Indication for unused transmission opportunities

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices, and systems for supporting an indication of unused transmission opportunities. For example, embodiments enable configuration of an indication of unused CG transmission opportunities of one or more CG configurations, such as via UCI. In addition, rules are provided for counting and ordering transmission occasions based on an indication of unused transmission occasions. A time region-based indication of unused transmission opportunities and a number of opportunities-based indication of unused transmission opportunities are also described.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 479,524, filed on Jan. 11, 2022, entitled "INDICATION FOR UNUSED TRANSMISSION OCCASIONS", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] This disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to the configuration of transmission resources in wireless communications. BACKGROUND ART

[0004] A wireless communication system may include one or more network communication devices (e.g., base stations), which may otherwise be referred to as eNodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable terms. Each network communication device (e.g., base station) may support wireless communications for one or more user communication devices, which may otherwise be referred to as user equipment (UE) or other suitable terms. The wireless communication system may support wireless communications with one or more user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system, such as time resources (e.g., symbols, sub-slots, slots, sub-frames, frames, etc.) or frequency resources (e.g., sub-carriers, carriers). Additionally, the wireless communication system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies, including third-generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth-generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth-generation (5G) radio access technology, and other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth-generation (6G)).

[0005] Some wireless communication systems provide a way to provide transmission resources for a UE to transmit data (e.g., for uplink (UL) transmission). For example, the network may allocate pre-configured resources (also referred to as configured grant (CG) resources) for UL transmission to the UE. However, the UE may not utilize at least some of the CG resources, which may result in low utilization efficiency of UL resources. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] This disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, and systems that support an indication for unused transmission occasions. For example, embodiments implement a configuration of an indication of one or more unused CG transmission occasions via uplink control information (UCI). Additionally, rules for counting and sorting transmission occasions based on the indication of unused transmission occasions are provided. A time-region-based indication of unused transmission occasions and an occasion-number-based indication of unused transmission occasions are also described.

[0007] By utilizing the described techniques, a UE may notify the network of unused transmission opportunities in the allocated CG transmission opportunities, which may enable the network to efficiently schedule transmissions on CG resources (e.g., by the UE or other UEs). This may enable more efficient determination and scheduling of available CG resources.

[0008] Some embodiments of the methods and apparatuses described herein may further include: receiving a first set of CG configurations, the first set of CG configurations including a second set of CG configurations as a subset of the first set of CG configurations, and a third set of CG configurations as a subset of the second set of CG configurations; generating an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and sorted in the order of the start times of the transmission opportunities, and the one or more unused transmission opportunities being associated with the second set of CG configurations; and transmitting the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity of the third set of CG configurations.

[0009] Some embodiments of the methods and apparatuses described herein may further include: the second set of CG configurations including at least two CG configurations; wherein the CG configurations in the first set of CG configurations enable UL transmissions in periodic UL resources with a configured periodicity associated with the CG configurations, and one UL resource in the UL resources belongs to one period of a plurality of periods; identifying the one or more unused transmission opportunities as one or more transmission opportunities in which CG - Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmissions will not occur in the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities; transmitting the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via UCI; transmitting the UCI in a transmission opportunity, and the transmission opportunity being associated with a first CG configuration in the third set of CG configurations; determining the duration of the time window at least in part based on at least one of the following: a higher layer configuration message, the periodicity of the first CG configuration, the time location of the UCI, the frequency location of the UCI, the end of the UCI, or the number of bits configured to indicate the one or more unused transmission opportunities in the UCI; determining the second set of CG configurations at least in part based on an indication indicating a CG configuration index of a fourth set of CG configurations, wherein the fourth set of CG configurations includes at least the CG configurations in the second set of CG configurations other than the first CG configuration.

[0010] Some embodiments of the methods and apparatuses described herein may further include: receiving downlink control information (DCI) that activates the first CG configuration, and transmitting the UCI at least in part based on the DCI indicating that the UCI is permitted to be transmitted in a transmission opportunity associated with the first CG configuration; the DCI that activates the first CG configuration indicates at least one of the number of bits in the UCI for indicating the one or more unused transmission opportunities and the duration of the time window; determining the duration of the time window at least in part based on higher layer signaling; receiving an indication indicating a fourth set of CG configurations, and determining the second set of CG configurations by excluding the fourth set of CG configurations from the first set of CG configurations; transmitting the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via the UCI, and generating the UCI to indicate for the one or more unused transmission opportunities: a first set of unused transmission opportunities associated with a first CG configuration group in a first field in the UCI; and a second set of unused transmission opportunities associated with a second CG configuration group in a second field in the UCI, wherein the positions of the first field and the second field within the UCI are configured, and the first CG configuration group and the second CG configuration group do not share a common CG configuration.

[0011] Some embodiments of the methods and apparatuses described herein may further include: determining the list of transmission opportunities in the order of the respective start times of each transmission opportunity within the time window; determining the list of transmission opportunities such that a first transmission opportunity in the list of transmission opportunities has the earliest start time of the transmission opportunities, and subsequent transmission opportunities after the first transmission opportunity are identified in chronological order in the list of transmission opportunities; wherein if a first transmission opportunity and a second transmission opportunity have the same start time, then determining the first transmission opportunity to be earlier in the list of transmission opportunities than the second transmission opportunity at least in part based on one or more of the following: the first transmission opportunity ends earlier than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity includes fewer resource elements than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a higher priority than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a lower latency than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity starts earlier in the frequency domain than the second transmission opportunity; or the first transmission opportunity is associated with a smaller CG configuration index than the second transmission opportunity.

[0012] Some embodiments of the methods and apparatuses (e.g., networks) described herein may further include: generating a CG indication, the CG indication including a first CG configuration set, a second CG configuration set that is a subset of the first CG configuration set, and a third CG configuration set that is a subset of the second CG configuration set; transmitting the CG indication; and receiving an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list at a transmission opportunity of the third CG configuration set, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and being sorted in the order of the start times of the transmission opportunities.

[0013] Some embodiments of the methods and apparatuses (e.g., networks) described herein may further include: the CG configurations in the first CG configuration set enable UL transmission in periodic UL resources with a configured period associated with the CG configuration, and one UL resource in the UL resources belongs to one period of a plurality of periods; receiving the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via UCI; determining the one or more unused transmission opportunities based at least in part on the transmission opportunity list and the UCI according to the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities; indicating the duration of the time window via higher layer signaling; transmitting an indication of a fourth CG configuration set, for which the device does not expect to receive the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities; generating the transmission opportunity list in the order of the respective start times of each transmission opportunity within the time window.

[0014] Some embodiments of the methods and apparatuses described herein may further include: if a first transmission opportunity and a second transmission opportunity have the same start time, then determining the first transmission opportunity to be earlier in the transmission opportunity list than the second transmission opportunity based at least in part on one or more of the following: the first transmission opportunity ends earlier than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity includes fewer resource elements than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a higher priority than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a lower latency than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity starts earlier in the frequency domain than the second transmission opportunity; or the first transmission opportunity is associated with a smaller CG configuration index than the second transmission opportunity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 Illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting an indication of unused transmission opportunities in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2 Illustrates an example scenario of UCI indicating an unused PUSCH opportunity.

[0017] Figure 3 The figure illustrates an example scenario for indicating unused CGs in a cycle.

[0018] Figure 4 The figure illustrates an example implementation scenario for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities by grouping CG configurations for the purpose of indicating unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 The figure illustrates an example implementation scenario for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 The figure illustrates an example implementation scenario for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 The figure illustrates an example implementation scenario for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 The figure illustrates an example implementation scenario for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 9 The figure illustrates an example implementation scenario for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 10 and 11 The figure illustrates an example of a block diagram of an apparatus for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 12 and 13 The figure illustrates a flowchart of a method for supporting the indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0026] In a wireless communication system, a UE may be configured by a network entity with multiple CG configurations for UL transmission. In addition, UCI multiplexed with UL transmissions associated with the CG configurations may indicate unused CG transmission opportunities, which may belong to the same or a different CG configuration as the CG configuration in which the UCI is sent. However, the current way of indicating unused CG transmission opportunities may be inefficient and does not take into account variations in the arrangement of unused CG transmission opportunities.

[0027] Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, and systems that support indication of unused transmission opportunities. For example, embodiments implement configuration of indication of unused CG transmission opportunities for one or more CG configurations, e.g., via UCI. Further, rules for counting and sorting transmission opportunities are provided, which will be used to indicate unused transmission opportunities among the counted and sorted transmission opportunities. Also described are time-region-based indication of unused transmission opportunities, and opportunity-number-based indication of unused transmission opportunities.

[0028] By leveraging the described techniques, a UE can notify the network of unused transmission opportunities among allocated CG transmission opportunities, which can enable the network to efficiently schedule CG resources, e.g., for the UE or for other UEs. Some benefits of enabling a UE to indicate unused transmission opportunities for multiple CG configurations (as compared to unused transmission opportunities for a single CG configuration) include providing an indication of available resources for multiple CG configurations to the gNB in a more convenient manner, which can enable more accurate scheduling decisions, and reducing the frequency of UCI multiplexing in PUSCH opportunities.

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated and described with further reference to apparatus diagrams and flowcharts.

[0030] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports indication of unused transmission opportunities in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network entities 102, one or more UEs 104, a core network 106, and a packet data network 108. The wireless communication system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may be a 5G network, such as an NR network. In other embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or include other suitable radio access technologies such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20. The wireless communication system 100 may support radio access technologies other than 5G. Additionally, the wireless communication system 100 may support techniques such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA).

[0031] One or more network entities 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographical area to form a wireless communication system 100. One or more of the network entities 102 described herein may be or include or may be referred to as a network node, base station, network element, radio access network (RAN), transceiver base station, access point, NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable term. The network entity 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a communication link 110, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 may perform wireless communication (e.g., receive signaling, transmit signaling) via the Uu interface.

[0032] The network entity 102 may provide a geographical coverage area 112, and the network entity 102 may support serving one or more UEs 104 within the geographical coverage area 112 (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc.). For example, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to one or more radio access technologies and services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc.). In some embodiments, the network entity 102 may be mobile, e.g., a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network. In some embodiments, different geographical coverage areas 112 associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but different geographical coverage areas 112 may be associated with different network entities 102. The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout this specification may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0033] One or more UEs 104 may be dispersed throughout the geographical area of the wireless communication system 100. The UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, wireless device, remote device, remote unit, handheld device, or subscriber device, or some other suitable term. In some embodiments, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client, among other examples. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet of Things (IoT) device, Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples. In some embodiments, the UE 104 may be fixed in the wireless communication system 100. In some other embodiments, the UE 104 may be mobile in the wireless communication system 100.

[0034] One or more UEs 104 may be devices in different forms or with different capabilities. Some examples of the UE 104 are illustrated in Figure 1Among them, the UE 104 may be able to communicate with various types of devices (such as the network entity 102, other UEs 104, or network equipment (such as the core network 106, the packet data network 108, the relay device, the integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or another network equipment)), as Figure 1 shown therein. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 104 may support communication with other network entities 102 or UEs 104 (which may act as repeaters in the wireless communication system 100).

[0035] The UE 104 may also be able to support direct wireless communication with other UEs 104 via the communication link 114. For example, the UE 104 may support direct wireless communication with another UE 104 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some embodiments, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployment, V2X deployment, or cellular V2X deployment, the communication link 114 may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, the UE 104 may support direct wireless communication with another UE 104 via the PC5 interface.

[0036] The network entity 102 may support communication with the core network 106 or with another network entity 102 or both. For example, the network entity 102 may interface with the core network 106 via one or more backhaul links 116 (such as via S1, N2, N2, or another network interface). The network entities 102 may communicate with each other via the backhaul link 116 (such as via X2, Xn, or another network interface). In some embodiments, the network entities 102 may communicate directly with each other (e.g., between the network entities 102). In some other embodiments, the network entities 102 may communicate with each other either directly or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 106). In some embodiments, one or more network entities 102 may include sub-components, such as access network entities, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). The ANC may communicate with one or more UEs 104 via one or more other access network transmission entities (which may be referred to as radio heads, intelligent radio heads, or transmission and reception points (TRPs)).

[0037] In some embodiments, network entity 102 may be configured in a distributed architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more network entities 102 (e.g., integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance), or virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., cloud RAN (C-RAN))). For example, network entity 102 may include one or more of the following: a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) (e.g., a near-real-time RIC (near-real-time (RT) RIC), a non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC)), a service management and orchestration (SMO) system, or any combination thereof.

[0038] The RU may also be referred to as a radio head, an intelligent radio head, a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio unit (RRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP). One or more components of network entity 102 in a distributed RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of network entity 102 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some embodiments, one or more network entities 102 of a distributed RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., virtual CU (VCU), virtual DU (VDU), virtual RU (VRU)).

[0039] The functional split between the CU, DU, and RU may be flexible and may support different functions depending on which functions are performed at the CU, DU, or RU (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, radio frequency functions, and any combination thereof). For example, a functional split of the protocol stack may be used between the CU and the DU such that the CU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some embodiments, the CU may host upper protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3), layer 2 (L2)) functionality and signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)). The CU may be connected to one or more DUs or RUs, and one or more DUs or RUs may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU.

[0040] Additionally or alternatively, functional splitting of the protocol stack can be used between the DU and the RU such that the DU can support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU can support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU can support one or more different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs). In some embodiments, the functional splitting between the CU and the DU or between the DU and the RU can be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions of the protocol layer can be performed by one of the CU, DU, or RU, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU, DU, or RU).

[0041] The CU can be further functionally split into a CU control plane (CU-CP) and a CU user plane (CU-UP) function. The CU can be connected to one or more DUs via an intermediate transport communication link (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u), and the DU can be connected to one or more RUs via a fronthaul communication link (e.g., Open fronthaul (FH) interface). In some embodiments, the intermediate transport communication link or the fronthaul communication link can be implemented according to an interface (e.g., a channel) between protocol stack layers supported by the respective network entities 102 communicating via such communication links.

[0042] The core network 106 can support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 106 can be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which can include control plane entities (e.g., mobility management entity (MME), access and mobility management function (AMF)) that manage access and mobility and user plane entities (e.g., serving gateway (S-GW), packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or user plane function (UPF)) that route packets to or interconnect with external networks. In some embodiments, the control plane entities can manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g., data bearer, signaling bearer, etc.) for one or more UEs 104 served by one or more network entities 102 associated with the core network 106.

[0043] The core network 106 can communicate with the packet data network 108 via one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via S1, N2, N2, or another network interface). The packet data network 108 can include an application server 118. In some embodiments, one or more UEs 104 can communicate with the application server 118. The UE 104 can establish a session (e.g., a PDU session, etc.) with the core network 106 via the network entity 102. The core network 106 can use the established session (e.g., the established PDU session) to route traffic (e.g., control information, data, etc.) between the UE 104 and the application server 118. The PDU session can be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the core network 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the core network 106).

[0044] In the wireless communication system 100, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 can use the resources of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, time slots, subframes, frames, etc.) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communication). In some embodiments, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 can support different resource structures. For example, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 can support different frame structures. In some embodiments, such as in 4G, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 can support a single frame structure. In some other embodiments, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 can support various frame structures (e.g., multiple frame structures). The network entity 102 and the UE 104 can support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

[0045] One or more numerologies can be supported in the wireless communication system 100, and the numerology can include subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix. The first numerology (e.g., μ = 0) can be associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. The first numerology (e.g., μ = 0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) can utilize one time slot per subframe. The second numerology (e.g., μ = 1) can be associated with the second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. The third numerology (e.g., μ = 2) can be associated with the third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. The fourth numerology (e.g., μ = 3) can be associated with the fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. The fifth numerology (e.g., μ = 4) can be associated with the fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[0046] The time intervals of resources (e.g., communication resources) can be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames). Each frame can have a duration, e.g., a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some embodiments, each frame can contain multiple subframes. For example, each frame can contain 10 subframes, and each subframe can have a duration, e.g., a 1 ms duration. In some embodiments, each frame can have the same duration. In some embodiments, each subframe of a frame can have the same duration.

[0047] Additionally or alternatively, the time intervals of resources (e.g., communication resources) can be organized according to time slots. For example, a subframe can contain a certain number (e.g., quantity) of time slots. Each time slot can contain a certain number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols). In some embodiments, the number (e.g., quantity) of time slots in a subframe can depend on the parameter set. For a normal cyclic prefix, a time slot can contain 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable to a 60 kHz subcarrier spacing), a time slot can contain 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per time slot, the number of time slots per subframe, and the number of time slots per frame for the normal cyclic prefix and the extended cyclic prefix can depend on the parameter set. It should be understood that a reference to a first parameter set (e.g., μ = 0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) can be used interchangeably between subframes and time slots.

[0048] In a wireless communication system 100, the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum can be divided into various categories, frequency bands, channels, etc. based on frequency or wavelength. By way of example, the wireless communication system 100 can support one or more operating frequency bands, such as the frequency range specified as FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz – 24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). In some embodiments, the network entity 102 and the UE 104 can perform wireless communication via one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some embodiments, FR1 can be used by the network entity 102 and the UE 104, as well as other equipment or devices, for cellular communication services (e.g., control information, data). In some embodiments, FR2 can be used by the network entity 102 and the UE 104, as well as other equipment or devices, for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

[0049] FR1 can be associated with one or more parameter sets (e.g., at least three parameter sets). For example, FR1 can be associated with the following: a first parameter set (e.g., μ = 0) that includes a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second parameter set (e.g., μ = 1) that includes a 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third parameter set (e.g., μ = 2) that includes a 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 can be associated with one or more parameter sets (e.g., at least 2 parameter sets). For example, FR2 can be associated with the following: a third parameter set (e.g., μ = 2) that includes a 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth parameter set (e.g., μ = 3) that includes a 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0050] According to an implementation of the indication for an unused transmission occasion, network entity 102 generates CG configuration indication 120 and transmits CG configuration indication 120 to UE 104. For example, CG configuration indication 120 identifies CG resources that can be used by UE 104 for UL transmission (e.g., UL transmission from UE 104 to network entity 102). UE 104 receives CG configuration indication 120, determines which of the CG resources identified by CG configuration indication 120 are not used by UE 104, and generates an unused occasion indication 122 that identifies the transmission occasions of the CG resources not used by UE 104. Different ways of generating and configuring unused occasion indication 122 are described throughout this disclosure. In at least one implementation, unused occasion indication 122 is implemented via UCI. In another implementation, unused occasion indication 122 is implemented via MAC-CE. UE 104 transmits unused occasion indication 122 to network entity 102. In an implementation, network entity 102 can utilize the unused transmission occasions identified in unused transmission indication 122 to schedule uplink resources for other UEs 104, for example.

[0051] In some wireless communication systems, for CG scenarios, UL data transmission (e.g., PUSCH) can be scheduled using DCI on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or a semi-statically configured grant can be provided via RRC, where two types of operations are supported:

[0052] · Trigger a first PUSCH using DCI, where subsequent PUSCH transmissions follow the RRC configuration and the scheduling received on the DCI, or

[0053] · Trigger PUSCH by data arriving at the transmission buffer of the UE, and PUSCH transmissions follow the RRC configuration.

[0054] For CG operations that utilize shared spectrum channel access, CG-UCI (configured grant uplink control information) can be transmitted in a PUSCH scheduled by a configured uplink grant.

[0055] Considering multiple instances within the CG period, a large video frame size can utilize more than one PUSCH instance for transmission. For example, depending on the channel conditions and the video frame size, 1 to 5 PUSCHs per video frame can be used. One way is to configure multiple PUSCH instances within the CG period. This method can be supported for shared spectrum as follows:

[0056] Technical Specification (TS) 38.214, clause 6.1.2.3, stipulates the resource allocation for configured-grant uplink transmissions: … The allowed periodic set P is defined in TS 38.331. The higher-layer parameter cg-nrofSlots provides the number of consecutive time slots allocated within the configured-grant period. The higher-layer parameter cg-nrofPUSCH-InSlot provides the number of consecutive PUSCH allocations within a time slot, where the first PUSCH allocation follows the higher-layer parameter timeDomainAllocation for type 1 PUSCH transmission or the UL grant received on DCI according to the higher-layer configuration of TS 38.321 and type 2 PUSCH transmission, and the remaining PUSCH allocations have the same length and PUSCH mapping type and are appended after the previous allocation without any gaps. The same combination of start symbol, length, and PUSCH mapping type is repeated on consecutive allocated time slots.

[0057] In some scenarios, the CG resources are configured semi-statically and thus can be difficult to adapt to changing video frame sizes (e.g., video frames associated with extended reality (e.g., virtual reality and / or augmented reality)). If the number of configured resources is insufficient for the transmission of a video frame, some scheduling delays associated with dynamic scheduling can occur for the remaining video frame portions that may not be adapted in the configured resources for scheduling.

[0058] To avoid the additional delay caused by additional dynamic scheduling, the CG resources within a CG period can be configured according to a relatively large video frame transmission size. After the video frame arrives at the UE's buffer, the UE can immediately determine how many resources within the configured resources in a CG period will be used and can indicate the number of unused resources to the gNB, such that the gNB can schedule other UL transmissions (e.g., for the same UE or different UEs) in at least some of the unused resources (e.g., transmission instances and / or time-domain resources). The indication can be via UCI or MAC control element (CE) and can be transmitted in the first CG PUSCH instance. Note that the indication can potentially indicate the unused CG instances and / or resources associated with multiple configured configurations (e.g., in one CG period or in multiple CG periods).

[0059] Figure 2FIG. 200 illustrates an example scenario where UCI indicates unused PUSCH occasions. For example, UCI in a CG-configured CG transmission occasion can be used to indicate unused transmission occasions of the CG configuration within one period of the CG configuration, as illustrated in scenario 200. For example, scenario 200 illustrates UCI indicating four unused PUSCH occasions. In a first UCI within CG period 1, the UE can indicate unused PUSCH occasions P.O.3 and P.O.4 among P.O.1 to P.O.4, and in a second UCI within CG period 2, the UE can indicate unused PUSCH occasions P.O.6, P.O.7, and P.O.8 among P.O.5 to P.O.8. In contrast, the present disclosure provides a way to indicate unused transmission occasions of multiple CG configurations via UCI.

[0060] Figure 3 FIG. 300 illustrates an example scenario for indicating unused CGs in a period. In scenario 300, for example, the indication / CG-UCI indication in physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource 1 indicates whether transport block (TB) transmission occurs in the first, second, third, and fourth CG configurations. For example, instead of a CG configuration having multiple PUSCH occasions within a period, multiple CG configurations each providing one PUSCH occasion can be used to accommodate varying packet sizes (e.g., from one video frame to another) by selecting one of the CG configurations for transmitting a video frame. The CG-UCI in one of the CG configurations can indicate, for example, which CG configuration to use within a time window when the CGs for uplink (UL) transmission of extended reality (XR) packets have the same periodicity but different resource durations (in the time domain). For example, the UCI in the PUSCH occasion of one of the CGs can indicate which CGs are unused in a period. For example, CG2 is used, and CG1, CG3, and CG4 have unused PUSCH occasions, as illustrated in scenario 300. Thus, the present disclosure provides additional details of such embodiments, such as details of UCI indication, rules when CG configurations overlap in the time domain, etc.

[0061] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a solution for indicating unused transmission occasions. Throughout the present disclosure, for the purpose of discussion, the terms CG transmission occasion, CG resource, and PUSCH occasion may be used interchangeably.

[0062] Figure 4FIG. illustrates an example implementation scenario 400 that supports indication of unused transmission opportunities by grouping CG configurations for the purpose of indicating unused transmission opportunities in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In scenario 400, a UE is configured with a first set 402 of CG configurations for UL transmission. The UE determines a second set 404 of CG configurations, where the second set 404 is a subset of the first set 402. The UE may indicate unused transmission opportunities of the second set 404 of CG configurations in the UCI of a third set 406 of CG configurations, where the third set 406 is a subset of the second set 404. In scenario 400, the UCI in the CG 3 and / or CG 8 resources may indicate unused PUSCH opportunities of CG 1, CG 2, CG 3, CG 8, and CG 9.

[0063] In an implementation, the CG configurations of the second set 404 belong to the same UL component carrier (CC) and / or bandwidth part (BWP). For example, the second set 404 is configured via higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC). For example, the index of the CG configurations of the second set 404 is indicated by RRC. In an implementation, and associated with each CG configuration (e.g., CG 1), in the third set 406 of CG configurations, a CG configuration list may be implemented, and the UCI in the CG (e.g., CG 1) may indicate unused transmission opportunities of the CG configuration list. Alternatively or additionally, for each CG configuration (e.g., CG 2), the network may indicate (e.g., via RRC) which CG configurations may indicate unused transmission opportunities of the CG configuration (e.g., CG 2).

[0064] According to an implementation, the second set 404 may be determined based on the UCI indicating unused opportunities. For example, the UCI may indicate up to X successive, consecutive, and / or next transmission opportunities since a reference time as unused. In such implementations, for example, depending on when the UCI is sent, the cardinality of the second set 404 of CG configurations may be different: for example, in cases where some CG configurations contain more than one CG PUSCH / transmission opportunity or in cases where the periodicity of some CG configurations in the first set of CG configurations is different.

[0065] Figure 5FIG. illustrates an example implementation scenario 500 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that supports indication of unused transmission opportunities. In scenario 500, for example, the UCI may indicate up to 4 unused PUSCH opportunities. In UCI cycle 1, for example, the UE may indicate the unused PUSCH opportunities for CG 2, CG 3, and CG 4 (in this UCI cycle, the cardinality of the second CG configuration set is 3); in UCI cycle 2, the UE may indicate the unused PUSCH opportunities for CG 2 and CG 5. For example, in UCI cycle 2, the cardinality of the second CG configuration set is 2. In at least some implementations, in UCI cycle 2, the UE may indicate PUSCH opportunities 5 to 7 as unused in UCI 2, without indicating PUSCH opportunity 8 as unused.

[0066] Figure 6 FIG. illustrates an example implementation scenario 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that supports indication of unused transmission opportunities. For example, scenario 600 includes a UCI that indicates up to 4 unused PUSCH opportunities. In the first CG 1 cycle 1, the UE may indicate the unused PUSCH opportunities for CG 2, CG 3, and CG 4. For example, in CG 1 cycle 1, the cardinality of the second CG configuration set is 3; in CG 1 cycle 2, the UE may indicate the unused PUSCH opportunities for CG 1, CG 5, CG 2, and CG 6, where in CG 1 cycle 2, the cardinality of the second CG configuration set is 4.

[0067] In an implementation, the cardinality and / or maximum cardinality of the second CG configuration set may be reported to the network via UE capability reporting signaling. Additionally, the third CG configuration set may be configured via higher layer signaling, and the network may enable the UCI indication of the unused transmission opportunities of the second CG configuration set via CG configuration A (e.g., by activating DCI from CG configuration 'A' in the third CG configuration set).

[0068] In an implementation, the CG configurations in the third CG configuration set belong to the same UL CC / BWP. Alternatively, the third set consists of one CG configuration per UL carrier or BWP and may include a reference CG configuration, where the remaining CG configurations in the third CG configuration set may be determined based on the reference CG configuration.

[0069] In an implementation, the third CG configuration set includes the next'm' CG configurations after the reference CG configuration, where'm' is configured or indicated via MAC-CE or DCI (e.g., CG activation DCI); or the third CG configuration set includes only the reference CG configuration.

[0070] In an embodiment, a reference CG configuration index may be indicated to a UE via higher layer signaling (e.g., MAC-CE or RRC signaling) and / or via dynamic signaling (e.g., via DCI for activating or deactivating a CG configuration). When the network activates a CG configuration, the network may indicate to the UE (e.g., via the activation DCI of the CG configuration) whether the CG carrying the UCI to indicate an unused PUSCH occasion will be switched to a newly activated CG configuration (e.g., indicating whether the UCI for the unused transmission occasion will be sent on the newly activated CG configuration instead of the CG configuration on which the UCI was previously transmitted). After the network deactivates CG configuration 'A' that is used to carry the UCI indicating an unused CG occasion for indicating a set of CG configurations, the network may immediately indicate the CG index of another CG configuration that is used to carry the UCI indicating an unused CG occasion. In addition, each CG configuration in a third set may include more than one transmission occasion within one period of the corresponding CG configuration.

[0071] In an embodiment where the CG configurations in a third CG configuration set include multiple CG PUSCH occasions within one CG period, the UCI may be transmitted at a set of configured and / or determined positions. For example, it would not be expected that a UE is configured to transmit a UCI indicating an unused CG occasion within a CG that includes only a single occasion within one CG period. For example, the UCI position may be determined based on the number of CG occasions configured for the configured grant configuration in which the UCI is sent.

[0072] In an embodiment, the UCI may indicate an unused PO that is at least 'y' symbols after the end of the UCI transmission, as illustrated and discussed below. The UCI may indicate an unused PUSCH occasion associated with a CG configuration corresponding to a low priority (e.g., priority 0) and / or non-latency-critical UL transmission. It may not be expected that a UE indicates an unused PUSCH occasion of a CG configuration associated with a high priority or low latency. Figure 6 When considering the rules for counting and sorting transmission occasions, a list of transmission occasions may be constructed in the order of the start times of the transmission occasions of multiple CG configurations (e.g., for indicating unused transmission occasions). For example, if a first transmission occasion (e.g., of a first CG configuration) and a second transmission occasion (e.g., of a second CG configuration) start at the same time, then the transmission occasion that ends earlier among the two transmission occasions, which contains fewer resource elements, is associated with a higher priority, is associated with a lower latency, starts earlier in the frequency domain, is associated with a smaller CG configuration index, etc., may be determined, sorted, and / or considered to be earlier (or alternatively, later) than other transmission occasions in the candidate transmission occasion list for indicating unused transmission occasions.

[0073]

[0074] ​In an embodiment, a CG transmission opportunity that conflicts with a downlink (DL) symbol (e.g., a symbol for receiving a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block, a DL symbol indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, or a symbol allocated for measurement according to a measurement gap configuration) may not be included in a candidate transmission opportunity list for indicating unused transmission opportunities, for example.

[0075] When considering a time-region-based indication of unused opportunities, aspects discussed below may apply to scenarios where a) a UCI indicates unused CG transmission opportunities belonging to a single CG configuration, and b) a UCI indicates unused CG transmission opportunities belonging to multiple CG configurations. For example, in an embodiment, a UE may transmit a UCI in a CG transmission opportunity associated with a first configured grant configuration, where the UCI indicates unused transmission opportunities in a second set of CG configurations within a determined time region.

[0076] Figure 7 Illustrates an example embodiment scenario 700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that supports indication of unused transmission opportunities. In scenario 700, a time-region-based indication of unused transmission opportunities in each CG period (e.g., where a UCI is transmitted) is illustrated. A time region 702 including 4 symbol groups is illustrated. In addition, P.O.3 and P.O.4 are unused. In the time-region-based indication, time groups 3 and 4 are indicated as unused. For example, the UE determines that P.O.3 and P.O.4 are unused. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the UE determines that P.O.4 is unused only because a part (start part) of P.O.3 belongs to a second symbol group, and time group 2 is indicated as used.

[0077] In an embodiment, the second set of CG configurations includes at least the first CG configuration. In addition, the time region may be configured via higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling for the first CG configuration) in units of ms, time slots, or symbols corresponding to a reference subcarrier spacing (SCS), for example.

[0078] Alternatively or additionally, the time region may be determined based on the periodicity of the first CG configuration, the UE-reported capabilities (e.g., corresponding to logical channels and / or the first CG configuration), and / or the number of bits of a field in the UCI indicating unused transmission opportunities. For example, if the UCI field has 2 bits, up to 4 transmission opportunities may be indicated as unused. If the first CG configuration has 2 PUSCH transmission opportunities in each period of the first CG configuration, the time region may cover the CG PUSCH opportunities within two CG periods of the first CG configuration.

[0079] In an embodiment, the UCI may indicate a CG transmission occasion from a set of potentially unused CG transmission occasions, where the UCI indication is a class start and length indicator value (SLIV) indication, e.g., indicating the start symbol / slot within a time region and the length and / or number of consecutive symbols and / or slots within the time region. For example, the parameters of the SLIV formula may be configured by the network (e.g., via RRC signaling) and / or determined by the UE, e.g., based on the CG periodicity of the CG configuration carrying the UCI, the position of the UCI within the CG configuration, the number of bits of the field indicating the unused transmission occasion, etc.

[0080] In an embodiment, the following is an example of a class SLIV indication with a start symbol / CG transmission occasion S and a length L [in number of symbols / CG transmission occasions]:

[0081] The reference point S0 of the start symbol / CG transmission occasion S may be defined as: If the UE is configured with RRC parameters such that the start symbol / CG transmission occasion S can be relative to the start / end symbol S0 of the UCI occasion; otherwise, the start symbol S is relative to the start of the slot / CG transmission occasion, with S0 = 0;

[0082] Determine the number of consecutive symbols / CG transmission occasions L counted from the start symbol / CG transmission occasion S allocated for the unused CG transmission occasion according to the start and length indicator SLIV.

[0083] In an embodiment, if the UE is set and / or configured (e.g., according to a configuration) with a UCI for unused transmission occasion indication, then the configuration may include: a set of serving cells, via uo-ConfigurationPerServingCell (RRC parameter), which includes a set of serving cell indices and a set of corresponding positions of the fields in the UCI, via positionInUCI (RRC parameter); or via positionInUCI-forSUL (e.g., RRC parameter), which is for each serving cell of the supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier, e.g., where the serving cell is configured with an SUL carrier; and a set of CG configurations, via uo-CGConfigs (e.g., RRC parameter), which includes a set of CG configuration indices and a set of corresponding positions of the fields in the UCI, via positionInUCI_CG, e.g., RRC parameter. For example, instead of having a field in the UCI indicate the unused transmission occasion of a CG, the field may indicate the unused occasion of a CG group. A set of CGs may be divided into multiple groups, and each group may have its own field in the UCI to indicate the unused transmission occasion of the group.

[0084] Additionally, the configuration may include: the information payload size of the UCI, via uci-PayloadSize-ForUO (e.g., an RRC parameter), and / or an indication of a time resource or occasion, via timeDurationforUO, e.g., an RRC parameter.

[0085] In embodiments that include a serving cell and / or a CG configuration (and / or a CG configuration group) having associated fields in the UCI, the fields may be represented by:

[0086] N_UO, the number of bits provided by uo-PayloadSize (e.g., an RRC parameter);

[0087] T_UO, the number of symbols, excluding the symbols used for receiving the SS / PBCH block and / or the DL symbols indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and / or the symbols corresponding to a measurement gap, where if the UCI transmission periodicity is 'X' time slots and there are more than 'Y' potential UCI transmissions within the 'X' time slots, then the number of symbols is derived from the number of symbols provided by timeDurationforUO (e.g., an RRC parameter); otherwise, the number of symbols is equal to the UCI transmission periodicity (e.g., the periodicity of the first CG configuration);

[0088] G_UO, the number of partitions of the T_UO symbols / CG transmission occasions provided by timeGranularityforUO. For example, if G_UO groups of bits starting from the most significant bit in the N_UO bits are in a one-to-one mapping with G_UO groups of symbol / CG transmission occasions, where each in the former group contains symbols / CG transmission occasions and each in the remaining group contains symbols / CG transmission occasions. The UE determines the symbol duration relative to the SCS configuration of the active UL BWP where the UE transmits the UCI.

[0089] In an embodiment, the indication of the UCI for the serving cell may apply to the configured grant PUSCH transmission on the serving cell. Additionally, for the serving cell and / or the CG configuration, the UE may determine the first symbol among the T_UO symbols as the first symbol after a specific time (e.g., T′proc,2) from the end / start of the UCI transmission, where T′proc,2 is obtained based on Tproc,2 of the PUSCH processing capability 2 assuming a value of d2,1 determined by a formula and RRC parameters.

[0090] In an embodiment, an unused transmission opportunity before a corresponding symbol at a specific time interval after the last symbol indicating UCI by the UE is not expected. For example, the specific time is Tproc,2 when d2,1 = 0 after the last symbol of the UCI. In an embodiment, the list of transmission opportunities that can be indicated as unused starts from a transmission opportunity at least a specific time interval after the UCI transmission.

[0091] The time region indicated for unused transmission opportunities of the CG configuration with high priority / critical latency may be different from that of the CG configuration with low priority and / or non-critical latency.

[0092] The embodiment also provides a timing-based indication number of unused opportunities. Aspects of this discussion can be applied to cases where a) the UCI indicates unused CG transmission opportunities belonging to a single CG configuration and b) the UCI indicates unused CG transmission opportunities belonging to multiple CG configurations. In an embodiment, the UE may send a UCI to a network node, where the UCI indicates that up to 'X' successive / consecutive / following transmission opportunities (and / or 'X' groups of successive, consecutive, and / or following transmission opportunities) since a reference time are unused.

[0093] In an embodiment, each group of successive, consecutive, and / or following transmission opportunities may include transmission opportunities within a single CG configuration period in which the UCI is transmitted. For example, the RRC parameter indicates whether the UCI indicates unused transmission opportunities among 'X' transmission opportunities or unused transmission opportunity groups among 'X' groups of transmission opportunities; where each group may include transmission opportunities within a single CG configuration period in which the UCI is transmitted. Alternatively, the group size may be configured together with 'X'.

[0094] In an embodiment, the CG activation DCI or MAC-CE (e.g., corresponding to the CG carrying the UCI) indicates 'X' and / or the group size (e.g., for transmission opportunities). Additionally, 'X' may not be expected to cover a portion of the CG transmission opportunities of the CG configuration within a CG configuration period in the following cases: for example, when the number of CG transmission opportunities within a period is less than a threshold, and / or when the duration of the transmission opportunities within a period is less than a threshold. In an embodiment, the UE is not expected to transmit a UCI indicating unused transmission opportunities in a CG period or associated with a CG period when the number of CG transmission opportunities within the period is less than a threshold, for example, due to a conflict with a DL signal or a UL cancellation signal.

[0095] In a scenario where two CG configurations overlap, the unused CG timing indication can be applied to both CG configurations or only one CG configuration, e.g., the CG configuration with an earlier start or end, the CG configuration with a later start or end, the CG configuration with a longer resource / time domain and / or frequency domain span within a CG cycle, the CG configuration in which UCI is transmitted, etc.

[0096] In an embodiment, X can be configured per CG configuration. Additionally, the unused CG transmission timing field in UCI can contain 'Y' bits; where Y < X. For example, every floor(X / Y) CG transmission timings form a transmission timing group and can be associated with one bit of the unused CG transmission timing field.

[0097] In an embodiment, the UE is configured with a maximum gap 'G1' (e.g., in terms of the number of symbols according to a reference SCS) between two successive transmission timings called TO1 and TO2; if the gap between TO1 and TO2 within X successive transmission timings is greater than 'G1', then it may not be expected that the UE indicates the remaining transmission timings after TO1 as unused, e.g., Figure 8 illustrated in

[0098] In an embodiment, the UE can be configured with a maximum gap value G1 between two successive CG transmission timings of the same CG configuration and a maximum gap value G2 between two successive CG transmission timings of different CG configurations. Instead of defining for each transmission timing with respect to two successive timings, the gap can be defined with respect to the first transmission timing of the CG configuration within a cycle.

[0099] Figure 8 Illustrates an example embodiment scenario 800 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that supports indication of unused transmission timings. In scenario 800, the gap between P.O.3 and P.O.4 is greater than the maximum gap G1, and thus the indication of unused timings may not apply to P.O.4. For example, the gNB can assume based on the indication that P.O.3 is unused and may not assume that P.O.4 is unused. Alternatively, the gap G1 can be defined starting from P.O.1; e.g., if the gap between P.O.1 and P.O.4 is greater than a threshold, then the gNB may not assume that P.O.4 is unused.

[0100] In an embodiment, the UCI can indicate unused PUSCH timings associated with a CG configuration corresponding to UL transmissions of low priority (e.g., priority 0). Alternatively or additionally, it may not be expected that the UE indicates unused PUSCH timings of a CG configuration associated with high priority.

[0101] In an embodiment, X is the number of nominal transmission opportunities, or alternatively, X is the number of actual transmission opportunities. For example, the network may configure and / or indicate, for each CG configuration in the second CG configuration set, whether to consider actual or nominal opportunities when counting X successive, consecutive, and / or next transmission opportunities. Additionally, a nominal PUSCH opportunity may include one or more actual PUSCH opportunities, where the actual PUSCH opportunities may carry the initial transmission or a repetition of the TB associated with the nominal PUSCH opportunity. Further, one or more DL symbols between the UL symbols of a nominal PUSCH opportunity may form one or more actual PUSCH opportunities associated with the nominal PUSCH opportunity. There may be no DL symbols between the UL symbols of an actual PUSCH opportunity, e.g., the UL symbols of an actual PUSCH opportunity are consecutive.

[0102] In an embodiment, X may not indicate unused opportunities that are further from a reference time point (e.g., UCI indicating unused transmission opportunities) than a threshold time T (e.g., in ms or in number of symbols and / or time slots associated with the reference SCS or in number of PUSCH opportunities or in number of CG cycles). For example, T may depend on PUSCH processing time, UE capabilities, indication and / or configuration by the network, etc.

[0103] In an embodiment, for CG configuration i (or alternatively, for logical channel configuration i), the UE may be configured with a time t_i, which represents the maximum, minimum, and / or average time by which the UE can know in advance that the UE may have packets for the CG and / or the logical channel configuration. For example, the UE may indicate unused CG opportunities for CG configuration i based on the time of sending UCI indicating unused transmission opportunities and based on t_i. Alternatively, the UE may determine a time T_i associated with the CG based on a set of t_i corresponding to the logical channel configuration that can be mapped to the CG. The UE may indicate unused CG opportunities for CG configuration i based on the time of sending UCI indicating unused transmission opportunities and based on T_i. In an embodiment, t_i and / or T_i may be in units of ms, time slots, symbols, CG cycles, etc.

[0104] Figure 9FIG. 900 illustrates an example implementation scenario supporting indication of unused transmission opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure. In scenario 900, X = 5; PUSCH opportunity (P.O.) 0 is used, and PUSCH opportunities 1 to 4 are unused. Thus, the UCI can indicate P.O. 1 to P.O. 4 as unused, at 902 in the top figure, and can indicate P.O. 1 to P.O. 3 as unused, at 904 in the bottom figure. For example, P.O. 4 is 4 time slots after the time when the UCI is sent; and thus will not be indicated as unused. The top figure 902 and the bottom figure 904 can occur in a first time window (e.g., the first period of the CG configuration carrying the UCI) and a second time window (e.g., the second period of the CG configuration carrying the UCI), respectively. The time slot carrying the UCI and P.O. 0 can belong to the first CG configuration. In the top figure 902: P.O. 1 and P.O. 2 can belong to the second CG configuration; P.O. 3 and P.O. 4 can belong to the third CG configuration. In the bottom figure 904: P.O. 1 and P.O. 2 can belong to the fourth CG configuration; P.O. 3 and P.O. 4 can belong to the fifth CG configuration.

[0105] In an implementation, the transmission opportunities of some CG configurations in the second CG configuration set can overlap in some instances (e.g., in the time domain). In such scenarios, rules for determining the unused transmission opportunities indicated by the UCI can be implemented. For a scenario where a first transmission opportunity of CG configuration A overlaps with a second transmission opportunity of CG configuration B (e.g., in the time domain), some examples of such rules include one of the following: The UE can count, sort, and / or classify the transmission opportunities based on the start time of the transmission opportunities. If two transmission opportunities start at the same time, the UE can count them as two separate transmission opportunities; the first transmission opportunity of the two transmission opportunities can be the transmission opportunity that ends earlier or corresponds to a smaller or larger CG index compared to the second transmission opportunity. In an implementation, it is not expected that the UE indicates that the first transmission opportunity is unused.

[0106] In an implementation, the network can configure the UE (e.g., via RRC configuration) and / or indicate to the UE (e.g., via DCI or MAC-CE) not to count and / or skip the CG transmission opportunities of the fourth CG configuration set when counting X successive, consecutive, and / or next transmission opportunities, where the fourth CG configuration set can be a subset of the first CG configuration set.

[0107] In an implementation, the UCI can indicate the CG transmission opportunities from a set of potentially unused CG transmission opportunities, where the UCI indication is a type of SLIV indication, e.g., indicating the start of the unused transmission opportunities and the length and / or number of consecutive unused transmission opportunities.

[0108] In an embodiment, if the CG opportunities of two CG configurations do not overlap in a cycle and / or a time region, the UE may indicate, via UCI, the unused opportunities of the multiple CG configurations in the cycle and / or the time region. In another embodiment, if the TO of a first CG configuration overlaps with the TO of another CG configuration (e.g., in the time domain), it is not expected that the UE indicates the TO of the first CG configuration as unused.

[0109] Figure 10 FIG. 1000 is an example of a block diagram of an apparatus 1002 (e.g., a device) supporting indication of unused transmission opportunities in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1002 may be an example of the UE 104 described herein. The apparatus 1002 may support wireless communication with one or more network entities 102, UE 104, or any combination thereof. The apparatus 1002 may include components for two-way communication, including components for transmitting and receiving communication, such as a processor 1004, a memory 1006, a transceiver 1008, and an I / O controller 1010. These components may communicate electronically or be otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., a bus).

[0110] The processor 1004, the memory 1006, the transceiver 1008, or various combinations or various components thereof may be examples of components for performing aspects of the present disclosure described herein. For example, the processor 1004, the memory 1006, the transceiver 1008, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the operations described herein.

[0111] In some embodiments, the processor 1004, the memory 1006, the transceiver 1008, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in a communication management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, which are configured to or otherwise support components for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the processor 1004 and the memory 1006 coupled to the processor 1004 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., the processor 1004 executes instructions stored in the memory 1006). For example, in the context of the UE 104, the transceiver 1008 and the processor 1004 coupled to the transceiver 1008 are configured to cause the UE 104 to perform the various described operations and / or combinations thereof.

[0112] For example, according to the examples disclosed herein, the processor 1004 and / or transceiver 1008 may support wireless communication at the device 1002. For example, the processor 1004 and / or transceiver 1008 may be configured to and / or otherwise support components for performing the following operations: receiving a first set of CG configurations, the first set of CG configurations including a second set of CG configurations as a subset of the first set of CG configurations, and a third set of CG configurations as a subset of the second set of CG configurations; generating an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and sorted in the order of the start times of the transmission opportunities, and the one or more unused transmission opportunities being associated with the second set of CG configurations; and transmitting the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunities of the third set of CG configurations.

[0113] In addition, in some embodiments, the second set of CG configurations includes at least two CG configurations; the CG configurations in the first set of CG configurations enable UL transmission in periodic UL resources with a configured periodicity associated with the CG configurations, and one UL resource in the UL resources belongs to one period among a plurality of periods; the processor is configured to cause the device to identify, in the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities, the one or more unused transmission opportunities as one or more transmission opportunities in which CG-PUSCH transmission will not occur; the processor is configured to cause the device to transmit the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via UCI transmission; the processor is configured to cause the device to transmit the UCI in a transmission opportunity, and the transmission opportunity is associated with a first CG configuration in the third set of CG configurations; the processor is configured to cause the device to determine the duration of the time window based at least in part on at least one of the following: a higher layer configuration message, the periodicity of the first CG configuration, the time position of the UCI, the frequency position of the UCI, the end of the UCI, or the number of bits configured to indicate the one or more unused transmission opportunities in the UCI.

[0114] In addition, in some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the device to determine the second CG configuration set at least in part based on an indication of a CG configuration index indicating a fourth CG configuration set, wherein the fourth CG configuration set includes at least CG configurations in the second CG configuration set other than the first CG configuration; the processor is configured to cause the device to receive DCI activating the first CG configuration and to transmit the UCI at least in part based on the DCI indicating that the UCI is permitted to be transmitted in a transmission opportunity associated with the first CG configuration; the DCI activating the first CG configuration indicates at least one of the number of bits in the UCI for indicating the one or more unused transmission opportunities and the duration of the time window; the processor is configured to cause the device to determine the duration of the time window at least in part based on higher layer signaling; the processor is configured to cause the device to receive an indication indicating the fourth CG configuration set and to determine the second CG configuration set by excluding the fourth CG configuration set from the first CG configuration set.

[0115] In addition, in some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the device to transmit an indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via the UCI and to generate the UCI to indicate, for the one or more unused transmission opportunities: a first set of unused transmission opportunities associated with a first CG configuration group in a first field in the UCI; and a second set of unused transmission opportunities associated with a second CG configuration group in a second field in the UCI, wherein the positions of the first field and the second field within the UCI are configured and the first CG configuration group and the second CG configuration group do not share a common CG configuration; the processor is configured to cause the device to determine the list of transmission opportunities in the order of the respective start times of each transmission opportunity within the time window; the processor is configured to cause the device to determine the list of transmission opportunities such that a first transmission opportunity in the list of transmission opportunities has the earliest start time of the transmission opportunities and subsequent transmission opportunities after the first transmission opportunity are identified in chronological order in the list of transmission opportunities.

[0116] In addition, in some embodiments, if the first transmission opportunity and the second transmission opportunity have the same start time, then the processor is configured to cause the device to determine the first transmission opportunity as earlier than the second transmission opportunity in the transmission opportunity list based at least in part on one or more of the following: the first transmission opportunity ends earlier than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity includes fewer resource elements than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a higher priority than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a lower latency than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity starts earlier in the frequency domain than the second transmission opportunity; or the first transmission opportunity is associated with a smaller CG configuration index than the second transmission opportunity.

[0117] Processor 1004 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some embodiments, processor 1004 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other embodiments, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1004. Processor 1004 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1006) to cause device 1002 to perform the various functions of the present disclosure.

[0118] Memory 1006 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1006 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code that includes instructions that, when executed by processor 1004, cause device 1002 to perform the various functions described herein. The code may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., system memory or another type of memory). In some embodiments, the code may not be directly executable by processor 1004, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some embodiments, among other things, memory 1006 may include a basic I / O system (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations (e.g., interaction with peripheral components or devices).

[0119] I / O controller 1010 may manage input and output signals for device 1002. I / O controller 1010 may also manage peripheral devices not integrated into device M02. In some embodiments, I / O controller 1010 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some embodiments, I / O controller 1010 may utilize an operating system, such as or another known operating system. In some embodiments, the I / O controller 1010 may be implemented as part of a processor (e.g., processor M08). In some embodiments, a user may interact with the device 1002 via the I / O controller 1010 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 1010.

[0120] In some embodiments, the device 1002 may include a single antenna 1012. However, in some other embodiments, the device 1002 may have more than one antenna 1012 (e.g., multiple antennas), including multiple antenna panels or antenna arrays, which may be capable of simultaneously transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1008 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more of the antennas 1012 described herein, wired or wireless links. For example, the transceiver 1008 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1008 may also include a modem to modulate packets to provide modulated packets for transmission to one or more antennas 1012, and to demodulate packets received from one or more antennas 1012.

[0121] Figure 11 FIG. 1100 is an example of a block diagram illustrating a device 1102 (e.g., an apparatus) that supports indication for unused transmission opportunities in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1102 may be an example of the network entity 102 described herein. The device 1102 may support wireless communication with one or more network entities 102, UEs 104, or any combination thereof. The device 1102 may include components for bidirectional communication, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a processor 1104, a memory 1106, a transceiver 1108, and an I / O controller 1110. These components may communicate electronically or be otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., a bus).

[0122] The processor 1104, the memory 1106, the transceiver 1108, or various combinations or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing aspects of the present disclosure described herein. For example, the processor 1104, the memory 1106, the transceiver 1108, or various combinations or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more of the operations described herein.

[0123] In some embodiments, the processor 1104, the memory 1106, the transceiver 1108, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communication management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, which are configured to or otherwise support components for performing the functions described in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the processor 1104 and the memory 1106 coupled to the processor 1104 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., the processor 1104 executes instructions stored in the memory 1106). For example, in the context of the network entity 102, the transceiver 1108 and the processor 1104 coupled to the transceiver 1108 are configured to cause the network entity 102 to perform various described operations and / or combinations thereof.

[0124] For example, according to the examples disclosed herein, the processor 1104 and / or the transceiver 1108 may support wireless communication at the device 1102. For example, the processor 1104 and / or the transceiver 1108 may be configured to or otherwise support components for performing the following operations: generating a CG indication that includes a first CG configuration set, a second CG configuration set that is a subset of the first CG configuration set, and a third CG configuration set that is a subset of the second CG configuration set; transmitting the CG indication; and receiving an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list during a transmission opportunity of the third CG configuration set, where the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occur within a time window and are sorted in the order of the start times of the transmission opportunities.

[0125] In addition, in some embodiments, the CG configurations in the first CG configuration set enable UL transmission in periodic UL resources with a configured periodicity associated with the CG configuration, and one UL resource in the UL resources belongs to one period of a plurality of periods; the processor is configured to cause the device to receive the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via UCI; the processor is configured to cause the device to determine the one or more unused transmission opportunities based at least in part on the transmission opportunity list and the UCI according to the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities; the processor is configured to cause the device to indicate the duration of the time window via higher layer signaling; the processor is configured to cause the device to transmit an indication of a fourth CG configuration set for which the device does not expect to receive the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities.

[0126] In addition, in some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the device to generate the list of transmission opportunities in the order of the respective start times of each transmission opportunity within the time window; if a first transmission opportunity and a second transmission opportunity have the same start time, the processor is configured to cause the device to indicate the first transmission opportunity as earlier than the second transmission opportunity in the list of transmission opportunities based at least in part on one or more of the following: the first transmission opportunity ends earlier than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity includes fewer resource elements than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a higher priority than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a lower latency than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity starts earlier in the frequency domain than the second transmission opportunity; or the first transmission opportunity is associated with a smaller CG configuration index than the second transmission opportunity.

[0127] Processor 1104 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., a general-purpose processor, DSP, CPU, microcontroller, ASIC, FPGA, programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some embodiments, processor 1104 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other embodiments, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1104. Processor 1104 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1106) to cause device 1102 to perform the various functions of the present disclosure.

[0128] Memory 1106 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1106 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code that includes instructions that, when executed by processor 1104, cause device 1102 to perform the various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., system memory or another type of memory). In some embodiments, the code may not be directly executable by processor 1104 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some embodiments, among other things, memory 1106 may include a basic I / O system (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations (e.g., interactions with peripheral components or devices).

[0129] The I / O controller 1110 may manage input and output signals for the device 1102. The I / O controller 1110 may also manage peripheral devices not integrated into the device 1102. In some embodiments, the I / O controller 1110 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some embodiments, the I / O controller 1110 may utilize an operating system, such as or another known operating system. In some embodiments, the I / O controller 1110 may be implemented as part of a processor (such as the processor 1106). In some embodiments, a user may interact with the device 1102 via the I / O controller 1110 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 1110.

[0130] In some embodiments, the device 1102 may include a single antenna 1112. However, in some other embodiments, the device 1102 may have more than one antenna 1112 (e.g., multiple antennas), including multiple antenna panels or antenna arrays, which may be capable of simultaneously transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1108 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more of the antennas 1112 described herein, wired or wireless links. For example, the transceiver 1108 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1108 may also include a modem to modulate packets to provide modulated packets for transmission to one or more antennas 1112 and to demodulate packets received from one or more antennas 1112.

[0131] Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating a method 1200 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure for supporting an indication of an unused transmission opportunity. Operations of the method 1200 may be performed by a device or components thereof described herein. For example, operations of the method 1200 may be performed by the UE 104 described with reference to Figures 1 to 11 In some embodiments, a device may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the device may use special-purpose hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0132] At 1202, the method may include receiving a first set of CG configurations, the first set of CG configurations including a second set of CG configurations as a subset of the first set of CG configurations, and a third set of CG configurations as a subset of the second set of CG configurations. The operation of 1202 may be performed in accordance with the examples described herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operation of 1202 may be performed by a device described with reference to Figure 1 described.

[0133] At 1204, the method may include generating an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and sorted in order of start time of the transmission opportunities, and the one or more unused transmission opportunities being associated with a second set of CG configurations. The operations at 1204 may be performed in accordance with the examples described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations at 1204 may be performed by the apparatus referenced Figure 1 as described.

[0134] At 1206, the method may include transmitting an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity of a third set of CG configurations. The operations at 1206 may be performed in accordance with the examples described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations at 1206 may be performed by the apparatus referenced Figure 1 as described.

[0135] Figure 13 FIG. 1300 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for supporting an indication of an unused transmission opportunity in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1300 may be implemented by the apparatus or components thereof described herein. For example, the operations of method 1300 may be performed by the network entity 102 referenced Figures 1 to 11 as described. In some implementations, the apparatus may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the apparatus to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus may perform aspects of the described functions using special purpose hardware.

[0136] At 1302, the method may include generating a CG indication that includes a first set of CG configurations, a second set of CG configurations that is a subset of the first set of CG configurations, and a third set of CG configurations that is a subset of the second set of CG configurations. The operations at 1302 may be performed in accordance with the examples described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations at 1302 may be performed by the apparatus referenced Figure 1 as described.

[0137] At 1304, the method may include transmitting the CG indication. The operations at 1304 may be performed in accordance with the examples described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations at 1304 may be performed by the apparatus referenced Figure 1 as described.

[0138] At 1306, the method may include receiving an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list in a transmission opportunity of a third set of CG configurations, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and sorted in order of start time of the transmission opportunities. The operations at 1306 may be performed in accordance with the examples described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations at 1306 may be performed by the apparatus referenced Figure 1The described apparatus performs.

[0139] It should be noted that the method descriptions herein describe possible implementations, and the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. Additionally, aspects from two or more of the described methods may be combined.

[0140] The various illustrative blocks and components described herein with respect to the present disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, CPU, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0141] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. The features implementing the functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0142] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, the communication media including any media that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. The non-transitory storage media may be any available media accessible by a general or special purpose computer. By way of example and not limitation, the non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, optical disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory media that can be used to carry or store the desired program code components in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general or special purpose computer or a general or special purpose processor.

[0143] Any connection can be properly termed a computer-readable medium. By way of example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as, for example, infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. As used herein, disk and disc include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the foregoing are also included within the scope of computer-readable medium.

[0144] As used herein and recited in the claims, the "or" in a list of items (e.g., a list of items that ends with phrases such as "at least one of," "one or more of," or "one or both of") indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Moreover, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "at least partially based on." Additionally, as used herein and recited in the claims, a "set" can include one or more elements.

[0145] The terms "transmit," "receive," or "communicate," when referring to a network entity, can refer to any part of a network entity of a RAN (e.g., a base station, CU, DU, RU) communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities).

[0146] The descriptions set forth herein in connection with the figures describe example configurations and do not represent all examples that can be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration" and not "preferred" or "superior to other examples." For the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques, the detailed description includes specific details. However, the techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0147] The descriptions herein are provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate various modifications to the present disclosure, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to perform the following operations: Receive a first configured grant (CG) configuration set, the first CG configuration set including a second CG configuration set as a subset of the first CG configuration set, and a third CG configuration set as a subset of the second CG configuration set; Generate an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and sorted in the order of the start times of the transmission opportunities, and the one or more unused transmission opportunities being associated with the second CG configuration set; and Transmit the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunities of the third CG configuration set.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the second CG configuration set includes at least two CG configurations.

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the CG configurations in the first CG configuration set enable UL transmission in periodic uplink (UL) resources in a configured periodicity associated with the CG configurations, and wherein one UL resource in the UL resources belongs to one period of a plurality of periods.

4. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to identify, in the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities, the one or more unused transmission opportunities as one or more transmission opportunities in which CG - physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission will not occur.

5. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via uplink control information (UCI).

6. The UE according to claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit the UCI in a transmission opportunity, and the transmission opportunity is associated with a first CG configuration in the third CG configuration set.

7. The UE according to claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to determine the duration of the time window at least in part based on at least one of the following: a higher layer configuration message, the periodicity of the first CG configuration, the time position of the UCI, the frequency position of the UCI, the end of the UCI, or the number of bits configured to indicate the one or more unused transmission opportunities in the UCI.

8. The UE according to claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to determine the second CG configuration set at least in part based on an indication indicating a CG configuration index of a fourth CG configuration set, wherein the fourth CG configuration set includes at least the CG configurations in the second CG configuration set other than the first CG configuration.

9. The UE according to claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to receive downlink control information DCI that activates the first CG configuration, and transmit the UCI at least in part based on the DCI indicating that the UCI is permitted to be sent in a transmission opportunity associated with the first CG configuration.

10. The UE according to claim 9, wherein the DCI that activates the first CG configuration indicates at least one of the number of bits in the UCI for indicating the one or more unused transmission opportunities and the duration of the time window.

11. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to determine the duration of the time window at least in part based on higher layer signaling.

12. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to receive an indication indicating a fourth set of CG configurations, and determine the second set of CG configurations by excluding the fourth set of CG configurations from the first set of CG configurations.

13. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities via uplink control information UCI, and generate the UCI to indicate, for the one or more unused transmission opportunities: a first set of unused transmission opportunities, which is associated with a first CG configuration group in a first field in the UCI; and a second set of unused transmission opportunities, which is associated with a second CG configuration group in a second field in the UCI, wherein the positions of the first field and the second field within the UCI are configured, and the first CG configuration group and the second CG configuration group do not share a common CG configuration.

14. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to determine the list of transmission opportunities in the order of the respective start times of each transmission opportunity within the time window.

15. The UE according to claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to determine the list of transmission opportunities such that a first transmission opportunity in the list of transmission opportunities has the earliest start time of the transmission opportunities, and subsequent transmission opportunities after the first transmission opportunity are identified in the corresponding time order in the list of transmission opportunities.

16. The UE according to claim 14, wherein if a first transmission opportunity and a second transmission opportunity have the same start time, then the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to determine the first transmission opportunity to be earlier in the list of transmission opportunities than the second transmission opportunity at least in part based on one or more of the following: the first transmission opportunity ends earlier than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity includes fewer resource elements than the second transmission opportunity; the first transmission opportunity is associated with a higher priority than the second transmission opportunity; The first transmission opportunity is associated with a lower latency compared to the second transmission opportunity; The first transmission opportunity starts earlier in the frequency domain compared to the second transmission opportunity; or The first transmission opportunity is associated with a smaller CG configuration index compared to the second transmission opportunity.

17. A processor for wireless communication, comprising: At least one controller, coupled to at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to perform the following operations: Receiving a first configured grant CG configuration set, the first CG configuration set including a second CG configuration set as a subset of the first CG configuration set, and a third CG configuration set as a subset of the second CG configuration set; Generating an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and sorted in the order of the start times of the transmission opportunities, And the one or more unused transmission opportunities are associated with the second CG configuration set; and Transmitting the indication of the one or more unused transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunities of the third CG configuration set.

18. The processor according to claim 17, wherein the second CG configuration set includes at least two CG configurations.

19. The processor according to claim 17, wherein the CG configurations in the first CG configuration set enable UL transmission in periodic uplink UL resources with a configured periodicity associated with the CG configurations, and wherein one UL resource in the UL resources belongs to one period of a plurality of periods.

20. A base station for wireless communication, comprising: At least one memory; And At least one processor, coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the base station to perform the following operations: Generating a configured grant CG indication, the configured grant CG indication including a first CG configuration set, a second CG configuration set as a subset of the first CG configuration set, and a third CG configuration set as a subset of the second CG configuration set; Transmitting the CG indication; and Receiving an indication of one or more unused transmission opportunities in a transmission opportunity list in the transmission opportunities of the third CG configuration set, the transmission opportunities in the transmission opportunity list occurring within a time window and sorted in the order of the start times of the transmission opportunities.

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