Non-use indication of transmission opportunities

Abstract

A communication apparatus, a scheduling node, and a communication method for the communication apparatus and the scheduling node are provided. In one embodiment, a communication device includes a transceiver that receives an indication configuration defining one or more configuration authorization (CG) configurations to which an indication of no use of a CG transmission opportunity (TO) is applicable, and circuitry that generates an indication of no use of a CG TO based on the indication configuration, the indication of the unused CG TO indicates an unused TO of a number n of TOs of one or more CG configurations, where the transceiver transmits an indication of the unused CG TO.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to transmission and reception of signals in a communication system, such as a 3GPP communication system. In particular, the present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for such transmission and reception. BACKGROUND

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working on specifications for the next generation cellular technology, also known as Fifth Generation (5G), which includes a "New Radio" (NR) Radio Access Technology (RAT) operating from 0 to 100 GHz. NR is a follow-up of the technology represented by Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).

[0003] For systems like LTE and NR, further improvements and options can facilitate efficient operation of the communication system and of particular devices related to the system. SUMMARY

[0004] One non-limiting example embodiment facilitates indicating bits not used by uplink transmissions of configured grants.

[0005] In an embodiment, features of the technology disclosed herein are directed to a communication apparatus comprising a transceiver that receives an indication configuration defining one or more Configured Grant (CG) configurations, an indication of non-used CG Transmission Occasions (TOs) applicable to the one or more CG configurations, and a circuit that generates the indication of non-used CG TOs based on the indication configuration, the indication of non-used CG TOs indicating non-used TOs of a number n of TOs of one or more CG configurations, wherein the transceiver transmits the indication of non-used CG TOs.

[0006] It should be noted that general or specific embodiments can be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

[0007] Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Benefits and / or advantages can be gained by employing the embodiments and features of the disclosure without necessarily employing all of the inventive concepts described and / or claimed. Attached Figure Description

[0008] In the following description, exemplary embodiments are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0009] Figure 1 An exemplary architecture of a 3GPP NR system to which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied is shown;

[0010] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the functional division between NG-RAN and 5GC, to which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied;

[0011] Figure 3 This is a sequence diagram of an RRC connection establishment / reconfiguration procedure to which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied;

[0012] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating use cases of Enhanced Mobile Broadband (Embb), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) where exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be applied.

[0013] Figure 5 This is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary 5G system architecture for non-roaming scenarios;

[0014] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of multiple multi-PUSCH configuration authorizations (multi-PUSCH CG);

[0015] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an indication of multiple multi-PUSCH CGs without using the transfer timing (TO);

[0016] Figure 8 This is a block diagram showing the communication device and the scheduling node;

[0017] Figure 9 This is a block diagram showing the unused TO processing circuitry;

[0018] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating the method steps of a communication method for a communication device;

[0019] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating the method steps of a communication method for scheduling nodes;

[0020] Figure 12is a diagram illustrating an example of allocation of an indication of TOs not to use for multiple multi-PUSCH configured grant configurations;

[0021] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating method steps for determining TOs to include in an indication of TOs not to use;

[0022] Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of collision of TOs from multiple CG configurations;

[0023] Figure 15 is a diagram illustrating another example of collision of TOs from multiple CG configurations;

[0024] Figure 16 is a diagram illustrating collision of TOs with uplink resources. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] 5G NR System Architecture and Protocol Stack

[0026] 3GPP has been working on the next release of the fifth generation cellular technology (5G) including the development of a new radio access technology (NR) operating in frequency ranges up to 100 GHz. The first release of the 5G standard was completed at the end of 2017, which allowed for the continuation of 5G NR standard-compliant trials and commercial deployments of smartphones.

[0027] The overall system architecture assumes, among other things, an NG-RAN (Next Generation - Radio Access Network) comprising gNBs, providing NG radio access user plane (SDAP / PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towards the UE. The gNBs are interconnected with each other via the Xn interface. The gNBs are also connected to the NGC (Next Generation Core) by means of the Next Generation (NG) interfaces, more specifically, to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) by means of the NG-C interface (e.g., a specific core entity performing the AMF) and to the UPF (User Plane Function) by means of the NG-U interface (e.g., a specific core entity performing the UPF). The NG-RAN architecture is illustrated in Figure 1 (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.6.0, section 4).

[0028] The user plane protocol stack for NR (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.300, section 4.4.1) includes the PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, see section 6.4 of TS 38.300), RLC (Radio Link Control, see section 6.3 of TS 38.300) and MAC (Medium Access Control, see section 6.2 of TS 38.300) sub-layers, which terminate in the gNB on the network side. In addition, a new Access stratum (AS) sub-layer (SDAP, Service Data Adaptation Protocol) is introduced on top of PDCP (see, e.g., subclause 6.5 of 3GPP TS 38.300). A control plane protocol stack is also defined for NR (see, e.g., section 4.4.2 of TS 38.300). An overview of the layer 2 functionality is given in subclause 6 of TS 38.300. The functionalities of the PDCP, RLC and MAC sub-layers are listed in sections 6.4, 6.3 and 6.2 of TS 38.300, respectively. The functionalities of the RRC layer are listed in subclause 7 of TS 38.300.

[0029] For example, the medium access control layer handles logical channel multiplexing and scheduling and scheduling-related functions, including handling different numerologies.

[0030] The physical layer (PHY) is, for example, responsible for the encoding and decoding, the PHY HARQ handling, the modulation, the multi-antenna processing, and the mapping of signals to the appropriate physical time-frequency resources. It also handles the mapping of transport channels to physical channels. The physical layer provides services to the MAC layer in the form of transport channels. A physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for a transmission of a particular transport channel, and each transport channel is mapped to a corresponding physical channel. For example, the physical channels are the PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), the PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) and the PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) for the uplink and the PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) and the PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel) for the downlink.

[0031] Use cases / deployment scenarios for NR can include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) and massive machine type communication (mMTC) with different requirements in terms of data rate, latency and coverage. For example, eMBB is expected to support peak data rates (20 Gbps for the downlink and 10 Gbps for the uplink) and user-experienced data rates that are about three times the data rates offered by IMT-Advanced. On the other hand, in the case of URLLC, ultra-low latency (0.5 ms for the user plane latency, both for UL and DL) and high reliability (1-10 -5More stringent requirements are proposed. Finally, mMTC can preferably require high connectivity density (1,000,000 devices / km 2 in urban environment), large coverage in bad environments, and very long-life battery (15 years) for low-cost devices.

[0032] Hence, an OFDM numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing, OFDM symbol duration, Cyclic Prefix, CP, duration, number of symbols per scheduling interval) that is suitable for one use case can not be well suited for another use case. For example, a low latency service can preferably require fewer symbols and / or shorter symbol duration (and hence larger subcarrier spacing) per scheduling interval (aka TTI) than a mMTC service. Moreover, deployment scenarios with large channel delay spread can preferably require longer CP duration than scenarios with short delay spread. The subcarrier spacing should be optimized accordingly to maintain similar CP overhead. NR can support more than one value of subcarrier spacing. Accordingly, subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz... are currently under consideration. The symbol duration Tu and the subcarrier spacing Af are directly related by the formula Af = 1 / Tu. In a similar way as in the LTE system, the term "resource element" can be used to denote the smallest resource unit consisting of one subcarrier of the length of one OFDM / SC-FDMA symbol.

[0033] In the new radio system 5G-NR, for each numerology and carrier, a resource grid of subcarriers and OFDM symbols is defined for the uplink and downlink, respectively. Each element in the resource grid is referred to as a resource element and is identified based on a frequency index in the frequency domain and a symbol position in the time domain (see 3GPP TS 38.211 v15.6.0, or e.g. v16.2.0, section 4). For example, downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames with a 10 ms duration, each frame consisting of ten subframes with a 1 ms duration, respectively. In 5G NR implementations, the number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe depends on the subcarrier spacing configuration. For example, for a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, a subframe has 14 OFDM symbols (similar to LTE-compliant implementations, assuming normal cyclic prefix). On the other hand, for a 30-kHz subcarrier spacing, a subframe has two slots, each slot including 14 OFDM symbols.

[0034] NR supports multiple different types of subcarrier spacing, denoted by the parameter μ, compared to the LTE numerologies (subcarrier spacing and symbol length) (in LTE, there is only the 1μ5 kHz subcarrier spacing, corresponding to ). The types of NR numerology sets are summarized in 3GPP TS 38.211 v 15.7.0.

[0035] 5G NR functional split between NG-RAN and 5GC

[0036] Figure 2 The functional split between NG-RAN and the NGC or 5GC is shown. The NG-RAN logical nodes are gNB or ng-eNB. The 5GC has the logical nodes AMF, UPF and SMF.

[0037] In particular, the gNB and ng-eNB host the following main functions:

[0038] - Functions for radio resource management such as radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, dynamic allocation of resources (scheduling) to UEs in both uplink and downlink;

[0039] - IP header compression, ciphering and data integrity protection;

[0040] - Selection of an AMF at UE attachment when the routing to an AMF cannot be determined from the information provided by the UE;

[0041] - Routing of user plane data towards UPF(s);

[0042] - Routing of control plane information towards the AMF;

[0043] - Connection establishment and release;

[0044] - Scheduling and transmission of paging messages;

[0045] - Scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (originated from AMF or OAM);

[0046] - Measurement and measurement reporting configuration for mobility and scheduling;

[0047] - Transport level packet marking in uplink;

[0048] - Session management;

[0049] - Support of network slicing;

[0050] - QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers;

[0051] - Support of UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state;

[0052] - Distribution function for NAS messages;

[0053] - Radio access network sharing;

[0054] - Dual connectivity;

[0055] - Tight interworking between NR and E-UTRA.

[0056] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) hosts the following main functions:

[0057] - Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling termination;

[0058] - NAS signaling security;

[0059] - Access Stratum (AS) security control;

[0060] - Inter-Core Network (CN) node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks;

[0061] - Idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmission);

[0062] - Registration area management;

[0063] - Support for intra-system and inter-system mobility;

[0064] - Access authentication;

[0065] - Access authorization, including check on roaming permission;

[0066] - Mobility management control (subscription and policies);

[0067] - Support of network slicing;

[0068] - Session Management Function (SMF) selection.

[0069] In addition, the User Plane Function (UPF) hosts the following main functions:

[0070] - Anchor point for intra- / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable);

[0071] - External PDU session point of interconnect to Data Networks;

[0072] - Packet routing and forwarding;

[0073] - Packet inspection and user plane part of policy rule enforcement;

[0074] - Traffic usage reporting;

[0075] - Support of UL (Uplink) traffic classification for routing to the Data Network.

[0076] - support of branching point for multi-homed PDU sessions;

[0077] - QoS handling for user plane, e.g. packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement;

[0078] - uplink traffic verification (SDF to QoS flow mapping);

[0079] - downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering.

[0080] Finally, the Session Management Function, SMF, hosts the following main functions:

[0081] - session management;

[0082] - UE IP address allocation and management;

[0083] - selection and control of UP functions;

[0084] - configuration of traffic steering at the User Plane Function, UPF, to route traffic to the appropriate destination;

[0085] - control part of policy enforcement and QoS;

[0086] - downlink data notification.

[0087] RRC connection establishment and reconfiguration procedures

[0088] Figure 3 Some interactions between UE, gNB and AMF (5GC entities) are illustrated in the context of the UE transitioning from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED for the NAS part (see e.g. TS 38.300 v15.6.0).

[0089] RRC is the higher layer signaling (protocol) used for UE and gNB configuration. Specifically, this transition involves the AMF preparing UE context data (including, for example, PDU session context, security keys, UE radio capabilities, and UE security capabilities, etc.) and sending it to the gNB with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST. The gNB then activates AS security with the UE, which is performed by the gNB sending a SecurityModeCommand message to the UE and by the UE responding to the gNB with a SecurityModeComplete message. After that, the gNB performs reconfiguration to establish Signaling Radio Bearer 2 (SRB2) and Data Radio Bearer(s) (DRB) by sending an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE and receiving RRCReconfigurationComplete from the UE in response by the gNB. For a signaling-only connection, the steps related to RRCReconfiguration are skipped because SRB2 and DRBs are not established. Finally, the gNB informs the AMF of the completion of the setup procedure with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE.

[0090] Thus, in the present disclosure, there is provided an entity (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) of a Fifth Generation Core (5GC) comprising: control circuitry that establishes a Next Generation (NG) connection with a gNodeB, a transmitter that transmits an initial context setup message to the gNodeB via the NG connection to cause a signaling radio bearer to be established between the gNodeB and a user equipment (UE). Specifically, the gNodeB transmits, via the signaling radio bearer, a radio resource control (RRC) signaling containing a resource allocation configuration information element to the UE. The UE then performs uplink transmission or downlink reception based on the resource allocation configuration.

[0091] Use scenarios for IMT in 2020 and beyond

[0092] Figure 4 Some use cases for 5G NR are shown. In the Third Generation Partnership Project New Radio (3GPP NR), three use cases have been envisioned by IMT-2020 to support a wide variety of services and applications are being considered. The stage 1 specification for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) has been concluded. In addition to further expanding eMBB support, current and future work will involve standardization of ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine type communications. Figure 4Some examples of envisioned use cases for IMT in 2020 and beyond are shown (see, e.g., ITU-R M.2083 Figure 2 )。

[0093] URLLC use cases have stringent requirements on capabilities such as throughput, latency, and availability, and have been envisioned as one of the enablers for future vertical applications such as wireless control of industrial manufacturing or production processes, remote medical surgery, distribution automation in smart grids, transportation safety, etc. Ultra-reliability for URLLC will be supported by identifying techniques that meet the requirements set by 3GPP TR 38.913. For NR URLLC in Release 15, key requirements include a target user plane latency of 0.5 ms for UL (uplink) and 0.5 ms for DL (downlink). The general URLLC requirement for one transmission of a packet is 1E-5 BLER (Block Error Rate) for a packet size of 32 bytes, 1 ms user plane latency.

[0094] From a physical layer perspective, reliability can be improved in a number of possible ways. The current range for improving reliability involves defining separate CQI tables for URLLC, more compact DCI formats, repetition of PDCCH, etc. However, as NR becomes more stable and developed (for NR URLLC key requirements), the range for achieving ultra-reliability can widen. Specific use cases for NR URLLC in Rel. 15 include Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR / VR), eHealth, eSafety, and mission-critical applications.

[0095] In addition, the technical enhancement targets for NR URLLC are aimed at latency improvement and reliability improvement. Technical enhancements for latency improvement include configurable numerology, non-slot-based scheduling with flexible mapping, grant-free (configured grant) uplink, slot-level repetition for data channels, and downlink pre-emption. Pre-emption means stopping a transmission for which resources have been already allocated, and the already allocated resources are used for another transmission, but with lower latency / higher priority requirements, of a subsequent request. Thus, an already granted transmission is pre-empted by a subsequent transmission. Pre-emption can be applied independently of the specific service type. For example, a transmission for service type A (URLLC) can be pre-empted by a transmission for service type B (such as eMBB). Technical enhancements for reliability improvement include dedicated CQI / MCS tables for a target BLER of 1E-5.

[0096] Use cases of mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications) are characterized by very large number of connected devices typically transmitting relatively small amount of non-delay sensitive data. The devices are required to be low cost and have very long battery life. From the NR perspective, utilizing very narrow bandwidth parts is one possible solution to save power from the UE perspective and achieve long battery life.

[0097] As mentioned above, the range of reliability in NR is expected to widen. One key requirement for all cases, especially necessary for URLLC and mMTC, is high reliability or ultra-reliability. From the radio and network perspective, several mechanisms can be considered to improve reliability. In general, there are several key potential aspects that can help improve reliability. These aspects include compact control channel information, data / control channel repetition, and diversity with respect to frequency, time, and / or spatial domain. These aspects are generally applicable to reliability regardless of the specific communication scenario.

[0098] For NR URLLC, other use cases have been identified with more stringent requirements, such as factory automation, transportation industry, and power distribution, including factory automation, transportation industry, and power distribution. The more stringent requirements are higher reliability (up to 10 -6 -6, higher availability, packet size up to 256 bytes, time synchronization down to the order of a few μβ (where the value can be one or a few μβ, depending on the frequency range), and short latency of about 0.5 to 1 ms (with a target user plane latency of 0.5 ms, depending on the use case).

[0099] In addition, for NR URLLC, several technical enhancements from the physical layer perspective have been identified. Among these are PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) enhancements related to compact DCI, PDCCH repetition, increased PDCCH monitoring. In addition, UCI (Uplink Control Information) enhancements are related to enhanced HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) and CSI feedback enhancements. Furthermore, PUSCH enhancements related to micro-slot level hopping and retransmission / repetition enhancements are identified. The term "micro-slot" refers to a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) that includes a smaller number of symbols than a slot (a slot includes fourteen symbols).

[0100] QoS control

[0101] 5G QoS (Quality of Service) model is based on QoS Flows and supports both QoS Flows that require guaranteed flow bit rates (GBR QoS Flows) and QoS Flows that do not require guaranteed flow bit rates (non-GBR QoS Flows). At the NAS level, a QoS Flow is thus the finest granularity of QoS differentiation within a PDU Session. A QoS Flow is identified within a PDU Session by a QoS Flow ID (QFI) carried in encapsulation headers over the NG-U interface.

[0102] For each UE, the 5GC establishes one or more PDU Sessions. For each UE, the NG-RAN establishes at least one Data Radio Bearer (DRB) together with a PDU Session and can subsequently configure additional DRB(s) for the QoS Flow(s) of that PDU Session (depending on when the NG-RAN does so), e.g., as shown above with reference to Figure 3 The NG-RAN maps packets belonging to different PDU Sessions to different DRBs. NAS level packet filters in the UE and 5GC associate UL and DL packets with QoS Flows, while AS level mapping rules in the UE and NG-RAN associate UL and DL QoS Flows with DRBs.

[0103] Figure 5 A 5G NR non-roaming reference architecture is shown (see TS 23.501 v16.1.0, section 4.23). In Figure 4 Application Functions (AFs) (e.g., external application servers hosting 5G services) exemplary described in

[0104] Figure 5Other functional units of the 5G architecture are shown, namely the Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), the Network Repository Function (NRF), the Unified Data Management (UDM), the Authentication Server Function (AUSF), the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the Session Management Function (SMF) and the Data Network (DN), e.g. operator services, Internet access or third party services. All or part of the core network functions and application services can be deployed and run on a cloud computing environment.

[0105] Accordingly, in the present disclosure, there is provided an application server (e.g., AF of the 5G architecture) including a transmitter that transmits a request including QoS requirements of at least one of URLLC, eMMB, and mMTC services to at least one of functions (e.g., NEF, AMF, SMF, PCF, UPF, etc.) of the 5GC to establish a PDU session including a radio bearer between a gNodeB and a UE according to the QoS requirements, and a control circuit that performs a service using the established PDU session.

[0106] Control signal

[0107] In the present disclosure, the downlink control signal (information) related to the present disclosure can be a signal (information) transmitted through the PDCCH of the physical layer, or can be a signal (information) transmitted through the MAC Control Element (CE) or RRC of the higher layer. The downlink control signal can be a pre-defined signal (information).

[0108] The uplink control signal (information) related to the present disclosure can be a signal (information) transmitted through the PUCCH of the physical layer, or can be a signal (information) transmitted through the MAC CE or RRC of the higher layer. In addition, the uplink control signal can be a pre-defined signal (information). The uplink control signal can be replaced with Uplink Control Information (UCI), 1st stage Sidelink Control Information (SCI), or 2nd stage SCI.

[0109] Uplink / downlink / sidelink

[0110] The present disclosure can be applied to any one of uplink, downlink, and sidelink.

[0111] The present disclosure can be applied to, for example, uplink channels such as PUSCH, PUCCH, and PRACH, downlink channels such as PDSCH, PDCCH, and PBCH, and sidelink channels such as Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), and Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0112] PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH are examples of a downlink control channel, a downlink data channel, an uplink data channel, and an uplink control channel, respectively. PSCCH and PSSCH are examples of a sidelink control channel and a sidelink data channel, respectively. PBCH and PSBCH are examples of a broadcast channel, and PRACH is an example of a random access channel.

[0113] Data channel / control channel

[0114] The present disclosure can be applied to any one of a data channel and a control channel. The channels in the present disclosure can be replaced with a data channel including PDSCH, PUSCH, and PSSCH and / or a control channel including PDCCH, PUCCH, PBCH, PSCCH, and PSBCH.

[0115] Reference signal

[0116] In the present disclosure, a reference signal is a signal known to both a base station and a mobile station, and each reference signal can be referred to as a Reference Signal (RS) or sometimes as a pilot signal. The reference signal can be any one of a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), a Channel State Information - Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS), and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). The reference signal can be used at a receiving apparatus for estimating channel characteristics and / or for synchronization. One or more parameters of the reference signal can also be used for transmitting data (control or payload), while another one or more parameters of the same reference signal can be used as a reference. For example, the reference signal can be used for comparing a reception power with a reference power. However, the reference signal can also be used for comparing a phase and / or a frequency, etc.

[0117] Time interval

[0118] In the present disclosure, a time resource unit is not limited to one or a combination of a slot and a symbol, and can be a time resource unit, for example, a frame, a superframe, a subframe, a slot, a slot sub-slot, a mini-slot, or a time resource unit such as a symbol, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (SC-FDMA) symbol, or other time resource units. The number of symbols included in one slot is not limited to any of the numbers of symbols exemplified in the described embodiments, and can be other numbers of symbols.

[0119] Frequency band

[0120] The present disclosure can be applied to any one of licensed bands and unlicensed bands. It can be applied to any frequency band, but can be particularly advantageous for higher frequency bands due to the gain increase of beamforming. Specifically, frequency bands for 5G NR are divided into two different frequency ranges. First, there is frequency range 1 (FR1) including sub-6 GHz bands, some of which have traditionally been used by previous standards, but have been extended to cover potential new spectrum providing from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. The other band is frequency range 2 (FR2) including bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.

[0121] Communication

[0122] The present disclosure can be applied to any one of communication between a base station and a terminal (Uu link communication), communication between terminals (sidelink communication), and Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communication. Channels in the present disclosure can be replaced with PSCCH, PSSCH, Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), PSBCH, PDCCH, PUCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PBCH.

[0123] In addition, the present disclosure can also be applied to any network in a terrestrial network or a network other than a terrestrial network using a satellite or a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) (NTN: Non-Terrestrial Network). In addition, the present disclosure can be applied to a network having a large cell size, and a terrestrial network having a large delay compared to a symbol length or a slot length, such as an ultra-wideband transmission network.

[0124] Antenna port

[0125] An antenna port refers to a logical antenna (antenna group) formed of one or more physical antennas. That is, an antenna port does not necessarily refer to one physical antenna, and sometimes refers to an array antenna formed of a plurality of antennas or the like. For example, it is not defined how many physical antennas form an antenna port, but an antenna port is defined as a minimum unit that allows a terminal to transmit a reference signal therethrough. An antenna port can also be defined as a minimum unit for multiplication for precoding vector weighting.

[0126] Downlink control channel monitoring PDCCH DCI

[0127] Many functions operated by a UE involve monitoring a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH, see 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.6.0, section 5.2.3) to receive, for example, specific control information or data destined for the UE.

[0128] A non-exhaustive list of these functions is given below:

[0129] - a paging message monitoring function,

[0130] - a system information acquisition function,

[0131] - signaling monitoring operations for a discontinuous reception, DRX, function,

[0132] - an inactivity monitoring operation for a discontinuous reception, DRX, function,

[0133] - random access response reception for a random access function,

[0134] - a reordering function of a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, layer.

[0135] As mentioned above, PDCCH monitoring is done by the UE in order to identify and receive information intended for the UE, such as control information as well as user traffic (e.g. DCI on PDCCH, and user data on PDSCH indicated by PDCCH).

[0136] Control information in the downlink (which can be referred to as downlink control information, DCI) in 5G NR has the same purpose as DCI in LTE, i.e. is a special set of control information that e.g. schedules a downlink data channel (e.g. PDSCH) or an uplink data channel (e.g. PUSCH). In 5G NR, a number of different DCI formats have been defined (see TS 38.212 v15.6.0 section 7.3.1).

[0137] The DCI formats represent predetermined formats of forming and transmitting the respective information. In particular, DCI formats 0_1 and 1_1 are used for scheduling PUSCH and PDSCH, respectively, in one cell.

[0138] The PDCCH monitoring of each of these functions is for a specific purpose and thus starts and ends. The PDCCH monitoring is typically controlled based on at least a timer operated by the UE. The timer has the purpose of controlling the PDCCH monitoring, e.g. limiting the maximum amount of time the UE monitors PDCCH. For example, the UE can not need to monitor PDCCH indefinitely, but can stop monitoring after a certain time in order to be able to save power.

[0139] As mentioned above, one of the purposes of the DCI on the PDCCH is to dynamically schedule resources in the downlink or uplink or even sidelink. In particular, some formats of the DCI are provided to carry an indication of resources (resource allocation, RA) allocated to a data channel for a specific user. The resource allocation can include a specification of resources in the frequency domain and / or time domain.

[0140] Physical resource block

[0141] Generally, the term “physical resource block” (PRB) refers to the smallest allocable resource unit for (user) data transmission. In LTE and NR, a PRB has a predetermined number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (e.g., 12) and a predetermined number of symbols in the time domain (e.g., 14 OFDM symbols in LTE).

[0142] Terminology

[0143] In the following, UEs, relay nodes, base stations (network nodes) and procedures will be described for the new radio access technology envisaged for the 5G mobile communication system, but it can also be used for the LTE mobile communication system or future mobile communication systems. Different implementations and variants will also be explained. The following disclosure is facilitated by the discussion and findings as outlined above and may, for example, be based at least on parts thereof.

[0144] It should be understood that terms such as 3GPP NR system, 5G-NR system, 5G NR system, 5G system, 5G mobile communication system can be used interchangeably herein.

[0145] Generally, it should be noted that numerous assumptions have been made herein in order to be able to explain the basic principles of the present disclosure in a clear, concise and understandable way. These assumptions are, however, to be understood as merely examples made herein for illustrative purposes only, which examples are not necessarily essential to the present disclosure and should therefore not limit the scope of the present disclosure. The person skilled will appreciate that the principles of the following disclosure, as well as the principles as set out in the claims, can be applied to different scenarios and in ways not explicitly described herein.

[0146] Furthermore, some of the terminology used below for procedures, entities, layers, etc. is closely related to the terminology used in the LTE / LTE-A systems or current 3GPP 5G standardization, even though the specific terminology used in the context of the new radio access technology for the next communication system has not yet been fully decided or can eventually change. Therefore, the terminology can change in the future without affecting the functionality of the embodiments. Thus, the person skilled will appreciate that the embodiments and the scope of protection thereof should not be limited to the specific terminology exemplarily used herein due to lack of an updated or eventually agreed terminology, but should be understood more broadly in terms of the functionality and concepts underlying the present disclosure. In particular:

[0147] terminal

[0148] A terminal or user terminal or user equipment or mobile station or mobile node is in LTE and NR referred to as a user equipment (UE). This can be a mobile device or communication apparatus / equipment such as a wireless phone, smart phone, tablet, or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) stick with the functionality of a user equipment. However, the term mobile equipment is not limited to this, in general, a relay can also have this functionality of a mobile equipment, and a mobile equipment can also be used as a relay. For example, a terminal is a physical entity (physical node) within a communications network. Still further, a communication device can be any machine type communication device such as an IoT device etc. A node can have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements and / or provides a predetermined set of functionalities to the same or another node or other functional entities of a network. A node can have one or more interfaces that attach the node to a communication facility or medium through which the node can communicate. Similarly, a network entity can have a logical interface that attaches the functional entity to a communication facility or medium through which the functional entity or network entity can communicate with other functional entities or communication nodes.

[0149] base station

[0150] In this disclosure, a base station can be, for example, a transmission reception point (TRP), a cluster head, an access point, a remote radio head (RRH), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base unit, or a gateway. Also, in sidelink communication, a terminal can be employed instead of a base station. A base station can be a relay device that relays communication between a higher node and a terminal. A base station can also be a road side unit. A base station can be a scheduling node or a network node, for example, forming part of a network for providing services to terminals. In particular, a base station can provide wireless access to terminals. Communication between a communication device (e.g., a UE or terminal) and a scheduling device (e.g., a base station) is typically standardized and can be defined by different layers such as PHY, MAC, RRC, etc. (see also discussion above). In LTE and NR, the radio interface protocol stack includes a physical layer, a medium access layer (MAC), and higher layers. In the control plane, a higher layer protocol radio resource control protocol is provided. Via the RRC, a base station can control the configuration of a terminal, and a terminal can communicate with a base station to perform control tasks such as connection and bearer setup, modification, etc., measurements, and other functions. The term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), while the currently used term for 5G NR is gNB. The term “base station” or “radio base station” herein refers to a physical entity within a communication network. As with a mobile station, a base station can have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements and / or provides a predetermined set of functions to the same or another functional entity or other functional entities of a node or network. A physical entity performs some control tasks with respect to a communication device, including one or more of scheduling and configuration. Note that base station functions and communication device functions can also be integrated within a single device. For example, a mobile terminal can also implement the functions of a base station for other terminals. The term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), while the currently used term for 5G NR is gNB. In particular, a base station can also be a gNB in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) NR system.

[0151] Extended reality applications

[0152] As Figure 4Exemplary shown, consider extended reality (XR) applications, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and cloud gaming use cases. To support XR applications while reducing power consumption and increasing system capacity, a 3GPP work item for XR enhancements was approved (see 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #98-e, RP-223502, “XR Enhancements for NR”).

[0153] Objectives of this work item include specifying power saving related enhancements, including DRX (discontinuous reception) support for XR frame rates that do not correspond to integer periodicity (through at least semi-static mechanisms, e.g., RRC signaling).

[0154] Objectives of this work item also include the following capacity related enhancements.

[0155] - Multiple CG PUSCH transmission occasions (TOs) in a single CG PUSCH configuration period;

[0156] - Dynamic indication by the UE to the gNB of non-used CG PUSCH occasion(s) based on UCI;

[0157] - BSR enhancements including at least new BS table(s);

[0158] - Delayed reporting of buffered data in uplink;

[0159] - Provision of XR traffic assistance information (e.g., periodic) for DL and UL; and

[0160] - Operation of discarding PDU sets.

[0161] In general, XR applications require high data rates in downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) with relatively strict packet delay budget (PDB). In addition, some of the XR applications run on devices with limited energy, such as wearable glasses or handheld devices. In this regard, energy efficiency is an important issue. In addition, XR applications increase various data types, including video streaming and pose control traffic.

[0162] Video streaming traffic requirements

[0163] Video streams can contain video frames with very large and varying sizes. Regarding packet sizes, for high quality video streams, after compression for 8K video, frame sizes can be around 1 Mbit. This can result in packets with large sizes. Moreover, frame sizes can vary, e.g. due to the structure of the video content or due to some frames being more compressible than others. For example, I-frames (intra coded pictures) that do not require other frames to be decoded can be more compressible than P-frames / B-frames (predictive or bi-predictive pictures) that require information from a previous frame (P-frame) or from a previous and a following frame (B-frame).

[0164] Moreover, video stream traffic can typically be characterized as “quasi-periodic”, with frames arriving on a time window related to jitter. For example, frame packets from a UE / gNB can arrive to a gNB / UE on a time window of [-4, 4] ms or even larger.

[0165] Regarding periodicity, exemplary video streams generate 60, 90 or 120 fps (frames per second), which correspond to a periodicity of 16.667 ms, 11.111 ms and 8.333 ms, respectively. Thus, the period of the time window can be non-integer.

[0166] It should also be noted that the delay budget for delivering XR packets can be tight, e.g. 10 ms for AR / VR or 15 ms for cloud gaming.

[0167] Configured grant

[0168] A UE can be configured to make uplink transmissions on PUSCH without having to receive a separate resource allocation on PDCCH for periodic transmissions on a specific set of resource blocks. This is referred to as “configured grant” (CG) resource allocation or “grant-free” resource allocation. In 3GPP NR, the following two types of CG have been specified within Release 15.

[0169] On the one hand, Type 1 configured grant is fully configured by RRC using RRC signaling without the need for PDCCH (Layer 1) signaling. Type 1 CG remains valid until further RRC signaling reconfigures the CG.

[0170] On the other hand, Type 2 configured grant is configured using a combination of RRC signaling and PDCCH signaling. A subset of the resource allocation is provided by RRC signaling, while PDCCH can provide the remaining resource allocation information and also act as an activation trigger, deactivation trigger or reactivation trigger for PUSCH transmissions.

[0171] As mentioned above, multiple CG PUSCH transmission occasions (TOs) (more simply referred to as “multiple-PUSCH CG”) in a period of a single CG PUSCH configuration are considered, e.g., for XR applications such as uplink video or pose control traffic.

[0172] For multiple-PUSCH CG, possible issues to consider include MCS (modulation and coding scheme) design and frequency domain resource allocation (see RAN1#112bis-e meeting, 3GPP file R1-2304048: Chair’s Notes #5 (Final) - XR specific capacity improvements).

[0173] In particular, regarding MCS design, it is considered that for CG PUSCH in a multiple-PUSCH CG configuration, the MCS of CG PUSCH in the CG configuration is the same across different PUSCH occasions.

[0174] Further, it is considered that for CG PUSCH in a multiple-PUSCH CG configuration, the frequency domain resource allocation of CG PUSCH configuration is the same across different PUSCH occasions.

[0175] A further issue that can be considered is an indication for unused CG PUSCH transmission occasions. In particular, for dynamic indication of unused CG PUSCH transmission occasions based on UCI (uplink control information), it can be considered that the “unused” CG PUSCH TO(s) (if any) for UCI indication in CG PUSCH for a CG configuration can be contiguous or non-contiguous in time domain in a CG period. A further issue that can be considered is whether and how the unused TO(s) can be associated with multiple CG configurations.

[0176] It is also considered that a UTO-UCI provides a bitmap where a bit corresponds to a TO within some duration or range. The bit indicates whether the TO is “unused” or not. Herein, the term “UTO-UCI” refers to “UCI that provides information about unused PUSCH transmission occasions”.

[0177] As mentioned above, CG PUSCH TOs can be contiguous or non-contiguous in time domain. For example, a CG PUSCH TO can include one or more or all symbols within a slot. In a CG PUSCH configuration, there can be one or more CG PUSCH TOs within a slot, the CG PUSCH TOs being in contiguous slots or non-contiguous slots per period of the CG PUSCH configuration.

[0178] Further issues

[0179] The inventors have noticed that a UE can be configured with more than one multi-PUSCH CG to carry data traffic, such as XR video frames in the UL. Since frames arrive randomly over a jitter window, many PUSCH TOs will not be used. If the UE indicates to the gNB that a PUSCH is not used, these PUSCH TOs can be released and rescheduled for other traffic. If the indication of not used PUSCH TOs carried on a CG PUSCH is only applicable to the PUSCH of the same CG, the UE can need to send separate indications of not used PUSCH TOs for different CGs. This can increase power consumption and reduce resource utilization.

[0180] Figure 6 An example is shown in FIG. 1, where a UE can be configured with two CG configurations (CG1 and CG2) with a periodicity of 16.667 ms, corresponding to 60 fps video traffic. CG1 can be configured with 5 transmission occasions (TOs), while CG2 can be configured with 3 TOs. The PUSCH for CG2 uses a more robust Modulation And Coding Scheme (MCS) to ensure that data frames are delivered with high reliability if they arrive late, e.g., at or close to the end of the jitter windows 60_1, 60_2, which can be 8 ms as shown in the example depicted.

[0181] As Figure 7 As further shown in FIG. 1, a first frame can arrive at the beginning of the jitter window 60_1 and can be carried by TO #2 of CG1. In the example shown, the UE transmits CG-UCI on the PUSCH to #2 along with user data (e.g., a video frame) to indicate that TO #3, TO #4, and TO #5 from the current CG (i.e., CG1) are not used.

[0182] The UE then uses the PUSCH TO #1 of CG 2 to transmit an indication of not using #2 and #3 of the current CG (i.e., CG2).

[0183] A second frame arrives at the end of the jitter window 60_2, and it can be carried by TO #3 of CG2. The UE can use TO #1 of CG1 to transmit an indication of not used TO #2, TO #3, TO #4, and TO #5 of CG1. It can also use TO #1 of CG2 to transmit an indication of not used TO #2 of CG2.

[0184] It can be seen that the UE needs to transmit several indications of not used PUSCH TOs of different CGs.

[0185] Embodiments

[0186] In view of the above, the inventors have considered configuring the UE to transmit an indication not to use a subset of resources associated with a particular data service.

[0187] The present disclosure specifically provides a scheduling device or apparatus, such as a scheduling node, a corresponding method for a scheduling device, a corresponding method for a communication device or apparatus, e.g. adapted / configured to perform the functions of a communication terminal in a communication system, and a (computer) program, e.g. stored on a memory, a communication system comprising such scheduling device and communication device, and an integrated circuit controlling a scheduling device / communication device to perform the respective methods.

[0188] An example of such a communication system is shown in Figure 8 The communication system 800 can be a wireless communication system according to the technical specifications of 5G, in particular a NR communication system. However, the present disclosure is not limited to 3GPP NR Terrestrial Networks, TN, and can also apply to NTN or other wireless or cellular systems.

[0189] Figure 8 A general, simplified and exemplary block diagram of a communication apparatus 810, here assumed to be a user equipment (UE) or communication terminal, and a scheduling device 860 or scheduling node, here exemplarily assumed to be located in a base station, e.g. in a LTE eNB (alternatively referred to as ng-eNB) or a gNB in 5G NR, in the communication system 800 is shown. However, generally, in case of a sidelink connection between two terminals, the scheduling device can also be a terminal. Further, especially with respect to URLLC use cases; eMBB and mMTC, the communication apparatus 810 can also be a sensor device, a wearable device or a connected vehicle, or a controller of an automated machine in an industrial factory.

[0190] As shown in Figure 8 The communication apparatus 810 and the scheduling device 860 (eNB / gNB) can communicate with each other over a (wireless) physical channel 850 using their transceivers 820 (communication terminal side) and 870 (base station side), respectively. The scheduling device 860 and the communication apparatus 810 can together form the communication system 800. The communication system 800 can further comprise other entities, such as those shown in Figure 1 , and e.g. a plurality of UEs connected to the scheduling node, or a relay node relaying signals to / from the base station from / to one or more UEs.

[0191] As shown in Figure 8As shown, the communication device 810 can comprise a transceiver 820 and circuitry (or processing circuitry) 830, and the scheduling device 860 can comprise a transceiver 870 and (processing) circuitry 880.

[0192] The term "transceiver" refers to a front-end comprising one or more antennas (more than one antenna in case of using beamforming). The transceiver here can also comprise amplifiers, some modulators for modulating baseband signals onto the system carrier, possibly also D / A converters, and possibly other signal improving circuitry. Typically, the transceiver can comprise and / or function as a receiver and / or a transmitter. In other words, in this disclosure, the term "transceiver" is used for hardware and software components that allow a communication device to transmit and / or receive radio signals over a wireless channel. Thus, the transceiver corresponds to a receiver, a transmitter, or a combination of a receiver and a transmitter. Typically, it is assumed that the base station and the communication device are capable of transmitting as well as receiving radio signals. However, especially with respect to some applications of eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC (smart home, smart city, industrial automation, etc.), it can be envisaged that a device such as a sensor only receives signals. The transmitter can be responsible for performing the transmission procedures and other procedures related thereto. The receiver can be responsible for performing the reception procedures and other procedures related thereto, such as monitoring the channel. Typically, the transceiver can be controlled by the circuitry to perform the described transmitting and / or receiving.

[0193] The term "circuitry" herein refers to any hardware and / or software. For example, the circuitry can comprise one or more processors (or processing units or any LSIs), microcontrollers, programmable hardware such as FPGA(s) (Field Programmable Gate Array), and / or dedicated hardware such as ASIC(s) (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), etc., possibly also including other digital or analog circuitry.

[0194] Between the transceiver and the processing circuitry, there can be an input / output point (or node) through which the processing circuitry can control the transceiver, i.e., control the receiver and / or transmitter and exchange received / transmitted data. The processing circuitry can implement control tasks such as controlling the transceiver to transmit user data and control data provided by the processing circuitry, and / or to receive user data and control data for further processing by the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry can also be responsible for performing other procedures such as determining, deciding, calculating, measuring, etc.

[0195] In this disclosure, the expressions "UE" and "gNB" in front of "circuitry" and "transceiver" are only used to distinguish the transceivers and circuitry of the communication device 810 from the scheduling node 860, and do not imply any limitation to a network such as a 3GPP P NR network.

[0196] According to exemplary embodiments, there are provided, for example, as Figure 8The communication device 810 is shown on the left-hand side. The communication device 810 can include a transceiver 820 and circuitry 830.

[0197] The transceiver 820 can receive an indication configuration that can be generated and transmitted by a scheduling device 860. The indication configuration can define (e.g., specify) one or more CG configurations to which an indication of non-used configuration grant transmission occasions (CG TOs) is applicable.

[0198] The circuitry 830 can generate the indication of non-used CG TOs based on the indication configuration. The indication of non-used CG TOs can indicate non-used TOs in a number n of TOs of the one or more CG configurations.

[0199] The transceiver 820 can transmit the indication of non-used CG TOs.

[0200] As will be further described, generating the indication of non-used TOs can include selecting CG configurations to which the indication configuration is applicable and determining non-used TOs of the selected CG configurations.

[0201] The circuitry 830 is exemplarily considered to include a non-used TO indication circuitry 835 that generates the indication of non-used TOs. As will be further shown in Figure 9 the non-used TO indication circuitry 835 can include a CG selection circuitry 910 that is responsible for selecting CG configurations to be included in the indication of non-used CG TOs (e.g., selecting 2 CG configurations to be included in the indication of non-used CG TOs), a non-used TO determination circuitry 920 for determining which TOs of the selected configuration grants are used for uplink data traffic and which TOs are not used (e.g., determining non-used TOs in the number n of TOs of the 2 CG configurations), and a non-used TO indication generation circuitry 930 that is responsible for generating the indication of non-used CG TOs that can indicate non-used TOs in the number n of TOs of the one or more CG configurations, where n is an integer not smaller than 1. However, it should be noted that the circuitry 830, 835, and 910-930 can implement more functionalities than described above, and the functionalities described above are typically implemented by the circuitry 830 without being limited to the respective circuitries 835 and 910-930 described above.

[0202] A scheduling node or scheduling device 860 is also provided, which determines an indication configuration that defines one or more CG configurations to which an indication of non-used CG TOs is applicable. Figure 8 The scheduling node 860 is shown in the right-hand side. The scheduling node 860 can include a transceiver 870 and circuitry 880.

[0203] The circuitry 880 can determine an indication configuration that defines one or more CG configurations to which an indication of non-used CG TOs is applicable.

[0204] The transceiver 870 can transmit an indication configuration and receive an indication of non-used CG TOs of n TOs of one or more CG configurations, where n is an integer not less than 1.

[0205] Corresponding to the above communication device 810, a communication method for a communication apparatus is provided. As shown in Figure 10 The steps of the communication method performed by the communication apparatus can include S1010 (e.g., from a scheduling node) receiving an indication configuration defining an indication of non-used CG transmission occasions TOs applicable to one or more configured grant CG configurations, S1020 generating, based on the indication configuration, an indication of non-used CG TOs of n TOs of the one or more CG configurations, and S1030 (e.g., to the scheduling node) transmitting the indication of non-used CG TOs.

[0206] Further, corresponding to the above scheduling node 860, a communication method for a scheduling node is provided, which includes method steps to be performed by the scheduling node. As shown in Figure 11 The communication method for a scheduling node can include S1110 determining an indication configuration defining an indication of non-used CG TOs applicable to one or more CG configurations, S1120 (e.g., to a communication device) transmitting the indication configuration, and S1130 (e.g., from the communication device) receiving an indication of non-used CG TOs of n TOs of the one or more CG configurations, where n is an integer not less than 1.

[0207] In this disclosure, CG TO can refer to CG PUSCH TO as described above. A UE can be configured with one or more CG configurations, where each CG configuration defines one or more (“multi-PUSCH”) CG PUSCH TOs. A used CG TO is a CG TO to which the UE (e.g., using UE circuitry 830) can allocate uplink traffic or user data (e.g., XR video), and a non-used CG TO is a CG TO to which no traffic is allocated. As will be further described, the indication configuration can be included in any CG configuration, or can be conveyed through separate signaling. Further, “CG TOs of a CG configuration” means CG TOs configured by the configuration.

[0208] For example, the UE circuitry 830 determines which CG TOs are used and which CG TOs are not used based on an estimate of when uplink data (e.g., from a video frame subject to jitter) becomes available for allocation to resources.

[0209] An indication of a non-used TO (or "non-used TO indication", "UTO indication" or simply "non-used indication") can be included in the uplink channel information such as the UTO-UCI described above.

[0210] For example, for each CG TO of the number n of CG TOs configured by the indication configuration, the generated indication of a non-used CG TO indicates whether the CG TO is used or not used. Here, the number "n" refers to the number of CG TOs for which an indication of use or non-use is made in the non-used TO indication. Each of the n CG TOs can be represented by a bit in the non-used TO indication.

[0211] The UE transceiver 820 can transmit the indication of a non-used CG TO on a CG TO of one or more CG configurations. The CG TO on which the indication of a non-used CG TO is transmitted precedes the n CG TOs to which the indication refers in the time domain.

[0212] For example, the indication of a non-used CG TO is transmitted on a CG TO of one of the CG TO configurations. The CG TO on which the indication of a non-used CG TO is transmitted can also comprise user data. Thus, on a CG TO of one CG configuration, the UE transceiver 820 can transmit the indication of a non-used CG TO and user data, which is received by the scheduling node via the gNB transceiver 870.

[0213] As will be further described, depending on the specification of the transmission configuration, the indication of a non-used CG TO can comprise CG TOs of the same CG configuration as the CG TO on which the indication is transmitted, and can also comprise CG TOs of other CG configurations.

[0214] In some embodiments, the indication configuration can comprise a list of one or more CG configurations for which the indication of a non-used CG TO is applicable. For example, the CG configuration contains a list of CG configurations (e.g. comprising the list and possibly additional CG configurations themselves) as the indication configuration, and the non-used TO indication generated based on the configuration is applicable to PUSCHs associated with the CG configurations included in the list.

[0215] As mentioned, the CG configurations can be signaled via higher layer signaling such as RRC signaling. The one or more CG configurations can comprise a list of CG configurations for which the indication of a non-used CG TO is applicable.

[0216] In Figure 12In the example shown, the UE is configured with two CG configurations to carry XR video frames, CG1 and CG2 are indicated by rectangles of different sizes. CG1 is configured with no usage indication for the PUSCH TOs carrying CG1 and CG2. When a video frame (frame 1) has arrived, the UE uses the PUSCH TO#2 of CG1 to carry the data of frame 1 and no usage indication for the subsequent PUSCH TOs of CG1 and CG2, specifically, TO#3, TO#4 and TO#5 of CG1 and TO#2 and TO#3 of CG2 in this example.

[0217] For a subsequent video frame (frame 2), the UE estimates that this frame will be ready for transmission later (due to jitter). Therefore, the UE sends no usage indication using the PUSCH TO#1 of CG#1 for the subsequent PUSCH TOs belonging to CG1 and CG2, specifically, TO#2, TO#3, TO#4 and TO#5 of CG1 and TO#1 and TO#2 of CG2 in this example. The PUSCH TO#3 of CG2 is used later to carry the frame data. CG2 can be configured to 1) carry no usage indication for CG1 and CG2 (e.g., at a period after the period of sending frame 2), or 2) not carry any no usage indication.

[0218] Compared to the example shown, it can be seen that the present disclosure can help to reduce the number of no usage TO indications used, which is helpful for, e.g., reducing power consumption and improving resource utilization. Figure 7 By providing a list of CG configurations to which the indication of no usage CG TO should apply, the present disclosure helps to allow the UE to send fewer indications. For example, within a period (e.g., a period of a CG configuration and / or a transmission period of a frame), the indication of no usage CG TO does not need to be sent on the respective CG TO of each CG configuration indicated by the list.

[0219] However, the present disclosure does not limit the indication configuration to be provided as a list of CG configurations, and the configuration setting does not need to necessarily be included in one of the CG configurations.

[0220] In some embodiments, the indication configuration defines a data service associated with one or more CG configurations. The CG configuration can be applied to CG configurations associated with the same data service, while other indication configurations can be applied to CG configurations associated with other or different data services.

[0221]

[0222] ​For example, a data service is defined by one or more of a range of service quality flows, radio bearers, radio link control, RLC, channels, logical channels, or Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, IDs (identifiers).

[0223] Thus, the indication of unused TOs can be applicable to resources (e.g., CG configured CG TOs) associated with one or more of the same QoS flow, the same radio bearer, the same RLC channel, the same logical channel, or a specified range of HARQ IDs (e.g., HARQ process IDs).

[0224] As an example, a UE is configured with two QoS flows, one (QoS1) for video traffic and one (QoS2) for pose / control traffic. In addition, the UE is configured with 3 CGs. Traffic of QoS1 can be carried on PUSCH of CG1 and CG2, while traffic of QoS2 can be carried only by PUSCH of CG3. Thus, the indication of unused TOs carried by PUSCH of CG1 or CG2 is applicable to both PUSCH TOs of CG1 and CG2, while the indication of unused carried by PUSCH of CG3 is only applicable to the PUSCH TO of CG3.

[0225] The configuration of data services to which the indication of unused TOs is applicable can be configured separately from the CG configuration via higher layers or semi-static signaling (such as RRC signaling) (e.g., as transmitted by gNB transceiver 860 and received by UE transceiver 820).

[0226] When the indication configuration is provided in association with a data service or a range of the above-mentioned service quality flows, radio bearers, wireless link control, RLC, channels, logical channels, or Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, IDs, no separate field in the CG configuration(s) is needed to define the applicable CG configuration for the indication of unused CG TOs.

[0227] Figure 13 A flowchart showing exemplary steps for determining PUSCH TOs to include in an indication of unused TOs is shown in FIG. 13, which can be performed by UE circuitry 830. In the example shown, the UE includes PUSCH TOs for the same traffic type (e.g., traffic for the same QoS flow).

[0228] In step S1310, the UE determines the number n of bits used for the indication of non-used CG TOs. For example, the indication is a bit field or bitmap having a length of n bits. Starting from step S1320, the method undergoes a loop while the number n of TOs included in the indication has not reached the number n. In step S1320, the next CG PUSCH TO (e.g. in a chronological order corresponding to slot and / or symbol numbering or another order to be further described) is selected as a candidate for inclusion in the indication of non-used TOs. In step S1330, it is tested whether the selected CG PUSCH TO carries the same traffic type as the traffic type specified by the indication configuration. If yes, the PUSCH TO is included in the indication of non-used TOs in step S1340, and it is tested in step S1360 whether the maximum number of CG TOs included in the indication of non-used TOs has been reached. If not, the method can proceed with step S1320 or step S1360. If the number n has been reached, the indication of non-used TOs is constructed.

[0229] The number n of CG TOs included in the indication of non-used TOs can be included in the indication configuration, e.g. in addition to the CG configuration list in the CG configuration or to the data services or traffic types in a separate (e.g. RRC) configuration.

[0230] Alternatively, the number n of CG TOs corresponding to the length of the indication of non-used TOs can be determined based on a time criterion instead of being indicated in the configuration, e.g. the applicable CG TOs from the CG configurations defined by the indication configuration falling within a certain time duration, such as a period of video frame generation or a period of the CG configuration. Here, the time duration in which the indication of non-used TOs is transmitted from the TO can be considered.

[0231] According to an exemplary embodiment, the indication of non-used CG TOs is a bit field comprising n bits, each bit mapping to one of the n CG TOs and indicating whether the CG TO is used or not used.

[0232] Such bit field can be dedicated to PUSCH TOs of different CG configurations individually or jointly. In the following, it is assumed that the total number of n bits is dedicated to the indication of non-used TOs.

[0233] For example, “1” means “not used” and “0” means “used”, or vice versa.

[0234] For separate bit indication, there can be n = n1 + n2,..., where n1 bits are used for non-use indication of PUSCH of CG1, n2 bits are used for non-use indication of PUSCH of CG2, and so on. Then, the bit field can include first n1 bits dedicated to CG TO of a first CG configuration among the one or more CG configurations and second n2 bits dedicated to CG TO of a second CG configuration among the one or more CG configurations.

[0235] For joint bit indication, all n bits are used for PUSCH of all applicable CGs.

[0236] In the following, an example of separate and joint bit indication will be illustrated using a configuration of a UE with two CG configurations as shown in Figure 14 CG1 has 4 PUSCH TOs (TO#1_1, TO#1_2, TO#1_3, and TO#1_4) per period, while CG2 has 2 PUSCH TOs (TO#2_1 and TO#2_2) per period.

[0237] As an example of separate bit indication, a total of 5 bits are dedicated to non-use indication carried by one PUSCH of CG1, as shown in Table 1. Among them, 3 bits are dedicated to PUSCH of CG1, and 2 bits are dedicated to PUSCH of CG2. The bits are mapped to subsequent PUSCH TOs after the TO carrying the indication in time domain.

[0238]

[0239] Table 1

[0240] Additionally or alternatively, a total of 4 bits can be dedicated to non-use indication carried by PUSCH of CG2, 2 bits for PUSCH of CG1, and 2 bits for PUSCH of CG2. Depending on the PUSCH TO, the non-use bit indication is mapped to different PUSCH occasions. The bits are mapped to subsequent PUSCH TOs after the TO carrying the indication in time domain.

[0241]

[0242] Table 2

[0243] Note that in Table 1 and Table 2, the bits can refer to CG TOs in the same period, which also include the TO carrying the non-use indication, and can also include CG TOs in the subsequent period(s). For example, when the indication of non-use of CG is carried by TO#1_4 of the first period, all the bits can refer to CG TOs in the second period after the first period.

[0244] Table 3 shows an example of joint indication, in which a total of 5 bits are dedicated to the indication carried by the PUSCH of CG1 or CG2. The bits are mapped to the PUSCHs which are subsequent in the time domain.

[0245]

[0246] Table 3

[0247] In the example of joint indication, as also described above for the separate indication, the bits can refer to the CG TOs in the same period, which also include the CG TOs carrying the unused TO indication, and can also include the CG TO(s) in the subsequent period(s).

[0248] The difference between the separate indication as described above and the joint indication is that, in the case of separate indication, each bit always indicates the CG TO of a given CG configuration. For example, in Table 1, each of the bits 1 to 3 indicates the TO of CG1, irrespective of the PUSCH on which the indication is carried. Thus, with separate indication, the bit in a given bit position is dedicated to the TO of a given CG TO configuration. On the other hand, in Table 3, a given bit (corresponding to a bit position in the bit field), such as bit 1, can refer to the TOs of both CG configurations CG1 and CG2, depending on which CG carries the unused TO indication.

[0249] As described above, n can be the length of the bit field corresponding to the number of transmission occasions included in the unused TO indication. As already further mentioned, n can be configured by the configuration indication, e.g. included in the CG configuration. Alternatively, a maximum bit field length can be considered, possibly in combination with a time interval from the start of the transmission of the unused TO indication. In this case, the unused TO indication can include the configured maximum number of bits or less.

[0250] In Figure 14 In, TO#1_2 configured by CG1 and TO#2_1 configured by CG2 are shown as resources which collide in time (e.g. partially or completely overlap). In the above examples in Tables 1 to 3, both of the colliding CG TOs are included in the n CG TOs corresponding to the n bits of the unused TO indication. In the following, it will be considered how bits can be saved when CG TOs collide in time. Figure 15 Another example of additional colliding resources (TO#2_2 and TO#3_4 with the same start time) is shown in.

[0251] In some embodiments, if one or more CG configurations' CG TOs include two colliding TO resources that overlap in time domain, the n CG TOs include only one of the colliding CG TOs for which the indication of non-use defines whether each CG TO is used or not used.

[0252] The UE circuit 830 can select the one of the colliding CG TOs based on one or a combination of a start of the CG TO in time domain, an end of the CG TO in time domain, a CG configuration ID, a HARQ ID, a modulation and coding scheme, or a number of allocated physical resource blocks as selection criteria.

[0253] For example, the UE is configured by the gNB with one or more of the above selection criteria. On the scheduling node, the same determination is made by the gNB circuit 880 when evaluating the non-use TO indications received by the UE using the same rules.

[0254] As described, for the case where two or more resources collide in time and only one of them can be used for CG PUSCH transmission, collision handling is applied before the non-use indication is derived. Returning to Figure 14 In the example shown, the UE is configured with two CGs. PUSCH TO#1_2 belonging to CG1 collides with TO#2_1 of CG2. If only one of these colliding TOs can be used (e.g., TO#1_2), the UE does not need a separate bit from the non-use bit field dedicated to both TOs. The UE can first determine which of the colliding PUSCHs are valid (e.g., by performing selection based on the above criteria), then decide whether it needs to use the selected TO or release the selected TO. It can then assign bits in the non-use bit field to the valid PUSCHs.

[0255] An example is provided in Table 4, where the UE is configured with Figure 14 two CG configurations shown in FIG. 4, and 4 bits are dedicated to non-use TO indications. For the colliding PUSCH TOs (TO#1_2 and TO#2_1), only the TO with the earlier start time will be used (i.e., TO#1_2). Table 4 shows an example of a bit pattern for non-use indications depending on the PUSCH TO.

[0256]

[0257] Table 4

[0258] Thus, as a benefit, the bits of the non-use TO indication only need to be dedicated to the PUSCH TOs that can be used, thereby facilitating bit savings.

[0259] In the above cases, the resources of the PUSCH can be considered as invalid, e.g. due to collision with semi-statically or dynamically configured downlink or flexible downlink time slots or symbols. The bits for the invalid resources can be removed from the indication (to reduce the bits for the TO indication of not used (e.g. in UCI)) or mapped to other valid resources (the bit field size remains the same).

[0260] In some embodiments, the CG TOs which collide or are not available for uplink due to time resources configured for downlink transmission due to half duplex operation are excluded from the n CG TOs for which the indication of not used CG TOs defines whether each CG TO is used or not used.

[0261] In Figure 16 In the illustrated example, the UE is configured with a CG having 4 TOs per period. The bit field for the not used TO indication consists of 4 bits, corresponding to the 4 PUSCH TOs following (subsequent or consecutive) the PUSCH TO for which the not used TO indication is sent. However, some of the PUSCH TOs (e.g. the TOs on slot 2 and 9) collide with DL symbols (e.g. symbols on downlink configured symbols or downlink configured slots, for example) and cannot be used for PUSCH transmission. In case the UE sends a not used indication, the colliding TOs are not considered. For example, the not used indication carried by the PUSCH TO#1 on slot 1 is applicable to the TOs on slots 4, 6, 11 and 13.

[0262] Thus, the UE can save the not used indication bits for resources which are valid but will not be able to be used for transmission.

[0263] Note that, in order to avoid misalignment between the UE and the gNB regarding the indicated not used PUSCH TOs, the invalid PUSCH TOs indicated by the SFI (Slot Format Indicator, e.g. dynamically signaled in a DCI on PDCCH) can still be considered for the not used determination (e.g. in case the confirmation of successful reception of the SFI cannot be guaranteed or is not confirmed by the UE).

[0264] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the PUSCH TOs not used due to half duplex operation (e.g. where the UE switches between uplink and downlink frequency bands) can be excluded from the not used TO indication.

[0265] In the above description, the start of the CG TO in time domain, the end of the CG TO in time domain, the CG configuration ID or HARQ ID, the modulation and coding scheme or the number of allocated physical resource blocks have been described as criteria to exclude CG TOs from the unused TO indication in case of colliding resources of PUSCH TOs, which can come from different CG configurations of one or more CG configurations for which the unused TO indication configuration is applicable.

[0266] Similar criteria can be used to determine the order in which the bits of the unused TO indication are mapped to the n CG TOs.

[0267] In some embodiments, the UE circuitry 830 (and gNB circuitry 880) determines the order in which the multiple bits are mapped to the n CG TOs based on one or a combination of the start of the CG TO in time domain, the end of the CG TO in time domain, the CG configuration ID, or HARQ ID, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), or the number of allocated physical resource blocks.

[0268] For example, in case the UE is able to decide to use the colliding resources, the unused bits are mapped to the resources according to the start of the resources in time domain, the end of the resources in time domain, the CG configuration ID, HARQ ID, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) or the number of allocated physical resource blocks or a combination of the above criteria, in case of a combination the above criteria can be ordered by a configured priority.

[0269] Taking into account Figure 16 Taking the example shown in FIG. 5, the UE is configured with 2 CGs, CG1 consisting of 4 PUSCH TOs (TO#1_1, TO#1_2, TO#1_3 and TO#1_4) and CG2 consisting of 2 PUSCH TOs (TO#2_1 and TO#2_2). The UE intends to send an unused indication through PUSCH TO#1_1 to indicate which of the following PUSCH TOs will not be used. The bit field of the unused indication consists of bits mapped to the following PUSCH TOs, appearing sequentially in time domain. In case the start of the two PUSCH TOs is the same, the one ending earlier will be selected to be indicated first. Assuming 5 bits are dedicated to the unused TO indication. Then, the bits are mapped as shown in Table 5.

[0270]

[0271] Table 5

[0272] Note that the TO ordering according to the unused TO indication bit field is not limited to the case of colliding resources in time.

[0273] Hardware and software implementations of the present disclosure

[0274] The present disclosure can be implemented by software, hardware, or software in cooperation with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of each embodiment described above can be implemented in part or all by, for example, an LSI such as an integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment can be controlled in part or all by the same LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI can be individually formed as chips, or one chip can be formed so as to include a part or all of the functional blocks. The LSI can include a data input and output coupled thereto. The LSI here can be referred to as an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or ultra LSI depending on a difference in the degree of integration. However, the technology to implement the integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI, and can be realized by using a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a special-purpose processor. In addition, a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the manufacture of the LSI, or a reconfigurable processor in which the connections and the settings of circuit cells included in the LSI can be reconfigured can be used. The present disclosure can be implemented as a digital processing or an analog processing. If future integrated circuit technology replaces LSIs as a result of the advancement of semiconductor technology or other derivative technology, the functional blocks could be integrated using the future integrated circuit technology. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0275] The present disclosure can be implemented by any kind of apparatus, device, or system with a communication function, which is referred to as a communication apparatus. For example, a relay node, a network node, and a scheduling device can each be considered as a communication apparatus.

[0276] The communication apparatus can include a transceiver and a processing / control circuit. The transceiver can include and / or function as a receiver and a transmitter. As the transmitter and the receiver, the transceiver can include an RF (Radio Frequency) module including an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, and the like, and one or more antennas.

[0277] Some non-limiting examples of such a communication apparatus include a telephone (e.g., cellular (cell) phone, smart phone), a tablet, a Personal Computer (PC) (e.g., laptop, desktop, netbook), a camera (e.g., digital still / video camera), a digital player (digital audio / video player), a wearable device (e.g., wearable camera, smart watch, tracking device), a game console, a digital book reader, a telemedicine / telehealth device, and a vehicle (e.g., automobile, airplane, ship) that provides a communication function, and various combinations thereof.

[0278] The communication device is not limited to be portable or movable, and can also include any kind of device, apparatus or system, which is non-portable or stationary, such as a smart home device (e.g., an electric appliance, lighting, a smart meter, a control panel), a vending machine, and any other "things" in a network of "Internet of Things (IoT)".

[0279] The communication can include exchanging data through, for example, a cellular system, a wireless LAN system, a satellite system, etc., and various combinations thereof.

[0280] The communication device can include a device such as a controller or a sensor, which is coupled to a communication device that performs the communication functions described in the present disclosure. For example, the communication device can include a controller or a sensor, which generates a control signal or a data signal used by a communication device that performs the communication functions of the communication device.

[0281] The communication device can also include infrastructure facilities such as a base station, an access point, and any other device, apparatus or system that communicates with or controls devices such as those in the above non-limiting examples.

[0282] Furthermore, the various embodiments can also be implemented by means of software modules, which are executed by a processor or directly in hardware. Additionally, a combination of software modules and hardware implementations can also be possible. The software modules can be stored on any kind of computer-readable storage media. Specifically, according to another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium is provided. The recording medium stores a program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of the method according to the present disclosure.

[0283] By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or any other storage medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any

[0284] It should also be noted that various features of the disclosed embodiments can be used singly or in any combination. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications and / or alterations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intent is that the disclosure be given full scope.

[0285] Aspects

[0286] According to a first aspect, there is provided a communication device, comprising a transceiver and circuitry, the transceiver receiving an indication configuration, the transceiver receiving an indication configuration defining one or more configured grant, CG, configurations, an indication of unused CG transmission occasion, TO, being applicable to the one or more CG configurations, the circuitry generating the indication of unused CG TOs based on the indication configuration, the indication of unused CG TOs indicating unused TOs out of a number, n, of TOs of one or more CG configurations, wherein the transceiver transmits the indication of unused CG TOs.

[0287] According to a second aspect which can be provided in combination with the first aspect, the transceiver transmits the indication of unused CG TOs and user data on a CG TO of the one or more CG configurations preceding the n CG TOs in time domain.

[0288] According to a third aspect which can be provided in combination with the first or second aspect, the indication configuration comprises a list of one or more CG configurations for the indication of non-used CG TOs, the indication of non-used CG TOs being applicable to the one or more CG configurations.

[0289] According to a fourth aspect which can be provided in combination with the first or second aspect, the one or more CG configurations are associated with a same data service, and the indication configuration defines the data service.

[0290] According to a fifth aspect which can be provided in combination with the fourth aspect, the data service is defined by one or more of a quality of service flow, a radio bearer, a radio link control (RLC) channel, a logical channel, or a range of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) IDs.

[0291] According to a sixth aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the first to fifth aspects, the indication configuration comprises a number n of CG TOs.

[0292] According to a seventh aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the first to sixth aspects, the indication of non-used CG TOs is a bit field comprising n bits, each bit mapping to a CG TO of the n CG TOs and indicating whether the CG TO is used or not used.

[0293] According to an eighth aspect which can be provided in combination with the sixth or seventh aspect, the bit field comprises a first bit dedicated to a CG TO of a first CG configuration of the one or more CG configurations and a second bit dedicated to a CG TO of a second CG configuration of the one or more CG configurations.

[0294] According to a ninth aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the sixth to eighth aspects, the circuit determines an order in which to map the plurality of bits to the n CG TOs based on one or a combination of a start of a CG TO in a time domain, an end of a CG TO in a time domain, a CG configuration ID or a HARQ ID, a modulation and coding scheme, or a number of allocated physical resource blocks.

[0295] According to a tenth aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the first to eighth aspects, if one or more CG configurations’ CG TOs include two colliding TO resources in time domain, the indication of non-used CG TOs defines for the n CG TOs whether each CG TO is used or not used including only one of the colliding CG TOs, and the circuitry selects the one of the colliding CG TOs based on one or a combination of a start of the CG TO in time domain, an end of the CG TO in time domain, a CG configuration ID, a HARQ ID, a modulation and coding scheme, or a number of allocated physical resource blocks.

[0296] According to an eleventh aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the first to tenth aspects, the CG TOs that collide with time resources configured for downlink transmission due to half duplex operation or that cannot be used for uplink are excluded from the n CG TOs, and the indication of non-used CG TOs defines for the n CG TOs whether each CG TO is used or not used.

[0297] According to a twelfth aspect, a scheduling node is provided, comprising circuitry and a transceiver, the circuitry determines an indication configuration defining one or more CG configurations for which an indication of non-used CG TOs is applicable, the transceiver transmits the indication configuration and receives the indication of non-used CG TOs, the indication of non-used CG TOs indicating non-used TOs of a number n of TOs of one or more CG configurations.

[0298] According to a thirteenth aspect which can be provided in combination with the twelfth aspect, the transceiver receives the indication of non-used TOs and user data on the CG TOs on a CG TO of the one or more CG configurations preceding the n CG TOs in time domain.

[0299] According to a fourteenth aspect which can be provided in combination with the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, the indication configuration comprises a list of one or more CG configurations for which the indication of non-used CG TOs is applicable.

[0300] According to a fifteenth aspect which can be provided in combination with the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, the one or more CG configurations are associated with a same data service, and the indication configuration defines the data service.

[0301] According to a sixteenth aspect which can be provided in combination with the fifteenth aspect, the data service is defined by one or more of a range of quality of service flows, radio bearers, radio link control (RLC) channels, logical channels, or hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) IDs.

[0302] According to a seventeenth aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the twelfth to sixteenth aspects, the indication of configuration comprises a number n of CG TOs.

[0303] According to an eighteenth aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the twelfth to sixteenth aspects, the indication of CG TOs not to be used is a bit field comprising n bits, each bit mapping to a CG TO of the n CG TOs and indicating whether the CG TO is to be used or not to be used.

[0304] According to a nineteenth aspect which can be provided in combination with the seventeenth or eighteenth aspect, the bit field comprises a first bit dedicated to CG TOs of a first CG configuration of the one or more CG configurations and a second bit dedicated to CG TOs of a second CG configuration of the one or more CG configurations.

[0305] According to a twentieth aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the seventeenth to nineteenth aspects, the circuit determines an order in which to map the plurality of bits to the n CG TOs based on one or a combination of a start of a CG TO in a time domain, an end of a CG TO in a time domain, a CG configuration ID or a HARQ ID, a modulation and coding scheme, or a number of allocated physical resource blocks.

[0306] According to a twenty-first aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the twelfth to nineteenth aspects, if CG TOs of one or more CG configurations comprise two colliding TO resources in a time domain, the indication of CG TOs not to be used defines n CG TOs for each CG TO whether it is to be used or not to be used only comprises one of the colliding CG TOs, and the circuit selects the one of the colliding CG TOs based on one or a combination of a start of a CG TO in a time domain, an end of a CG TO in a time domain, a CG configuration ID, a HARQ ID, a modulation and coding scheme, or a number of allocated physical resource blocks.

[0307] According to a twenty-second aspect which can be provided in combination with any of the first to tenth aspects, CG TOs in the n CG TOs that collide with time resources configured for downlink transmission due to half duplex operation or that cannot be used for uplink are excluded from the n CG TOs, and the indication of CG TOs not to be used defines for the n CG TOs whether each CG TO is to be used or not to be used.

[0308] According to a twenty-third aspect, there is provided a communication method for a communication device, comprising the steps of: receiving an indication configuration defining one or more configured grant, CG, configurations, an indication of non-use of CG transmission occasion, TO, being applicable to the one or more CG configurations; generating the indication of non-use of CG TO based on the indication configuration, the indication of non-use of CG TO indicating non-used TOs among a number n of TOs of the one or more CG configurations; and transmitting the indication of non-use of CG TO.

[0309] The twenty-third aspect can be combined with aspects of the corresponding second to eleventh aspects of the corresponding communication device.

[0310] According to a twenty-fourth aspect, there is provided a communication method for a scheduling node, comprising the steps of: determining an indication configuration defining one or more CG configurations, an indication of non-use of CG TO being applicable to the one or more CG configurations; transmitting the indication configuration; and receiving the indication of non-use of CG TO, the indication of non-use of CG TO indicating non-used TOs among a number n of TOs of the one or more CG configurations.

[0311] The twenty-fourth aspect can be combined with aspects of the thirteenth to twenty-second aspects corresponding to the respective scheduling node.

[0312] According to a twenty-fifth aspect, there is provided an integrated circuit causing a communication device to perform the steps of the communication method according to the twenty-third aspect.

[0313] According to a twenty-sixth aspect, there is provided an integrated circuit causing a scheduling node to perform the steps of the communication method according to the twenty-fourth aspect.

[0314] According to a twenty-seventh aspect, there is provided a program stored on a (non-transitory) storage medium and comprising code instructions which, when executed on one or more processors of a communication device, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of the twenty-third aspect.

[0315] According to a twenty-eighth aspect, there is provided a program stored on a (non-transitory) storage medium and comprising code instructions which, when executed on one or more processors of a scheduling node, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of the twenty-fourth aspect.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising: a transceiver that receives an indication configuration defining one or more configured grant, CG, configurations, an indication of non-used CG transmission occasion, TO, applicable to the one or more CG configurations; and circuitry that generates the indication of non-used CG TOs based on the indication configuration, the indication of non-used CG TOs indicating non-used TOs of a number, n, of TOs of the one or more CG configurations; wherein the transceiver transmits the indication of non-used CG TOs.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transceiver transmits the indication of non-used CG TOs and user data on a CG TO of the one or more CG configurations preceding the n CG TOs in time domain.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indication configuration comprises a list of one or more CG configurations for which the indication of non-used CG TOs is applicable.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more CG configurations are associated with a same data service and the indication configuration defines the data service.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, the data service is defined by one or more of a range of quality of service flows, radio bearers, radio link control, RLC, channels, logical channels, or hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, IDs.

6. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the indication configuration comprises a number, n, of CG TOs.

7. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the indication of non-used CG TOs is a bit field comprising n bits, each bit mapped to a CG TO of the n CG TOs and indicating whether the CG TO is used or not used.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein, the bit field comprises a first bit dedicated to a CG TO of a first CG configuration of the one or more CG configurations and a second bit dedicated to a CG TO of a second CG configuration of the one or more CG configurations.

9. The communication apparatus according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein, the circuitry determines an order in which to map the plurality of bits to the n CG TOs based on one or a combination of a start of a CG TO in time domain, an end of a CG TO in time domain, a CG configuration ID or HARQ ID, a modulation and coding scheme, or a number of allocated physical resource blocks.

10. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein if a CG TO of one or more CG configurations comprises two colliding TO resources overlapping in time domain, the indication of non-used CG TOs comprises only one of the colliding CG TOs for which to define whether each CG TO is used or not used, and the circuitry selects the one of the colliding CG TOs based on one or a combination of a start of a CG TO in time domain, an end of a CG TO in time domain, a CG configuration ID, a HARQ ID, a modulation and coding scheme, or a number of allocated physical resource blocks.

11. The communication apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein, the CG TOs are excluded from the n CG TOs due to half duplex operation colliding with time resources configured for downlink transmission or not available for uplink, the indication of non-used CG TOs defines for the n CG TOs whether each CG TO is used or not used.

12. A scheduling node, comprising: circuitry to determine an indication configuration defining one or more CG configurations, an indication of a non-used CG transmission occasion, TO, being applicable to the one or more CG configurations; and a transceiver to transmit the indication configuration and to receive the indication of a non-used CG TO, the indication of a non-used CG TO indicating a number, n, of TOs of the one or more CG configurations that are non-used.

13. The scheduling node of claim 12, wherein, the transceiver to receive the indication of a non-used TO and user data on the CG TOs on a CG TO of the one or more CG configurations that precedes the n CG TOs in time domain.

14. A communication method for a communication device, comprising the steps of: receiving an indication configuration defining one or more configured grant, CG, configurations, an indication of a non-used CG transmission occasion, TO, being applicable to the one or more CG configurations; generating the indication of a non-used CG TO based on the indication configuration, the indication of a non-used CG TO indicating a number, n, of TOs of the one or more CG configurations that are non-used; and transmitting the indication of a non-used CG TO.

15. A communication method for a scheduling node, comprising the steps of: determining an indication configuration defining one or more CG configurations, an indication of a non-used CG TO being applicable to the one or more CG configurations; transmitting the indication configuration; and receiving the indication of a non-used CG TO, the indication of a non-used CG TO indicating a number, n, of TOs of the one or more CG configurations that are non-used.

16. An integrated circuitry causing a communication device to perform the steps of: receiving an indication configuration defining one or more configured grant, CG, configurations, an indication of a non-used CG transmission occasion, TO, being applicable to the one or more CG configurations; generating the indication of a non-used CG TO based on the indication configuration, the indication of a non-used CG TO indicating a number, n, of TOs of the one or more CG configurations that are non-used; and transmitting the indication of a non-used CG TO.

17. An integrated circuitry causing a scheduling node to perform the steps of: determining an indication configuration defining one or more CG configurations, an indication of a non-used CG TO being applicable to the one or more CG configurations; transmitting the indication configuration; and receiving the indication of a non-used CG TO, the indication of a non-used CG TO indicating a number, n, of TOs of the one or more CG configurations that are non-used.

Images