Method for network assisted uplink arbitration in mobile communications

Abstract

Various solutions for network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration in mobile communications are described. A network node can determine a schedule for a first UL transmission for a device, the schedule overlapping in time with one or more second UL transmissions or downlink (DL) receptions configured for the device or triggered by the device. The network node can determine an arbitration result indicating which of the one or more second UL transmissions or DL receptions is to be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission. The network node can then send first DL control signaling to the device. The first DL control signaling indicates the schedule for the first UL transmission and includes the arbitration result.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This disclosure is part of a non-provisional application claiming priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 614,687, filed December 26, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure generally relates to mobile communications, and more specifically, to network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration in mobile communications. Background Technology

[0004] Unless otherwise stated herein, the methods described in this section are not prior art as claimed in the following claims, and are not acknowledged as 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 contain 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 the PDSCH from the network node after k0 slots configured between the DL DCI and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and send the PUCCH to the network node after k1 slots configured between the PDSCH and the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). (For example, the PUCCH contains a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) for dynamic scheduling.) Furthermore, based on the uplink (UL) DCI, the UE can send the PUSCH to the network node after k2 time slots configured between the ULDCI and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Additionally, N1 symbols represent the required time from decoding the DL DCI to preparing to receive the PDSCH. N2 symbols represent the required time from receiving the UL DCI to preparing for PUSCH transmission; this time is used to ensure the UE has sufficient time to prepare for PUSCH transmission.

[0006] Under the DCI control signaling framework, transmission overlay and arbitration may occur. For example, in 5 thIn 5G NR, UL arbitration is defined as a process that a UE typically needs to perform before initiating a UL transmission to determine whether the UL transmission can be performed, whether it needs to be multiplexed with overlapping physical channels / signals, or whether it should be dropped due to overlapping physical channels / signals. Examples of overlapping UL physical channels / signals and their arbitration include PUCCH-PUCCH coverage, PUCCH-PUSCH multiplexing, PUCCH-sounding reference signal (SRS) priority processing, and PUSCH-SRS priority processing. In some cases, the UE's processing timeline for UL arbitration can be obtained before the start symbol of the UL transmission resource, thereby initiating the necessary software (SW) or hardware (HW) procedures. To optimize the worst-case hard real-time scenario, the SW / HW procedure is initiated when the UE processing timeline no longer allows for any coverage scheduling. However, in other cases, if the UE processing timeline cannot be obtained before the start symbol of the UL transmission resources, there may be situations where the initiated SW / HW process needs to be canceled, but the corresponding SW / HW resources cannot be released immediately, resulting in increased overhead for UE implementation complexity.

[0007] Therefore, how to reduce the burden on UEs in arbitration evaluation has become an important issue in newly developed wireless communication systems. Thus, it is necessary to provide appropriate solutions to address this problem. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The following abstract is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following abstract aims 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 abstract is not intended to identify the essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0009] One objective of this disclosure is to provide solutions, concepts, designs, systems, methods, and devices related to network-assisted UL arbitration in mobile communications. It is believed that by implementing one or more of the solutions proposed herein, the aforementioned problems can be avoided or mitigated.

[0010] In one aspect, a method may include a network node determining a schedule for a first UL transmission for a device, the schedule overlapping in time with one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions configured for or triggered by the device. The method may further include the network node determining an arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions will be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission. The method may further include the network node sending a first DL control signaling to the device, wherein the first DL control signaling indicates the scheduling of the first UL transmission and includes the arbitration result.

[0011] In one aspect, a method may include a device receiving a first DL control signaling from a network node, wherein the first DL control signaling indicates the scheduling of a first UL transmission, the scheduling overlapping in time with one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions configured for or triggered by the device, and includes an arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions will be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission. The method may further include the device prioritizing the first UL transmission relative to the indicated one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions based on the arbitration result, or multiplexing the first UL transmission with the indicated one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions. The method may further include the device executing the first UL transmission according to the scheduling.

[0012] It is worth noting that, although the content described herein may be set against the backdrop of certain wireless access technologies, networks, and network topologies, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, 5G, New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT) and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), B5G, and 6G, the proposed concepts, schemes, and any variations / derivatives thereof can be implemented, used, and realized in 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

[0013] The accompanying drawings are included in this specification to further understand this disclosure and form part of this disclosure. The drawings illustrate embodiments of this disclosure and, together with the specification, serve 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 for clarity in illustrating the concepts of this disclosure.

[0014] Figure 1The illustration depicts example scenarios of communication environments in which various solutions and schemes can be implemented according to this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2 The illustration depicts an example scenario of a user equipment (UE) processing timeline according to an implementation of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 3 The illustration depicts an example scenario of network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration under a first scheme, according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 4 For illustrative purposes, an example scenario of network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration under the fifth scheme is described according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates an example communication system according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 The flowchart illustrates an example flow of an implementation based on this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 7 The flowchart illustrates another example flow of an implementation according to this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matter are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matter, which 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 set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided to make the description of this disclosure exhaustive and complete, and to fully communicate 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.

[0022] Overview

[0023] According to embodiments of this disclosure, various techniques, methods, schemes, and / or solutions related to network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration in mobile communications are involved. According to this disclosure, multiple possible solutions can be implemented individually or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of them may be implemented in some combination.

[0024] To alleviate the burden on User Equipment (UE) in arbitration evaluation, network nodes (e.g., base stations, BS) that issue physical scheduling (e.g., dynamic scheduling and / or scheduling by higher layers) to the UE can also calculate the UL arbitration result before any new scheduling instructions. In principle, the BS can share the arbitration result with the UE. However, in 5G New Radio (NR), this solution is hindered by two factors: downlink control information (DCI) signaling cost and DCI signaling reliability. With the development of mobile communication technology, new enhanced DCI designs such as "two-stage DCI" have been introduced, capable of handling more information load and seamlessly managing complex cross-carrier component (CC) scheduling cases (also known as "discrete cells"), which are beyond the scope of this disclosure. By introducing new enhanced DCI designs, pathways for network-assisted UL arbitration are opened.

[0025] In light of the foregoing, this disclosure is inspired by, but not limited to, two-phase DCI, and proposes several schemes related to network-assisted UL arbitration in mobile communications. According to some schemes of this disclosure, when a network node sends downlink (DL) control signaling to a UE to dynamically schedule UL transmissions performed by the UE, if the UL transmission overlaps temporally with at least one other UL transmission previously configured or triggered by the same UE, the DL control signaling can explicitly indicate the network's arbitration result in the scheduling information, i.e., which overlapping transmissions need to be discarded or multiplexed with the currently scheduled transmission. Furthermore, according to some schemes of this disclosure, temporary or permanent disabling of semi-persistent (SP) allocations can also be indicated via the same DL control signaling. Therefore, by applying the schemes proposed in this disclosure, the burden on the UE in all or most arbitration evaluations can be alleviated by the arbitration result provided by the network, and UL arbitration and / or DL-UL collision handling / arbitration can be simplified by enhancing SP scheduling to limit allowed UL arbitration cases.

[0026] Figure 1Example scenario 100 of a communication environment is illustrated, in which various solutions and schemes of this disclosure can be implemented. Scenario 100 involves UE 110 communicating wirelessly with network 120 (e.g., a wireless network comprising a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and a terrestrial network (TN)) through terrestrial network node 122 (e.g., a base station, such as an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation Node B (gNB), a transmission / reception point (TRP), or a gateway) and / or non-terrestrial network node 124 (e.g., a satellite). For example, terrestrial network node 122 and / or non-terrestrial network node 124 can form an NTN / TN serving cell for wireless communication with UE 110. In this communication environment, UE 110, network 120, and terrestrial network node 122 and / or non-terrestrial network node 124 can implement various schemes related to network-assisted UL arbitration in mobile communications as described below. It is worth noting that although various proposed solutions may be described separately below, in actual implementation, some or all of the proposed solutions may be used in combination or implemented in other ways. Of course, each proposed solution may also be used or implemented individually or separately.

[0027] According to the first scheme proposed in this disclosure, when a network node dynamically schedules (e.g., via DL control signaling) a UL transmission performed by a UE, if the UL transmission overlaps in time with at least one other UL transmission previously configured or triggered by the same UE, the scheduling information can explicitly inform the UE which overlapping transmissions need to be discarded or multiplexed with the currently scheduled transmission. In other words, when the network node makes a decision involving UL arbitration, it shares the result of the UL arbitration with the UE, so that the UE does not need to decide all or most of the UL arbitration on its own.

[0028] In some implementations, for the sake of UE feasibility and signaling simplicity, the supported arbitration cases can be limited to certain arbitration cases, such as those defined in the current (e.g., version 18) 3GPP 5G NR specification, so that the UE can anticipate the network's reuse or priority processing cases and perform the corresponding operations. For example, overlaps such as PUCCH-PUCCH, PUCCH-PUSCH, PUCCH-SRS, and PUSCH-SRS, and their corresponding procedures are described in the current 3GPP 5GNR specification.

[0029] In some implementations, the UE can determine the overlap between currently scheduled and previously scheduled / triggered UL transmissions and perform UL arbitration itself only for certain arbitration cases. For example, if the start time of the currently scheduled UL transmission is later than a newly introduced UE processing timeline N4 (greater than N2) for this purpose (which starts after the last symbol of the scheduling information), the UE can additionally or optionally perform UL arbitration itself. More specifically, as... Figure 2 As shown, UL arbitration occurs after receiving DL control signaling and before a specific time period (i.e., N4) prior to the start of the currently scheduled UL transmission, where this specific time period is longer than the necessary time period (i.e., N2) required for the UE to prepare for the currently scheduled UL transmission. For example, a network node may only indicate the arbitration result for a single discrete cell, while the UE may need to perform UL arbitration between multiple discrete cells. For example, arbitration cases involving Service Request (SR) and / or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) (not triggered by DCI) can be handled by the UE.

[0030] Figure 3 An example scenario 300 of network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration under a first scheme according to an embodiment of this disclosure is illustrated. In step 301, a network node schedules a UL transmission (Tx) for a user equipment (UE), wherein the currently scheduled Tx overlaps in time with one or more UL Txes previously configured for or triggered by the UE. Next, in step 302, the network node performs arbitration between the currently scheduled UL Tx and the overlapping UL Txes to determine an arbitration result, which indicates which overlapping UL Txes will be discarded or multiplexed with the currently scheduled UL Tx. Subsequently, in step 303, the network node sends downlink (DL) control signaling to the UE, wherein the DL control signaling contains scheduling information for the currently scheduled Tx and the arbitration result. In step 304, the UE, based on the arbitration result, either prioritizes the currently scheduled UL Tx relative to the indicated one or more overlapping UL Txes, or multiplexes the currently scheduled UL Tx with the indicated one or more overlapping UL Txes. Then, in step 305, the UE executes the currently scheduled UL Tx according to the scheduling information.

[0031] In some implementations, DL control signaling can be transmitted via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). In other implementations, DL control signaling can be transmitted via the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). For example, DL control signaling can be transmitted in the second-stage downlink control information (DCI) of a discrete cell.

[0032] In some implementations, the UE does not expect to receive subsequent DL control signaling to modify or override the arbitration result provided in the current DL control signaling. That is, the arbitration result provided in the DL control signaling is immutable.

[0033] In some implementations, the arbitration result provided in the current DL control signaling can be cancelled by subsequent DL control signaling. That is, the arbitration result provided in the DL control signaling is not immutable. The scheduling information and arbitration result in the current DL control signaling can be referenced later by an index pointing to the monitoring timing or by an index identifying the current DCI (e.g., by introducing a new DCI field to carry the index).

[0034] In some implementations, DL control signaling (e.g., (two-stage) DCI) may also indicate the outcome of arbitration between different discrete cells (e.g., cross-band cells).

[0035] In some implementations, DL control signaling (e.g., (two-stage) DCI) may also indicate the outcome of collision processing between the DL and UL.

[0036] In some implementations, the arbitration status and signaling may be subject to different limitations as follows. The currently scheduled UL Tx may include at least one of the following: UL Dynamic Grant (DG), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information for the DL Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) used for dynamic scheduling, Downlink Control Information (DCI) triggering Aperiodic Sounding Reference Signal (A-SRS) or Semi-Persistent (SP)-SRS, Aperiodic Channel State Information (A-CSI) report or SP-CSI report, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) triggered by a command. The UL dynamic scheduling information is supplemented by new signaling as described in the first scheme of this disclosure for discarding or reusing previously scheduled channels / signals, and may reference their dynamic DCI, or, in the case of semi-static scheduling, reference the ID configured by a higher layer. UL semi-static configuration may include at least one of the following: periodic sounding reference signal (P-SRS), periodic channel state information (P-CSI) reporting, semi-persistent (SP)-SRS, SP-CSI reporting not triggered by downlink control information (DCI), configuration grant (CG), and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). In the case where DL-UL arbitration is also signaled, DL semi-static configuration may include at least one of the following: semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), measurement signals, synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing.

[0037] According to the second embodiment of this disclosure, the DL control signaling may include at least one field indicating which Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) configuration is downgraded. In some embodiments, a field value of zero may indicate that no SRS is dropped, and the field width is ceil(log(N+1) / log(2)) bits, where N is the number of all (or some) configured SRS resource sets (based on SRS-ResourceSetId order). In some embodiments, when an SRS is downgraded, the UE drops only overlapping symbols. Alternatively, when an SRS is downgraded, the UE drops all SRS symbols. In some embodiments, when an SRS carrier handover involves cancellation, the UE cancels the entire SRS carrier handover. Alternatively, when an SRS carrier handover involves cancellation, the UE cancels only the SRS symbols required to eliminate overlap (including the handover gap). In some embodiments, if an SRS is dropped, UL physical resources may be scheduled by the same DCI for subsequent transmissions.

[0038] According to the third embodiment of this disclosure, the DL control signaling may include at least one field indicating which Channel State Information (CSI) report configuration is discarded or reused. In some embodiments, a field value of zero indicates that no CSI report is discarded or reused, and the field has a bit width of ceil(log(N+1) / log(2)) bits, where N is the number of all (or some) configured CSI reports (based on the order of CSI-ReportConfigId). In some embodiments, this field may allow explicit disabling of multiple CSI resources, for example, by appending a separate bit to the field, or by adding N to the field definition (to apply the sorting or indexing of multiple CSI resources). In some embodiments, if a CSI report is discarded, UL physical resources may be scheduled by the same DCI for subsequent transmissions.

[0039] According to the fourth embodiment of this disclosure, DL control signaling may include at least one field indicating that the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) needs to be discarded or delayed. In some embodiments, the PUCCH (or PUSCH) carrying the HARQ codebook is identified by the PUCCH time slot and a possible priority order. In some embodiments, the HARQ codebook is subsequently transmitted as a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Unit (CE). In some embodiments, UL physical resources may be scheduled for the delayed HARQ codebook.

[0040] According to the fifth aspect of this disclosure, the semi-persistent allocation of the same DL control signaling (e.g., DCI) can be temporarily or permanently disabled by dynamically allocating the same signaling segment with new conflicts (i.e., time overlaps). The semi-persistent channel may include at least one of the following: Semi-persistent Scheduling (SPS) Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Configuration Grant (CG), Semi-persistent (SP)-SRS, SP-CSI Reporting, and Multi-CSI Resources. In some implementations, the bundling of semi-static allocations may be supported for the purpose of joint enable / disable.

[0041] Figure 4 An example scenario 400 of network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration is illustrated under a fifth proposed scheme according to this disclosure. In step 401, a network node schedules an uplink transmission (Tx) for a user equipment (UE), wherein the currently scheduled Tx overlaps in time with one or more downlink receptions (DL Rx) involving a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) previously configured for or triggered by the UE. Next, in step 402, the network node performs arbitration between the currently scheduled UL Tx and the overlapping DL Rx to determine an arbitration result that instructs the UE to disable SPS (i.e., this instruction can be broadly interpreted as indicating which / all overlapping DL Rx will be discarded / disabled). Subsequently, in step 403, the network node sends DL control signaling to the UE, wherein the DL control signaling contains scheduling information for the currently scheduled Tx and the arbitration result (disabling SPS). In step 404, the UE prioritizes the currently scheduled UL Tx relative to the overlapping DL Rx based on the arbitration result. Then, in step 405, the UE executes the currently scheduled UL Tx according to the scheduling information.

[0042] Exemplary Implementation

[0043] Figure 5 An example communication system 500 according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown, including an example communication device 510 and an example network device 520. The communication device 510 and the network device 520 are capable of performing various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes and methods related to network-assisted UL arbitration in mobile communications described herein, including the above-described scenarios / schemes and processes 600 and 700 described below.

[0044] Communication device 510 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a UE (User Equipment), such as a portable or mobile device, wearable device, wireless communication device, or computing device. For example, communication device 510 may be implemented in a smartphone, smartwatch, personal digital assistant, electronic control unit (ECU) in a vehicle, digital camera, or computing device (such as a tablet, laptop, or notebook computer). Communication device 510 may also be part of a machine-type device, which may be an Internet of Things (IoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), or Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) UE, such as a non-movable or fixed device, home device, roadside unit (RSU), wired communication device, or computing device. For example, communication device 510 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, smart refrigerator, smart door lock, wireless speaker, or home control center. Alternatively, communication device 510 may be implemented in the form of 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 510 may include... Figure 5 The components shown include at least some components, such as processor 512. Communication device 510 may also include one or more other components unrelated to the proposed solutions of this disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device, and / or user interface device); therefore, such components of communication device 510 are not included in... Figure 5 This is shown in the text and not described below, in order to simplify and refine the content.

[0045] Network device 520 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a network node, such as a satellite, base station (BS), cell, router, or gateway for a wireless network (e.g., 4G, 5G, or 6G network). For example, network device 520 may be implemented in an eNB / gNB / TRP in a satellite or 4G / 5G / 6G, NR, IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT network. Alternatively, network device 520 may be implemented as one or more IC chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC or CISC processors. Network device 520 may include... Figure 5 The network device 520 may include at least some of the components shown, such as processor 522. The network device 520 may also include one or more other components (e.g., internal power supply, display device, and / or user interface device) unrelated to the proposed solutions of this disclosure; therefore, such components of the network device 520 are not included in... Figure 5 This is shown in the text and not described below, in order to simplify and refine the content.

[0046] In one aspect, each of processors 512 and 522 may be implemented as one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to processors 512 and 522, each of processors 512 and 522 may comprise multiple processors in some embodiments and a single processor in others, according to embodiments of this disclosure. In another aspect, each of processors 512 and 522 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 variable capacitors, these electronic components being configured and arranged to achieve a particular purpose according to the requirements of this disclosure. In other words, in at least some embodiments, each of processors 512 and 522 is a dedicated machine specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform specific tasks in devices (e.g., represented by communication device 510) and network nodes (e.g., represented by network device 520), including network-assisted UL arbitration, according to various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0047] In some embodiments, the communication device 510 may further include a transceiver 516 connected to the processor 512, capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the transceiver 516 is capable of wireless communication with wireless networks of different types of UEs and / or different Radio Access Technologies (RATs). In some embodiments, the transceiver 516 may be equipped with multiple antenna ports (not shown), such as four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 516 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication. In some embodiments, the network device 520 may further include a transceiver 526 connected to the processor 522. The transceiver 526 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the transceiver 526 is capable of wireless communication with different types of UEs of different RATs. In some embodiments, the transceiver 526 may be equipped with multiple antenna ports (not shown), such as four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 526 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for MIMO wireless communication.

[0048] In some embodiments, the communication device 510 may further include a memory 514 connected to and accessible by the processor 512 for storing data. In some embodiments, the network device 520 may further include a memory 524 connected to and accessible by the processor 522 for storing data. Each of the memories 514 and 524 may include a random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and / or zero-capacitance RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, each of the memories 514 and 524 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, each of the memories 514 and 524 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.

[0049] Each of the communication device 510 and the network device 520 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other according to various proposed schemes of this disclosure. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, the capabilities of the communication device 510 as a user equipment (UE) and the network device 520 as a network node are described below, in conjunction with procedures 600 and 700.

[0050] Explanatory process

[0051] Figure 6 The example illustrates an example flow 600 under the embodiments of this disclosure. Flow 600 can be an example implementation of the above scenario / solution, whether partially or entirely, for network-assisted uplink (UL) arbitration in mobile communications. Flow 600 can represent one aspect of the functional implementation of network device 520. Flow 600 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions as shown in blocks 610 to 630. Although shown in discrete blocks, the individual blocks of flow 600 can be divided into more blocks, merged into fewer blocks, or omitted according to the desired implementation. Furthermore, the individual blocks of flow 600 can be arranged according to... Figure 6 The process can be executed in the order shown, or in a different order. Process 600 can be implemented by network device 520 or any variant thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 600 is described below in conjunction with communication device 510 as a UE and network device 520 as a network node (e.g., base station (BS)). Process 600 may begin at block 610.

[0052] In block 610, process 600 may involve the processor 522 of network device 520 determining a schedule for a first UL transmission for communication device 510, the schedule overlapping in time with one or more second UL transmissions or downlink (DL) receptions configured for or triggered by communication device 510. Process 600 may continue from block 610 to block 620.

[0053] In block 620, process 600 may involve processor 522 determining an arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions will be discarded, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission. Process 600 may continue from block 620 to block 630.

[0054] In block 630, process 600 may involve processor 522 sending a first DL control signaling to communication device 510 via transceiver 526, wherein the first DL control signaling indicates the scheduling of the first UL transmission and includes the arbitration result.

[0055] In some implementations, the first DL control signaling may be transmitted via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0056] In some implementations, process 600 may also involve processor 522 sending first-stage downlink control information (DCI) to communication device 510 via transceiver 526, wherein the first-stage DCI indicates scheduling information of a second-stage DCI containing the first DL control signaling.

[0057] In some embodiments, process 600 may also involve processor 522 determining not to send a second DL control signaling to communication device 510, wherein the second DL control signaling includes another arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions will be discarded, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission. Alternatively, in some embodiments, process 600 may also involve processor 522 sending the second DL control signaling to communication device 510 via transceiver 526.

[0058] In some implementations, the arbitration result may indicate which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission only in a single discrete cell, or indicate which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission across multiple discrete cells.

[0059] In some implementations, the first UL transmission may include at least one of the following: (i) UL dynamic grant (DG); (ii) physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information for dynamically scheduled DL physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); (iii) downlink control information (DCI) triggering aperiodic sounding reference signal (A-SRS) or semi-persistent (SP)-SRS; (iv) aperiodic channel state information (A-CSI) report or SP-CSI report; and (v) physical random access channel (PRACH) triggered by a command.

[0060] In some implementations, the second UL transmission may include at least one of the following: (i) periodic sounding reference signal (P-SRS); (ii) periodic channel state information (P-CSI) report; (iii) semi-persistent (SP)-SRS; (iv) SP-CSI report not triggered by downlink control information (DCI); (v) configuration grant (CG); and (vi) physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS).

[0061] In some implementations, the second DL reception may include at least one of the following: (i) a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); (ii) a measurement signal; (iii) a synchronization signal block (SSB); and (iv) a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing.

[0062] In some implementations, the arbitration result may include at least one of the following: (i) a field indicating which sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration will be de-prioritized; (ii) a field indicating which channel state information (CSI) report configuration will be discarded or reused; and (iii) a field indicating which physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) will be discarded or delayed.

[0063] In some implementations, the second DL reception is associated with a semi-persistent allocation if the arbitration result indicates that one or more of the second DL receptions will be disabled.

[0064] Figure 7The example illustrates an example flow 700 under the embodiments of this disclosure. Flow 700 can be an example implementation of the above-described scenario / solution, whether partially or entirely, for network-assisted UL arbitration in mobile communications. Flow 700 can represent one aspect of the functional implementation of communication device 510. Flow 700 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions as shown in blocks 710 to 730. Although shown in discrete blocks, the individual blocks of flow 700 can be divided into more blocks, merged into fewer blocks, or omitted according to the desired implementation. Furthermore, the individual blocks of flow 700 can be arranged according to... Figure 7 The process can be executed in the order shown, or in a different order. Process 700 can be implemented by communication device 510 or any applicable UE or machine type device. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 700 is described below in conjunction with communication device 510 as a UE and network device 520 as a network node (e.g., base station (BS)). Process 700 may begin at block 710.

[0065] In block 710, process 700 may include the processor 512 of communication device 510 receiving first downlink (DL) control signaling from network device 520 via transceiver 516, wherein the first DL control signaling indicates the scheduling of a first uplink (UL) transmission, the scheduling overlapping in time with one or more second UL transmissions or downlink (DL) receptions configured for or triggered by communication device 510, and includes an arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions will be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission. Process 700 may continue from block 710 to block 720.

[0066] In block 720, process 700 may include processor 512 prioritizing the first UL transmission relative to one or more indicated second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions based on an arbitration result, or multiplexing the first UL transmission with one or more indicated second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions. Process 700 may continue from block 720 to block 730.

[0067] In block 730, process 700 may include processor 512 executing the first UL transmission via transceiver 516 according to the schedule.

[0068] In some implementations, prioritizing the first UL transmission relative to one or more indicated second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions based on the arbitration result may include: determining not to perform one or more indicated second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions if the arbitration result indicates that one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions will be discarded or disabled.

[0069] In some implementations, process 700 may further include processor 512 performing UL arbitration to determine, without using the arbitration result, which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions will be discarded or multiplexed with the first UL transmission.

[0070] In some implementations, the UL arbitration may be performed at at least one of the following events: (i) the UL arbitration is performed after the first DL control signaling is received and before a specific time period before the first UL transmission begins, wherein the time period is longer than the necessary time period required for the communication device 510 to prepare the first UL transmission; (ii) the arbitration result indicates only which one or more of the second UL transmissions in a single discrete cell will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission, wherein the UL arbitration is used to determine which one or more of the second UL transmissions will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission among multiple discrete cells; and (iii) one or more of the second UL transmissions include a service request or a PRACH signal.

[0071] In some implementations, the first DL control signaling may be received via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0072] In some implementations, process 700 may further include processor 512 receiving first-stage downlink control information (DCI) from network device 520 via transceiver 516, wherein the first-stage DCI indicates scheduling information of a second-stage DCI containing the first DL control signaling.

[0073] In some implementations, process 700 may further include processor 512 receiving a second DL control signaling from network device 520 via transceiver 516, wherein the second DL control signaling includes another arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions will be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission, and the other arbitration result overriding the arbitration result.

[0074] In some implementations, the arbitration result may indicate which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission only in a single discrete cell, or indicate which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission across multiple discrete cells.

[0075] In some implementations, the first UL transmission may include at least one of the following: (i) UL dynamic grant (DG); (ii) physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information for dynamically scheduled DL physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); (iii) downlink control information (DCI) triggering aperiodic sounding reference signal (A-SRS) or semi-persistent (SP)-SRS; (iv) aperiodic channel state information (A-CSI) report or SP-CSI report; and (v) physical random access channel (PRACH) triggered by a command. The second UL transmission may include at least one of the following: (i) periodic sounding reference signal (P-SRS); (ii) periodic channel state information (P-CSI) report; (iii) semi-persistent (SP)-SRS; (iv) SP-CSI report not triggered by downlink control information (DCI); (v) configuration grant (CG); and (vi) physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). The second DL reception may include at least one of the following: (i) semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); (ii) measurement signal; (iii) synchronization signal block (SSB); and (iv) physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing.

[0076] In some implementations, the arbitration result may include at least one of the following: (i) a field indicating which sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration will be de-prioritized; (ii) a field indicating which channel state information (CSI) report configuration will be discarded or reused; and (iii) a field indicating which physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) will be discarded or delayed.

[0077] Additional notes

[0078] The topics described herein sometimes demonstrate that different components are 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.

[0079] Furthermore, regarding the use of almost all plural and / or singular terms in this document, those skilled in the art can appropriately convert plural to singular and / or singular to plural depending on the context and / or application. For clarity, various singular / plural permutations and combinations are explicitly listed herein.

[0080] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that terms commonly used herein, particularly in appended claims, such as the body portion of appended claims, are generally considered "open-ended" terms. For example, the word "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," and "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," etc. Those skilled in the art will also further understand that if a particular quantity introduced in a claim is intentional, that intention will be explicitly stated in the claim; if no such statement is made, then that intention does not exist. For example, for ease of understanding, the following appended claims may contain the use of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce the content of the claim. However, the use of such phrases should not be interpreted as limiting any particular claim containing that content to containing only one instance of that content when the content of the claim is introduced by the indefinite article "a" or "an," even if the same claim contains both the introductory phrase "one or more" or "at least one" and the indefinite article such as "a," for example, "a" should be interpreted as "at least one" or "one or more"; the same applies to definite articles used to introduce the content of the claim. Furthermore, even if a specific number of the introduced elements is explicitly stated in the claims, those skilled in the art will recognize that such a statement should be interpreted as at least the stated number. For example, stating "two elements" alone, without further modification, means at least two elements, or two or more elements. Additionally, when using conventions such as "at least one A, B, and C," such structures should generally be interpreted in the way that those skilled in the art understand the convention. 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. Similarly, when using conventions such as "at least one A, B, or C," such structures should generally be interpreted in the way that those skilled in the art understand the convention. 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. 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 only one term, any two terms, or all of the terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibility of including “A” or “B” or “A and B”.

[0081] As can be seen from the foregoing, various embodiments of this disclosure have been described herein for illustrative purposes, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Therefore, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, and their true scope and spirit are indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: The processor of the network node determines the scheduling for the first uplink (UL) transmission of the device, which overlaps in time with one or more second UL transmissions or downlink (DL) receptions configured for or triggered by the device. The processor determines the arbitration result, which indicates which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions will be discarded, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission; and The processor sends a first DL control signaling to the device, wherein the first DL control signaling indicates the scheduling of the first UL transmission and includes the arbitration result.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first DL control signaling is transmitted via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The processor sends a first-stage downlink control information (DCI) to the device, wherein the first-stage DCI indicates scheduling information of the second-stage DCI containing the first DL control signaling.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The processor determines not to send a second DL control signaling to the device, wherein the second DL control signaling includes another arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions will be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission; or The processor sends the second DL control signaling to the device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the arbitration result indicates which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions in a single discrete cell will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission, or indicates which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions in multiple discrete cells will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first UL transmission comprises at least one of the following: UL dynamic grant (DG); The physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carries hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information for dynamic scheduling of the DL physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Downlink control information (DCI) that triggers either an aperiodic-sounding reference signal (A-SRS) or a semi-persistent (SP)-SRS. Aperiodic-channel state information (A-CSI) reports or SP-CSI reports; and Physical random access channel (PRACH) triggered by a command.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second UL transmission comprises at least one of the following: Periodic-sounding reference signal (P-SRS); Periodic-channel state information (P-CSI) reports; Semi-persistent (SP) - SRS; SP-CSI reports not triggered by Downlink Control Information (DCI); Configured grant (CG); and The Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) carries Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) for Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second DL receiving comprises at least one of the following: Semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) and Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH); Measure the signal; Synchronization signal block (SSB); and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the arbitration result comprises at least one of the following: A field indicating which probe reference signal (SRS) configuration will be given lower priority; A field indicating which Channel State Information (CSI) report configuration will be discarded or reused; and A field indicating which physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) will be dropped or delayed.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the second DL reception is associated with a semi-persistent allocation if the arbitration result indicates which one or more of the one or more second DL receptions will be disabled.

11. A method comprising: The device's processor receives a first downlink (DL) control signaling from a network node, wherein the first DL control signaling indicates the scheduling of a first uplink (UL) transmission, the scheduling overlapping in time with one or more second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions configured for or triggered by the device, and the first DL control signaling includes an arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions will be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission; The processor, based on the arbitration result, either prioritizes the first UL transmission relative to one or more indicated second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions, or multiplexes the first UL transmission with one or more indicated second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions; and The processor executes the first UL transmission according to the schedule.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein prioritizing the first UL transmission relative to one or more indicated second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions based on the arbitration result comprises: If the arbitration result indicates that one or more of the second UL transmissions or one or more DL receptions will be discarded or disabled, it is determined that the indicated one or more of the second UL transmissions or DL ​​receptions will not be performed.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: The processor performs UL arbitration to determine, without using the arbitration result, which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions will be discarded or multiplexed with the first UL transmission.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the UL arbitration is performed in at least one of the following events: The timing of the UL arbitration is after receiving the first DL control signaling and before a specific time period before the start of the first UL transmission, wherein the specific time period is longer than a necessary time period required for the device to prepare for the first UL transmission. The arbitration result indicates only which one or more of the second UL transmissions in a single discrete cell will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission, wherein the UL arbitration is used to determine which one or more of the second UL transmissions will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission across multiple discrete cells; and One or more of the second UL transmissions include a service request or a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) signal.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first DL control signaling is received via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising: The processor receives first-stage downlink control information (DCI) from the network node, wherein the first-stage DCI indicates scheduling information of the second-stage DCI containing the first DL control signaling.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising: The processor receives a second DL control signaling from the network node, wherein the second DL control signaling includes another arbitration result, the other arbitration result indicating which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions or the one or more DL receptions will be dropped, disabled, or multiplexed with the first UL transmission; as well as The processor overrides the arbitration result with the other arbitration result.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the arbitration result indicates which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions in a single discrete cell will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission, or indicates which one or more of the one or more second UL transmissions in multiple discrete cells will be dropped or multiplexed with the first UL transmission.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the first UL transmission comprises at least one of the following: UL Dynamic Licensing (DG); Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information for the DL physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) used for dynamic scheduling; Trigger downlink control information (DCI) for aperiodic sounding reference signal (A-SRS) or semi-persistent (SP)-SRS; Aperiodic Channel State Information (A-CSI) report or SP-CSI report; and Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) triggered by a command; and The second UL transmission includes at least one of the following: Periodic detection reference signal (periodic-SRS, P-SRS); Periodic Channel State Information (P-CSI) Reporting; Semi-Persistent (SP) - SRS; SP-CSI reports not triggered by Downlink Control Information (DCI); Configured grant (CG); and The physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carries the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) for Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS); and The second DL receiver includes at least one of the following: Semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) Physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); Measure the signal; Synchronization Signal Block (SSB); and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the arbitration result comprises at least one of the following: A field indicating which probe reference signal (SRS) configuration will be given lower priority; A field indicating which Channel State Information (CSI) report configuration will be discarded or reused; and A field indicating which physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) will be dropped or delayed.

Images