmission sets / groups of transmissions) for a time slot collide (1110). One or more of the transmissions may be UCI such as HARQ-ACK information and / or CSI. Another transmission may include, for example, data to be transmitted on the PUSCH. The two transmissions may have different priority levels. The UE may determine what resources, if any, to use for the transmission (1120). For example, the UE may determine a set index for each transmission (e.g., based on the priority level of the HARQ-ACK and / or CSI reporting information) and which beta offset value within the indicated set (e.g., based on the number of bits of the HARQ-ACK and / or CSI) to determine the number and / or location of resources to use for UCI transmission (e.g., multiplexed with data).

[0178] According to some embodiments, in a fourth process (e.g., for intra-group and / or inter-priority) conflict, a PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) may be included in the DCI and may be used to adjust the UL transmission to fit the indicated resource. The PRI may be used to schedule UCI in response to DL data, for example, transmitted on the PDSCH and scheduled by the DCI. The PRI may indicate which PUCCH resource (e.g., including resource location and / or quantity) the UE should use for UCI (e.g., HARQ-ACK bits) corresponding to the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI. According to some embodiments, the PRI may be an IE and may be included in various DCI formats. For example, a DL grant may schedule DL transmissions on the PDSCH. A DL grant may use a DCI format including the PRI. The PRI may indicate which PUCCH resource (e.g., a PUCCH resource among multiple PUCCH resources configured by the BS) the UE should use to transmit UCI (e.g., HARQ-ACK feedback) in response to DL transmissions on the PDSCH. In other words, the PRI of the DCI may be used to dynamically indicate, for example, which PUCCH resources among a plurality of configured PUCCH resources may be used to transmit UCI in response to DL data scheduled by the DCI.

[0179] Fig.12 A flow chart of a method according to this fourth process according to some embodiments is shown. According to some embodiments, the UE may estimate the maximum payload of the PUCCH resource indicated by the PRI in the DCI (1210). The maximum payload size X may be determined by: X=N RE ×2xr, for example, for resources according to PUCCH format 2, format 3 or format 4, where N RE is the number of REs available for UCI transmission from format 2, format 3, or format 4, and r is the maximum coding rate (e.g., or MCS, etc.) for PUCCH format 2, format 3, or format 4, e.g., as configured by higher layers (e.g., RRC signaling, e.g., in 802). In some embodiments, the coding rates for HARQ-ACK and CSI are configured separately (e.g., with r HARQ-ACK 、r CSI ). An individual coding rate can be used to determine the corresponding maximum number of bits, X.

[0180] The UE may determine whether the total number of bits (e.g., of HARQ-ACK and / or CSI) is less than or equal to the maximum payload X (1220). If the total number of bits is less than or equal to the maximum payload, the UE may transmit the HARQ-ACK and / or CSI on the PUCCH resources, for example, in the indicated format (1230). However, if the total number of bits exceeds X, some or all of the HARQ-ACK and / or CSI bits may be discarded (e.g., as needed to achieve a transmission size not greater than X) (1240). The HARQ-ACK and / or CSI bits may be discarded based on the priority level (e.g., lower priority bits may be discarded first). For example, bits of UL transmissions of lower priority services may be discarded first. Alternatively (e.g., for intra-group collisions), the HARQ-ACK and / or CSI bits may be selectively discarded. As an example, the following priority order may be defined for HARQ-ACK and / or CSI bit selection: HARQ-ACK and / or CSI for CCs with lower indexes have a higher transmission priority than CSI for CCs with larger component carrier (CC) indexes. As a second example, CSI with a smaller report identifier (ID) may have a higher priority than a larger report ID. After discarding sufficient CSI bits, the UE may continue to transmit HARQ-ACK and / or CSI (e.g., in 1230). It should be understood that the total number of bits may be evaluated before any possible discarding (e.g., in 1220) (e.g., without adjusting any bits that may be discarded in 1240).

[0181] In other words, the UE may compare the bit size of one or more UL transmissions (e.g., UCI and / or data / PUSCH) to the maximum payload size of the transmission. If the bit size of the (e.g., total) transmission is greater than the maximum payload size, the UE may discard one or more bits of the transmission in order to remain within the maximum payload size. It should be understood that this fourth process may be applied iteratively. For example, if a group of lower priority transmissions are to be transmitted in the same time slot as a group of higher priority transmissions, a first determination may be made to discard bits of the lower priority group, and a second determination may be made to discard bits of a particular transmission within the lower priority group (e.g., selected based on the CC index and / or report ID).

[0182] In some embodiments, bits before and / or after the HARQ-ACK and / or CSI payload (e.g., before or after the X bit indicated in the PRI) may be used for transmissions, such as other transmissions within the group and / or transmissions of another group.

[0183] A fifth process for resolving (e.g., inter-priority) conflicts may include multiplexing a lower priority transmission with a higher priority transmission, provided that the end (e.g., last symbol) of the lower priority transmission is not later than the end (e.g., last symbol) of the higher priority transmission. In other words, the UE may determine the respective ends of the respective transmissions, and may perform multiplexing of the lower priority transmission (e.g., or a group of transmissions) if the multiplexing will not delay the end of the transmission of the higher priority transmission (e.g., or a group of transmissions). Fig.13 and Fig.14 An example of this fifth process is shown according to some embodiments.

[0184] like Fig.13 As shown, in one example, UL transmission 1310 may have a higher priority order than UL transmission 1320. Therefore, the UE may discard UL transmission 1320 based on determining that the end symbol of UL transmission 1320 is later than the end symbol of UL transmission 1310.

[0185] In another example, Fig.14 As shown, UL transmission 1430 may have a higher priority order than UL transmission 1440. Therefore, based on determining that the end symbol of UL transmission 1440 is earlier than the end symbol of UL transmission 1430, UL transmission 1440 may be multiplexed into (e.g., multiplexed with) UL transmission 1430. It should be understood that any of UL transmissions 1310, 1320, 1430, and / or 1440 may be a group of multiple transmissions.

[0186] A sixth process for resolving (e.g., inter-priority) conflicts may involve conflicts between SR transmissions and HARQ-ACK (e.g., and / or NACK) transmissions of different priority orders. For example, the sixth process may be applied when the SR is configured to have PUCCH format 0 and the HARQ-ACK is configured to have the same or different PUCCH formats and the SR and HARQ-ACK have different priority orders. The UE may discard an SR transmission or a HARQ-ACK transmission based on a predefined rule (e.g., or a set of rules), or may transmit both an SR transmission and a HARQ-ACK transmission, for example, depending on the PUCCH format and / or other factors of either or both of the transmissions. Such a rule (or multiple rules) may be designed to prioritize the reliability of one type of transmission. Such a rule (or multiple rules) may be configured by the network (e.g., in 802).

[0187] In some embodiments, the sixth process may involve the continuous application of various rules. As a first rule, in the case of a negative SR (e.g., at the time configured for transmitting the SR, the UE may not have data to transmit and may not request resources), the UE may transmit HARQ-ACK information, for example, and may not transmit a (e.g., negative) SR. As a second rule, if the processing time budget is met (e.g., if the SR and HARQ-ACK can be combined quickly enough in an appropriate format), the UE may transmit both (e.g., positive or negative) SR and HARQ-ACK bits. For example, SR and HARQ-ACK may be transmitted using PUCCH format 0. As a third rule, if neither the first rule nor the second rule applies, the UE may discard the HARQ-ACK transmission.

[0188] For example, if the SR is associated with a high priority (e.g., URLLC) and the HARQ-ACK is associated with a lower priority (e.g., eMBB), the continuation rule may be applied as follows. If the SR is negative, the lower priority HARQ-ACK may be transmitted (e.g., according to the first rule). If the first rule does not apply and / or if the SR (e.g., positive or negative) can be combined with the HARQ-ACK quickly enough, both the SR and the HARQ-ACK may be transmitted (e.g., according to the second rule). If the SR is positive and the SR may not be combined with the HARQ-ACK quickly enough, the SR may be (e.g., only) transmitted and the HARQ-ACK may be discarded (e.g., according to the third rule).

[0189] As another example, if the SR is associated with a low priority (e.g., eMBB) and the HARQ-ACK is associated with a higher priority (e.g., URLLC), the continuation rule may be applied as follows. If the SR is negative, the higher priority HARQ-ACK may be transmitted (e.g., according to the first rule). If the first rule does not apply and / or if the SR (e.g., positive or negative) can be combined with the HARQ-ACK quickly enough, both the SR and the HARQ-ACK may be transmitted (e.g., according to the second rule). If the SR is positive and the SR may not be combined with the HARQ-ACK quickly enough, the HARQ-ACK may be (e.g., only) transmitted and the SR may be discarded (e.g., according to the third rule).

[0190] It should be understood that the rules may be applied in a different order, some rules may be omitted, and / or additional rules may be applied. For example, according to some embodiments, the second rule may be applied only after the first rule (e.g., the second rule may be reached only if the first rule is not applicable because the SR is positive). In other embodiments, the second rule may be applied before the first rule (e.g., the second rule may be applied first and therefore may be applied to either a positive SR or a negative SR).

[0191] The seventh process for resolving (e.g., inter-priority) conflicts may involve, for example, conflicts between SR and CSI having different priority orders. The UE may determine whether to transmit CSI together with the SR or to discard the CSI transmission based on the PUCCH format used for the SR transmission. For example, if the PUCCH format of the SR is a long PUCCH format (e.g., PUCCH format 1, etc.), and the SR and CSI are associated with different priorities (e.g., one is URLLC and the other is eMBB), the UE may, for example, transmit the SR and CSI bits on the PUCCH resources originally allocated for CSI transmission after concatenating the bits into a sequence. In other words, if the PUCCH format applicable to one transmission is a long PUCCH format, the two transmissions may be combined and transmitted on the resources used for CSI transmission. The PUCCH of the SR may generally be smaller than the PUCCHH of the CSI; therefore, the PUCCH of the CSI can better accommodate both CSI and SR. In some embodiments, the UE may determine the cascaded transmission in response to determining that the size of the cascaded transmission will be small enough to be transmitted on the resources associated with one of the transmissions.

[0192] It should be understood that the above processes can be applied in any combination. For example, any one of these processes can be applied alone and / or two or more of these processes can be applied together. If two or more processes are applied together, these processes can be applied sequentially, for example, in any desired order, and / or can be applied simultaneously, for example, in parallel.

[0193] return Figure 8 According to some embodiments, the UE may transmit the transmission according to one or more determined order and / or multiplexing methods in these processes (808). The transmission may be transmitted simultaneously and / or sequentially on resources according to one or more channels (e.g., PDSCH, PUSCH, etc.), for example.

[0194] It should be understood that although 804, 806, and 808 have been primarily described with respect to the PHY layer of UE 106 performing UL transmissions, embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to BS 102 performing DL transmissions. For example, according to some embodiments, BS 102 may group one or more DL transmissions (804), resolve any conflicts (806), and perform DL transmissions (808). In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied by other layers of the UE and / or BS.

[0195] Additional information and examples

[0196] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, in the event of a collision between UL transmissions with different priority orders, the UL transmission with a lower priority order may be discarded, eg, the lower priority transmission may be stopped starting from the first overlapping symbol.

[0197] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, if the UE has more than one overlapping resource for UL transmission in a time slot and at least two of the UL transmissions have the same priority order, the following conflict handling process may be applied: the UE first groups the UL transmissions in the same priority order, and then the UE follows the intra-group process for resolving any overlap between transmissions within the formed group, and then the UE may select and transmit UL transmissions across groups based on the priority order.

[0198] It should be understood that although the various processes for resolving conflicts discussed above have been described with respect to certain types of transmissions, the various processes may be applicable to other types of transmissions. For example, various β offsets may be applied to different types of DCI, etc.

[0199] In a first group of embodiments, a method for operating a UE may include: at a physical (PHY) layer of the UE: connecting to a serving base station; determining corresponding types of at least two transmissions; determining corresponding priority levels of at least two transmissions; resolving at least one conflict between at least two transmissions; and transmitting at least two transmissions to the serving base station, wherein at least one of a transmission order or multiplexing of the at least two transmissions is based on resolving at least one conflict.

[0200] In a second group of embodiments, a method for operating a UE may include: connecting to a base station; receiving configuration information for multiple services, wherein the first service is associated with a first group of transmission targets, wherein the second service is associated with a second group of transmission targets, wherein the first service is associated with a first priority, wherein the second service is associated with a second priority, and wherein the first priority is higher than the second priority; transmitting a first transmission associated with the first service according to the first group of transmission targets; transmitting a second transmission associated with the second service according to the second group of transmission targets; detecting a conflict between a third transmission associated with the first service and a fourth transmission associated with the second service; applying one or more rules to resolve the conflict; and performing transmission according to the resolution.

[0201] In some embodiments, the first service may include ultra-reliable low-latency communications.

[0202] In some embodiments, the second service may include enhanced mobile broadband.

[0203] In some embodiments, applying the one or more rules to resolve the conflict and performing the transmission according to the resolution may include transmitting the third transmission and discarding the fourth transmission.

[0204] In some embodiments, applying the one or more rules to resolve the conflict and performing the transmission according to the resolution may include first transmitting the third transmission and then transmitting the fourth transmission.

[0205] In some embodiments, applying the one or more rules to resolve the conflict and performing the transmission according to the resolution may include multiplexing the third transmission with the fourth transmission.

[0206] In some embodiments, applying the one or more rules to resolve the conflict and performing the transmission according to the resolution may include transmitting the third transmission and the fourth transmission simultaneously.

[0207] In some implementations, the third transmission may use a lower coding rate than the fourth transmission.

[0208] In some embodiments, the third transmission may include a scheduling request.

[0209] In some implementations, the third transmission may include PUSCH data.

[0210] In some embodiments, the third transmission may include an acknowledgment.

[0211] In some embodiments, the configuration information may specify a first priority level for the first service and a second priority level for the second service.

[0212] In some implementations, the detecting and the applying may be performed at a physical (PHY) layer of the UE.

[0213] In some embodiments, the method may also include: receiving downlink control information (DCI) for the third transmission associated with the first service, wherein the DCI for the third transmission specifies the first priority level; wherein applying the one or more rules specifies the first priority level based on the DCI for the third transmission.

[0214] In some implementations, the DCI for the third transmission may include a Priority Order Indicator (POI) field specifying the first priority level.

[0215] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0216] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0217] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0218] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0219] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: decoding an indication of a first priority level associated with a first uplink (UL) transmission type; decoding an indication of a second priority level associated with a second UL transmission type, wherein the second priority level is lower than the first priority level; decoding a first grant for a first UL transmission of the first UL transmission type; decoding a second grant for a second UL transmission of the second UL transmission type; Determining, based on the first grant and the second grant, that the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission at least partially overlap in the time domain; as well as The first UL transmission is encoded for transmission, while at least a portion of the second UL transmission is not encoded. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second UL transmission is not transmitted starting from a first symbol where the second UL transmission overlaps with the first UL transmission.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining is performed at a physical (PHY) layer. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining is performed at a lower layer. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first authorization comprises a first type of configuration authorization. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second authorization comprises a second type of configuration authorization. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the first priority level is received via higher layer signaling.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the first priority level is received via radio resource control signaling.

9. A device, comprising: A processor configured to perform the operations of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when executing instructions stored in a memory.

10. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: Radio components; and A processor operably coupled to the radio, wherein the radio and the processor are configured to perform the operations of the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions, the program instructions being executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform the operations of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

12. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the operations of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

13. A method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), an indication of a first priority level associated with a first uplink (UL) transmission type; transmitting, to the UE, an indication of a second priority level associated with a second UL transmission type, wherein the second priority level is lower than the first priority level; transmitting, to the UE, a first grant for a first UL transmission of the first UL transmission type; transmitting, to the UE, a second grant for a second UL transmission of the second UL transmission type, wherein the first grant and the second grant can be used to determine that the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission at least partially overlap in the time domain; as well as The first UL transmission is received from the UE without receiving at least a portion of the second UL transmission.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second UL transmission is not received starting from a first symbol where the second UL transmission overlaps with the first UL transmission. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first authorization comprises a first type of configuration authorization. The method of claim 15 , wherein the second authorization comprises a second type of configuration authorization. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second type of configuration authorization is different from the first type of configuration authorization.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the indication of the first priority level is transmitted via higher layer signaling.

19. A device, comprising: A processor configured to perform the operations of the method according to any one of claims 13 to 18 when executing instructions stored in a memory.

20. A base station, comprising: Radio components; and A processor operably coupled to the radio, wherein the radio and the processor are configured to perform the operations of the method of any one of claims 13 to 18.

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