Media access control element indication

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable storage media for resource allocation. In one method, a first apparatus determines whether a medium access control (MAC) element or a portion of a MAC element is to be included in a physical uplink shared channel transmission. The first apparatus generates an indication based on the determination, the indication indicating at least whether the MAC element or the portion of the MAC element is to be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission. The first apparatus transmits the indication to a second apparatus, the indication indicating at least whether the MAC element or the portion of the MAC element is to be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

Description

Cross-reference of related applications

[0001] This application claims priority to and enjoys the benefits of Finnish Application No. 20245237, filed on February 26, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] Various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are generally related to the telecommunications field, and more particularly to apparatus, methods, and computer-readable storage media for indicating media access control (MAC) elements. Background Technology

[0003] Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) is specifically configured for User Equipment (UE) in Radio Resource Control (RRC). However, CSI-RS can be shared by multiple UEs, meaning more than one UE can be configured to receive the same Resource Elements (REs). Typically, to conserve downlink (DL) resources, the gNodeB (gNB) may attempt to use cell-specific or group-specific CSI-RS resources. The worst-case scenario for DL ​​overhead is UE-specific CSI-RS, in which case the DL overhead increases linearly with the number of UEs in the cell. Furthermore, in the time domain within a time slot, CSI-RS resources can begin at any Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the time slot and span 1, 2, or 4 OFDM symbols depending on the number of configured ports. UE CSI measurement reporting can also be performed periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically, referred to as report types in NR reporting configurations; even event-based CSI (or beam) reporting is possible. However, certain limitations remain. Therefore, CSI reporting warrants further investigation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to at least: determine whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion of a MAC element should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHC) transmission; generate an indication based on the determination, the indication at least indicating whether the MAC element or a portion of a MAC element should be included in the PHC transmission; and send an indication to a second apparatus, the indication at least indicating whether the MAC element or a portion of a MAC element should be included in the PHC transmission.

[0005] In a second aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to at least: receive an indication from a first apparatus indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion of a MAC element should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

[0006] In a third aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: determining whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHC) transmission; generating an indication based on the determination, the indication at least indicating whether the MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the PHC transmission; and sending the indication to a second means, the indication at least indicating whether the MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the PHC transmission.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving an indication from a first means indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion of a MAC element should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

[0008] In a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: components for determining whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHC) transmission; components for generating an indication based on the determination, the indication at least indicating whether the MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the PHC transmission; and components for transmitting the indication to a second apparatus, the indication at least indicating whether the MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the PHC transmission.

[0009] In a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes components for receiving an indication from a first apparatus, the indication indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion of a MAC element should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

[0010] In a seventh aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to a third or fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the summary portion is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 An example communication environment in which example embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented is shown; Figure 2 The signaling flow indicated by MAC elements according to some example embodiments of this disclosure is shown; Figure 3A and 3B An example of the principle of channel state information (CSI) mapping on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and related indications of whether CSI / uplink control information (UCI) is mapped on the PUSCH are shown; Figure 4 An example MAC element indication process is shown according to some example embodiments of this disclosure; Figure 5 An example MAC element indication process according to some example embodiments of this disclosure is shown; and Figure 6 A simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0013] In all the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0015] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0016] References to "an embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., in this disclosure indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment is required to include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is claimed that, whether explicitly described or not, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to influence such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments.

[0017] It should be understood that although terms such as "first," "second," etc., preceding nouns (or similar terms) may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another, and they do not restrict the order of the nouns (or similar terms). For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0018] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where a list of two or more elements is combined with “and” or “or”, means at least one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0019] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the execution step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0020] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “possessing,” “containing,” and / or “covering” as used herein specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0021] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one, more, or all of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (e.g., implementation using only analog and / or digital circuits); and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of (multiple) analog hardware circuits and / or (multiple) digital hardware circuits with software / firmware; and (ii) Any or all portions of a software-based hardware processor (including a software-based digital signal processor) and a software-based memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile device, computing device, or server to perform various functions, and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g. firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation does not require the software.

[0022] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term in this application (including in any claim). As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit" also covers implementations of hardware circuitry or processors (or processors in general) and their accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuit" also covers, for example and if applicable to a particular claim element, baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0023] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as 6G, New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to 1G, 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G, 6G communication protocols and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that embody the future types of this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the aforementioned systems.

[0024] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communications network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femtosecond or picosecond), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network device (such as satellite network device, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft network device, etc. In some example embodiments, the Radio Access Network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at the IAB donor node. An IAB node includes: a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that is similar to a UE relative to its parent node; and a DU portion of the IAB node that is similar to a base station relative to the next-hop IAB node.

[0025] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback facilities, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless client equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal equipment may also correspond to the mobile termination (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment," "communication equipment," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0026] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, code-domain resources, or any other combination of time-domain, frequency-domain, spatial-domain, and / or code-domain resources capable of enabling communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated otherwise, resources in both the frequency and time domains are used as examples of transmission resources to describe some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains. As used herein, the term “Media Access Control (MAC) element” can refer to a structure capable of carrying control information. As used herein, the term “Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission” can refer to a transmission on the PUSCH.

[0027] CSI-RS has many functions in the New Radio (NR) interface, including, for example, CSI-RS for DL ​​CSI acquisition, CSI-RS for beam management (BM) (based on Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP)), CSI-RS for tracking (TRS), and UL CSI acquisition for reciprocity-based UL precoding. In some applications (such as CSI-RS for BM), CSI-RSs are spatially beamshaped into different directions.

[0028] Typically, each component carrier (CC) can be configured with up to 48 report configurations (CSI-ReportConfig) for the UE, and each bandwidth portion (BWP) can be configured with 4 report configurations. A CSI resource configuration within a report configuration can be configured with up to 16 resource sets (aperiodic CSI) or 1 resource set (other cases).

[0029] Each CSI resource set may include up to 64 non-zero power CSI-RS (NZP CSI-RS) resources, and an NZP-CSI-RS resource may have up to 32 antenna ports. For CSI acquisition, a codebook type is also configured for the UE. Given a channel measured on a CSI-RS resource, the UE can select a preferred codeword from a specified codebook, namely the precoding matrix indicator (PMI), as well as a channel quality indicator (CQI) and a rank indicator (RI). The UE can also be configured to measure several CSI-RS resources within a resource set (e.g., up to eight) and report the preferred resource, namely the CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), along with the corresponding PMI, CQI, and RI.

[0030] As mentioned above, certain limitations exist. Based on these limitations, UE periodic reporting can be based solely on the configured periodic CSI-RS resource set, UE semi-persistent reporting can be based on both the configured periodic and semi-persistent CSI-RS resource sets, and UE aperiodic reporting can be based on full-periodic, semi-persistent, and aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets. In other words, periodic CSI-RS resources can be used to generate any report type; semi-persistent CSI-RS resources can be used to generate both semi-persistent and aperiodic CSI reports; and aperiodic CSI-RS resources can only be used to generate aperiodic reports.

[0031] Regarding frequency granularity, the CSI reporting settings also define which portion of the bandwidth the CSI can correspond to, and the granularity the CSI can have in frequency. For this purpose, the BWP bandwidth is divided into multiple sub-bands for CSI reporting. Furthermore, except for the NZP CSI-RS resources used for interference measurements, all CSI-RS resources within a set are configured with the same density and the same number of antenna ports (also referred to as nrofPorts).

[0032] For semi-persistent and aperiodic CSI-RS, the actual triggering of CSI-RS transmissions is performed via MAC CE or downlink control information (DCI) per CSI-RS resource set. Furthermore, the resource set can be used as part of the UE reporting configuration describing what is to be measured. Accordingly, the UE will perform measurement reporting. Specifically, if the CSI-RS resource set is configured as "aperiodic" by RRC, the CSI-RS resource set configuration includes a time slot offset aperiodicTriggeringOffset, which defines the time interval between triggering the DCI and the CSI-RS transmission.

[0033] A single DCI (e.g., for multiple component carriers) can trigger up to 16 different reporting settings for aperiodic channel state information (A-CSI) reporting, while semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI) reporting can be triggered by a single DCI for only one reporting setting. Multiple DCIs are required to trigger several SP-CSI reports (each in a different time slot). Furthermore, periodic CSI (P-CSI) is configured with PUCCH resources for transmission, but if the PUCCH overlaps with the PUSCH in time, the periodic CSI can be transmitted on the PUSCH and the PUCCH is discarded. SP-CSI can be transmitted on the PUCCH when triggered by a MAC CE, or on the PUSCH when triggered by a DCI. A-CSI is transmitted on the PUSCH.

[0034] Regarding the content of the CSI report, for Type I and Type II CSI feedback on the PUSCH, the CSI report consists of Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 has a fixed payload size and is used to identify the number of information bits in Part 2. Part 1 may be sent in its entirety before Part 2. For Type I CSI feedback, Part 1 contains the RI (if reported), CRI (if reported), and the CQI of the first codeword. Part 2 contains the PMI (if reported), the layer indicator (LI, if reported), and the CQI of the second codeword when the RI (if reported) is greater than 4. For Type II CSI feedback, Part 1 contains the RI (if reported), the CQI, and an indication of the number of non-zero bandwidth amplitude coefficients per layer for Type II CSI (see subclause 5.2.2 of 38.214). The fields in Part 1 (including the RI (if reported), CQI, and the indication of the number of non-zero bandwidth amplitude coefficients per layer) are encoded separately. Part 2 contains the PMI for Type II CSI. Part 1 and Part 2 are encoded separately.

[0035] It should be noted that the precoding matrices in the Type I and Type II codebooks of version 15 (Rel-15) It can be described as being decomposed into two matrix factors, such that ,in It is a precoding matrix for long-term channels selected on a broadband basis, and It targets the short-term / frequency selectivity of the channel and can report by sub-band.

[0036] The objectives of the approved Rep. 19 (Rel-19) MIMO work item are as follows: An enhancement is specified to facilitate UE-initiated / event-driven beam management, thereby reducing overhead and / or latency, by leveraging the traditional CSI measurement and reporting configuration framework as much as possible, assuming a Uniform Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI); this enhancement targets Frequency Range 2 (FR2) and Transmit / Receive Points (TRPs) involved in intra-cell and inter-cell beam management. Multiple UL signaling contents (and multiple procedures as needed) for UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting facilitate fast beam switching. Considering the UE-initiated / event-driven nature of UL transmissions, a UL signaling medium / container primarily for beam reporting can be designed.

[0037] Furthermore, CSI can be specified to support up to 128 CSI-RS ports, targeting frequency range 1 (FR1). Type I codebook refinement can be based on an extension of the traditional codebook, supporting a total of up to 128 CSI-RS ports across all resources, assuming the use of traditional CSI-RS resources (up to 32 CSI-RS ports per resource). Type II codebook refinement can be based on an extension of the traditional codebook, supporting a total of up to 128 CSI-RS ports across all resources, assuming the use of traditional CSI-RS resources (up to 32 CSI-RS ports per resource), and without modifying any codebook parameters except for introducing additional values ​​for the port number codebook parameter. CSI reporting extensions based on (multiple) CRIs for hybrid beamforming (for ≥1 CRI, CQI / PMI / RI calculated per CRI) can support a total of up to 128 CSI-RS ports across all resources, with up to 32 CSI-RS ports per resource, without requiring the design of a new codebook.

[0038] Furthermore, enhanced UE reporting can be specified for Coherent Joint Transport (CJT) deployments under non-ideal synchronization and backhaul conditions, targeting FR1 for both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). Measurement and reporting of time misalignment and frequency / phase offset between TRPs can be specified, assuming a conventional CSI-RS design, and performed as independent aperiodic reporting on the PUSCH. Under the aforementioned Rel-19 objectives, and more generally for future versions (e.g., 5G or 6G), certain CSI content / reports can be pushed to the MAC layer as (multiple) MAC elements (e.g., (multiple) MAC CEs).

[0039] In some mechanisms, when Uplink Control Information (UCI) is scheduled or carried on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), the UCI and Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) data are encoded separately. Subsequently, the gNB can control the reliability of the UCI to some extent by using separate encoding and the amount of resources on the PUSCH allocated to UCI (e.g., through a BetaOffset factor). If some UCI / Channel State Information (CSI) is generated at the Media Access Control (MAC) layer as MAC Control Elements (MACCEs) and can be mapped to Transport Blocks (TBs) / MAC Protocol Data Units (MAC PDUs) of the UL-SCH, the reliability of the UCI may be reduced or lost compared to methods that encode the UCI and UL-SCH separately; for example, CSI MAC elements (such as CSI MAC CEs) may subsequently be mapped to TBs with Logical Channel (LCH) data, meaning the CSI and LCH data are not encoded separately.

[0040] Therefore, for (multiple) CSI MAC elements, and in cases where (multiple) CSI MAC elements are jointly encoded with LCH data or separately encoded with LCH data, the gNB may not know whether such (multiple) CSI MAC elements are mapped to UL-SCH TB / PUSCH for at least the following reasons.

[0041] One reason is that logical channel priority processing is performed at the MAC, which depends on how the priorities of (multiple) CSI MAC elements are defined. Due to limited PUSCH capacity, CSI MAC CEs may not be mapped to the TB due to this priority processing. Another reason relates to the nature of CSI, namely whether CSI reporting is event-driven or event-based (to be specified for NR in Rel-19). The gNB may not know whether the CSI report was triggered by the UE, and therefore the gNB may not know whether the CSI MAC element is included in the TB / whether it was sent on the PUSCH.

[0042] It should be noted that when CSI and UL-SCH data are jointly encoded on the PUSCH, the gNB will not know whether the TB contains (multiple) CSI MAC CEs before decoding the PUSCH; or, when CSI and UL-SCH data are encoded separately on the PUSCH, the gNB will not know whether (multiple) CSI MAC CEs are mapped or multiplexed on the PUSCH before decoding the PUSCH. This will affect the rate matching of the UL-SCH data on the PUSCH and the entire UL-SCH decoding process. Furthermore, it should be noted that in some cases, CSI content may be critical, so it is important to avoid impacting system performance.

[0043] Furthermore, in the case of event-based CSI reporting, the first potential PUSCH used to transmit the CSI report may be scheduled for UL-SCH TB retransmission, thereby preventing CSI from being multiplexed into TB / PUSCH and potentially causing undesirable delays in CSI transmission.

[0044] An example embodiment proposes a MAC element indication solution. In this solution, a first device, which may be a terminal device, determines whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHS) transmission. Based on this determination, the first device generates an indication that at least indicates whether the MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the PHS transmission. The first device then sends the indication, which may be a network device, to a second device, that at least indicates whether the MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the PHS transmission. In this way, the proposed solution also reduces the latency of (CSI) MAC element delivery.

[0045] The exemplary embodiments will now be discussed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. In the communication environment 100, a first device 110 and a second device 120 may be present.

[0047] In the following description, for illustrative purposes, some example embodiments are described in which the first device 110 operates as a terminal device (e.g., UE) and the second device 120 operates as a network device (e.g., gNB). However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in connection with the terminal device can be implemented at the network device or other devices, and the operations described in connection with the network device can be implemented at the terminal device or other devices.

[0048] It should be understood that, for the purpose of explanation, Figure 1 The number and type of devices are shown without implying any limitations. For example, communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices and / or any type of device. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may operate as a terminal device and the second device may operate as a network device.

[0049] In an embodiment where the first device 110 operates as a terminal device and the second device 120 operates as a network device, the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 may be referred to as an uplink (UL), and the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 may be referred to as a downlink (DL). In the UL, the second device 120 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver), and the first device 110 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter). In the DL, the second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver).

[0050] Communication in communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and sixth-generation (6G), wireless local area network communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11, and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Furthermore, communication may employ any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other currently known or future-developed technologies.

[0051] Some example embodiments of this disclosure provide a reporting solution. An indication may be applied to indicate whether a MAC element or a portion thereof is applicable to PUSCH transmission.

[0052] Now for reference Figure 2 This illustrates a signaling flow 200 indicated by MAC elements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Let's discuss signaling flow 200. Signaling flow 200 relates to a first device 110 and a second device 120. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may be used as a terminal device (e.g., a UE), and the second device 120 may be used as a network device (e.g., a gNB). Note that... Figure 2 The apparatus and the number of apparatus shown are merely examples and not limitations.

[0053] like Figure 2 As shown, the second device 120 can determine the configuration of an indication (210) that indicates whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in a PUSCH transmission. In some example embodiments, the MAC element may be a CSI MACCE and / or a UCI MAC CE. For example, if the first device 110 multiplexes / maps / includes UCI / CSI in a PUSCH transmission, the second device 120 can determine for which PUSCH(s) it wishes to receive the indication from the first device 110.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the configuration of the indication indicates whether the indication is sent on the physical uplink shared channel. For example, the gNB can configure / indicate whether the UE sends the indication along with the PUSCH transmission via RRC, MAC CE, and / or DCI. Alternatively or additionally, the configuration of the indication indicates whether the indication is sent on the physical uplink control channel.

[0055] Alternatively or additionally, the indicated configuration indicates restrictions on which physical uplink shared channels the indication is allowed to be transmitted. For example, restrictions can be configured for the UE on which PUSCH(s), or on which PUSCH(s)(s) correspond to which configuration(s)(s), such as configuration-authorized PUSCH(s), and the indication can be carried on these PUSCH(s).

[0056] Alternatively or additionally, the configuration of the indication needs to be specific to a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) timing or a set of PUSCH timings on which the indication is provided. For example, the UE can be configured to provide the indication in certain PUSCH timings (which may carry CSI, such as PUSCHs associated with periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic CSI reports). In some examples, the configuration of the indication may indicate multiple PUSCH timings associated with different carrier / BWP / CSI reporting configurations / CSI report types.

[0057] Alternatively or additionally, the configuration indication needs to be provided for which MAC element or which part of a MAC element. For example, the gNB can configure / indicate which MAC element(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)) the UE should consider the indication for via RRC, MAC CE, and / or DCI. Alternatively or additionally, the configuration indication needs to be provided for which type(s) of MAC element(s).

[0058] Alternatively or additionally, the configuration of the indication specifies the triggering conditions for sending the indication. For example, the triggering conditions may indicate that the indication can be sent if one or more events occur. As an example, for event-based CSI (or beamforming) reporting, the UE can be configured to provide the indication only when one or more events indicated by the triggering conditions occur and the corresponding CSI MAC element is allowed to be mapped onto the PUSCH. Alternatively, for UE-triggered CSI (or beamforming) reporting, the UE can be configured to provide the indication only when one or more events indicated by the triggering conditions occur and the corresponding CSI MAC element is allowed to be mapped onto the PUSCH.

[0059] Alternatively or additionally, the configuration of the indication specifies whether it is encoded separately or jointly with other UCIs. For example, the indication may be encoded separately or jointly with other UCIs(e.g., Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgment (ACK) and / or Scheduling Request (SR)). The gNB can configure / indicate whether the UE encodes the indication separately or jointly with other UCIs such as HARQ-ACK.

[0060] Alternatively or additionally, the configuration of the indicator may be dedicated to the resource offset of that indicator. For example, if the indicator is encoded separately from the UCI, a dedicated Beta offset may be configured for that indicator to determine the amount or number of PUSCH resources that the indicator can occupy. Alternatively, if the indicator and the UCI are co-encoded with other UCIs such as HARQ-ACK, a Beta offset for those other UCIs such as HARQ-ACK may be used.

[0061] In some example embodiments, the indicated configuration indicates that the indication is sent as (or associated with) one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling physical uplink shared channels using MAC elements, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration of authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type. For example, the indication can be configured / indicated by one or more of the following: by cell / CC (component carrier), by cell group, by bandwidth or bandwidth portion, by TRP (transmit / receive point) or by CORESET pool of PUSCH that schedules MAC elements, by CSI reporting configuration (or CSI reporting settings), by CSI trigger, by CSI reporting sub-configuration, by CSI-RS resource configuration, by PUSCH configuration, by CG-PUSCH configuration, or by CSI report type (e.g., SP-CSI report, periodic CSI report, aperiodic CSI report, or event-based (or UE-triggered) CSI report).

[0062] The first device 110 may obtain the indicated configuration. In some example embodiments, the indicated configuration may be pre-configured or predefined. In some other example embodiments, the second device 120 may send (220) the indicated configuration to the first device 110. In other words, the first device 110 may receive the indicated configuration from the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the transmission of the indicated configuration may be carried by RRC, MAC, and / or downlink control information (DCI).

[0063] The first device 110 determines (230) whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the PUSCH transmission. For example, the UE determines whether UCI / CSI is mapped / multiplexed / included in the PUSCH transmission.

[0064] The first device 110 generates (240) an indication based on the determination, which at least indicates whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission. For example, the UE may generate the relevant indication based on determining whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in a PUSCH transmission at one of multiple applicable PUSCH timings given by information received from the gNB. For example, the indication may include one bit. In this case, if a MAC element or a portion thereof is included / mapped in a PUSCH transmission, the indication may include a bit set to "1". Alternatively, if a MAC element or a portion thereof is not included / mapped in a PUSCH transmission, the indication may include a bit set to "0". In some other example embodiments, the indication may include more than one bit. For example, if the indication occupies 2 bits, "11" can indicate that the MAC element has been mapped, "00" can indicate that the MAC element is not mapped but is in a pending state (i.e., it is still in the UE memory and can be mapped to another PUSCH transmission that occurs later), "10" can indicate that the MAC element is partially mapped (the unmapped part can remain pending), and "01" can indicate that the MAC element is not in a pending state (i.e., it does not exist), which means it is not mapped.

[0065] In some example embodiments, the indication may be used for multiple MAC elements at once. For example, the indication may have one bit for all the multiple MAC elements. In this case, if at least one MAC element or a portion of at least one MAC element is included / mapped in the PUSCH transmission, the indication may include a bit set to "1". Alternatively, if none of the multiple MAC elements are included / mapped in the PUSCH transmission, the indication may include a bit set to "0". In some other example embodiments, the indication may have a separate bit for each of the multiple MAC elements (i.e., a bitmap for the multiple MAC elements). In other words, multiple MAC elements may be mapped on the PUSCH, and the first device 110 may generate a separate indication for each MAC element. For example, if the indication is used for three MAC elements and includes a bitmap set to "100", it indicates that the first MAC element is included in the PUSCH transmission, while the other two MAC elements are not included in the PUSCH transmission.

[0066] The first device 110 sends an instruction (250) to the second device 120, which indicates at least whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in a physical uplink shared channel transmission. Accordingly, the second device 120 receives an instruction from the first device 110 indicating whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in a physical uplink shared channel transmission. For example, the instruction indicates whether the MAC element or a portion thereof should be mapped or included in a transport block (carried on a PUSCH) or multiplexed on a PUSCH.

[0067] Figure 3A and Figure 3B This illustrates an example principle of CSI mapping on the PUSCH and related indications of whether CSI / UCI is mapped on the PUSCH. For example... Figure 3A As shown, CSI MAC element 310 can be included in PUSCH transmission 320 (e.g., MAC PDU), and the first device can generate indication 330, which indicates CSI MAC element 310, and can transmit indication 330 along with TB on PUSCH 340. As another example, such as... Figure 3B As shown, CSI MAC element 310 may not be included in PUSCH transmission 320 (e.g., MAC PDU), and the first device may generate indication 350 indicating that CSI MAC element 310 is not included in PUSCH transmission 320, and indication 350 may be sent together with TB on PUSCH 360.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the indication is included in or multiplexed with a PUSCH transmission. For example, the UE provides an indication of whether at least one MAC element, specifically a CSI MAC element (e.g., a CSI MAC CE), or at least one portion of a MAC element, is included in / multiplexed with or mapped on a PUSCH.

[0069] In some example embodiments, the indication is transmitted from the first device 110 to the second device 120 in the form of uplink control information on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel. For example, the indication may be a UCI bearer carried on the PUSCH. The indication may be encoded separately from TB / UL-SCH data, wherein the mapping of the indication on the PUSCH may be similar to the mapping of the UCI on the PUSCH (e.g., Configuration Grant (CG)-UCI (CG-UCI) or Unused Transmission Opportunity (UTO)-UCI). Alternatively, the indication may be transmitted as uplink control information on the Physical Uplink Control Channel.

[0070] In some example embodiments, if the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel, the indication is encoded separately from the data on the physical uplink shared channel. In some example embodiments, if the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel, the indication is encoded separately from any other uplink control information, or jointly encoded with at least one other uplink control information.

[0071] In some example embodiments, if the indication is separately encoded, the first device 110 determines the set of resources for the indication from the Physical Uplink Shared Channel based on a resource offset dedicated to the indication. For example, if the indication and UCI are separately encoded, a dedicated Beta offset can be configured for the indication, so that the first device 110 can determine the amount or number of PUSCH resources that the indication can occupy.

[0072] In some example embodiments, if the indication is jointly encoded, the first device 110 determines the set of resources for the indication from the physical uplink shared channel based on the uplink control information resource offset. For example, in the case where the indication is jointly encoded with other UCIs such as HARQ-ACK, a beta offset of another UCI such as HARQ-ACK can be used.

[0073] In some example embodiments, if the transmission carrying the indication on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel is dropped, the first device 110 may transmit the indication on the Physical Uplink Control Channel. In one example, the indication may be carried via a UCI on the PUCCH (including a UCI multiplexed on the PUCCH); if the PUSCH carrying the indication is dropped, for example, due to overlap with the PUCCH, the indication may be multiplexed into the PUCCH.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the indication may be carried on a different PUSCH than the PUSCH on which the CSI MAC elements are mapped or can be mapped (even if located on the same cell / component carrier). For example, in the case where two or more PUSCHs overlap in time, the indication may be carried by a dedicated PUSCH determined by configuration, rules (e.g., PUSCHs with lower or higher frequency allocations (locations)) and / or indications (e.g., via DCI); this PUSCH may be different from the PUSCH on which the CSI MAC elements are mapped or can be mapped. In this case, the indication may also indicate, for example, which PUSCH carries the CSI MAC elements.

[0075] In some example embodiments, if the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel, it also indicates the timing relationship between the indication and MAC elements included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission. In one example, the indication can be configured to be carried on a PUCCH resource, such as a resource similar to a scheduling request (SR), which can be a shared or dedicated resource. In this case, configured / pre-configured rules (e.g., timing relationships) and / or information added to the UCI can be used to indicate which PUSCH(s) the indication corresponds to. For example, the rule could be a configured timing offset, such as the k-th (e.g., k is an integer) time slot following the time slot containing the PUCCH; or a time window starting from the k-th time slot following the time slot containing the PUCCH and lasting for n time slots (e.g., n is an integer). The MAC element can be transmitted on the first PUSCH transmitted by the UE within this time window.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the indication also indicates that only one or more MAC elements are at least partially included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission. For example, the indication may target one or more MAC elements at a time and may include one or more bits.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may send a scheduling instruction for transport block retransmission to the first device 110. The first device 110 then receives the scheduling instruction for transport block retransmission from the second device 120. The first device 110 may send MAC elements in a physical uplink shared channel transmission according to the scheduling instruction. Subsequently, the second device 120 may receive MAC elements from the first device 110 instead of the transport block in the scheduled physical uplink shared channel retransmission. The first device 110 may retain the transport block in the first device 110. In some examples, the instruction may also indicate that the PUSCH transmission scheduled for transport block retransmission contains only MAC elements, or contains MAC elements of configured / pre-reconfigured types(e.g., CSI reports). In cases where the gNB has scheduled TB retransmission, MAC elements are sent in the PUSCH transmission instead of the PUSCH TB to be retransmitted. The UE retains the original TB in its memory for later retransmission.

[0078] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may send a MAC element retransmission indication to the first device 110 within a MAC element retransmission time window. Accordingly, the first device 110 may store the MAC element in its own memory and may perform a MAC element retransmission based on receiving the MAC element retransmission indication within the MAC element retransmission time window. Subsequently, the second device 120 may receive the retransmission of the MAC element from the first device 110. In some examples, MAC element retransmission may be triggered within a configured / pre-configured MAC element retransmission time window using a UL authorization that includes a retransmission indication and a (non-periodic) CSI trigger.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the indication also indicates the number or size of at least one MAC element mapped to a physical uplink shared channel transmission. Alternatively or additionally, the indication also indicates whether a MAC element is at least partially in a pending state to be mapped to a subsequent physical uplink shared channel transmission. Alternatively or additionally, the indication also indicates the presence of a MAC element in a MAC. For example, the indication may also indicate the number and / or size of CSI-MAC elements mapped to a MAC PDU by using certain code points (e.g., at least one bit corresponding to a CSI reporting setting) associated with the configured CSI reporting settings and / or maximum report size configuration. These code points may be defined by network configuration or indication.

[0080] In some example embodiments, if the indication is configured to be carried on a component carrier (CC), the indication includes information about at least one of the following: whether a MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on that CC, or whether a MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on another CC. For example, in the case of carrier aggregation (CA), if the indication is configured to be carried on a CC, the indication can provide information about whether a MAC element is mapped to a TB / PUSCH on that CC and / or whether a MAC element is mapped to a TB / PUSCH on another CC.

[0081] It should be noted that the embodiments described herein also apply if the MAC elements are jointly mapped to the logical channel (LCH) data (and thus separately encoded on the PUSCH), or even if the MAC elements are separately encoded / mapped to the LCH data / TB on the PUSCH.

[0082] The first device 110 may send (260) a PUSCH transmission to the second device 120. For example, if the indication indicates that a MAC element is included in the PUSCH transmission, then the PUSCH transmission (260) may include the MAC element. In some example embodiments, the transmission of the indication (250) may be included in the PUSCH transmission (260) performed by the first device 110 to the second device 120.

[0083] The second device 120 can determine, based on the indication (270), whether a MAC element or a portion thereof should be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission. For example, the gNB can receive a PUSCH transmission (260) from the UE. For a PUSCH transmission at the determined PUSCH timing, the gNB can determine, based on the indication, whether a MAC element or a portion thereof is multiplexed / mapped / included in the PUSCH transmission. As described above, the transmission indicated (250) may be included in the PUSCH transmission (260). In this case, the second device 120 can only determine, based on the included indication (270), whether a MAC element or a portion thereof is included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission after receiving the PUSCH transmission (260) from the first device.

[0084] According to embodiments of this disclosure, when the MAC element also contains latency-sensitive information or time-critical information such as CSI, it is advantageous to provide the second device 120 with information on whether the PUSCH contains a certain MAC element (e.g., a CSI MAC element).

[0085] Furthermore, the proposed solution allows the second device 120 to perform active scheduling when a CSI MAC element needs to be requested, because the MAC element is not mapped to TB / PUSCH, or the MAC element is mapped to TB but TB is not correctly decoded.

[0086] Furthermore, the proposed solution can also shorten the latency of MAC element delivery (CSI) when a PUSCH is scheduled for retransmission of an earlier TB. This indication can be used to tell the second device 120 that the first device 110 has a MAC element to be sent, for which the second device 120 can schedule an additional PUSCH. Additionally, the first device 110 can indicate that the MAC element has replaced the TB to be retransmitted in the PUSCH (and that TB continues to wait for another PUSCH scheduling). Based on this indication, the second device 120 decodes the PUSCHs individually and does not merge the PUSCH with an earlier PUSCH containing the TB to be retransmitted.

[0087] The following will refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 Some example flowcharts describing MAC element indications. Figure 4 and Figure 5 In this context, the UE is considered an example of the first device 110, and the gNB is considered... Figure 1 Example of the second device 120 in the example.

[0088] Figure 4An example MAC element indication process 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Process 400 can be executed by a second device 120 (i.e., gNB in ​​this example).

[0089] In some example embodiments, at 410, the second device 120 determines the configuration of the indication. In some example embodiments, the configuration of the indication indicates at least one of the following: whether the indication is transmitted on a physical uplink shared channel, whether the indication is transmitted on a physical uplink control channel, restriction information regarding which physical uplink shared channel timings the indication is allowed to transmit, the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided or the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided, which MAC element or which part of a MAC element needs to be provided, which type or types of MAC elements need to be provided, the triggering condition for transmitting the indication, whether the indication and at least one other uplink control information are encoded individually or jointly, or a resource offset dedicated to the indication.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the indicated configuration indicates that the indication is sent according to one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling physical uplink shared channels using MAC elements, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration of authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type.

[0091] In some example embodiments, at 420, the second device 120 sends an instruction configuration to the first device 110.

[0092] At 430, the second device 120 receives an instruction from the first device 110 indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

[0093] In some example embodiments, at block 440, the second device 120 may receive the physical uplink shared channel transmission from the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the indication may be received during the physical uplink shared channel transmission. In other words, the reception of the indication (430) and the reception of the physical uplink shared channel transmission (440) may be the same reception. In some other example embodiments, the reception of the indication (430) may occur before the reception of the physical uplink shared channel transmission (440).

[0094] In some example embodiments, the MAC element is at least one of the following: Channel State Information MAC Control Element (MACCE) or Uplink Control Information MAC CE.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the received instruction is included in or multiplexed with the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the instruction is received in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel, or the instruction is received in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink control channel.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from the data on the physical uplink shared channel, provided that the indication is received on the physical uplink shared channel.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from any other uplink control information, or jointly encoded with at least one other uplink control information, provided that the indication is transmitted on a physical uplink shared channel.

[0099] In some example embodiments, provided that the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel, the indication also indicates the timing relationship between the indication and MAC elements included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the instruction also indicates that only one or more MAC elements are at least partially included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0101] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes: sending a scheduling instruction to the first device for retransmission of a transport block; and receiving a MAC element from the first device instead of a transport block in a scheduled physical uplink shared channel retransmission.

[0102] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes: transmitting a retransmission indication to a first device within a retransmission time window; and receiving a retransmission of a MAC element from the first device.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the indication also indicates at least one of the following: the number or size of at least one MAC element mapped to a physical uplink shared channel transmission; whether the MAC element is at least partially in a state to be mapped to another physical uplink shared channel transmission; or whether the MAC element exists in the MAC.

[0104] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes: sending an instruction configuration to the first device.

[0105] Figure 5 An example MAC element indication process 500 is illustrated according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Process 500 can be executed by a first device 110 (i.e., the UE in this example).

[0106] In some example embodiments, at 510, the first device 110 receives the configuration of the indication from the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the configuration of the indication indicates at least one of the following: whether the indication is sent on a physical uplink shared channel, whether the indication is sent on a physical uplink control channel, restriction information regarding which physical uplink shared channel timings the indication is allowed to be sent on, the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided or the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided, which MAC element or which part of a MAC element needs to be provided, which type or types of MAC elements need to be provided, the triggering condition for sending the indication, whether the indication and at least one other uplink control information are encoded individually or jointly, or a resource offset dedicated to the indication.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the indicated configuration indicates that the indication is sent according to one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling physical uplink shared channels using MAC elements, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type.

[0108] At 520, the first device 110 determines whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

[0109] At 530, the first device 110 generates an indication based on the determination, which indicates at least whether a MAC element or a portion of a MAC element should be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0110] At 540, the first device 110 sends an instruction to the second device 120, which indicates at least that a MAC element or a portion of a MAC element is to be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0111] In some example embodiments, at block 550, the first device 110 sends a physical uplink shared channel transmission to the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the indication can be sent during the physical uplink shared channel transmission. In other words, the indication transmission (540) and the physical uplink shared channel transmission (550) can be the same transmission. In some other example embodiments, the indication transmission (540) can occur before the physical uplink shared channel transmission (550).

[0112] In some example embodiments, the MAC element is at least one of the following: Channel State Information MAC Control Element (MAC CE) or Uplink Control Information MAC CE.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the transmitted instruction is included in or multiplexed with the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the indication is sent in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel, or in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink control channel.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from the data on the physical uplink shared channel, provided that the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from any other uplink control information, or jointly encoded with at least one other uplink control information, provided that the indication is transmitted on a physical uplink shared channel.

[0117] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes: in response to the indication being separately encoded, determining a set of resources for the indication from the physical uplink shared channel based on a resource offset dedicated to the indication.

[0118] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes determining a set of resources for the indication from the physical uplink shared channel based on the uplink control information resource offset in response to the indication being jointly encoded.

[0119] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes: sending an indication on the physical uplink control channel based on determining that a transmission carrying an indication on the physical uplink shared channel has been dropped.

[0120] In some example embodiments, provided that the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel, the indication also indicates the timing relationship between the indication and MAC elements included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the instruction also indicates that only one or more MAC elements are at least partially included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0122] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes: receiving a scheduling instruction for retransmission of a transport block from a second device; sending a MAC element instead of the transport block in a scheduled physical uplink shared channel retransmission; and reserving the transport block in a first device.

[0123] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes storing the MAC element in a first device; and performing a retransmission of the MAC element based on receiving a retransmission instruction within a retransmission time window.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the indication also indicates at least one of the following: the number or size of at least one MAC element mapped to a physical uplink shared channel transmission; whether the MAC element is at least partially in a state to be mapped to another physical uplink shared channel transmission; or whether the MAC element exists in the MAC.

[0125] In some example embodiments, method 500 also includes a configuration for obtaining an instruction.

[0126] In some example embodiments, when the indication is configured to be carried on a component carrier, the indication includes information about at least one of the following: whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on a CC, or whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on another CC.

[0127] It should be noted that Figure 4 and Figure 5 The example implementations in the document are applicable not only to CSI, but also to other UCI types (such as HARQ-ACK and / or SR).

[0128] In some example embodiments, the first means capable of performing method 200 or 500 (e.g., Figure 1 The first device 110 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 200 or 500. This component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or software module. The device may be implemented as or included in... Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: components for determining whether a portion of a Media Access Control (MAC) element should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PHC) transmission; components for generating an indication based on the determination, the indication indicating at least whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element should be included in the PHC transmission; and components for sending an indication to a second device, the indication indicating at least whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element will be included in the PHC transmission.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the MAC element is at least one of the following: Channel State Information MAC Control Element (MACCE) or Uplink Control Information MAC CE.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the transmitted instruction is included in or multiplexed with the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the indication is sent in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel, or in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink control channel.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from the data on the physical uplink shared channel, provided that the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from any other uplink control information, or jointly encoded with at least one other uplink control information, provided that the indication is transmitted on a physical uplink shared channel.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the first device includes a component for determining a set of resources for the indication from the physical uplink shared channel based on a resource offset dedicated to the indication, in response to the indication being individually encoded.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the first device includes a component for determining a set of resources for the indication from the physical uplink shared channel based on the uplink control information resource offset in response to the indication being jointly encoded.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes a component for transmitting an indication on the physical uplink control channel based on the determination that a transmission carrying an indication on the physical uplink shared channel has been dropped.

[0138] In some example embodiments, provided that the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel, the indication also indicates the timing relationship between the indication and MAC elements included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the instruction also indicates that only one or more MAC elements are at least partially included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes: components for receiving a scheduling instruction for retransmission of a transport block from a second apparatus; components for sending a MAC element instead of the transport block in a scheduled physical uplink shared channel retransmission; and components for retaining the transport block in the first apparatus.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: components for storing MAC elements in the first device; and components for performing retransmission of the MAC elements based on receiving a retransmission instruction within a retransmission time window.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the indication also indicates at least one of the following: the number or size of at least one MAC element mapped to a physical uplink shared channel transmission; whether the MAC element is at least partially in a state to be mapped to another physical uplink shared channel transmission; or whether the MAC element exists in the MAC.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the first device includes components for obtaining the indicated configuration.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the configuration of the indication indicates at least one of the following: whether to send the indication on the physical uplink shared channel, whether to send the indication on the physical uplink control channel, restriction information regarding which physical uplink shared channel timings the indication is allowed to be sent on, the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided or the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided, which MAC element or which part of a MAC element needs to be provided with the indication, which type or types of MAC elements need to be provided with the indication, the triggering condition for sending the indication, whether the indication and uplink control information are encoded separately or jointly, or the resource offset dedicated to the indication.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the indicated configuration indicates that the indication is sent according to one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling physical uplink shared channels using MAC elements, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration of authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type.

[0146] In some example embodiments, when the indication is configured to be carried on a component carrier, the indication includes information about at least one of the following: whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on a CC, or whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on another CC.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

[0148] In some example embodiments, a second means capable of performing method 200 or 400 (e.g., Figure 1 The second device 120 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 200 or 400. This component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or software module. The device may be implemented as or included in... Figure 1 The second device 120 in the middle.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the second device includes a component for receiving an indication from the first device indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the MAC element is at least one of the following: Channel State Information MAC Control Element (MACCE) or Uplink Control Information MAC CE.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the accepted instruction is included in or multiplexed with the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the indication is received in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel, or in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink control channel.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from the data on the physical uplink shared channel, provided that the indication is received on the physical uplink shared channel.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the indication is encoded separately from any other uplink control information, or jointly encoded with at least one other uplink control information, provided that the indication is transmitted on a physical uplink shared channel.

[0155] In some example embodiments, provided that the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel, the indication also indicates the timing relationship between the indication and MAC elements included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the instruction also indicates that only one or more MAC elements are at least partially included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: a component for sending a scheduling instruction for retransmission of a transport block to the first device; and a component for receiving a MAC element instead of a transport block from the first device in a scheduled physical uplink shared channel retransmission.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: a component for transmitting a retransmission indication to the first device within a retransmission time window; and a component for receiving retransmissions of MAC elements from the first device.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the indication also indicates at least one of the following: the number or size of at least one MAC element mapped to a physical uplink shared channel transmission; whether the MAC element is at least partially in a state to be mapped to another physical uplink shared channel transmission; or whether the MAC element exists in the MAC.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the second device includes components for sending instructions to the first device.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the configuration of the indication indicates at least one of the following: whether the indication is sent on a physical uplink shared channel, whether the indication is sent on a physical uplink control channel, restriction information regarding which physical uplink shared channel the indication is allowed to be sent on, the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided or the physical uplink shared channel timing set for which the indication needs to be provided, which MAC element or which part of a MAC element needs to be provided, which type or types of MAC elements need to be provided, the triggering condition for sending the indication, whether the indication and uplink control information are encoded separately or jointly, or the resource offset dedicated to the indication.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the indicated configuration indicates that the indication is sent according to one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling physical uplink shared channels using MAC elements, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration of authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type.

[0163] In some example embodiments, when the indication is configured to be carried on a component carrier, the indication includes information about at least one of the following: whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on a CC, or whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on another CC.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

[0165] Figure 6 This is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 600 can be provided to implement a communication device, for example, as... Figure 1 The first device 110 or the second device 120 shown. As shown, device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to processor 610.

[0166] Communication module 640 is used for bidirectional communication. Communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

[0167] As a non-limiting example, processor 610 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock that synchronizes with the main processor.

[0168] Memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, optical disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), optical disc, laser disc, and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that will not persist for the duration of a power outage.

[0169] Computer program 630 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 610. The instructions of program 630 may include instructions for performing operations / actions of some example embodiments of this disclosure. Program 630 may be stored in memory (e.g., ROM 624). Processor 610 can perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 630 into RAM 622.

[0170] Example embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by program 630, enabling device 600 to perform as described in the reference. Figures 1 to 6 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0171] In some example embodiments, program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 600 (such as memory 620) or other storage devices accessible by device 600. Device 600 may load program 630 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile) rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0172] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0173] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions that execute in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, such as those included in a program module, to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular task or implement a particular abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functionality of a program module can be combined or split among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for a program module can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can reside in both local and remote storage media.

[0174] Program code used to perform the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0175] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0176] Computer-readable media can be computer-readable signal media or computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable read-only optical disk drives (CD-ROMs), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0177] Furthermore, although operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or that all shown operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the discussion above, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, certain features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated otherwise, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0178] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to: Determine whether the Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission; Based on the determination, an indication is generated, which at least indicates whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element is included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission; as well as The instruction is sent to the second device, the instruction indicating at least whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element is included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

2. The first apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the MAC element is at least one of the following: Channel state information MAC control element (MAC CE); or Uplink control information MAC CE.

3. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmitted indication is included in or multiplexed with the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

4. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indication is transmitted in the form of uplink control information on a physically shared uplink channel; or The indication is transmitted in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink control channel.

5. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein, provided the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel, the indication is encoded separately from the data on the physical uplink shared channel; or.

6. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel, The indication is encoded separately from any other uplink control information, or The instruction is co-coded with at least one other uplink control information.

7. The first device according to claim 6, wherein the first device is configured such that: In response to the indication being individually encoded, a resource set for the indication is determined from the physical uplink shared channel based on a resource offset dedicated to the indication; and / or In response to the joint encoding of the indication, a set of resources for the indication is determined from the physical uplink shared channel based on the uplink control information resource offset.

8. The first device according to claim 4, wherein the first device is configured to: Based on the determination that the transmission carrying the indication on the physical uplink shared channel was dropped, the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel.

9. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein, provided the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel, the indication further indicates a timing relationship between the indication and the MAC element included in the transmission of the physical uplink shared channel.

10. The first apparatus according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the indication further indicates that only one or more MAC elements are at least partially included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

11. The first device according to claim 10, wherein the first device is configured to: Receive a retransmission scheduling instruction for the transmission block from the second device; In the scheduled physical uplink shared channel retransmission, the MAC element is sent instead of the transport block; and The transmission block is retained in the first device.

12. The first device according to claim 11, wherein the first device is configured to: The MAC element is stored in the first device; and The retransmission of the MAC element is performed based on receiving a retransmission instruction within the retransmission time window.

13. The first device according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein the indication further indicates at least one of the following: The number or size of at least one MAC element mapped to the physical uplink shared channel transmission; Is the MAC element at least partially in a state awaiting mapping to another physical uplink shared channel transmission? Does the MAC element exist in the MAC? 14. The first device according to any one of claims 1-13, wherein the first device is configured to: Obtain the configuration of the instruction; The configuration indicated therein indicates at least one of the following: Whether to send the indication on the physical uplink shared channel. Whether to send the instruction on the physical uplink control channel. Information regarding restrictions on when indications are allowed to be sent on the physical uplink shared channel. A set of physical uplink shared channel timings, or physical uplink shared channel timings, that provides the indication is required. Indication is needed for which MAC element or which part of the MAC element. Indicators are needed for which type(s) of MAC elements. The triggering condition used to send the indication. Is the instruction and the at least one other uplink control information encoded individually or jointly, or... Dedicated to the indicated resource offset; and / or The configuration of the indicated instruction is sent according to one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling the physical uplink shared channel using the MAC element, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type.

15. The first device according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein the first device is configured to: Obtain the configuration indicated.

16. The first device according to claim 15, wherein the configuration of the indication indicates at least one of the following: Whether to send the indication on the physical uplink shared channel. Whether to send the instruction on the physical uplink control channel. Information regarding restrictions on when indications are allowed to be sent on the physical uplink shared channel. A set of physical uplink shared channel timings, or physical uplink shared channel timings, that provides the indication is required. Indication is needed for which MAC element or which part of the MAC element. Indicators are needed for which type(s) of MAC elements. The triggering condition used to send the indication. Is the instruction and the at least one other uplink control information encoded individually or jointly, or... The resource offset is specifically used for the indicated value.

17. The first apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the configuration indicated by the instruction is transmitted in accordance with one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling the physical uplink shared channel using the MAC element, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type.

18. The first apparatus according to any one of claims 1-17, wherein, provided that the indication is configured to be carried on a component carrier, the indication includes information regarding at least one of: whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on the CC, or whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on another CC.

19. The first device according to any one of claims 1-18, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

20. A second device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to: The device receives an instruction indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

21. The second apparatus of claim 20, wherein the MAC element is at least one of the following: Channel state information MAC control element (MAC CE); or Uplink control information MAC CE.

22. The second apparatus of claim 20 or 21, wherein the received instruction is included in or multiplexed with the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

23. The second apparatus according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the indication is received in the form of uplink control information on a physical uplink shared channel; or The indicated information is received in the form of uplink control information on the physical uplink control channel.

24. The second apparatus of claim 23, wherein the indication is encoded with data on the physical uplink shared channel, provided that the indication is received on the physical uplink shared channel.

25. The second apparatus of claim 23, wherein the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel. The indication is encoded separately from any other uplink control information, or The instruction is co-coded with at least one other uplink control information.

26. The second apparatus of claim 23, wherein, provided the indication is transmitted on the physical uplink control channel, the indication further indicates a timing relationship between the indication and the MAC element included in the transmission of the physical uplink shared channel.

27. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 20-26, wherein the indication further indicates that only one or more MAC elements are at least partially included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

28. The second device according to claim 27, wherein the second device is configured to: Sending a retransmission scheduling instruction for the transmission block to the first device; and The MAC element is received from the first device instead of the transport block during the scheduled physical uplink shared channel retransmission.

29. The second device according to claim 28, wherein the second device is configured to: Transmit a retransmission instruction to the first device within the retransmission time window; and Receive retransmission of the MAC element from the first device.

30. The second device according to any one of claims 20-29, wherein the indication further indicates at least one of the following: The number or size of at least one MAC element mapped to the physical uplink shared channel transmission; Is the MAC element at least partially in a state awaiting mapping to another physical uplink shared channel transmission? Does the MAC element exist in the MAC? 31. The second device according to any one of claims 20-30, wherein the second device is configured to: The configuration for sending the instruction to the first device.

32. The second device according to claim 31, wherein the indicated configuration indicates at least one of the following: Whether to send the indication on the physical uplink shared channel. Whether to send the instruction on the physical uplink control channel. Information regarding restrictions on when indications are allowed to be sent on the physical uplink shared channel. A physical uplink shared channel timing set that requires the indication to be provided for the physical uplink shared channel timing set, or a physical uplink shared channel timing set that provides the indication on the physical uplink shared channel timing set. Indication is needed for which MAC element or which part of the MAC element. Indicators are needed for which type(s) of MAC elements. The triggering condition used to send the indication. Is the instruction and the at least one other uplink control information encoded individually or jointly, or... The resource offset is specifically used for the indicated value.

33. The second apparatus according to claim 31 or 32, wherein the configuration of the indication indicates that the indication is transmitted in accordance with one of the following: cell, component carrier, cell group, bandwidth, bandwidth portion, transmit / receive point, control resource set pool for scheduling the physical uplink shared channel using the MAC element, channel state information reporting configuration, channel state information triggering, channel state information reporting sub-configuration, channel state information reference signal resource configuration, physical uplink shared channel configuration, configuration authorized physical uplink shared channel configuration, or channel state information report type.

34. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 20-33, wherein, provided that the indication is configured to be carried on a component carrier, the indication includes information regarding at least one of: whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on the CC, or whether the MAC element is mapped to a physical uplink shared channel on another CC.

35. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 20-34, wherein the first apparatus is a terminal device and the second apparatus is a network device.

36. A method comprising: Determine whether the Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission; Based on the determination, an indication is generated, which at least indicates whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element should be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission; as well as The instruction is sent to the second device, the instruction indicating at least whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element should be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

37. A method comprising: The device receives an instruction indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

38. A first device, comprising: Components used to determine whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission; A component for generating an indication based on the determination, the indication indicating at least whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element should be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission; as well as A component for sending the indication to a second device, the indication indicating at least whether the MAC element or a portion of the MAC element should be included in the physical uplink shared channel transmission.

39. A second device, comprising: A component for receiving an instruction from a first device, the instruction indicating whether a Media Access Control (MAC) element or a portion thereof should be included in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

40. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method of claim 36 or 37.

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