Method and apparatus for uplink control information transmission in mobile communications

Abstract

Various solutions are described for a device to determine uplink control information (UCI) transmission in mobile communications. A device can transmit downlink control information (DCI). The downlink control information can indicate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for uplink control information transmission. The device can receive the physical uplink shared channel containing the uplink control information.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This disclosure is part of a non-provisional application and claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 594,452 (filed October 31, 2023) and U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 627,167 (filed January 31, 2024), the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure generally relates to mobile communications, and more specifically, to the transmission of uplink control information (UCI) by devices in mobile communications. Background Technology

[0004] Unless otherwise stated herein, the methods described in this section are not prior art as listed in the claims, and are not considered prior art because they are included in this section.

[0005] In Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR) mobile communications, downlink control information (DCI) may include scheduling information for user equipment (UE) to receive or transmit data through scheduled network resources. More specifically, based on downlink (DL) DCI, the UE may receive a PDSCH from the network node after configuring k0 time slots between the downlink DCI and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and then transmit a PUCCH to the network node after configuring k1 time slots between the PDSCH and the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (e.g., the PUCCH contains Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK)). Furthermore, based on uplink (UL) DCI, the UE may transmit a PUSCH to the network node after configuring k2 time slots between the uplink DCI and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Furthermore, N1 symbols represent the time required from decoding the downlink DCI to preparing to receive the PDSCH. N2 symbols represent the time required from receiving the uplink DCI to preparing for PUSCH transmission; this time is used to ensure the UE has sufficient time to prepare for PUSCH transmission. These time-related factors are analogous to hard real-time (HRT), which demands extremely high time precision.

[0006] In certain network scenarios, some transmission decisions (i.e., arbitration) affecting HRT implementation can be performed by the UE. For example, when preparing a PUCCH carrying hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HRE) information, the UE can determine the PUCCH format based on the HRE codebook size. Furthermore, when the PUCCH carrying HRE information overlaps with a PUSCH, the UE can decide to piggyback the HRE information onto the PUSCH. Additionally, based on the number of HRE bits, the UE can decide whether to use puncturing or rate matching. Therefore, the uncertainty of the HRE codebook size and uplink channel multiplexing increases the complexity of UE implementation, making HRT implementation even more critical.

[0007] Therefore, reducing HRT-related transmission decisions made by the UE has become an important issue in the development of new wireless communication networks. Consequently, appropriate solutions are needed to reduce HRT-related transmission decisions made by the UE. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The following content is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following content is intended to introduce the concepts, key points, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Some embodiments will be further elaborated in the detailed description below. Therefore, the following content is not intended to identify the essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0009] One objective of this disclosure is to provide a solution or scheme for the aforementioned problems related to the transmission of uplink control information (UCI) in mobile communication devices.

[0010] In one aspect, a method may involve a device transmitting downlink control information (DCI). The downlink control information may indicate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for uplink control information transmission. The method may also involve a device receiving a physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information.

[0011] In one aspect, a method may involve a device receiving downlink control information. The downlink control information may indicate a physical uplink shared channel for uplink control information transmission. The method may also involve a device transmitting a physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information.

[0012] In one aspect, an apparatus may include a transceiver that wirelessly communicates with a wireless network during operation. The apparatus may also include a processor communicatively connected to the transceiver. The processor may perform operations during operation, including transmitting downlink control information via the transceiver. The downlink control information may indicate a physical uplink shared channel for uplink control information transmission. The processor may also perform operations including receiving a physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information via the transceiver.

[0013] It is worth noting that although the content described herein may be presented in the context of certain wireless access technologies, networks, and network topologies, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, 5th Generation (5G), New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and 6th Generation (6G), the proposed concepts, schemes, and any variations / derivatives thereof can be implemented, used, and implemented by other types of wireless access technologies, networks, and network topologies. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The accompanying drawings are intended to further understand this disclosure and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this disclosure. The drawings illustrate embodiments of this disclosure and, in conjunction with the description, are used to explain the principles of this disclosure. It will be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, as some components may be shown out of proportion to their actual dimensions in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the scheme shown in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the scheme shown in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the scheme shown in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the scheme shown in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the scheme shown in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the scheme shown in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the scheme shown in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 This is a block diagram of an example communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 9 This is an example flowchart of an implementation method based on the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 10 This is an example flowchart of an implementation method based on the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claims of this application are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are for illustrative purposes only and may be implemented in various forms. This disclosure may take many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations listed herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are intended to make the description of this disclosure exhaustive and complete, and to fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the following description, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

[0026] Overview

[0027] According to embodiments of this disclosure, various technologies, methods, schemes, and / or solutions relate to the transmission of uplink control information (UCI) associated with mobile communication devices. According to this disclosure, several possible solutions can be implemented individually or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions are described separately below, two or more of them can be implemented in different combinations.

[0028] Regarding the contents of this disclosure, a network node can determine (i.e., schedule) a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) for uplink control information transmission. Subsequently, the network node can send downlink control information (DCI) to the user equipment (UE). This DCI can indicate the PUSCH. Upon receiving the DCI, the UE can transmit the PUSCH containing uplink control information based on the DCI. Therefore, since the UE can transmit uplink control information through the PUSCH scheduled by the network node, the UE does not need to perform certain transmission decisions (i.e., arbitration), which may increase the UE implementation complexity but makes the HRT implementation more flexible.

[0029] Figure 1Example scenario 100 is illustrated under a scheme implemented according to this disclosure. Scenario 100 involves at least one network node and a UE, which may be part of a wireless communication network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G / NR network, an IoT network, or a 6G network). Scenario 100 illustrates a current network architecture. The UE may connect to the network side, which may include one or more network nodes.

[0030] In some embodiments, the network node can determine (i.e., schedule) a physical uplink shared channel (PHS channel) dedicated to carrying uplink control information for uplink control information transmission. Subsequently, the network node can send downlink control information (e.g., uplink / downlink control information containing uplink grants) to the UE. This downlink control information can indicate the PHS channel used for uplink control information transmission. Upon receiving the downlink control information, the UE can transmit the PHS channel containing uplink control information based on the downlink control information. This uplink control information can be a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) and / or a channel state information (CSI) report.

[0031] Therefore, since network nodes can schedule physical uplink shared channels (PHS) to carry uplink control information and indicate these PHS to the UE via downlink control information, the UE can transmit uplink control information through the PHS based on the downlink control information without performing certain transmission decisions (i.e., arbitration). In other words, the network node can be fully responsible for transmission arbitration and scheduling, and the UE only needs to follow the PHS scheduled by the network node for uplink control information transmission. Therefore, the UE implementation complexity can be reduced, and the HRT implementation can be more flexible.

[0032] In some implementations, when the uplink control information includes a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook, the uplink control information can be transmitted over a single physical uplink shared channel on the primary cell (PCell). In some implementations, when the uplink control information includes channel state information reports, the uplink control information can be transmitted over a single physical uplink shared channel on the primary cell.

[0033] In some implementations, the payload size associated with uplink control information can be indicated by downlink control information or higher-layer signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC) signaling). In some cases, the payload size associated with uplink control information (e.g., the size of the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ) codebook) can be directly indicated by downlink control information at the start of the configuration period (e.g., time division duplex (TDD)) and will not change during that period. In some cases, a set of payload sizes associated with uplink control information (e.g., the size of the HARQ) codebook can be configured by the network node via UE-specific RRC signaling. Subsequently, the downlink control information can indicate the entries selected from this set. In some cases, when multiple HARQs need to be fed back, the determined payload sizes can be signaled separately or jointly.

[0034] Figure 2 Example scenario 200 is illustrated under a scheme implemented according to this disclosure. In some implementations, downlink control information may instruct the scheduled physical uplink shared channel to carry uplink data. Specifically, downlink control information (e.g., ordinary downlink control information, two-stage downlink control information) nd Downlink control information, multi-downlink control information (mDCI, etc.) can indicate the physical uplink shared channel used to carry uplink control information and uplink data (i.e., uplink shared channel, UL-SCH).

[0035] In some implementations, when the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHS) carries uplink data, the UE can encode the uplink control information and uplink data of the PHS separately and send the PHS to the network node. Upon receiving the PHS, the network node can decode the uplink control information and uplink data of the PHS separately.

[0036] In some implementations, when the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHSC) contains uplink data, the UE can map uplink control information and uplink data from a specific resource element of the PHSC to multiple resource elements (REs). More specifically, the uplink control information and uplink data can be sequentially mapped to multiple resource elements, excluding at least one resource element used for demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (i.e., the resource element used for DMRS is not counted in the multiple resource elements used to map uplink control information and uplink data). This specific resource element is located within the first available orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol and has the lowest resource element index. In some cases, when the uplink control information includes both a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HAR) codebook and a channel state information report (CSE), the HAR can be sequentially mapped to multiple resource elements. Therefore, the priority for mapping uplink control information and uplink data to available resource elements can be: first, hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook (if present); second, channel state information report (if present); and finally, uplink data (if present).

[0037] Figure 3 Example scenario 300 is illustrated under a scheme implemented according to this disclosure. In some implementations, downlink control information may indicate that the scheduled physical uplink shared channel does not contain any uplink data. Specifically, downlink control information (e.g., ordinary downlink control information, two-stage downlink control information, etc.) is used to indicate that the scheduled physical uplink shared channel does not contain any uplink data. nd Downlink control information, multiple downlink control information (mDCI), etc., can indicate the physical uplink shared channel used to carry uplink control information but does not contain any uplink data (i.e., UL-SCH).

[0038] In some implementations, when the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHS) does not contain any uplink data, the UE can map uplink control information from a specific resource element of the PHS to multiple resource elements. More specifically, the uplink control information can be mapped to multiple resource elements, excluding at least one resource element used for demodulation reference signals. This specific resource element is located within the first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol and has the lowest resource element index. In some cases, when the uplink control information includes both a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgment (HARQ) codebook and a Channel State Information (DSI) report, the HARQ and DSI reports can be mapped sequentially to multiple resource elements. Therefore, the priority for mapping uplink control information to available resource elements can be: first, the HARQ codebook (if present); second, the DSI report (if present).

[0039] In some implementations, the configuration of the last received downlink control information can be applied to schedule uplink control information. Specifically, a series of related downlink control information messages can be transmitted within a given period. Each downlink control message can indicate a physical uplink shared channel for carrying the uplink control information. The UE can apply the configuration of the last received downlink control information (e.g., the uplink grant of the last received downlink control information) to schedule the physical uplink shared channel carrying the uplink control information.

[0040] In some implementations, the first downlink control information (DCI) may indicate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for carrying uplink control information (UCI) but not containing any uplink data. Upon receiving the first downlink control information, the user equipment (UE) may apply the configuration of the first downlink control information to schedule the uplink control information. Subsequently, the second downlink control information may indicate a physical uplink shared channel for carrying both uplink control information and uplink data. Upon receiving the second downlink control information, the UE may apply the configuration of the second downlink control information to schedule the uplink control information. In other words, the uplink control information scheduling configuration indicated by the first downlink control information for carrying uplink control information but not containing any uplink data can be overridden by the corresponding uplink control information scheduling configuration indicated by the second downlink control information for carrying both uplink control information and uplink data. More specifically, the uplink control information scheduling configuration indicated by the second downlink control information for carrying both uplink control information and uplink data has a higher priority than the physical uplink shared channel indicated by the first downlink control information for carrying uplink control information but not containing uplink data.

[0041] In some cases, the uplink control information scheduling configuration of the physical uplink shared channel indicated by the first downlink control information for carrying uplink control information but not containing any uplink data can be overridden by the corresponding uplink control information scheduling configuration of the physical uplink shared channel indicated by the second downlink control information for carrying both uplink control information and uplink data when the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are scheduled within the configuration period. In other cases, the uplink control information scheduling configuration of the physical uplink shared channel indicated by the first downlink control information for carrying uplink control information but not containing any uplink data can be overridden by the corresponding uplink control information scheduling configuration of the physical uplink shared channel indicated by the second downlink control information for carrying both uplink control information and uplink data when the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information indicate the feedback of the same Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) group and / or the same Channel State Information (CSI) report. In some cases, the uplink control information scheduling configuration of the physical uplink shared channel indicated by the second downlink control information for carrying both uplink control information and uplink data cannot be overridden.

[0042] In some implementations, the downlink control information configuration for scheduling uplink control information (i.e., the uplink control information scheduling configuration for downlink control information) may include at least one of the following: (1) time allocation; (2) frequency allocation; (3) number of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) layers; (4) modulation order; and (5) frequency hopping information.

[0043] In some implementations, a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (ADR) group index may be introduced to enable flexible bundling of the hybrid ADR bits. Specifically, downlink control information indicating the physical uplink shared channel for the hybrid ADR codebook may include a hybrid ADR group index associated with the hybrid ADR codebook, which contains at least one ADR. More specifically, hybrid ADRs with the same hybrid ADR group index may be bundled into the same uplink control information (e.g., the hybrid ADR codebook) indicated by downlink control information containing the hybrid ADR group index. User equipment may transmit the hybrid ADR codebook associated with the hybrid ADR group index in the uplink control information.

[0044] Figure 4Example scenario 400 is illustrated under a scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, when scheduling a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a network node assigns a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HRP) group to which the PDSCH belongs via downlink control information. In this example, downlink control information #0 includes a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgment (HRP-ACK) group index #0 and indicates: (1) PDSCH #0 belongs to HRP-ACK group #0; and (2) a PDSCH for carrying uplink control information and uplink data. Downlink control information #1 indicates that PDSCH #1 belongs to HRP-ACK group #0. Downlink control information #2 indicates that PDSCH #2 belongs to HRP-ACK group #1. Therefore, the HRP-ACKs generated for PDSCH #0 and #1, which belong to the same HRP-ACK group #0, are bundled into the same HRP-ACK codebook indicated by downlink control information #0 containing the HRP-ACK group index #0. Furthermore, hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ) generated for physical downlink shared channel #2 belonging to different hybrid HARQ group #1 will not be bound to the HARQ codebook indicated by downlink control information #0 containing hybrid HARQ group index #0. The user equipment transmits the HARQ codebook associated with hybrid HARQ group index #0 in the uplink control information of the physical uplink shared channel.

[0045] In some implementations, when uplink control information is transmitted via a physical uplink shared channel that does not contain uplink data, the payload size of the uplink control information can be derived based on at least one or a set of the following fields in the corresponding downlink control information: (1) modulation and coding scheme (MCS); (2) number of MIMO layers; and (3) number of available resource elements obtained from time and frequency allocation. In some cases, when the uplink control information includes both a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report, the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and the channel state information report may have independent coding chains.

[0046] Figure 5Example scenario 500 is illustrated under the scheme according to the embodiments of this disclosure. For example, when the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report are less than 12, encoding is performed along path A, including block coding and rate matching. When the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report are between 12 and 19, encoding is performed along path B, including 6 cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits per code block, polar coding, and rate matching. When the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report are greater than 19, encoding is performed along path C, including code block segmentation, 11 CRC bits per code block, polar coding, rate matching, and code block concatenation.

[0047] In addition, after processing each path, a0 to a... N Bits. a0 to a N The bits are then processed along path D, including scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, transform precoding (if Discrete Fourier Transform-spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) is applied), precoding, and resource element mapping.

[0048] In some implementations, when uplink control information is transmitted through a physical uplink shared channel that does not contain uplink data, the allocation of physical uplink shared channel resources can be: (1) dynamic scheduling, i.e., the network can schedule downlink control information to provide scheduling information (e.g., time / frequency resources, transmission schemes, etc.) for the allocation of physical uplink shared channel resources; or (2) configurational scheduling, i.e., network nodes can configure a set of scheduling information for the allocation of physical uplink shared channel resources through user equipment-specific radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and schedule downlink control information to indicate which set of scheduling information to select for hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledge.

[0049] In some implementations, when uplink control information is transmitted via a physical uplink shared channel that contains uplink data, the user equipment can apply uplink data configurations (e.g., modulation, MIMO layer number, and uplink power control) to the uplink control information on the same physical uplink shared channel. The coding rate of the uplink control information may differ from the coding rate of the uplink data and may be indicated by the corresponding downlink control information. For example, in some network scenarios, uplink control information is not retransmitted, requiring more robust uplink control information transmission. Therefore, the coding rate of the uplink control information is lower (e.g., lower than the coding rate of the uplink data).

[0050] In some implementations, when uplink control information is transmitted via a physical uplink shared channel that includes uplink data, the uplink control information and uplink data can be multiplexed at the resource element level. Figure 6 An example scenario 600 under the scheme according to the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrated. For example, when the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report is less than 12, encoding is performed along path A, including block coding and rate matching. When the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report is between 12 and 19, encoding is performed along path B, including 6 CRC bits per code block, polar coding, and rate matching. When the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report is greater than 19, encoding is performed along path C, including code block segmentation, 11 CRC bits per code block, polar coding, rate matching, and code block concatenation.

[0051] In addition, after processing each path, a0 to a... N Bits. a0 to a N The bits are then processed along path D, including scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, transform precoding (if DFT-S-OFDM is applied), precoding, and resource element mapping.

[0052] In addition, regarding the uplink data, the encoding is performed along path E, including CRC appending of 16 / 24 bits, code block segmentation, code block CRC appending, low-density parity-check code (LDPC) encoding, rate matching, and code block concatenation.

[0053] Furthermore, after processing path E, b0 to b... M Bits. b0 to b M The process then proceeds along path F, including scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, transform precoding (if DFT-S-OFDM is applied), precoding, and resource element mapping.

[0054] In some cases, the number of resource elements used for mixed automatic repeat request-acknowledgment transmissions is determined by the following formula:

[0055] in Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request - Acknowledgement: The number of bits transmitted is indicated by the network node in the downlink control information; : Modulation order; Baseline: (1) the same as the uplink data (if present); or (2) different from the uplink data, and the additional signaling of the modulation order is indicated by the downlink control information; Target bitrate; may differ from uplink data; : Layer number; Baseline: (1) Same as the uplink data (if present); or (2) Different from the uplink data, and additional signaling for the layer number is indicated by the downlink control information.

[0056] In some cases, the number of resource elements used for uplink data transmission is determined by the following formula:

[0057] In some cases, the mixed automatic repeat request-acknowledgment bits and uplink data bits may not be modulated with the same symbols. If Then add Zero-padded bits, so that ,in .

[0058] The following table shows some examples of layer mappings:

[0059] In some implementations, when uplink control information is transmitted together with uplink data via a physical uplink shared channel, the uplink control information and uplink data can be multiplexed at the bit level. Figure 7 Example scenario 700 is illustrated under the scheme according to embodiments of this disclosure. For example, when the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report are less than 12, encoding is performed along path A, including block coding and rate matching. When the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report are between 12 and 19, encoding is performed along path B, including 6 cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits per code block, polar coding, and rate matching. When the number of bits in the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook or the number of bits in the channel state information report are greater than 19, encoding is performed along path C, including code block segmentation, 11 CRC bits per code block, polar coding, rate matching, and code block concatenation.

[0060] Regarding the uplink data, encoding is performed along path D, including CRC appending of 16 / 2 bits, code block segmentation, code block CRC appending, low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoding, rate matching, and code block concatenation. Then, bits a0 to a0 generated from paths A, B, or C are... N Bits b0 to b generated by path D M Perform the merging. Regarding the merged bits a0 to a... N and b0 to b MEncoding is performed along path E. The result of path E is used for resource element mapping, including scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, transform precoding (if Discrete Fourier Transform Extended Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) is applied), precoding, and resource element mapping.

[0061] In some cases, the number of encoded bits used for mixed automatic repeat request-acknowledgment transmissions is determined by the following formula:

[0062] in The number of bits transmitted for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement can be indicated by the network node in the downlink control information; Target bitrate; may differ from uplink data (e.g., mixed auto-repeat request-acknowledgment transmission uses a lower bitrate); Baseline: Modulation order (Q) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layer (L) are: (1) the same as the uplink data; or (2) different from the uplink data and additional information needs to be sent to the user equipment (UE) via downlink control information.

[0063] In some cases, the number of encoded bits used for uplink data is determined by the following formula:

[0064] The following table shows some examples of layer mapping:

[0065] It should be noted that for details regarding the above path and related processes, please refer to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications.

[0066] In some implementations, downlink control information indicating the physical uplink shared channel for uplink control information may include at least one of the following fields: (1) Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Group Index, indicating a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Group that can be fed back; (2) Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Payload Size, indicating the number of bits in the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Codebook; (3) Uplink Control Information Code Rate Indicator, for adjusting the code rate of the uplink control information; (4) Channel State Information Report Type, indicating a report based on Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) or a report based on Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS); and (5) Uplink Control Information Type Indicator, indicating whether the physical uplink shared channel contains a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Codebook and / or a Channel State Information Report.

[0067] For example, the Hybrid Auto-Repeating Request-Acknowledgment Group index field is 1 bit, where '0' represents 1. st Mixed Auto-Repeating Request-Acknowledgement Group, '1' indicates 2 nd Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Group. The Channel State Information Report Type field is 1 bit, where '0' indicates a report based on the Channel State Information Reference Signal and '1' indicates a report based on the Demodulation Reference Signal. The Uplink Control Information Type Indicator field is 3 bits, where: (1) '000' indicates Uplink Shared Channel Only (UL-SCH); (2) '001' indicates Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Codebook Only; (3) '010' indicates Channel State Information Only; (4) '011' indicates Uplink Shared Channel and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Codebook; (5) '100' indicates Uplink Shared Channel and Channel State Information Report; (6) '101' indicates Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Codebook and Channel State Information Report; (7) '110' indicates Uplink Shared Channel, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement Codebook and Channel State Information Report; (8) '111' indicates Reserved Status.

[0068] Exemplary Implementation

[0069] Figure 8 An example communication system 800 according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown, including an example communication device 810 and an example network device 820. Both the communication device 810 and the network device 820 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein for transmitting uplink control information related to user equipment and network devices in mobile communications, including the above-described scenarios / schemes and processes 900 and 1000 described below.

[0070] The communication device 810 may be part of an electronic device, such as a user equipment (UE), such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 810 may be implemented in a smartphone, smartwatch, personal digital assistant, digital camera, or computing device such as a tablet, laptop, or mobile phone. The communication device 810 may also be part of a machine-type device, such as an Internet of Things (IoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), or Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) device, such as a non-movable or fixed device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 810 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Alternatively, the communication device 810 may be implemented as one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction-set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set computing (CISC) processors. Communication device 810 may include Figure 8 The communication device 810 may include at least some of the components shown, such as processor 812. It may also include one or more other components unrelated to this disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device, and / or user interface device), and therefore, these components of the communication device 810 are... Figure 8 This is not shown in the text and is not described below, in order to simplify and refine the content.

[0071] Network device 820 may be part of a network device, which may be a network node such as a satellite, base station, small cell, router, or gateway. For example, network device 820 may be implemented in an eNodeB in an LTE network, a gNB in ​​a 5G / New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), or Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) network, or in a satellite or base station in a 6G network. Alternatively, network device 820 may be implemented as one or more integrated circuit chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) or Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) processors. Network device 820 may include... Figure 8The network device 820 may also include at least some of the components shown, such as processor 822. It may also include one or more other components unrelated to this disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device, and / or user interface device), therefore, for simplicity and brevity, Figure 8 The components of these network devices 820 are not shown, nor are they described below.

[0072] In one aspect, each of processors 812 and 822 may be implemented as one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more complex instruction set computer processors. That is, although the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to processors 812 and 822, each of processors 812 and 822 may include multiple processors in some implementations and a single processor in others, depending on the different implementations of this disclosure. In another aspect, each of processors 812 and 822 may be implemented in hardware (and optionally firmware) comprising, for example, but not limited to, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more transformers, these electronic components being configured and arranged to achieve the specific purposes of this disclosure. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processors 812 and 822 is a dedicated machine specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform a specific task, including the transmission of uplink control information in devices (e.g., represented by communication device 810) and networks (e.g., represented by network device 820), conforming to the various implementations of this disclosure.

[0073] In some implementations, the communication device 810 may further include a transceiver 816 connected to the processor 812, capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In other words, the processor 812 can transmit and receive data, such as configurations, messages, signals, information, and indications, through the transceiver 816. In some implementations, the communication device 810 may further include a memory 814 connected to the processor 812, accessible and stored by the processor 812. In some implementations, the network device 820 may further include a transceiver 826 connected to the processor 822, capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In other words, the processor 822 can transmit and receive data, such as configurations, messages, signals, information, and indications, through the transceiver 826. In some implementations, the network device 820 may further include a memory 824 connected to the processor 822, accessible and stored by the processor 822. Therefore, the communication device 810 and the network device 820 can communicate wirelessly through transceivers 816 and 826, respectively. For ease of understanding, the following descriptions of the operation, functions and capabilities of communication device 810 and network device 820 are provided in the context of a mobile communication environment, wherein communication device 810 is implemented as a communication device or user equipment (UE), and network device 820 is implemented as a network node of a communication network.

[0074] In some implementations, each of memory 814 and memory 824 may include a random-access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and / or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 814 and memory 824 may include a read-only memory (ROM), such as a mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), and / or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 814 and memory 824 may include a non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and / or phase-change memory.

[0075] Example Process

[0076] Figure 9 An example flow 900 implemented according to this disclosure is illustrated. Flow 900 can be an example implementation of the above-described scenario / solution, whether partial or complete, for uplink control information transmission with respect to this disclosure. Flow 900 can represent one aspect of the functional implementation of network device 820. Flow 900 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown in one or more modules 910 to 920 of flow 900. Although represented as discrete modules, the individual modules of flow 900 can be divided into more modules, merged into fewer modules, or omitted depending on the desired implementation. Furthermore, the modules of flow 900 can be arranged in... Figure 9 The process can be executed in the order shown, or in a different order. Process 900 can be implemented by network device 820 or any suitable network device or machine type device. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 900 is described below in the context of network device 820. Process 900 may begin with module 910.

[0077] In module 910, process 900 may involve the processor 822 of network device 820 sending downlink control information. The downlink control information may indicate the physical uplink shared channel used for uplink control information transmission. Process 900 can proceed from module 910 to module 920.

[0078] In module 920, process 900 may involve the processor 822 of network device 820 receiving a physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information.

[0079] In some implementations, uplink control information may include at least one of the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information report.

[0080] In some implementations, the payload size associated with uplink control information can be indicated by downlink control information or higher-layer signaling.

[0081] In some implementations, downlink control information may indicate that the physical uplink shared channel carries uplink data or does not contain any uplink data.

[0082] In some implementations, where uplink data is carried on the physical uplink shared channel, process 900 may involve the processor 822 of network device 820 decoding uplink control information and uplink data on the physical uplink shared channel, respectively.

[0083] In some implementations, when uplink data is carried on a physical uplink shared channel, uplink control information and uplink data can be mapped from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to multiple resource elements. The uplink control information and uplink data can be mapped sequentially. Multiple resource elements exclude at least one resource element used for demodulation reference signals. A specific resource element is located within the first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and has the lowest resource element index.

[0084] In some implementations, uplink control information may include a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information reports. The hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information reports can be mapped sequentially.

[0085] In some implementations, when the physical uplink shared channel does not contain any uplink data, uplink control information can be mapped from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to multiple resource elements. These multiple resource elements exclude at least one resource element used for demodulation reference signals. The specific resource element is located within the first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and has the lowest resource element index.

[0086] In some implementations, uplink control information may include a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information reports. The hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information reports can be mapped sequentially.

[0087] Figure 10 An example flow 1000 implemented according to this disclosure is illustrated. Flow 1000 can be an example implementation of the above-described scenario / solution, whether partial or complete, for uplink control information transmission according to this disclosure. Flow 1000 can represent one aspect of the functional implementation of communication device 810. Flow 1000 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown in one or more modules 1010 to 1020 of flow 1000. Although represented as discrete modules, the individual modules of flow 1000 can be divided into more modules, merged into fewer modules, or omitted depending on the desired implementation. Furthermore, the modules of flow 1000 can be arranged in... Figure 10 The process can be executed in the order shown, or in a different order. Process 1000 can be implemented by communication device 810 or any suitable user equipment or machine type device. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 1000 is described below in the context of communication device 810. Process 1000 can begin with module 1010.

[0088] In module 1010, process 1000 may involve the processor 812 of communication device 810 receiving downlink control information. The downlink control information may indicate the physical uplink shared channel used for uplink control information transmission. Process 1000 may continue from module 1010 to module 1020.

[0089] In module 1020, process 1000 may involve the processor 812 of communication device 810 sending a physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information.

[0090] In some implementations, uplink control information may include at least one of the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information report.

[0091] In some implementations, the payload size associated with uplink control information can be indicated by downlink control information or higher-layer signaling.

[0092] In some implementations, downlink control information may indicate that the physical uplink shared channel carries uplink data or does not contain any uplink data.

[0093] In some implementations, where uplink data is carried on the physical uplink shared channel, process 1000 may involve the processor 812 of the communication device 810 encoding uplink control information and uplink data of the physical uplink shared channel respectively.

[0094] In some implementations, where uplink data is carried on a physical uplink shared channel, process 1000 may involve the processor 812 of the communication device 810 mapping uplink control information and uplink data from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to multiple resource elements. The uplink control information and uplink data may be mapped sequentially. At least one resource element used for demodulation reference signals may be excluded from the multiple resource elements. A specific resource element may be located within the first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and have the lowest resource element index.

[0095] In some implementations, uplink control information may include a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information reports. The hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and channel state information reports can be mapped sequentially.

[0096] In some implementations, where the physical uplink shared channel does not contain any uplink data, process 1000 may involve the processor 812 of the communication device 810 mapping uplink control information from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to multiple resource elements. These multiple resource elements may exclude at least one resource element used for demodulation reference signals. The resource element may be located within the first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and have the lowest resource element index.

[0097] In some implementations, the uplink control information includes a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report, and the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and the channel state information report are mapped sequentially.

[0098] In some implementations, the downlink control information may include a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment group index, which is associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook containing at least one hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment message. Procedure 1000 may involve the processor 812 of the communication device 810 sending the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook associated with the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment group index in the uplink control information.

[0099] Additional Notes

[0100] The topics described herein sometimes demonstrate different components contained within or connected to different other components. It should be understood that such architectures are merely examples, and many other architectures can actually be implemented to achieve the same functionality. Conceptually, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” to achieve the desired function. Therefore, any two components combined in this document to achieve a specific function can be considered “associated with each other” to achieve the desired function, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components. Similarly, any two such associated components can also be considered “operationally connected” or “operationally coupled” to achieve the desired function, and any two components that can be suchly associated can also be considered “operationally coupled” to achieve the desired function. Specific examples of operational coupling include, but are not limited to, physically matable and / or physically interactive components and / or wirelessly interactive components and / or logically interactive and / or logically interactive components.

[0101] Furthermore, regarding the use of almost all plural and / or singular terms in this document, those skilled in the art can appropriately convert from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural depending on the context and / or application. Various singular / plural arrangements are explicitly listed herein for clarity.

[0102] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the terms commonly used herein, particularly in claims, such as the body portion of a claim, are generally intended as “open” terms. For example, the word “comprising” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the word “having” should be interpreted as “at least having,” and the word “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” etc. Those skilled in the art will also further understand that if a specific quantity introducing a claim definition is explicitly expressed in the claim, that intention will be explicitly expressed in the claim; the absence of such expression does not imply this intention. For example, to aid understanding, a claim may contain the use of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce a claim definition. However, the use of such phrases should not be interpreted as introducing a claim definition with the indefinite article “a” or “one” to limit any particular claim containing such an introductory claim definition to containing only one such definition, even if the same claim contains the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “one,” for example, “a” and / or “one” should be interpreted as “at least one” or “one or more”; the use of definite articles used to introduce claim definitions also applies. Furthermore, even when a specific number defined by the introduced claims is explicitly stated, those skilled in the art will recognize that such expressions should be interpreted as at least the stated number. For example, simply stating "two definitions" without any other modifiers implies at least two definitions, or two or more definitions. Additionally, when using conventions such as "at least one A, B, and C, etc.", such structures are generally intended to be understood by those skilled in the art in a manner that is readily apparent to them. For example, "a system having at least one A, B, and C" includes, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, both A and B, both A and C, both B and C, and systems having both A, B, and C, etc. Similarly, when using conventions such as "at least one A, B, or C, etc.", such structures are generally intended to be understood by those skilled in the art in a manner that is readily apparent to them. For example, "a system having at least one A, B, or C" includes, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, both A and B, both A and C, both B and C, and systems having both A, B, and C, etc. Those skilled in the art will further understand that virtually any extractive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, should be understood to include the possibility of including one, any, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” would be understood to include the possibility of “A” or “B” or “A and B”.

[0103] As can be seen from the foregoing, this document describes various implementations of the present disclosure for illustrative purposes, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Therefore, the various implementations disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: A processor of a device sends downlink control information, wherein the downlink control information indicates a physical uplink shared channel for uplink control information transmission; as well as The processor receives the physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink control information includes at least one of a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a payload size associated with the uplink control information is indicated by the downlink control information or a higher-layer signaling.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the downlink control information indicates that the physical uplink shared channel carries uplink data or does not contain any uplink data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein when the uplink data is carried on the physical uplink shared channel, the method further comprises: The processor decodes the uplink control information and the uplink data of the physical uplink shared channel, respectively.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein when the uplink data is carried on the physical uplink shared channel, the uplink control information and the uplink data are mapped from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to a plurality of resource elements, and the uplink control information and the uplink data are mapped sequentially, the plurality of resource elements exclude at least one resource element for demodulation reference signal, and the specific resource element is located within a first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and has the lowest resource element index.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the uplink control information includes a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report, and the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and the channel state information report are mapped sequentially.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein, when the physical uplink shared channel does not contain any uplink data, the uplink control information is mapped from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to a plurality of resource elements, and the plurality of resource elements exclude at least one resource element for demodulating a reference signal, and the specific resource element is located within a first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and has the lowest resource element index.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the uplink control information includes a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report, and the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and the channel state information report are mapped sequentially.

10. A method comprising: A processor of a device receives downlink control information, wherein the downlink control information indicates a physical uplink shared channel for uplink control information transmission; as well as The processor sends the physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the uplink control information includes at least one of a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein a payload size associated with the uplink control information is indicated by the downlink control information or a higher-layer signaling.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the downlink control information indicates that the physical uplink shared channel carries uplink data or does not contain any uplink data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein when the uplink data is carried on the physical uplink shared channel, the method further comprises: The processor encodes the uplink control information and the uplink data of the physical uplink shared channel, respectively.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein when the uplink data is carried on the physical uplink shared channel, the method further comprises: The processor maps the uplink control information and the uplink data from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to multiple resource elements, wherein the uplink control information and the uplink data are mapped sequentially, the multiple resource elements exclude at least one resource element used for demodulation reference signal, and the specific resource element is located within a first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and has the lowest resource element index.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the uplink control information includes a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report, and the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and the channel state information report are mapped sequentially.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein if the physical uplink shared channel does not contain any uplink data, the method further comprises: The processor maps the uplink control information from a specific resource element of the physical uplink shared channel to multiple resource elements, wherein the multiple resource elements exclude at least one resource element used for demodulation reference signal, and the resource element is located within a first available orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol and has the lowest resource element index.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the uplink control information includes a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and a channel state information report, and the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook and the channel state information report are mapped sequentially.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein the downlink control information includes a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment group index, the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment group index being associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment codebook containing at least one hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment message, and the method further includes: The processor sends the hybrid autorepeating request-acknowledgment codebook associated with the hybrid autorepeating request-acknowledgment group index in the uplink control information.

20. An apparatus comprising: A transceiver that communicates wirelessly with a wireless network during operation; as well as A processor, communicatively connected to the transceiver, enables the processor to perform the following operations during operation: The transceiver transmits downlink control information, wherein the downlink control information indicates a physical uplink shared channel for uplink control information transmission; and The transceiver receives the physical uplink shared channel containing uplink control information.

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